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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know which side one`s bread is buttered on
What does know which side one`s bread is buttered on mean? | know who can help you and try to please him or her, know what is good for oneself | He is careful not to make his boss angry. He knows which side his bread is buttered on.
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Some Random Idioms
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dick
What does "dick" mean? | have sexual intercourse with a woman |
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flying high
What does "flying high" mean? | to be very happy, to be joyful |
My neighbor has been flying high since she won a car.
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off-the-cuff
What does "off-the-cuff" mean? | without preparation |
Our boss made a great off-the-cuff speech at the party last night.
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To little avail
What does "To little avail" mean? | If something is to little avail, it means that, despite great efforts, something ended in failure, but taking comfort from the knowledge that nothing else could have been done to avert or avoid the result. |
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Dressed to the nines
What does "Dressed to the nines" mean? | Dressed flamboyantly, dressed well. | New years eve is the one day of the year when people like to go out dressed to the nines.
Common lore has it that a tailor making a high quality suit uses more fabric. The best suits are made from nine yards of fabric. This may seem like a lot but a proper suit does indeed take nine yards of fabric. This is because a good suit has all the fabric cut in the same direction with the warp, or long strands of thread, parallel with the vertical line of the suit. This causes a great amount of waste in suit making, but if you want to go "dressed to the nines", you must pay for such waste. |
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a hassle
What does "a hassle" mean? | a bothersome thing | It is a hassle to have to report to my boss two times a day.
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lead (someone) to believe (something)
What does "lead (someone) to believe (something)" mean? | imply something to someone | The salesman led me to believe that he would be able to deliver the product within a week.
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call off (something)
What does "call off (something)" mean? | to stop/quit/cancel something | We called off the meeting because everybody was busy with other business.
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busman's holiday
What does "busman's holiday" mean? | a holiday where you spend your time doing the same thing that you would do if you were working | The doctor felt that he was on a busman's holiday when everyone at the meeting began to ask him about their medical problems.
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