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See reason |
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"Why
must I go to school ?" Mary asked. "Because in today's world one can't
succeed without an education," her father replied. "Surely you can see
reason and understand that." Mary nodded yes, for to
see reason is to
think
or act sensibly, particularly after learning the facts or accepting advice
about something. |
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Send somebody packing |
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Several weeks ago an old friend came to
visit Wilson. Apparently he enjoyed his visit for he settled in and stayed and
stayed. "Good heavens," Wilson exclaimed in despair. "I've got to think of a way
to send him packing." To send somebody packing is to
dismiss or send a person
away firmly and quickly. |
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Sick and tired of |
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"Morgan, Morgan, you're always
moaning," the boss complained. "I'm getting sick and tired of you and
your complaints." Morgan moaned even louder. "It's this job. I'm sick
and tired of it. If I wasn't so valuable to you I'd quit !" To be
sick
and tired of someone/something is to be
unhappy, weary, irritated ... or
disgusted. |
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Sign of the times |
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Don't look for signs to direct you to
a sign of the times for this type of 'sign' isn't a sign but a characteristic of
the times in which we live. "I used to be able to swim and fish here," Kevin
sighed. "I can't now, though. The water's polluted and there aren't any more
fish. It's a sign of the times. |
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Sleep like a log |
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Once a tree is cut and made
into logs, the logs don't do anything. They simply lie quietly on the
ground. It's from that idea that we get this idiom. When someone
sleeps
like a log he sleeps very well. "I feel great," Brian yawned. "I slept
like a log last night." |
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Smoke like a chimney |
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Alan's doctor suggested that he
should give up smoking. "You smoke like a chimney," he warned. "It's a threat to
your health." Alan's wife is also concerned. "You smoke too much," she said.
"You sit there smoking like a chimney." A person who
smokes like a chimney
smokes a great deal ... and usually continuously ! |
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Someone's better half |
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Sean never makes a decision without
talking over with his better half. His wife is pleased that Sean, her better
half, is such a thoughtful husband. Often used humorously,
someone's better half
is their husband or wife. "I would like to introduce you to my better half,"
Sean said. |
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A stag party |
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We've seen that when women get
together to have a party it's a hen party. A party consisting of only men is
a
stag party. A stag is a male deer. Frequently stag parties are held to honor a
man who is about to get married. "The men in our office went to a stag party
last night. |
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That's the story of my life |
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This remark doesn't refer to a
historical account of a person's life : it's usually spoken when something goes
wrong. And the more that things go wrong, the more often a person is likely to
say this. "I spent six years writing a book but no publisher wanted it.
That's
the story of my life," Victor frowned. |
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The world owes one a living |
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If you ask Buddy why he doesn't work
he'll tell you it's because the world owes him a living. People like Buddy --
and there are lots and lots of them around ! -- think that
they should be
financed or provided for simply because they exist. Shame on you, Buddy ! |
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Think big |
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"Be confident ! Be positive !
Tell yourself you are the greatest ... and don't forget to think big !"
Robert said. To think big is to
believe in one's ability, purpose and
power to perform or succeed. "I'll think big -- and maybe tomorrow
someone will buy one of my paintings," Robert grinned. |
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Think tank |
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Professor Lee is a member of a think
tank that is investigating new methods of teaching vocabulary improvement. A
think tank is a center or an institution devoted to research and problem
solving. "Our think tank has concluded that it would be easy to teach vocabulary
improvement if we all used fewer words," Professor Lee said. |
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A tidy sum |
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"Nine hundred and eight-five nine
hundred and eight-six, nine hundred and eight-seven," Felix smiled. "That's a
nice tidy sum." A tidy sum is
a large amount of money. "I'll need every penny of
this for it's going to cost me a tidy sum to buy a new house," Felix explained. |
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Tie oneself in/into knots |
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"It was easy getting out of this
basket when my master played simple tunes," Sidney grumbled, "but these
complicated new melodies of his tie me into knots !" Sidney is complaining for
to tie oneself in/into knots is to be -- or
cause someone to be -- confused and
bewildered. |
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Time hangs heavy on one's hands |
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"I'm bored," Simon said. "It's
raining outside and there's nothing to watch on television.
Time hangs heavy on
my hands. " Simon is saying time is moving slowly because he has nothing to do.
"Time wouldn't lie heavy on your hands if you helped me clean the house,"
Simon's wife smiled. |
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Tower of strength |
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Those who know Hacken back home
in Kansas say he's a tower of strength. This metaphor ( from
Shakespeare's Richard III ) describes someone who is helpful,
sympathetic, and can always be relied on in times of trouble. " I don't
think your reputation as a tower of strength means you should try
solving problems here," Hacken's wife said. |
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Turn turtle |
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A turtle's natural position, of
course, is to be rightside up. The one thing they fear -- especially on
land -- is to be turned upside down. that, I would imagine, is why to
turn turtle describes
something that has rolled or turned upside down.
"Jim's new boat turned turtle in last night's storm." |
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Watch one's language |
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Long ago when our ancestors
wrote using pictorial characters it was probably easy to watch one's
language. Today, however, watch your language is a command meaning to be
careful how one speaks and especially to be careful not to say impolite
or naughty things. "You boys watch your language or I'll send you tot he
office," the teacher warned. |
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Welcome someone with open arms |
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"Business has been terrible,"
Oscar's boss said. "Why don't you stand at the door and invite people in
?" Happy to get out of the kitchen, Oscar welcomed the idea with open
arms. To welcome someone or something with open arms is to
accept
someone in a friendly way or perform something happily and eagerly. |
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Windfall |
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Many words in English began as
idioms. A windfall is one of them. It once referred to fruit that had
been blown to the ground by the wind, but has now come to mean
sudden
good luck -- particularly in receiving money unexpectedly. "Fred won
some money in the lottery and got a welcome windfall." |
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Yes man |
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Murdoch is a happy boss,
especially when he's talking to Howard. Howard, you see, is a yes man
and a yes man is
someone who agrees with everything a person says --
especially when that person is his superior. 'Being a yes man keeps me
out of trouble," Howard said, " and it might even lead to a promotion !" |
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After a fashion |
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Sara dresses after a fashion. She speaks French after a fashion and she
cooks after a fashion. Most things she does are does after a fashion.
This says that Sara dresses, speaks French, cooks and does things only
so-so for after a fashion means
only moderately well. |
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Ask for someone's hand |
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In a thousand instances of marriage, I would guess that in nine hundred
and ninety-nine of them it is the man who asks
for someone's hand. I say that because this expression means
to ask a person to get married. It's
a marriage proposal. "Angela, I am here on bended knee to ask for your
hand," Tim joked. |
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Chow hound |
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My dictionary says that the word chow comes from the Chinese word for meat
dumpling. In English it now means food of any kind ... and that's
exactly what pleases a chow hound.
"Even the thought of food makes me happy," Wilbur said. "I'm a chow
hound and I never get enough chow." |
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Bad apple |
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The apple in this idiom is a person. Just as it is to have a spoiled apple
in a basket with good apples, a person said to be a
bad ( or a rotten ) apple is likely
to have a bad influence on others.
"Every school has a couple of bad apples who damage the reputation of
others. Clive is the rotten apple in our school." |
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Beg the question |
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If I were to ask someone a question and he or she
failed to answer it or replied with lots of words which still failed
to be a reply, he or she would be
begging the question. When I asked the boss for a holiday, he
begged the question by telling me he was too busy to talk about it." |
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Beyond the pale |
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Many years ago the pale meant a fenced area around a city in Ireland.
People within the area obeyed the laws of English kings.
Those living outside the area were
said to be beyond the pale and were
considered uncivilized. Today those beyond the pale are people acting in
an unacceptable manner. "The children were beyond the pale at today's
party." |
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Cause tongues to wag |
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If you'd like to see people moving their tongues rapidly in conversation,
tell them a secret or pass on an interesting rumor. That usually
causes tongues to wag or sets
tongues wagging. That is, they talk and gossip
about what they've heard. "The news of Betty's engagement has
certainly set tongues wagging. |
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Bursting at the seams |
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The bus to the zoo is -- very obviously --
bursting at the seams. The passengers -- also very obviously
-- are bursting at the seams to get there. From that you can see that
this idiom has two meanings : (1) Something
that is very full; and (2) a person
filled with eager excitement. |
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Buzz word |
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A buzz word is a word that looks or sounds big
and important in a sentence but, when analyzed,
means nothing. Those who use buzz
words are generally trying to impress people. "The politician's speech
was nothing but a lot of false promises concealed in a series of buzz
words." |
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Cock of the walk |
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If two cocks are together in the same pen ( called a walk ) they'll fight,
the strongest usually winning. From that, a
person who thinks of himself or herself as important or possessing power
is described as the cock of the walk.
"Ever since his promotion, Ivan thinks he's the cock of the walk around
here." |
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Cold comfort |
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There's nothing very warm or comforting about cold comfort. The Smiths
know that as well as anyone. They have just inherited Grandma Smith's
huge house -- but they've discovered it has no heating ! "There's cold
comfort in having inherited this," they shivered. To get
cold comfort means to
get no pleasure or happiness at all out of
something. |
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Cost a bomb |
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Emma's husband is buying her a new diamond ring. It's costing him a bomb
but he's glad to make Emma happy. When something
costs a bomb it costs a lot of
money. "My new ring costs a bomb," Emma smiled. "I hope it
doesn't cost a bomb to insure it," her husband answered. |
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Crocodile tears |
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Some say that crocodiles shed tears when eating their prey. This has led
to the belief that they pretend to be unhappy about eating their
victims. From that, when people have crocodile
tears they are only pretending to be
sad. "The students wept crocodile tears when told that
examinations had been canceled. |
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Scream blue murder |
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The way Johnny complains when he's about to be bathed might make the
neighbors think he's being murdered. That's not true. He's
complaining by making a lot of noise,
and that's what this expression means. "What am I to do ? Just the sight
of water and Johnny begins to scream blue
murder," his mother sighed. |
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Cut down to size |
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When we cut people down to size, we
show them they aren't as important as they think
they are. "Mary thinks too highly of herself. Someone should
cut her down to size." When an object or a project is cut down to size,
it is reduced. "Let's cut this job down to size so we can get it done as
quickly as possible." |
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Cut one's losses |
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When the company directors told Mr. Jones to cut his losses, he took out
his scissors and began cutting. That's not the way to cut one's losses.
When we cut our losses we
stop spending time, money or energy on
unprofitable projects. "Jones, cut our losses or we'll soon
be bankrupt !" the manager shouted. |
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Do a hatchet job |
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A hatchet is a short-handled ax. To do or perform
a hatchet job is (1) to say or write
terrible things about someone or something; or (2) to
remove great sections of a plan or story.
"The critics did a hatchet job on Bob's new book ( Criticizing ) "Saying
it was too long, the editor performed a hatchet job on Sam's newspaper
article." (Removing ) |
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Dog's life |
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Most dos I've seen appear to live comfortable lives : they are generally
well-fed and nicely treated. People who live a
dog's life, though, are miserable
and unhappy. Often it's because they are made unhappy by
another person. "For twelve years Jack has live a dog's life working for
the same boss." |
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Double Dutch |
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Long ago, British merchants trading with The Netherlands said the Dutch
language was so difficult that only the Dutch could understand it. In
frustration they called it double Dutch. Today
double Dutch is anything written or
spoken that can't be understood. "I don't know what they're
saying," Paul frowned. "It's all double Dutch to me." |
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Drive someone round the bend |
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"Slow down this instant, Percy ! You're going to
drive me round the bend !" Mrs. Marple cried. Anything that
drives us round the bend upsets us so much that
we think we're going crazy. The manner in which Percy behaves
when driving a car, for instance, is doing just that to Mrs. Marple. |
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Dutch courage |
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Unfortunately, the Dutch haven't been treated very kindly in English
idioms. From the fact that they were thought to consume great quantities
of alcohol, for instance, Dutch courage
refers to false bravery gained by drinking
alcohol. "Sam dislikes flying so much he's gone to get some
Dutch courage before boarding his plane." |
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End of the road |
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Dick and Jane's romance looks as though it's about to come to the end of
the road. In fact their very lives appear about to come to the end of
the road. The end of the road is
a time when one's interest, desire, a
relationship or even life itself comes to an end. |
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Every inch |
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Shakespeare used this expression in King Lear. It means "totally,
completely, in every way". "He is
every inch a king," Lear said. "I am every inch a believer in
freedom," the teacher said. "You are every inch lovely lady," Betsy's
mother smiled. |
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