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- A rolling stone gathers no moss
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People say this to mean that that an ambitious person is more successful than a person not trying to achieve anything. Originally it meant the opposite and was critical of people trying to get ahead.
- Barking up the wrong tree
- If you are barking up the wrong tree, it means that you have completely misunderstood something or are totally wrong.
- Beat about the bush
- If someone doesn't say clearly what they mean and try to make it hard to understand, they are beating about (around) the bush.
- Bouquet of orchids
- Id someone deserves a bouquet of orchids, they have done something worthy of praise.
- Can't see the forest for its trees
- If someone can't see the forest for its trees, they are too focused on specific details to see the picture as a whole.
- Clutch at straws
- If someone is in serious trouble and tries anything to help them, even though their chances of success are probably nil, they are clutching at straws.
- Come up roses
- If things come up roses, they produce a positive result, especially when things seemed to be going badly at first.
- Come up smelling of roses
- (UK) If someone comes up smelling of roses, they emerge from a situation with their reputation undamaged.
- Cut down the tall poppies
- (AU) If people cut down the tall poppies, they criticise people who stand out from the crowd.
- Demon weed
- Tobacco is the demon weed.
- Draw the shortest straw
- If someone draws the shortest straw, they lose or are chosen to do something unpleasant.
- Flowery speech
- Flowery speech is full of lovely words, but may well lack substance.
- Forest for the trees
- (USA) If someone can't see the forest for the trees, they get so caught up in small details that they fail to understand the bigger picture.
- Gild the lily
- If you gild the lily, you decorate something that is already ornate.
- Go to seed
- If someone has gone to seed, they have declined in quality or appearance.
- Grasp the nettle
- (UK) If you grasp the nettle, you deal bravely with a problem.
- Grass roots
- This idioms is often used in politics, where it refers to the ordinary people or voters. It can be used to mean people at the bottom of a hierarchy.
- Hit the hay
- When you hit the hay, you go to bed.
- In the tall cotton
- A phrase that expresses good times or times of plenty and wealth as tall cotton means a good crop.
- Jungle out there
- If someone says that it is a jungle out there, they mean that the situation is dangerous and there are no rules.
- Kick something into the long grass
- If an issue or problem is kicked into the long grass, it is pushed aside and hidden in the hope that it will be forgotten or ignored.
- Knock on wood
- This idiom is used to wish for good luck.
('Touch wood' is also used.)
- Last straw
- The last straw is the final problem that makes someone lose their temper or the problem that finally brought about the collapse of something. It comes from an Arabic story, where a camel was loaded with straw until a single straw placed on the rest of the load broke its back.
- Lead someone up the garden path
- If someone leads you up the garden path, they deceive you, or give you false information that causes you to waste your time.
'Lead someone down the garden path' is also used.
- Let the grass grow round your feet
- If you let the grass grow round your feet, you delay doing things instead of taking action.
- Little strokes fell great oaks
- Meaning: even though something may seem impossible, if you break it up into small parts and take one step at a time, you will succeed.
- Make hay
- If you make hay, or may hay while the sun shines, you take advantage of an opportunity as soon as it arises and do not waste time.
- Mighty oaks from little acorns grow
- Big or great things start very small.
- Muck or nettles
- 'Muck or nettles' means 'all or nothing'.
- Needle in a haystack
- If trying to find something is like looking for a needle in a haystack, it means that it is very difficult, if not impossible to find among everything around it.
- Never a rose without the prick
- This means that good things always have something bad as well; like the thorns on the stem of a rose.
- Nip it in the bud
- If you nip something in the bud, you deal with a problem when it is still small, before it can grow into something serious.
- No bed of roses
- If something isn't a bed of roses, it is difficult.
- Old chestnut
- An old chestnut is something that has been repeated so many times that it has lost its impact.
- Olive branch
- If you hold out or offer an olive branch, you make a gesture to indicate that you want peace.
- Oops a daisy
- An expression used to indicate surprise.
- Out of the woods
- If you are out of the woods, you have emerged safely from a dangerous situation, though the idiom is often used in the negative.
- Primrose path
- The primrose path is an easy and pleasurable lifestyle, but one that ends in unpleasantness and problems.
- Pushing up the daisies
- If someone is said to be pushing up the daisies, they are dead.
- Put someone out to pasture
- If someone is put out to pasture, they are forced to resign or give up some responsibilities.
- Rough end of the stick
- To get the rough end of the stick is to be treated unfairly or to come off worse than the other party in a transaction, situation or relationship.
- Run around the bush
- (USA) If you run around the bush, it means that you're taking a long time to get to the point.
- Seed money
- Seed money is money that is used to start a small business.
- Short end of the stick
- If someone gets the short end of the stick, they are unfairly treated or don't get what they deserve.
- Shrinking violet
- A shrinking violet is a shy person who doesn't express their views and opinions.
- Sow the seeds
- When people sow the seeds, they start something that will have a much greater impact in the future.
- Take a straw poll
- If you take a straw poll, you sound a number of people out to see their opinions on an issue or topic.
- The grass is always greener
- This idiom means that what other people have or do looks preferable to our life. The complete phrase is 'The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence'.
- The short straw
- If you take the short straw, you lose a selection process, which means that you have to do something unpleasant.
- Thorn in your side
- A thorn in your side is someone or something that causes trouble or makes life difficult for you.
- Touch wood
- This idiom is used to wish for good luck.
('Knock on wood' is also used.)
- Turf war
- If people or organisations are fighting for control of something, it is a turf war.
- Turn a new leaf
- If someone turns a new leaf, they change their behaviour and stop doing wrong or bad things.
- Turn up one's toes to the daisies
- If someone has turned up their toes to the daisies, it means that the person died.
- Ugly as a stick
- (USA) If someone is as ugly as a stick, they are very ugly indeed.
- Up a gum tree
- (AU)
If you're up a gum tree, you're in trouble or a big mess.
- Wallflower
- A woman politician given an unimportant government position so that the government can pretend it takes women seriously is a wallflower.
- Watch grass grow
- If something is like watching grass grow, it is really boring.
- Wither on the vine
- If something withers on the vine, it fails to get the intended result, doesn't come to fruition.
- Wood for the trees
- (UK) If someone can't see the wood for the trees, they get so caught up in small details that they fail to understand the bigger picture.
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