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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far out
What does far out mean? | to be strange | The man's sense of humor was far out and nobody understood him.
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far out
What does far out mean? | cool; nice; excellent |
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far out
What does far out mean? | rarefied; obscure; difficult to comprehend |
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far out
What does far out mean? | to be strange |
The man's sense of humor was far out and nobody understood him.
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Some Random Idioms
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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. |
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up and about
What does "up and about" mean? | recovered from an illness | He has been up and about for a couple of days since he left the hospital.
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get mixed up
What does "get mixed up" mean? | to become confused | "I`m sorry but I got mixed up with the dates. That`s why I came today."
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head off (something)
What does "head off (something)" mean? | stop, prevent | They were able to head off a strike by the union at the last minute.
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put some teeth into (something)
What does "put some teeth into (something)" mean? | to increase the power of something | The government finally put some teeth into the new law.
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whet (someone's) appetite
What does "whet (someone's) appetite" mean? | to cause someone to be interested in something and want to learn more about it |
The introduction to playing a musical instrument helped to whet my appetite to learn more about music.
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small fry
What does "small fry" mean? | unimportant people, children (small fry are young newly-hatched fish) |
The police were only able to catch some of the small fry in the organized crime gang.
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Busted flush
What does "Busted flush" mean? | Someone or something that had great potential but ended up a useless failure is a busted flush. |
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time is a great healer
What does "time is a great healer" mean? | pain or sorrow will be less strongly felt as time passes | Time is a great healer and the parents could only hope that this was true as they tried to deal with the death of their only daughter.
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Who wears the pants?
What does "Who wears the pants?" mean? | The person who wears the pants in a relationship is the dominant person who controls things. |
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cast doubt on (someone or something)
What does "cast doubt on (someone or something)" mean? | to cause someone or something to be doubted |
The evidence presented at the trial cast doubt on the woman's testimony.
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over a barrel
What does "over a barrel" mean? | to be in a helpless or trapped position | I think that we have the other company over a barrel and we should be able to win the contract easily.
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