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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according to Hoyle
What does according to Hoyle mean? | doing something strictly by the rules, doing something the usual and correct way | According to Hoyle we are not allowed to use this room but if nobody knows it should be okay.
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according to Hoyle
What does according to Hoyle mean? | according to the rules (Hoyle wrote a well-known book about
card games) | according to the rules (Hoyle wrote a well-known book about card games)According to Hoyle we were not permitted to enter the convention site but in reality we were able to enter easily.
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according to Hoyle
What does according to Hoyle mean? | doing something strictly by the rules, doing something the usual and correct way (Hoyle was a writer who was an expert on the rules of card games) |
"According to Hoyle, we should not use this room but probably nobody will complain if we do use it."
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according to Hoyle
What does according to Hoyle mean? | according to the rules (Hoyle wrote a well-known book about card games) |
According to Hoyle, we were not permitted to enter the convention center early but in reality we were able to enter at almost any time.
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Some Random Idioms
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with relish
What does "with relish" mean? | with pleasure or enjoyment | I began my new job and started doing my work with relish.
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salt away money
What does "salt away money" mean? | to save money | My friend has salted away much money from her new job.
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take the law into one's own hands
What does "take the law into one's own hands" mean? | to act as a judge and jury for someone who has done something wrong | The soldiers took the law into their own hands when they entered the town.
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a fine how-do-you-do
What does "a fine how-do-you-do" mean? | a predicament | We were in a fine how-do-you-do when the car stopped working.
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Rings a Bell
What does "Rings a Bell" mean? | To sound familiar, to spark a memory. | I don't remember meeting him, but the name John Smith rings a bell.
Bells such as the type used in churches are large and loud. Their sound can be heard from a great distance. Bells sound a single, clear note so their sound is distinctive and not easily confused.
Before electric sirens and amplification systems, bells were a valuable means of signaling people and alerting of important events.
Further, accurate timepieces were not always as available as they are today. Bells were used to signal people of the start of events such as a church session, the start of school, or a celebration. The bells acted as a reminder of the start of the event for people who had an out of synch timepiece or no timepiece.
Someone would literally ring a bell as a reminder.
As an aside bells were later used on clocks to mark the hour. A large clock usually in the town square could be heard throughout the town. This clock acted as a master time reference for the town. The hourly bell ringing gave people an opportunity to synchronize their respective timepieces, and early watches required frequent adjustment. |
come down hard on (someone)
What does "come down hard on (someone)" mean? | to scold or punish someone severely |
The police are coming down hard on drunk drivers now.
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later
What does "later" mean? | good-bye |
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Lower the bar
What does "Lower the bar" mean? | If people change the standards required to make things easier, they lower the bar. |
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have a head for (something)
What does "have a head for (something)" mean? | have the mental capacity for something | My father has a head for numbers and is very good at mathematics.
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