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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make (someone`s) mouth water
What does make (someone`s) mouth water mean? | make someone want to eat something because of the thought or smell of the food | It made my mouth water when I looked at the menu.
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Some Random Idioms
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not buy (something)
What does "not buy (something)" mean? | to not accept something to be true | I do not buy the excuse that the man does not have enough money to pay for his dinner.
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stern
What does "stern" mean? | buttocks; posterior |
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shake off (someone or something)
What does "shake off (someone or something)" mean? | to get rid of someone or something that is bothering you | I was able to shake off my cold after a weekend of resting in bed.
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work out (a problem)
What does "work out (a problem)" mean? | to solve a problem, to provide the details of something | I spent the weekend trying to work out the budget estimates for next year.
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sell (something) on credit
What does "sell (something) on credit" mean? | to sell something now and let the purchaser pay for it later | We decided to sell the stereo system on credit.
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at first
What does "at first" mean? | initially, at the beginning | At first we had no plans for the weekend but finally we decided to go to a movie.
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in black and white
What does "in black and white" mean? | in writing, officially |
I put down my complaint in black and white.
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beat the pants off (someone)
What does "beat the pants off (someone)" mean? | to beat someone severely, to win against someone easily in a race or a game |
Our team beat the pants off the other team very easily.
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Twist someone's arm
What does "Twist someone's arm" mean? | If you twist someone's arm, you put pressure on them to try to make them do what you want them to do. |
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Wag the dog
What does "Wag the dog" mean? | To 'wag the dog' means to purposely divert attention from what would otherwise be of greater importance, to something else of lesser significance. By doing so, the lesser-significant event is catapulted into the limelight, drowning proper attention to what was originally the more important issue.The expression comes from the saying that 'a dog is smarter than its tail', but if the tail were smarter, then the tail would 'wag the dog'. The expression 'wag the dog' was elaborately used as theme of |
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lift a finger
What does "lift a finger" mean? | to help as little as possible (usually used in the negative) |
My niece will never lift a finger to help anyone.
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