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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see through (someone or something)
What does see through (someone or something) mean? | to understand someone`s true character or motivation, to understand the real reason for something | I could easily see through the supervisor's attempt to fire the woman from her job.
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Some Random Idioms
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play possum
What does "play possum" mean? | to pretend to be inactive/asleep/dead | I think that the man is playing possum and is not really sleeping.
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bigwig
What does "bigwig" mean? | an important person, a leader | Some of the bigwigs of our company came to visit our factory.
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get down
What does "get down" mean? | have sexual relations |
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on consignment
What does "on consignment" mean? | being sold in a store by someone who still owns the goods | We went to the store to buy some baby furniture that was on consignment.
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rake off (some money)
What does "rake off (some money)" mean? | to steal a portion of a payment/money | The cashiers were raking off some of the money from the store.
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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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at hand
What does "at hand" mean? | to be close by | I stopped working because I did not have any good tools at hand.
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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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pay in advance
What does "pay in advance" mean? | to pay for something before you get/use it | I must pay in advance for the bus company to deliver my boxes.
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in hand
What does "in hand" mean? | under control |
After several hours the riot police had the problems with the crowd in hand.
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call the dogs off or call off the dogs
What does "call the dogs off or call off the dogs" mean? | to stop threatening or chasing or hounding someone |
The police decided to call the dogs off and stop hunting for the man.
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give credence to (someone or something)
What does "give credence to (someone or something)" mean? | to believe someone or something, to credit someone or something | We did not want to give credence to the man's statement so we did not respond to it.
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down the line
What does "down the line" mean? | straight ahead, in the future | There will be many changes in our company down the line.
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get (someone or something) out of one's head/mind
What does "get (someone or something) out of one's head/mind" mean? | to stop thinking about or wanting someone or something, to forget someone or something | My friend is trying hard to get his former girlfriend out of his mind.
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