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| id | category | idiom | description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3901 | Nationality or ethnicity | Dutch auction | If something is sold by setting a price, then reducing it until someone buys it, it is sold in a Dutch auction. It can also mean that something is changed until it is accepted by everyone. |
| 3902 | Nationality or ethnicity | Dutch courage | Dutch courage is the reckless bravery caused by drinking too much. |
| 3903 | Nationality or ethnicity | Dutch treat | If something like a meal is a Dutch treat, then each person pays their own share of the bill. |
| 3904 | Nationality or ethnicity | Dutch uncle | A Dutch uncle is a person who gives unwelcome advice. |
| 3905 | Nationality or ethnicity | Dutch wife | A Dutch wife is a long pillow or a hot water bottle. |
| 3906 | Nationality or ethnicity | For England | (UK) A person who talks for England, talks a lot- if you do something for England, you do it a lot or to the limit. |
| 3907 | Nationality or ethnicity | French leave | To take French leave is to leave a gathering without saying goodbye or without permission. |
| 3908 | Nationality or ethnicity | Go Dutch | If you go Dutch in a restaurant, you pay equal shares for the meal. |
| 3909 | Nationality or ethnicity | Good Samaritan | A good Samaritan is a persoon wh helps others in need. |
| 3910 | Nationality or ethnicity | Greek to me | If you dont understand something, its all Greek to you. |
| 3911 | Nationality or ethnicity | If you'll pardon my French | (UK) This idiom is used as a way of apologising for swearing. |
| 3912 | Nationality or ethnicity | Indian file | If people walk in Indian file, they walk in a line one behind the other. |
| 3913 | Nationality or ethnicity | Indian giver | An Indian giver gives something, then tries to take it back. |
| 3914 | Nationality or ethnicity | Indian summer | If there is a period of warmer weather in late autumn, it is an Indian summer. |
| 3915 | Nationality or ethnicity | Like Chinese arithmetic | If something is complicated and hard to understand, its like Chinese arithmetic. |
| 3916 | Nationality or ethnicity | Mexican standoff | When there is a deadlock in strategy and neither side can do anything that will ensure victory, its a Mexican standoff. |
| 3917 | Nationality or ethnicity | More holes than Swiss cheese | If something has more holes than a Swiss cheese, it is incomplete,and lacks many parts. |
| 3918 | Nationality or ethnicity | Perfidious Albion | England is known to some as perfidious Albion, implying that it is not trustworthy in its dealings with foreigners. |
| 3919 | Nationality or ethnicity | Scotch Mist | The phrase Scotch mist is used humorously to refer to something that is hard to find or doesnt exist - something imagined. |
| 3920 | Nationality or ethnicity | Slow boat to China | This idiom is used to describe something that is very slow and takes a long time. |
| 3921 | Nationality or ethnicity | Spanish practices | Unauthorized working methods that benefit those who follow them are Spanish practices. |
| 3922 | Nationality or ethnicity | Stars and stripes | The stars and stripes is the American flag. |
| 3923 | Nationality or ethnicity | Too many chiefs and not enough Indians | When there are too many chiefs and not enough Indians, there are two many managers and not enough workers to work efficiently. |
| 3924 | Nationality or ethnicity | Young Turk | A Young Turk is a young person who is rebellious and difficult to control in a company, team or organisation. |
| 3925 | Nature | A rising tide lifts all boats | This idiom, coined by John F Kennedy, describes the idea that when an economy is performing well, all people will benefit from it. |
| 3926 | Nature | A shallow brook babbles the loudest | People who are loud and talk a lot usually have nothing of substance to say. This contrasts with "Still waters run deep." Other versions are "Shallow brooks babble loudest" and "Shallow brooks are noisy." |
| 3927 | Nature | Across the pond | (UK) This idiom means on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, used to refer to the US or the UK depending on the speakers location. |
| 3928 | Nature | As cold as stone | If something is as cold as stone, it is very cold. If a person is as cold as stone, they are unemotional. |
| 3929 | Nature | At sea | If things are at sea, or all at sea, they are disorganized and chaotic. |
| 3930 | Nature | Beat the daylights out of someone | If someone beats the daylights out of another person, they hit them repeatedly. (Knock can also be used and it can be made even stronger by saying the living daylights.) |
| 3931 | Nature | Between a rock and a hard place | If you are caught between a rock and a hard place, you are in a position where you have to choose between unpleasant alternatives, and your choice might cause you problems; you will not be able to satisfy everyone. |
| 3932 | Nature | Break the ice | When you break the ice, you get over any initial embarrassment or shyness when you meet someone for the first time and start conversing. |
| 3933 | Nature | Clear as mud | If something is as clear as mud, then it is very confusing and unclear. |
| 3934 | Nature | Cliffhanger | If something like a sports match or an election is a cliffhanger, then the result is so close that it cannot be predicted and will only be known at the very end. |
| 3935 | Nature | Cuts no ice | If something cuts no ice, it doesnt have any effect or influence. |
| 3936 | Nature | Dead air | When there is a period of total silence, there is dead air. |
| 3937 | Nature | Down-to-earth | Someone whos down-to-earth is practical and realistic. It can also be used for things like ideas. |
| 3938 | Nature | Drop in the ocean | A drop in the ocean implies that something will have little effect because it is small and mostly insignificant. |
| 3939 | Nature | Four corners of the earth | If something goes to, or comes from, the four corners of the earth, it goes or comes absolutely everywhere. |
| 3940 | Nature | Full of hot air | Someone who is full of hot air talks a lot of rubbish. |
| 3941 | Nature | Grass may be greener on the other side but it's just as hard to mow | The grass may be greener on the other side but its just as hard to mow is an expression used to mean a persons desire to have that which another person has in the belief it will make their life easieris false as all situations come with their own set of problems. |
| 3942 | Nature | Head for the hills | If people head for the hills, they run away from trouble. |
| 3943 | Nature | Hung the moon | If you refer to someone as having hung the moon, you think they are extremely wonderful, or amazing, or good. |
| 3944 | Nature | In broad daylight | If a crime or problem happens in broad daylight, it happens during the day and should have been seen and stopped. |
| 3945 | Nature | It's an ill wind that blows no good | This is said when things have gone wrong; the idea being that when bad things happen, there can also be some positive results. |
| 3946 | Nature | Lay of the land | The lay of the land is the way something is organised, runs, is arranged, etc. (The lie of the land is also used.) |
| 3947 | Nature | Light a fire under | If you light a fire under somebody, you strongly motivate them to work faster. |
| 3948 | Nature | Make a mountain out of a molehill | If somebody makes a mountain out of a molehill, they exaggerate the importance or seriousness of a problem. |
| 3949 | Nature | Make waves | If someone makes waves, they cause a lot of trouble. |
| 3950 | Nature | Many moons ago | A very long time ago. |
| 3951 | Nature | Moral high ground | If people have/take/claim/seize, etc, the moral high ground, they claim that their arguments, beliefs, etc, are morally superior to those being put forward by other people. |
| 3952 | Nature | Mountain to climb | If you have a mountain to climb, you have to work hard or make a lot of progress to achieve something. |
| 3953 | Nature | Move mountains | If you would move mountains to do something, you would make any effort to achieve your aim. When people say that faith can move mountains, they mean that it can achieve a lot. |
| 3954 | Nature | Mud in the fire | The things that cannot be changed in the past that we usually forget about are mud in the fire. |
| 3955 | Nature | Nature abhors a vacuum | This idiom is used to express the idea that empty or unfilled spaces are unnatural as they go against the laws of nature and physics. |
| 3956 | Nature | No smoke without fire | This idiom means that when people suspect something, there is normally a good reason for the suspicion, even if there is no concrete evidence.? (Wheres theres smoke, theres fire is also used.) |
| 3957 | Nature | Not the only pebble on the beach | If something is not the only pebble on the beach, there are other possibilities or alternatives. |
| 3958 | Nature | Old flames die hard | Its very difficult to forget old things, especially the first love. |
| 3959 | Nature | Older than dirt | Something or someones thats older than the dirt is extremely old. |
| 3960 | Nature | Older than dirt | Something or someone thats older than dirt is very old indeed. |
| 3961 | Nature | Older than the hills | Something or someones thats older than the hills is extremely old. |
| 3962 | Nature | On ice | If plans are put on ice, they are delayed and no action will be taken for the foreseeable future. |
| 3963 | Nature | Place in the sun | If you have your place in the sun, you find wealth, happiness or whatever you are looking for in life. |
| 3964 | Nature | Pull out of the fire | (USA) If you pull something out of the fire, you save or rescue it. |
| 3965 | Nature | Ride with the tide | If you ride with the tide, you accept the majority decision. |
| 3966 | Nature | Run into the sand | If something runs into the sand, it fails to achieve a result. |
| 3967 | Nature | Scare the daylights out of someone | If you scare the daylights out of someone, you terrify them. (This can be made even stronger by saying the living daylights.) |
| 3968 | Nature | Scattered to the four winds | If somethings scattered to the four winds, it goes out in all directions. |
| 3969 | Nature | Sea change | An expression that connotes big change; a significant change in comparison to a minor, trivial or insignificant change. |
| 3970 | Nature | Sell down the river | If you sell someone down the river, you betray their trust. |
| 3971 | Nature | Shed light | If you shed light on something, you make it clearer and easier to understand. |
| 3972 | Nature | Shifting sands | If the sands are shifting, circumstances are changing. |
| 3973 | Nature | Skate on thin ice | If someone is skating on thin ice, they are taking a big risk. |
| 3974 | Nature | Sky is the limit | When people say that the sky is the limit, they think that there are no limits to the possibilities something could have. |
| 3975 | Nature | Slippery slope | A slippery slope is where a measure would lead to further worse measures. |
| 3976 | Nature | Still waters run deep | People use this idiom to imply that people who are quiet and dont try to attract attention are often more interesting than people who do try to get attention. |
| 3977 | Nature | Swim against the tide | If you swim against the tide, you try to do something that is very difficult because there is a lot of opposition to you. (Go against the tide is an alternative form.) |
| 3978 | Nature | Swim with the tide | If you swim with the tide, you do the same as people around you and accept the general consensus. (Go with the tide is an alternative form.) |
| 3979 | Nature | The sun might rise in the west | When people say this, they mean that they dont expect something to happen. |
| 3980 | Nature | Tip of the iceberg | The tip of the iceberg is the part of a problem that can be seen, with far more serious problems lying underneath. |
| 3981 | Nature | Uncharted waters | If youre in uncharted waters, you are in a situation that is unfamiliar to you, that you have no experience of and dont know what might happen. (Unchartered waters is an incorrect form that is a common mistake.) |
| 3982 | Nature | Up a river without a paddle | If you up a river without a paddle, you are in an unfortunate situation, unprepared and with none of the resources to remedy the matter. |
| 3983 | Nature | Up the wooden hill | When you go up the wooden hill, you go up the stairs to bed. |
| 3984 | Nature | Walking on air | If you are walking on? air, you are so happy that you feel as if you could float. |
| 3985 | Nature | Where there's smoke, there's fire | When there is an indication or sign of something bad, usually the indication is correct. |
| 3986 | Nature | Whistle down the wind | If you whistle down the wind, you abandon, send away or leave something or someone. |
| 3987 | Nature | Worse things happen at sea | This idiomatic expression is used as a way of telling someone not to worry so much about their problems. |
| 3988 | Numbers | 101 | Meaning "First year introductory course" in US universities, the meaning has broadened in every day language to mean any kind of information for beginners. |
| 3989 | Numbers | A fool at 40 is a fool forever | If someone hasnt matured by the time they reach forty, they never will. |
| 3990 | Numbers | A1 | If something is A1, it is the very best or finest. |
| 3991 | Numbers | All sixes | If something is all sixes, it doesnt matter how its done; its the same as six of one and half a dozen of the other. |
| 3992 | Numbers | Back to square one | If you are back to square one, you have to start from the beginning again. |
| 3993 | Numbers | Ballpark figure | A ballpark figure is a rough or approximate number (guesstimate) to give a general idea of something, like a rough estimate for a cost, etc. |
| 3994 | Numbers | Behind the eight ball | A difficult position from which it is unlikely one can escape. |
| 3995 | Numbers | Better half | Your better half is your husband or wife. |
| 3996 | Numbers | By the numbers | If something is done by the numbers, it is done in a mechanical manner without room for creativity. |
| 3997 | Numbers | Catch-22 | Catch-22 is a situation where conflicting rules make the desired outcome impossible. It comes from a novel by the American author Joseph Heller, in which pilots would not have to fly missions if they were mentally ill, but not wanting to fly dangerous missions was held to be proof of sanity, so they had to fly anyway. (Catch 22, without the hyphen, is also used.) |
| 3998 | Numbers | Double take | If someone does a double take, they react very slowly to something to show how shocked or surprised they are. |
| 3999 | Numbers | Double whammy | A double whammy is when something causes two problems at the same time, or when two setbacks occur at the same time. |
| 4000 | Numbers | Feel like a million | If you feel like a million, you are feeling very well (healthy) and happy. |
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