American Idioms and Expressions

Tough Cookie Idiom

This database is a comprehensive collection of all the American idioms and slang available. American Idioms are many and varied. We hope you enjoy our collection. We are adding more all the time. .

Tough cookie What does Tough cookie mean?	A tough cookie is a person who will do everything necessary to achieve what they want.
	Some Random Idioms
see the color of (someone's) money What does "see the color of (someone's) money" mean?	to verify that someone has (enough) money	I did not give anybody a ticket for the dinner until I saw the color of their money.

somewhere in the neighborhood of (an amount of money or something) What does "somewhere in the neighborhood of (an amount of money or something)" mean?	approximately a particular measurement/amount	There were somewhere in the neighborhood of fifty people at the meeting.
out of one's mind/head/senses What does "out of one's mind/head/senses" mean?	to be crazy/irrational/silly	The woman is out of her mind and she is always doing something crazy.
for the birds What does "for the birds" mean?	not interesting, something that you do not like, worthless	The movie was for the birds so we left early and went to a restaurant.
pay as you go What does "pay as you go" mean?	to pay for things as they occur (rather than on credit)	I will have to pay as I go if I go to graduate school next year.
cloak-and-dagger What does "cloak-and-dagger" mean?	involving secercy and plotting	The spy was involved in some cloak-and-dagger operations. close Idioms
make mischief What does "make mischief" mean?	cause trouble	The young boy seemed to enjoy the fact that he could make mischief whenever he wanted.

Wheels fall off What does "Wheels fall off" mean?	When the wheels fall off something, it goes wrong or fails. ('Wheels come off' is an alternative.)
Hoist with your own petard What does "Hoist with your own petard" mean?	If you are hoist with your own petard, you get into trouble or caught in a trap that you had set for someone else.
Plastic smile What does "Plastic smile" mean?	When someone is wearing a plastic smile, they are appear to be happier with a situation or events than they actually are. This is actually a description of the forced smile you might see in many photographs.
Don't catch your chickens before they're hatched What does "Don't catch your chickens before they're hatched" mean?	This means that you should wait until you know whether something has produced the results you desire, rather than acting beforehand. ('Don't count your chickens until they've hatched' is an alternative.)

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