Idiom Category: General, Page 16

On the dot

If someone says that they're leaving at seven on the dot, don't be late; they mean at exactly seven o'clock.

On the fiddle

(UK) Someone who is stealing money from work is on the fiddle, especially if they are doing it by fraud.

On the flip side

On the reverse or the other side

On the fly

If you do things on the fly, you do things without preparation, responding to events as they happen.

On the ground

Events on the ground are where things are actually happening, not at a distance.

On the hook

If someone is on the hook, they are responsible for something.

On the knocker

(UK) If someone is on the knocker, they are going from house to house trying to buy or sell things or get support.

On the knocker

(AU) If you do something on the knocker, you do  it immediately or promptly.

On the level

If someone is honest and trustworthy, they are on the level.

On the make

If someone is on the make, they are trying to make a lot of money, usually illegally.

On the map

If a place becomes widely known, it is put on the map. A place that remains unknown is off the map.

On the same page

If people are on the same page, they have the same information and are thinking the same way.

On the shelf

If something like a project is on the shelf, nothing is being done about it at the moment.

On the skids

When things or people are on the skids, they are in serious decline and trouble.

On the sly

If someone does something on the sly, they do it furtively or secretly.

On the take

(UK) Someone who is stealing from work is on the take.

On the trot

(UK) This idiom means 'consecutively'; I'd saw them three days on the trot, which means that I saw them on three consecutive days.

On the up and up

If you are on the up and up, you are making very good progress in life and doing well.

On the up and up

To say that something or someone is on the up and up means that the thing or person is legitimate, honest, respectable.

On the uptake

If someone is quick on the uptake, they understand something quickly, but if they're slow on the uptake, it takes them a long time to get it.

On top of the world

If you are on top of the world, everything is going well for you.

On your soapbox

If someone is up on their soapbox about something, they are very overtly and verbally passionate about the topic.

On your tod

If you are on your tod, you are alone.

One good turn deserves another

This means that when people do something good, something good will happen to them.

One nail drives out another

A new pain or problem will stop you worrying or feeling bad about something else.

Open book

If a person is an open book, it is easy to know what they think or how they feel about things.

Open old sores

When a sore is almost healed, and if a person rips or tears it open, it is way of preventing the healing process and further aggravating the pain. This phrase, metaphorically suggests, to revive or reopen a quarrel or enmity which was almost forgotten.

Open secret

An open secret is something that is supposed to be secret but is common knowledge.

Open the floodgates

If you open the floodgates, you make something possible to happen that had been difficult, illegal or impossible.

Open-and-shut

A question or issue that is open-and-shut is easily proved or settled.

Out and about

If someone is out and about, they have left their home and are getting things done that they need to do.

Out in the sticks

(UK) If someone lives out in the sticks, they live out in the country, a long way from any metropolitan area.

Out like a light

If you are out like a light, you fall fast asleep.

Out of my league

If someone or something is out of your league, you aren't good enough or rich enough, etc, for it or them.

Out of sight, out of mind

Out of sight, out of mind is used to suggest that someone will not think or worry about something if it isn't directly visible or available to them.

Out of sorts

If you are feeling a bit upset and depressed, you are out of sorts.

Out of the box

Thinking out of the box is thinking in a creative way. However, it can also be used for a ready-made product that requires no specialist knowledge to set it up.

Out of this world

If something is out of this world, it is fantastic.

Out of Whack

If something is out of whack, it is not working correctly or not in the correct order.

Out-and-out

This means complete or total; an out-and-out lie is completey false.

Over a barrel

If someone has you over a barrel, they have you in a position where you have no choice but to accept what they want.

Over and over

If something happens over and over, it happens repeatedly.

Over the hill

If someone is over the hill they have reached an age at which they can longer perform as well as they used to.

Over the moon

If you are over the moon about something, you are overjoyed.

Paddle your own canoe

(USA) If you paddle your own canoe, you do things for yourself without outside help.

Page turner

A book so interesting that you can't stop reading it is a page turner.

Paint yourself into a corner

(USA) If someone paints themselves into a corner, they get themselves into a mess.

Part and parcel

If something is part and parcel of your job, say, it is an essential and unavoidable part that has to be accepted.

Pass muster

If something passes muster, it meets the required standard.

Pass the buck

If you pass the buck, you avoid taking responsibility by saying that someone else is responsible.

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