American Idioms and Expressions

On (someone's) Shoulders Idiom

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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on (someone's) shoulders
What does on (someone's) shoulders mean?
on someone's own self (used often with responsibility)The responsibility for organizing the office is always on my shoulders.
on (someone's) shoulders
What does on (someone's) shoulders mean?
someone's responsibilityI don't want to have the failure of the project on my shoulders.

Some Random Idioms
tied to one's mother's apron strings
What does "tied to one's mother's apron strings" mean?
to be dominated or dependent on one's motherThe boy is tied to his mother's apron strings and he never wants to leave home.
close ranks
What does "close ranks" mean?
to unite and fight togetherDuring the meeting we closed ranks and refused to compromise on any issue.
check up on (someone or something)
What does "check up on (someone or something)" mean?
to examine someone or something in order to determine the condition of it/him/her We must check up on my mother because she has been very sick recently.

water down
What does "water down" mean?
make weak, diluteThe new policy was a watered down version of the old one.
foul one's own nest
What does "foul one's own nest" mean?
to harm one's own interests The union fouled their own nest with their dishonest behavior.

bent on doing (something)
What does "bent on doing (something)" mean?
to be determined to do something The young boys are bent on buying the old car to fix it up.

find one's own level
What does "find one's own level" mean?
to find the position to which one is best suitedThe teacher helped the child find his own level in the reading class.
Bad workers always blame their tools
What does "Bad workers always blame their tools" mean?
"A bad worker always blames their tools" - If somebody does a job badly or loses in a game and claims that they were let down by their equipment, you can use this to imply that this was not the case.
hit pay dirt
What does "hit pay dirt" mean?
discover something of valueThe men hit pay dirt when they discovered oil in the farmer's field.
as silly as a goose
What does "as silly as a goose" mean?
very foolish, very silly My aunt acted as silly as a goose last evening.

in defiance of (someone or something)
What does "in defiance of (someone or something)" mean?
in resistence to someone or someone's orders The union was in defiance of the court order and was given a large fine.

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