English Idioms and Sayings

[RonBee]

Q: What does it mean to sweep something under the rug?

A: When you sweep something under the rug you hide it.

 

[RonBee]

Q: What is a "black eye"?

A: A "black eye" is a stain on one's reputation.

 

[RonBee]

Q: What does "He flipped his lid" mean?

A: That means the person became very angry and lost his temper.

 

[RonBee]

Q: What does "He lied like a dog" mean?

A: The person lied brazenly. Perhaps he told an obvious lie unashamedly.

 

[henry]

What is (a case of) dog eat dog?
Answer: a situation in business, political, etc. where there is a lot of competition and people are willing to harm each other in order to succeed.

e.g I am afraid in this line of work it's a case of dog eat dog.

We are operating in a dog-eat-dog world!:lol:

What is " be in the doghouse?"

:wink:

 

[RonBee]

What is (a case of) dog eat dog?
Answer: a situation in business, political, etc. where there is a lot of competition and people are willing to harm each other in order to succeed.

e.g I am afraid in this line of work it's a case of dog eat dog.

We are operating in a dog-eat-dog world!:lol:

What is " be in the doghouse?"

:wink:

Your wife is mad at you, and she is freezing you out. Apologize. Admit you were wrong if you want to get out of the doghouse.

:wink:

 

[RonBee]

Q: What does "My words fall on deaf ears" mean?

A: People don't listen to you. They don't pay attention. They don't heed your advice.

 

[RonBee]

Q: What does "Once burnt, twice shy" mean? (Also: "Once bitten, twice shy.)

A: If a child touches a hot stove the child will remember that and be careful about touching the stove again. By extension, if a person has a bad experience that person will tend to remember that experience and, if possible, avoid doing what resulted in the unpleasantness.

 

[RonBee]

Q: What does "Experience is the best teacher" mean?

A: What we learn from experience we remember better than what we learn other ways. However, the lessons learned from experience are often hard-won. Also, people sometimes learn the wrong lessons from experience. In any case, it is better to learn from the experience of others than to have to make the mistakes yourself.

 

[RonBee]

Q: What does it mean to look at the world through rose-colored glasses?

A: Someone who looks at the world through rose-colored glasses always looks on the bright side of things. She is ever optimistic.

 

[RonBee]

Q: What is "the tip of the iceberg"?

A: Evidence of things unseen. The tip of the iceberg is only a small part of it. Most of an iceberg is below the water.

 

[RonBee]

Q: What is a smoking gun?

A: Evidence. Especially, it is evidence--conclusive evidence--of a recently committed crime.

 

[RonBee]

Q: What does it mean to reject something out of hand?

A: To reject an idea out of hand is to reject it without even considering it.

 

[RonBee]

Q: What does it mean to "face the music"?

A: Come to terms with the situation. Especially, confront a difficult or unpleasant situation. Example:

• When his boss called him on the carpet he knew he was going to have to face the music.

Example:

• Charged with dereliction of duty, he had to go before the Board of Inquiry and face the music.

 

[RonBee]

Q: What is a "shrinking violet"?

A: A shy person.

 

[RonBee]

Q: What is a "hot potato"?

A: It's an issue nobody wants to touch.

 

[RonBee]

Q: What does it mean to be on the hot seat?

A: A person "on the hot seat" has to put up with the "heat" of tough questions.

 

[RonBee]

Re:

• I got hot under the collar and went for a walk to cool down.

Q: What does that sentence mean?

A: You got angry at somebody and went for a walk to give yourself time to cool down (let your anger subside).

 

[RonBee]

Q: What is a "straight face"?

A: A serious expression.

 

[whisper]

A little bit messy, but seems useful ( in fact, it is)
deserves to bump
and are those all always speaking?
I think that's why I couldn't understand what native especially young speakers say