Check out other Idioms
Idiom – Everything But The Kitchen Sink
Everything But The Kitchen Sink – Idiom of the Day Meaning: Leaving almost nothing. Having everything possible. History: History dates back to the early 19th century. The phrase was officially published in ‘The Syracuse Herald’ in 1918. During world war II, the expression shot to fame, when the term was used to denote that almost everything possible was used against the enemy. This idiom has an ancestor called “everything but the kitchen stove”. The references to the ancestral phrase can be found in the Jeffersonville National Democraft in 1894. Idiom scenarios: Scenario 1: Neighbour: Why does the house look empty?...
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Idiom – Pull The Wool Over Someone’s Eyes
Pull The Wool Over Someone’s Eyes – Idiom of the Day Meaning: Dupe someone so that they don’t know what you’re doing. History: History debated of 16th century British and 19th century American origin. The idiom is suspected to have originated from the ancient British practice of wearing woolen wigs. There is evidence of this idiom in paper as early as November 1935. The Gettysburg newspaper, The People’s Press, seems to have published it. Idiom scenarios: Scenario 1: Shopkeeper: This necklace is worth 1 lakh rupees. Customer: What? Shopkeeper: Yes madam. It has diamonds all over it. So it is...
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Idiom – Get Down to Business
Get Down to Business – Idiom of the Day Meaning: To seriously start working on something with dedication and determination. Origin: The idiom ‘Get down to business’ is a saying that is used when a person seriously wants to focus and start his work. It is most likely that the idiom originated in the business world and is used by many due to its widespread popularity. Idiom Scenarios: Scenario 1: John: When will the project work start? It’s already an hour. Rose: Soon after the introduction, we’ll get down to business. Scenario 2: Mother: Rose, come on, Stop idling away...
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Idiom – Don’t Rock the Boat
Don’t Rock the Boat – Idiom of the Day Meaning: Saying/ doing anything that will cause problems or issues to the already existing problems. Origin: The idiom ‘Don’t rock the boat’ originated from an American statesman who was famously quoted as ” The man who rocks the boat ought to be stoned when he gets back on the shore.’ The idiom was used to refer to those stirring up trouble. Idiom Scenarios: Scenario 1: Rose: What happened to you? Are you okay? Keith: Yes, I’m okay. I’m silent because I don’t want to rock the boat in any way. Scenario...
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Idiom – Drop the Ball
Drop the Ball – Idiom of the Day Meaning: Completely mess things up; commit a blunder. Origin: This idiom has its roots in American football, wherein one has to catch a ball for a pass to be successfully completed. Dropping the ball would give the opposing team possession of it, thus giving them a chance to score. Its use for more general kinds of mistakes dates from about 1950. Examples: Oh Richard for God’s sake, don’t drop the ball on this one. We’re counting on you. The Prime Minister really dropped the ball when he announced loan waivers for farmers...
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Idiom – Close but no Cigar
Close but no Cigar – Idiom of the Day Meaning: Be very close to accomplishing a goal but fall short Almost successful in doing something, but not quite Fall just short of a desired outcome, and get nothing for the efforts Nearly, but not completely correct Origin: The expression is said to have originated in the United States, likely during the mid 20th century. It refers to the practice of stalls at fairgrounds and carnivals giving out cigars as prizes. People would use this phrase for those who were close to winning a prize, but failed to do so. The...
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Idiom – Bottom of the Barrel
Bottom of the Barrel – Idiom of the Day Meaning: Anything of low quality; the dregs; least desirable. Usually part of the phrase: scrape the bottom of the barrel. Origin: The expression is derived from the historical practice in the early United States of storing food in barrels; when food supplies ran low, only what was on the very bottom of the barrel remained, and had to be removed by scraping. Examples: The media is literally scraping the bottom of the barrel for stories that might damage the presidential candidate. Given the level of the candidates present for the interview,...
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Idiom – Don’t spare the horses
Don’t spare the horses – Idiom of the Day Meaning: Urging someone to speed up on something that they are doing. History: History dates back to the 17th century when the idiom was first used. In the 1860s, there are some references to the idiom being used in magazines. In 1934, there was a famous song in the name of the idiom. There is also evidence of the idiom being cited in a novel in 1969. Idiom scenarios: Scenario 1: Friend 1: We need to reach Delhi by 2:00 PM. Friend 2: With the speed that we’re traveling, it will...
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Idiom – Albatross Around One’s Neck
Albatross Around One’s Neck – Idiom of the Day Meaning: A great burden that one has to carry. Origin: This expression comes directly from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s longest poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, published in 1798. It talks about a mariner (a sailor), who kills an albatross while on a voyage. After he commits this heinous crime, the ship is blown way off its course. This makes the crew angry, as they think killing the albatross cursed the ship. They make the mariner wear the dead albatross around his neck, to illustrate the burden he must suffer for...
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Idiom – Lose your marbles
Lose your marbles – Idiom of the Day Meaning: It means that a person has become mentally unstable for sometime. History: History dates back to 1871 when the idiom was used in a comic ballad with the word taw instead of marble. But taw means a large marble. But it was widely in use from 1902. There are also references to the idiom being used in newspapers. In the recent times the idiom was used in 1995. Idiom scenarios: Scenario 1: Friend 1: The nation is in a severe food crisis. Friend 2: But I read in the newspapers that...
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Idiom – A day late and a dollar short
A day late and a dollar short – Idiom of the Day Meaning: An action which is performed late ; A fruitless action even when performed in time, due to lack of proper preparation. History: History dates back to the Great depression of economies in the 1930s. But there is evidence of this expression being used in the 1700s, 1900s and in the very recent past. Idiom scenarios: Scenario 1: John: I have arranged the funds needed. You can go ahead with the surgery for my mom. Doctor: I’m sorry, John. You’re a day late and a dollar short. Her...
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Idiom – To have a whale of a time
To have a whale of a time – Idiom of the day Meaning: To have an exceptionally fun, exciting, or amusing experience. History: Around the nineteenth century, an UK newspaper used the phrase ‘whaler of a fib’. From there, novels began using ‘whale on’ to describe characters who are enthusiastic. Examples: The dog is having a whale of a time playing with the ball. We are going to have a whale of a time at the island this weekend. The birthday party was amazing. We had a whale of a time there. There was a reading of a story...
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Idiom – It’s a small world.
It’s a small world – Idiom of the day Meaning: said to show your surprise that people or events in different places are connected. History: If we were to track the origin of this idiom, there’s none but it has been a part of Spanish-speaking countries for hundreds of years. In Spanish, it is said as ‘El mundo es un panuelo’ Example: My kindergarten teacher is your mother. What a small world! I found my watch at the antique shop in Chennai. Small world, isn’t it? I had absolutely no contact with them since high school and then I bumped...
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Idiom – Make someone’s blood boil
Make someone’s blood boil – Idiom of the day. Meaning: to make someone angry History: Anger was usually related to the term the blood boils from the seventeenth century. This became more popular in Macaulay’s History of England (1848): “The thought of such intervention made the blood, even of The Cavaliers, boil in their veins.” Example: When I hear people gossip about others, it makes my blood boil. I heard the news of the girl’s death yesterday; it made my blood boil. My blood boiled when he called me a thief. It makes my blood boil when I see people...
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Idiom – All dressed up and nowhere to go
All dressed up and nowhere to go – Idiom of the Day Meaning: Fashionably or smartly dressed for an anticipated occasion that does not take place. Ready for an event or occasion that has since been canceled. Prepared for action but having nothing to do or unable to be proceeded with. Origin: The initial version of the idiom was all dressed up and no place to go. This idiom started being commonly used in the early 1900s, and is attributed to a 1910 musical production, The Girl of My Dreams. All dressed up and no place to go began as...
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Idiom – Back to the drawing board
Back to the drawing board – Idiom of the day Meaning: to start over History: American artist named Peter Arno, had his cartoons published in the New Yorker. In one of the comic strips, he drew a man in a suit, carrying a bunch of rolled up papers and walking away from a crashed plane. These papers are assumed to be mechanical drawings of an aircraft and there is a bubble above the man’s head that read, ‘Well, back to the drawing board’ Example: I was told that my project was a failure, so I went back to the drawing...
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Idiom – At loggerheads
At loggerheads – Idiom of the Day Meaning: In violent dispute or disagreement. Origin: The origins for this expression are shrouded in mystery. A loggerhead originally referred to a stupid person. In the 17th century, it took a new definition: a thick-headed iron tool. When “at loggerheads”’ came about soon thereafter, it may have referred to the use of loggerheads as weapons in fights. That is all we know. Usage: Union workers are at loggerheads with factory owners over wage hikes and overtime benefits. Barney has been at loggerheads with his father over installing the jacuzzi for 6 months now....
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Idiom – Cold Turkey
Cold Turkey – Idiom of the Day Meaning: Completely and abruptly stopping a habit as opposed to phasing it out of your life. Usually used to refer to a bad habit or an addiction. Origin: The expression first appeared in 1921 in the Daily Colonist in British Columbia. In that period, the phrase was related to quitting addiction. The most probable origin comes from the similarities between a drug addict in withdrawal, and a turkey’s carcass. Both are pale and clammy. This might have led some to believe that a user in withdrawal looked like a cold turkey. Usage: The...
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Idiom – Bite The Bullet
Bite The Bullet – Idiom of the Day Meaning: Do the unpleasant but necessary thing. Origin: The phrase was first used by Rudyard Kipling in his 1891 novel The Light That Failed. It was derived from a patient having to bite on a bullet while undergoing a painful surgical procedure without anesthesia. Examples: Sometimes in life, one needs to bite the bullet and do what needs to be done. I guess I just have to bite the bullet and break up with Janice. Mary has to learn to bite the bullet and face her fear of heights. The only way...
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Idiom – Move The Goalposts
Move The Goalposts – Idiom of the Day Meaning: It means altering the rules of some process going on normally. History: When tracing the history of the word goalposts from where the idiom seems to have, originated, we find that it was used in relation to sports in 1834. In those days, players identified the goal with the help of two upright posts. When someone intentionally or unintentionally changed their positions, it became hard for the players to focus on their target. The idiom was recently used in 2011 in the US House. Idiom scenarios: Scenario 1: Politican 1: I...
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