Idioms Flashcards
according to Hoyle
With strict adherence to a set of rules, fairly and honorably
ad absurdum
An argument where one seeks to prove a position by pointing out the absurdity of an opponent’s position, or an argument carried to such lengths that it becomes ridiculous
ad hominem
an argument where one relies on personal attacks rather than reason or substance
alpha and omega
the beginning and the end, (first and last letter in greek alphabet), also God says “I am Alpha and Omega” in Revelations
And thereby hangs a tale
there’s a real story behind this, from “As You Like It”
annus mirabilis; annus horribilus
miraculous year; terrible year
at loggerheads
engaged in a head-on dispute
at sixes and sevens
in a state of confusion or disorder
bee in one’s bonnet
a chronic preoccupation, often fanciful or eccentric (my cousin has a ____ about the rudeness of local cabdrivers)
bete noire
something or someone a person views with particular dislike (the new candidate is the ____ of all liberals in the state)
beyond the pale
totally unacceptable (his business practices have always been questionable, but this was ____)
bit between one’s teeth
to face up resolutely to a hard task (ralph is having a tough time, but once he takes the ___ there’s no stopping him)
busman’s holiday
a vacation where a person engages in an activity that is the same or similar to his job (our Spanish professor had a ____ this year; she spent the whole vacation doing research in Spain)
buy a pig in a poke
to buy something sight unseen (the mail-order offer sounded like a bargain, but I didn’t want to ____)
calls the tune
to be in control (the one who pays the piper ____)
carry coals to Newcastle
to do something that is obviously superfluous (Karen wanted to give Dad a magazine, but I said that would be like _____ since he already has fifteen of them already)
carte blanche
to receive the power and authority to do as one wishes
castles in the air
extravagant hopes and plans that will never be carried out (I told him he should stop building ____ and train for a sensible profession)
catch-as-catch-can
a situation where people must improvise or do what they can with limited means (we don’t have enough textbooks for all students, so it’ll be ____)
cause celebre
A cause or issue, generally political, that arouses public opinion (the draft was a ___ in the 1960s)
cheek by jowl
situated side by side or in close contact (the commuters were packed in the subway ___)
chip on one’s shoulder
a belligerent attitude or grievance (Joe really has a ___; every time I say something he takes it the wrong way)
chutzpah
courage bordering on arrogance, nerve (it took a lot of __ to make such a controversial statement)
cock-and-bull story
a story that is false (when John came home at 3 am, he gave his mother some ___ story about having a flat tire)
cool one’s heels
to wait for a long time (the doctor kept her ___ for almost an hour)
cotton to
to take a liking to someone or something (I was afraid Janet wouldn’t like my brother, but she ___ him immediately)
coup de grace
the final blow (he had been getting deeper and deeper in debt; the fates delivered the ___ when he died), originally referred to the merciful stroke that fatally wounded a person in pain or misery
crocodile tears
an insincere show of sympathy or sadness (don’t shed any __ for Fisher; I know you were responsible for his firing) (crocodiles were once thought to “weep” large tears before they ate their victims)
cruel to be kind
to cause someone pain for his or her own good, from Hamlet after he berated his mother for her infidelity to the memory of her deceased husband
cultivate one’s own garden
to take care of one’s own needs before taking care of others (the mayor ought to ___ before he starts telling the governor what to do), the moral of “Candide” - take care of your own and the world will take care of itself
curry favor
trying to ingratiate oneself by fawning over that person (the ambassador ___ with the dictator by praising his construction projects)
damn with faint praise
to criticize someone indirectly by giving a slight compliment (when the critic said his book was not as bad as some I’ve read, she was ____)
Davy Jones’s Locker
the bottom of the ocean (someone drowned at sea has gone down to ___)
de jure
determined by law, (in the American South, racial segregation was ___, but in the North, it was de facto)
de rigueur
necessary according to convention (formal dress is ___ at weddings)
deep-six
to dispose of, or to kill (the board of directors ___ the proposal without even reading it) (dept of water necessary for a burial at sea, also graves are six feet underground)
dog in the manger
someone who spitefully refuses to let someone else benefit from something he has no personal use for (we asked our neighbor for the fence posts he had left over, but, like a ___ he threw them out rather than give them to us) (comes from an Aesop fable about a dog lying in a manger full of hay, an ox tries to eat some hay, the dog bites him despite the fact that hay is of no use to the dog)
dyed-in-the-wool
firmly established in one’s beliefs, deeply ingrained in something (the door to door salesmen are wasting their time with Evans, he’s a ___ advocate of shopping online)
eat crow
to suffer a humiliating experience (the organizers had to __ when the fair they had sworn would attract thousands drew scarcely a hundred people) (because crow meat tastes terrible)
eminence grise
a person who wields power behind the scenes (the king’s brother In law is his ___, he has enormous influence, though he is rarely in the public eye)
enfant terrible
a person who stirs things up in an irresponsible or indiscreet way or has unconventional ideas (doctor Hill keeps writing articles critizing his fellow physicians, he is becoming known as the ___ of his profession)
esprit de corps
The feeling of camaraderie among members of a group (the campers have been together for only one week, but they are already bound by a strong ___)
every inch a ___
describes someone whose appearance seems perfectly fitting to his profession or status (the general stood straight and tall at the podium, looking ___ soldier)
ex cathedra
official pronouncement from the Pope, or any authoritative pronouncement
ex post facto
an explanation concocted after the event, sometimes misleading or unjust (your ___ defense won’t stand up in court)
Fabian tactics, or to “win like Fabius”
to wear out an opponent by delay and evasion rather than confrontation
fait accompli
something that has already been done (the company president did not discuss the new hiring policy beforehand, instead she put it into effect and prested the board with a ____)
feather one’s own nest
to look after one’s own interests, especially material (the director was supposed to distribute the money to charity, instead, he used it to ___)
feet of clay
people who have a weakness or flaw that most are unaware of (when the coach was arrested for drunken driving, the students realized that their hero had ___)
fifth wheel
a hanger-on, person who serves no function (the vice president felt like a ___ after his exclusion from the committee)
fine kettle of fish
a troublesomely awkward or embarrassing situation (he usually managed to worm his way out of trouble, but this time he found himself in a ____)
fits and starts
to do something intermittently or sporadically (Martina has been working on her thesis in ___; she needs to work on it consistently)
fly-by-night
shady or untrustworthy (before buying stock, you should do research to make sure it’s not a ___ operation)
footprints on the sands of time
a phrase describing the mark that great individuals leave on history, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
forty winks
a nap (if you’re feeling drowsy, take ___, I’ll you when the guests arrive)
four-letter words
euphemism for the most common verbal obscenities
from pillar to post
from one place or thing to another in rapid succession (she couldn’t stick to one project and was always dashing ___)
get one’s dander up
to lose one’s temper or to become aroused to some form of action (the boxer finally ___ and went after his opponent with a vengeance)
get someone’s goat
to make someone annoyed or angry (he may seem unflappable, but I know a way to ___) (putting goats in the stall of a high-strung thoroughbred was said to calm them, opponents would steal them to upset the horse)
gild the lily
to adorn unnecessarily something that is already beautiful or perfect (he had us all believering his tall tale until he couldn’t resist ___)
a bird in a gilded cage
to live in luxury, but without freedom (because the movie star could not go anywhere without being recognized, she stayed in her penthouse, living like a ____)
glad-hander
an excessively friendly or familiar person (a ___ like Billy offends more people than he charms)
what does AWOL stand for?
absent without leave
hoi polloi (hoy puh-loy)
the masses, the ordinary folk, often used in a derogatory way to refer to a popular preference or incorrect opinion (the hoi polloi may think that Fitzgerald is a great director, but film experts know his work is derivative)
hoist by one’s own petard
to be caught in one’s own trap (the swindler cheated himself out of most of his own money, the victims were satisfied to see him hoisted by his own petard) (a petard was a medieval bomb, to be hoisted by a petard meant to be blown up)
horse of a different color
a different matter entirely (you might convince him, but his mother, that’s a horse of a different color)
how many angels can stand (dance) on the head of a pin?
scornful description of a tedious concern with irrelevant details, an allusion to religious controversies in the middle ages
hue and cry
any loud clamor or protest intended to incite others to action (in the govmt there was a great hue and cry for educational reform)
in loco parentis
to assume the duties and responsibilities of a parent (because his parents were out of town, his sister acted in loco parentis and punished him for staying out so late)
