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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eat and run
What does eat and run mean? | to eat a meal quickly and then leave | We had to eat and run in order to arrive at the soccer field early.
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eat and run
What does eat and run mean? | to eat a meal and then quickly leave | I had to eat and run in order to be on time for my evening class.
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eat and run
What does eat and run mean? | to eat a meal quickly and then leave |
We had to eat and run in order to arrive at the soccer field early.
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eat and run
What does eat and run mean? | to eat a meal and then quickly leave |
I had to eat and run in order to be on time for my evening class.
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Some Random Idioms
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warts and all
What does "warts and all" mean? | including one's bad points | He likes to be able to relax, warts and all, with his friends.
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on the market
What does "on the market" mean? | to be available for sale | I have seen many used cameras on the market recently.
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break even
What does "break even" mean? | to have income equal to expenses |
After only a few months our business began to break even and we started to make money.
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screw up
What does "screw up" mean? | chaos; confusion; mess |
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Dead as a door nail
What does "Dead as a door nail" mean? | To be dead, with no chance for recovery. | You might as well junk that car, the engine is dead as a door nail.
Nails were once hand tooled and costly. When an aging cabin or barn was torn down the valuable nails would be salvaged so they could be reused in later construction.
When building a door however, carpenters often drove the nail through then bent it over the other end so it couldn't work its way out during the repeated opening and closing of the door. When it came time to salvage the building, these door nails were considered useless, or "dead" because of the way they were bent. |
lean toward (doing something)
What does "lean toward (doing something)" mean? | tend toward doing something | At the moment we are leaning toward buying a laptop computer rather than a desktop computer.
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the tail wagging the dog
What does "the tail wagging the dog" mean? | a situation where a small part controls the whole thing |
The tail is wagging the dog. The receptionist controls everything in the office.
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doo
What does "doo" mean? | hairdo; hairstyle |
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smooth sailing
What does "smooth sailing" mean? | something is working out well and has no problems | something is working out well and has no problemsAfter we left the city it was smooth sailing on the highway until we got to our destination.
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beg the question
What does "beg the question" mean? | to invite the question that follows |
Buying the expensive car begged the question of where the man got the money.
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goo
What does "goo" mean? | sticky substance |
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digs
What does "digs" mean? | home |
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on your marks
What does "on your marks" mean? | used to tell runners in a race to get into the correct
starting position | used to tell runners in a race to get into the correct starting positionThe race began as soon as the judge yelled, "on your marks, get set, go."
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