1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47
| id | category | idiom | description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 501 | Body and bodily functions | Have a foot in both camps | Someone who plays a part or who is involved in two different groups of people, opinions, ways of thinking or living, etc, has a foot in both camps. |
| 502 | Body and bodily functions | Have a heart | If someone has a heart, they arekind and sympathetic.? If you say, Have a heart to someone, you are asking them to be understanding and sympathetic. |
| 503 | Body and bodily functions | Have the guts | Someone who has enough courage to do something has the guts to do it. |
| 504 | Body and bodily functions | Have your tail up | If someone has their tail up, they are optimistic and expect to be successful. |
| 505 | Body and bodily functions | Head is mince | (Scot) When someones thoughts are in a state of abject confusion, especially when facing a severe dilemma, their head is mince. |
| 506 | Body and bodily functions | Head nor tail | If you cant make head nor tail of something, you cannot understand it at all or make any sense of it. |
| 507 | Body and bodily functions | Head on a spike | If someone wants a head on a spike, they want to be able to destroy or really punish a person. |
| 508 | Body and bodily functions | Head on the block | If someones head is on the block, they are going to be held responsible and suffer the consequences for something that has gone wrong. |
| 509 | Body and bodily functions | Head over heels in love | When someone falls passionately in love and is intoxicated by the feeling has fallen head over heels in love. |
| 510 | Body and bodily functions | Heads will roll | If heads will roll, people will be punished or sacked for something that has gone wrong. |
| 511 | Body and bodily functions | Heart in the right place | If someones heart is in the right place, they are good and kind, though they might not always appear to be so. |
| 512 | Body and bodily functions | Heart in your boots | If youre heart is in your boots, you are very unhappy. |
| 513 | Body and bodily functions | Heart in your mouth | If your heart is in your mouth, then you feel nervous or scared. |
| 514 | Body and bodily functions | Heart isn't in it | If your heart is not in something, then you dont really believe in it or support it. |
| 515 | Body and bodily functions | Heart misses a beat | If your heart misses a beat, you are suddenly shocked or surprised. (Heart skips a beat is an alternative) |
| 516 | Body and bodily functions | Heart of glass | When someone has a heart of glass, they are easily affected emotionally. |
| 517 | Body and bodily functions | Heart of steel | When someone has a heart of steel, they do not show emotion or are not affected emotionally. |
| 518 | Body and bodily functions | Heart-to-heart | A heart-to-heart is a frank and honest conversation with someone, where you talk honestly and plainly about issues, no matter how painful. |
| 519 | Body and bodily functions | Hide nor hair | When theres no trace of something or a person, you havent seen hide nor hair of it or them.(Neither hide nor hair is also used.) |
| 520 | Body and bodily functions | Hit a nerve | If something hits a nerve, it upsets someone or causes them pain, often when it is something they are trying to hide. |
| 521 | Body and bodily functions | Hold your tongue | If you hold your tongue, you keep silent even though you want to speak. |
| 522 | Body and bodily functions | Hollow leg | Someone who has a hollow leg eats what seems to be more than his stomach can hold. |
| 523 | Body and bodily functions | Home is where you lay your hat | Wherever you are comfortable and at ease with yourself is your home, regardless where you were born or brought up.(Home is where you lay your head? and Home is where you hang your hat are also used.) |
| 524 | Body and bodily functions | Hot foot | If you hot foot it out of a place, you leave very quickly, often running. |
| 525 | Body and bodily functions | Hot-blooded | Someone who is hot-blooded is easily excitable or passionate. |
| 526 | Body and bodily functions | Hot-headed | A hot-headed person gets angry very easily. (The noun hothead can also be used.) |
| 527 | Body and bodily functions | I've got a bone to pick with you | If somebody says this, they mean that they have some complaint to make against the person they are addressing. |
| 528 | Body and bodily functions | In a heartbeat | If something happens very quickly or immediately, it happens in a heartbeat. |
| 529 | Body and bodily functions | In cold blood | If something is done in cold blood, it is done ruthlessly, without any emotion. |
| 530 | Body and bodily functions | In one ear and out the other | If something goes in one ear and out the other, you forget it as soon as youve heard it because it was too complicated, boring etc. |
| 531 | Body and bodily functions | In over your head | If someone is in over their head, they are out of the depth in something they are involved in, and may end up in a mess. |
| 532 | Body and bodily functions | In that vein | If you do something in that (or this) vein, you do it in the same distinctive manner or style. |
| 533 | Body and bodily functions | In the face of | If people act in the face of something, they do it despite it or when threatened by it. |
| 534 | Body and bodily functions | In the flesh | If you meet or see someone in the flesh you actually meet or see them, rather than seeing them on TV or in other media. |
| 535 | Body and bodily functions | In the lap of luxury | People in the lap of luxury are very wealthy and have have everything that money can buy. |
| 536 | Body and bodily functions | In the twinkling of an eye | If something happens in the twinkling of an eye, it happens very quickly. |
| 537 | Body and bodily functions | In your blood | A trait or liking that is deeply ingrained in someones personality and unlikely to change is in their blood.? A similar idiom is in his DNA. |
| 538 | Body and bodily functions | In your face | If someone is in your face, they are direct and confrontational. (It is sometime written in yer facecolloquially) |
| 539 | Body and bodily functions | Iron fist | Someone who rules or controls something with an iron fist is in absolute control and tolerates no dissent. An iron fist in a velvet glove is used to describe someone who appears soft on the outside, but underneath is very hard. Mailed fist is an alternative form. |
| 540 | Body and bodily functions | It cost an arm and a leg | If something costs an arm and a leg, it is very expensive indeed. |
| 541 | Body and bodily functions | Itchy feet | One gets itchy feet when one has been in one place for a time and wants to travel. |
| 542 | Body and bodily functions | Joined at the hip | If people are joined at the hip, they are very closely connected and think the same way. |
| 543 | Body and bodily functions | Jump down someone's throat | If you jump down someones throat, you criticise or chastise them severely. |
| 544 | Body and bodily functions | Keep body and soul together | If you earn enough to cover your basic expenses, but nothing more than that, you earn enough to keep body and soul together. |
| 545 | Body and bodily functions | Keep someone at arm's length | If you keep someone or something at arms length, you keep a safe distance away from them. |
| 546 | Body and bodily functions | Keep someone on their toes | If you keep someone on their toes, you make sure that they concentrate on what they are supposed to do. |
| 547 | Body and bodily functions | Keep your chin up | (UK) This expression is used to tell someone to have confidence. |
| 548 | Body and bodily functions | Keep your ear to the ground | If you keep your ear to the ground, you try to keep informed about something, especially if there are rumours or uncertainties. |
| 549 | Body and bodily functions | Keep your eye on the prize | This means that you should keep your focus on achieving a positive end result. |
| 550 | Body and bodily functions | Keep your eyes peeled | If you keep your eyes peeled, you stay alert or watchful. |
| 551 | Body and bodily functions | Keep your fingers crossed | If you are keeping your fingers crossed, you are hoping for a positive outcome. |
| 552 | Body and bodily functions | Keep your hair on | Keep your hair on is advice telling someone to keep calm and not to over-react or get angry. |
| 553 | Body and bodily functions | Keep your head | If you keep your head, you stay calm in times of difficulty. |
| 554 | Body and bodily functions | Keep your head above water | If you are just managing to survive financially, you are keeping your head above water. |
| 555 | Body and bodily functions | Keep your nose clean | If someone is trying to keep their Nose Clean, they are trying to stay out of trouble by not getting involved in any sort of wrong-doing. |
| 556 | Body and bodily functions | Keep your nose to the grindstone | If you keep your nose to the grindstone, you work hard and seriously. |
| 557 | Body and bodily functions | Kick in the teeth | Bad news or a sudden disappointment are a kick in the teeth. |
| 558 | Body and bodily functions | Knee-jerk reaction | A knee-jerk reaction is an instant, instinctive response to a situation. |
| 559 | Body and bodily functions | Knit your brows | If you knit your brows, you frown or look worried. |
| 560 | Body and bodily functions | Knock something on the head | If you knock something on the head, you stop it or stop doing it. |
| 561 | Body and bodily functions | Lead with the chin | If someone leads with their chin, they speak or behave without fear of the consequences. |
| 562 | Body and bodily functions | Left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing | If the left hand doesnt know what the right hand is doing, then communication within a company, organisation, group, etc, is so bad that people dont know what the others are doing. |
| 563 | Body and bodily functions | Left-handed compliment | A left-handed compliment is one that sounds like praise but has an insulting meaning. (Backhanded compliment is an alternative form.) |
| 564 | Body and bodily functions | Lend an ear | If you lend an ear, you listen to what someone has to say. (Lend your ear is an alternative form.) |
| 565 | Body and bodily functions | Let your hair down | If someone lets their hair down, they relax and stop feeling inhibited or shy. |
| 566 | Body and bodily functions | Light on your feet | If someone is light on their feet, they can move quickly and are agile. |
| 567 | Body and bodily functions | Like pulling teeth | If something if like pulling teeth, it is very difficult, especially if trying to extract information or to get a straight answer from someone. |
| 568 | Body and bodily functions | Like the back of your hand | If you know something like the back of your hand, you know it very well indeed. |
| 569 | Body and bodily functions | Lily-livered | Someone who is lily-livered is a coward. |
| 570 | Body and bodily functions | Lip service | When people pay lip service to something, they express their respect, but they dont act on their words, so the respect is hollow and empty. |
| 571 | Body and bodily functions | Little pitchers have big ears | (USA) This means that children hear more and understand the world around them better than many adults realize. |
| 572 | Body and bodily functions | Long face | Someone with a long face is sad or depressed about something. |
| 573 | Body and bodily functions | Long in the tooth | If someone is long in the tooth, they are a bit too old to do something. |
| 574 | Body and bodily functions | Loose lips sink ships | To have loose lips means to have a big mouth, susceptible to talking about everything and everyone. Sinking ships refers to anything from small acquaintances to long and hearty relationships (with friends or a significant other). So when one says loose lips sink ships, one is basically saying if you cant shut up you are going to end hurting people, usually psychologically or emotionally.Loose lips sink ships comes from World War I and/or WWII, when sailors on leave from their ships might talk about what ship they sailed on or where it had come from, or where it was going. If they talked too much (had loose lips) they might accidentally provide the enemy with anecdotal information that might later cause their ship to be tracked, and bombed and sunk, hence Loose lips sink ships. Later, it came to mean any excessive talk might sabotage a project. |
| 575 | Body and bodily functions | Lose face | To lose ones reputation or standing is to lose face |
| 576 | Body and bodily functions | Make a better fist | If someone makes a better fist of doing something, they do a better job. |
| 577 | Body and bodily functions | Make a clean breast | If someone makes a clean breast, they confess in full to something they have done. |
| 578 | Body and bodily functions | Make a pig's ear | If you make a pigs ear of something, you make a mess of it. |
| 579 | Body and bodily functions | Make a rod for your own back | If you make a rod for your own back, you make something difficult for yourself. |
| 580 | Body and bodily functions | Make no bones about it | If somebody make no bones about a scandal in their past, they are open and honest about it and show no shame or embarrassment. |
| 581 | Body and bodily functions | Make you spit | If something makes you spit, it irritates you or makes you angry. |
| 582 | Body and bodily functions | Make your blood boil | If something makes your blood boil, it makes you very angry. |
| 583 | Body and bodily functions | Make your flesh crawl | If something makes your flesh crawl, it really scares or revolts you. (Make your flesh creep is an alternative. Make your skin crawl is also used.) |
| 584 | Body and bodily functions | Make your hair stand on end | If something makes your hair stand on end, it terrifies you. |
| 585 | Body and bodily functions | Make your toes curl | If something makes your toes curl, it makes you feel very uncomfortable, shocked or embarrassed. |
| 586 | Body and bodily functions | Many a slip twixt cup and lip | Theres many a slip twixt cup and lip means that many things can go wrong before something is achieved. |
| 587 | Body and bodily functions | Many hands make light work | This idiom means that when everyone gets involved in something, the work gets done quickly. |
| 588 | Body and bodily functions | Mealy-mouthed | A mealy-mouthed person doesnt say what they mean clearly. |
| 589 | Body and bodily functions | Melt your heart | If something melts your heart, it affects you emotionally and you cannot control the feeling. |
| 590 | Body and bodily functions | Millstone round your neck | A millstone around your neck is a problem that prevents you from doing what you want to do. |
| 591 | Body and bodily functions | Mind over matter | This idiom is used when someone uses their willpower to rise above adversity. |
| 592 | Body and bodily functions | Misery guts | A misery guts is a person whos always unhappy and tries to make others feel negative. |
| 593 | Body and bodily functions | More than meets the eye | If there is more than meets the eye to something, it is more complex or difficult than it appears. |
| 594 | Body and bodily functions | Mud in your eye | This is a way of saying cheers when you are about to drink something, normally alcohol. |
| 595 | Body and bodily functions | My eye | This idiom is added to an adjective to show that you disagree with it: Hes shy. Shy my eye- hes just planning something secret. |
| 596 | Body and bodily functions | My foot! | This idiom is used to show that you do not believe what someone has just said. |
| 597 | Body and bodily functions | My hands are full | If your hands are full, you have so much to do that you cannot take on any more work, responsibilities and so on. |
| 598 | Body and bodily functions | My hands are tied | If your hands are tied, you are unable to act for some reason. |
| 599 | Body and bodily functions | My heart bleeds | If your heart bleeds for someone, you feel genuine sympathy and sadness for them. |
| 600 | Body and bodily functions | My heart goes out to someone | If your heart goes out to someone, you feel genuine sympathy for them. |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47