American Idioms and Expressions

Read The Riot Act (to Someone) 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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read the riot act (to someone)
What does read the riot act (to someone) mean?		 to give someone a strong warning or scoldingThe teacher read the riot act to her students when they began to misbehave in class.

Some Random Idioms
kill time
What does "kill time" mean?		 waste timeWe had to kill a lot of time before the movie started.
beyond a reasonable doubt
What does "beyond a reasonable doubt" mean?		 a legal phrase meaning that something is almost certainThe judge sent the man to jail because he believed, beyond a reasonable doubt, that he had committed the crime.
kink in my neck
What does "kink in my neck" mean?		 a cramp in one's neck that causes painI woke up this morning with a kink in my neck.
twist (someone`s) arm
What does "twist (someone`s) arm" mean?		 to force someone to do something, to threaten someone to make him or her do somethingI had to twist my friend's arm to get him to let me borrow his car.
blow (someone's) cover
What does "blow (someone's) cover" mean?		 to reveal someone's true identity or purpose The police blew the secret detectives cover by mistake.

gut
What does "gut" mean?		 fundamental; basic
eat high on/off the hog
What does "eat high on/off the hog" mean?		 to eat expensive and high quality foodMy uncle has been eating high on the hog since he got his new job.
AM
What does "AM" mean?		 Amplitude Modulation - a type of radio frequency Amplitude Modulation - a type of radio frequencyWe don't listen to AM radio much because we don't like the songs that they play.
do one`s bit/part
What does "do one`s bit/part" mean?		 to share in a group project by contributing one`s time and effortOur teacher did his bit to help plan for the party.
lemon
What does "lemon" mean?		bad car, usually new and with mechanical problems. So what's with the new lemon law? Does it really protect consumers from bad cars?
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