Bells And Whistles Idiom American Expressions and American Idioms

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. .

bells and whistles What does bells and whistles mean?	appealing, non-essential features
	Some Random Idioms
out of pocket What does "out of pocket" mean?	from one's own resources

get/have a lump in one's throat What does "get/have a lump in one's throat" mean?	feel like there in something in your throat as if you were going to cry	I got a lump in my throat as I listened to the tragic story of the woman's family.
weigh on/upon (someone) What does "weigh on/upon (someone)" mean?	be a weight or pressure on someone or something, worry or upset someone	The pressure of her exams has begun to weigh upon my sister.
sitrep What does "sitrep" mean?	situation report
feel sorry for (someone) What does "feel sorry for (someone)" mean?	to pity someone, to feel compassion for someone	I feel sorry for my friend who recently lost his job.
second-rate What does "second-rate" mean?	to be not of the best quality	The performance of the school choir was second-rate and they need more practice to improve.
make up for lost time What does "make up for lost time" mean?	do something quickly (because you wasted time before)	We wasted several days before we started to prepare for our holiday so we had to work hard to make up for lost time.
In the black What does "In the black" mean?	To be making money.	Live below your means and you will always be running in the black. Standard practice for accounting is to record positive numbers in black ink and negative numbers in red ink. Operating "in the black" is to record positive numbers, that is to say earnings.

to the contrary What does "to the contrary" mean?	contrary to what has been stated/thought	Everybody thought that the boy was bored at the dinner but to the contrary he was quite interested.
hard feelings What does "hard feelings" mean?	anger; animosity; bitter feelings.	A: "I'm sorry that Jim got the job instead ofyou."B: "I have no hard feelings toward him; I know that he hadstronger qualifications."
variety is the spice of life What does "variety is the spice of life" mean?	differences and changes make life interesting	Variety is the spice of life and I enjoy doing many different things.

American Idioms and Expressions

Bells And Whistles Idiom