Break Off 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. .

break off What does break off mean?	to stop or end suddenly	The government decided to break off talks about extending the trade agreement.
	Some Random Idioms
in a nutshell What does "in a nutshell" mean?	briefly	I tried to explain the problem to him in a nutshell but there still wasn`t enough time.

long and the short of it What does "long and the short of it" mean?	all the facts, the whole story	I phoned my friend and he told me the long and the short of it regarding the reason why he got fired.
jump out of one`s skin What does "jump out of one`s skin" mean?	be badly frightened, be very surprised	I almost jumped out of my skin when I saw my boyfriend at the movie theater with another girl.
hush money What does "hush money" mean?	money paid to persuade someone to be silent about certain information	The politician was arrested for trying to pay hush money to a victim of the scandal.
with a jaundiced eye What does "with a jaundiced eye" mean?	with a prejudiced or distorted way of seeing something	My friend is very smart although he always looks at things with a jaundiced eye.
give (something) a shot What does "give (something) a shot" mean?	to try something	I plan to give golfing a shot during my summer holidays.
bring (something) off What does "bring (something) off" mean?	to make something happen	The students tried hard to bring off a successful dance to collect money for their club.

old hand at (doing something) What does "old hand at (doing something)" mean?	someone who is experienced and very good at doing something	Our boss is an old hand at fixing computers.
roll up one`s sleeves What does "roll up one`s sleeves" mean?	to prepare to work hard or seriously at something	Everybody in our club rolled up their sleeves to help prepare for the party.
play by ear What does "play by ear" mean?	to play a musical instrument by remembering the tune and not by reading the music	My sister learned to play the piano by ear when she was a child.
gird up one's loins What does "gird up one's loins" mean?	get ready to do something that will be difficult	I got ready to gird up my loins and begin to work on some of my problem accounts.

American Idioms and Expressions

Break Off Idiom