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.
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Yah boo sucks
What does Yah boo sucks mean? | Yah boo & yah boo sucks can be used to show that you have no sympathy with someone. |
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Some Random Idioms
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get into hot water
What does "get into hot water" mean? | to get into trouble or difficulty | We got into hot water when they found us in the building after it had closed.
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take one`s hat off to (someone)
What does "take one`s hat off to (someone)" mean? | to admire/respect/praise someone | You have to take your hat off to our boss. He has built his company from almost nothing.
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bark up the wrong tree
What does "bark up the wrong tree" mean? | to choose the wrong course of action, to ask the wrong person (a hunting dog may make a mistake when chasing an animal and bark up the wrong tree) | My boss is barking up the wrong tree. I did not cause the computer problem because I was away at the time.
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take the wind out of someone's sails
What does "take the wind out of someone's sails" mean? | to challenge someone's boasting or arrogance | It took the wind out of the man's sails when he lost his job.
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nigger
What does "nigger" mean? | Black person (offensive when used by non-Blacks, but acceptable among Blacks). | When Chris Rock says "nigger", it's all right, but if Donald Trump said it, it'd be offensive.
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the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak
What does "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" mean? | someone has good intentions but their laziness or love of pleasure may prevent them from doing what they want | The man often goes to expensive restaurants and nightclubs and although he wants to do well at his job he cannot. For him the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
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regain one's composure
What does "regain one's composure" mean? | to become calm and composed | The woman took several hours to regain her composure after the fight with her husband.
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work hand in hand (with someone)
What does "work hand in hand (with someone)" mean? | to work closely together with someone in order to achieve something | The government is working hand in hand with the police department to solve the road problems.
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know something inside out
What does "know something inside out" mean? | know/understand something
thoroughly. | "If you have a question about grammar, ask Dr. Martin.She knows grammar inside out."
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T&A
What does "T&A" mean? | tits and ass (in reference to women) |
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throw one's hands up in horror
What does "throw one's hands up in horror" mean? | to be shocked, to raise one's hands in fright |
The girl threw her hands up in horror when she saw the injured dog.
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At the eleventh hour
What does "At the eleventh hour" mean? | At the very last moment. | The union negotiator went right down to the eleventh hour before accepting the company's final offer.
On a 12-hour clock (rather than the 24-hour clock used by scientists, the military, et al) the hours of 12 noon and 12 midnight seem to hold special significance. De-marking the transition from morning to afternoon and the end of the day, they are often used as deadlines (high noon, the stroke of midnight).
To come at "the eleventh hour" implies that it comes in the last hour before the deadline. The choice of "the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" as the time to end W.W.I was quite apt. |