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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quite a few
What does "quite a few" mean? | several; numerous. | "I don't think I can meet you after work. I havequite a few errands that I have to do."
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quake in one's boots
What does "quake in one's boots" mean? | to be afraid, to shake from fear | I was quaking in my boots when my boss told me to come to his office.
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queer as a three-dollar bill
What does "queer as a three-dollar bill" mean? | to be very strange | The woman is the strangest person that I have ever seen and she is as queer as a three-dollar bill.
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quick and dirty
What does "quick and dirty" mean? | fast and cheap, fast and careless | The method that the company chose to cut expenses was quick and dirty.
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quick as a flash
What does "quick as a flash" mean? | very quickly | I was able to get out of the house as quick as a flash and go to work.
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quick as a wink
What does "quick as a wink" mean? | very quickly | The woman turned around and quick as a wink her purse was stolen.
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quick as greased lightning
What does "quick as greased lightning" mean? | very quickly, very fast | The cat climbed up the tree as quick as greased lightning.
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quick on the draw
What does "quick on the draw" mean? | to be quick to respond to something, to be quick to draw a gun and shoot | The man is quick on the draw and can answer most questions immediately.
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quick on the trigger
What does "quick on the trigger" mean? | to be quick to respond to something, to be quick to draw a gun and shoot | The man was too quick on the trigger and should have thought more carefully about what he was going to say.
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quick on the uptake
What does "quick on the uptake" mean? | to be quick to understand something | The student is quick on the uptake and understands most scientific theories very quickly.
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quiet as a mouse
What does "quiet as a mouse" mean? | very quiet, shy and silent | The little boy was quiet as a mouse as he moved around the kitchen.
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quite a bit
What does "quite a bit" mean? | much or many | I had quite a bit of time so I decided to go to the library.
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quite a few
What does "quite a few" mean? | many | The boy has quite a few DVDs at home.
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quite a lot
What does "quite a lot" mean? | much or many | There are quite a lot of chairs in the meeting hall.
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quite a number
What does "quite a number" mean? | much or many | Quite a number of the teachers agreed to use the new textbooks.
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quite a (something)
What does "quite a (something)" mean? | definitely something | The girl is quite a pianist and everybody loves her.
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quid pro quo
What does "quid pro quo" mean? | "something for something" (from Latin), mutual concessions made by the parties in a transaction | The government and the teachers gave up some of their contract demands in a quid pro quo effort to solve their dispute.
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quick buck
What does "quick buck" mean? | some money earned quickly and easily | The small company is only interested in making a quick buck and is not interested in product quality.
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quote a price
What does "quote a price" mean? | to say in advance how much something will cost | I asked the salesman to quote a price for the new product.
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quick one
What does "quick one" mean? | a single drink of alcohol taken before one does something else | We stopped for a quick one on the way home from work.
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Q-sign
What does "Q-sign" mean? | comatose patient with mouth open and tongue hanging out |
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quads
What does "quads" mean? | quadrucep muscles (on the front of the thigh, visible near the knee) |
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quant
What does "quant" mean? | financial analyst who uses quantitative techniques |
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quarterback
What does "quarterback" mean? | lead; manage; be in charge of something or somebody |
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que pasa
What does "que pasa" mean? |
idiom. what's up? how are you? what's going on? (from Spanish) |
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queer
What does "queer" mean? | of or pertaining to homosexuals |
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queer
What does "queer" mean? | homosexual (typically male) |
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quick buck
What does "quick buck" mean? | profit rapidly and readily earned |
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quick fix
What does "quick fix" mean? | simple, rapid solution that is usually not practical in the long term |
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quick fix
What does "quick fix" mean? | solution that is neither good nor durable |
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quick one
What does "quick one" mean? | sexual relations done quickly |
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quick-and-dirty
What does "quick-and-dirty" mean? | something done rapidly and sloppily |
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quickie
What does "quickie" mean? | sexual relations done quickly |
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Quarrel with bread and butter
What does "Quarrel with bread and butter" mean? | Bread and butter, here, indicate the means of one’s living. (That is why we say ‘he is the bread winner of the family’). If a sub-ordinate in an organisation is quarrelsome or if he is not patient enough to bear the reprimand he deserves, gets angry and retorts or provokes the higher-up, the top man dismisses him from the job. So, he loses the job that gave him bread and butter. Hence we say, he quarrelled with bread and butter (manager or the top man) and lost his job. |
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Queer Street
What does "Queer Street" mean? | If someone is in a lot of trouble, especially financial, they are in Queer Street. |
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Queer your pitch
What does "Queer your pitch" mean? | If someone queers your pitch, they interfere in your affairs and spoil things. |
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Queue jumping
What does "Queue jumping" mean? | Someone who goes to the front of a queue instead of waiting is jumping the queue. |
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Quiet before the Storm
What does "Quiet before the Storm" mean? | When you know that something is about to go horribly wrong, but hasn't just yet, then you are in the quiet before the storm. |
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Quart into a pint pot
What does "Quart into a pint pot" mean? | (UK) If you try to put or get a quart into a pint pot, you try to put too much in a small space. (1 quart = 2 pints) |
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Queen bee
What does "Queen bee" mean? | The queen bee is a woman who holds the most important position in a place. |
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Queer fish
What does "Queer fish" mean? | (UK) A strange person is a queer fish. |
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Quiet as a cat
What does "Quiet as a cat" mean? | If somebody is as quiet as a cat they make as little noise as possible and try to be unnoticeable. |
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Quids in
What does "Quids in" mean? | (UK) If somebody is quids in, they stand to make a lot of money from something. |
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Quick off the mark
What does "Quick off the mark" mean? | If someone is quick off the mark, they are very quick to use, start or do something new. |
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Question of time
What does "Question of time" mean? | If something's a question of time, it's certain to happen, though we don't know exactly when. |
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Queen of Hearts
What does "Queen of Hearts" mean? | A woman who is pre-eminent in her area is a Queen of Hearts. |
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