wouldn't touch with yours

Presumably short for "I wouldn't touch him/her, even if I were using your penis".

Her bottom lip hung down practically to her navel, wherever that is.
"Do you mind," said Spike. "Even with a sack over her head and the Kohinoor diamond stuck at the end I wouldn't touch her with yours."

1965, Hunter Davies, Here we go, round the mulberry bush:

(slang, transitive) To not find (someone) sexually attractive; to be unwilling to have sex with someone.


pay the debt of nature

en-verb

pay the debt of nature (third-person singular simple present pays the debt of nature, present participle paying the debt of nature, simple past and past participle paid the debt of nature)

pays the debt of nature (present singular third-person)
paying the debt of nature (participle present)
paid the debt of nature (participle past)
paid the debt of nature (past)

The venerable father of the human race had now himself paid the debt of nature.

1828, Henry Hunter, Sacred biography, or, The history of the patriarchs, volume 1, page 36:

Ten years after he had seen his son married^([sic]), become a church member, and give up his carnal delights, old Deacon Smith paid the debt of nature. His last days he always called his best days.

1850, T. S. Arthur, “Deacon Smith and his Violin”, in Sketches of Life and Character, Philadelphia: J. W. Bradley, →OCLC, page 76:


piss in someone's cornflakes

piss in someone's cornflakes (third-person singular simple present pisses in someone's cornflakes, present participle pissing in someone's cornflakes, simple past and past participle pissed in someone's cornflakes)

pisses in someone's cornflakes (present singular third-person)
pissing in someone's cornflakes (participle present)
pissed in someone's cornflakes (participle past)
pissed in someone's cornflakes (past)

Sorry to piss in your cornflakes, but my mom's got asthma, so take your cigarettes outside.

Okay, now I don't want to pee on your cornflakes or nothing, but how exactly are we going to get up there?

2018 November 17, “Food Hunt”, in Angry Birds on the Run, season 1, episode 2, spoken by Bomb (Baker Terry):

(idiomatic, vulgar, informal, often humorous) To disappoint or irritate someone.


bare one's soul

bare one's soul (third-person singular simple present bares one's soul, present participle baring one's soul, simple past and past participle bared one's soul)

bares one's soul (present singular third-person)
baring one's soul (participle present)
bared one's soul (participle past)
bared one's soul (past)

“[…] But the world might guess it; and I will not bare my soul to their shallow, prying eyes. My heart shall never be put under their microscope.[…]”

1891, Oscar Wilde, chapter I, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, London, New York, N.Y., Melbourne, Vic.: Ward Lock & Co., →OCLC, page 16:

"Must a Romany bare his soul before a stranger?" replied Rhodo. . . . Must the secret of the dead be spoken before the robber of the dead—"

1916, Gilbert Parker, chapter 26, in The World For Sale:

Her thoughts wandered about among the various friends whose judgment might serve at this crisis to clear her own thoughts. . . . No, she could not bare her soul to the bishop.

1916, Kathleen Norris, chapter 3, in The Heart of Rachael:

Duritz's vocals are more anguished and torn than ever; he's as emotionally naked as a daytime talk-show guest, baring his soul and searching for empathy.

1996 October 21, Christopher John Farley, “Music: First-Class Flyers”, in Time:

(idiomatic) To reveal one's innermost feelings and thoughts, especially concerning one's doubts, regrets, or flaws; to tell one's personal secrets to others.


pull one's pud

pull one's pud (third-person singular simple present pulls one's pud, present participle pulling one's pud, simple past and past participle pulled one's pud)

pulls one's pud (present singular third-person)
pulling one's pud (participle present)
pulled one's pud (participle past)
pulled one's pud (past)

Quit pulling your pud and get back to work!

“Jerry's right, of course. I staked my entire reputation on being a man of science. A man to create life from dead tissue. And what did I do? I let a couple of setbacks shake my confidence, and spent the last 50 years pulling my pud.”

2024 October 21, Paul Simms, “The Return of Jerry” (15:34 from the start), in What We Do in the Shadows, season 6, episode 1, spoken by Laszlo Cravensworth (Matt Berry):

dick around
dick around#English:_waste_time


wave the bloody shirt

wave the bloody shirt (third-person singular simple present waves the bloody shirt, present participle waving the bloody shirt, simple past and past participle waved the bloody shirt)

waves the bloody shirt (present singular third-person)
waving the bloody shirt (participle present)
waved the bloody shirt (participle past)
waved the bloody shirt (past)

(US politics, slang) To mention martyrs and wars (especially the American Civil War) in an effort to draw empathy.


join the choir invisible

join the choir invisible (third-person singular simple present joins the choir invisible, present participle joining the choir invisible, simple past and past participle joined the choir invisible)

joins the choir invisible (present singular third-person)
joining the choir invisible (participle present)
joined the choir invisible (participle past)
joined the choir invisible (past)

From a poem by George Eliot, O May I Join the Choir Invisible.

This parrot is no more. It has ceased to be. It's expired and gone to see its maker. This is a late parrot. It's a stiff. Bereft of life, it rests in peace. If you hadn't nailed it to the perch it would be pushing up the daisies. It's run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. This is an ex-parrot.

1969 December 7, “Full Frontal Nudity”, in Monty Python's Flying Circus, season 1, episode 8, spoken by Mr Praline (John Cleese), Dead Parrot sketch:

Made me wonder whether I should invest in a portable MRI unit to monitor birds about to join the choir invisible for any signs of brain activity.

2005, Sean Dooley, The Big Twitch, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, page 30:

(intransitive, chiefly humorous, euphemistic) To die.


push someone's buttons

push someone's buttons (third-person singular simple present pushes someone's buttons, present participle pushing someone's buttons, simple past and past participle pushed someone's buttons)

pushes someone's buttons (present singular third-person)
pushing someone's buttons (participle present)
pushed someone's buttons (participle past)
pushed someone's buttons (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-push someone's buttons.wav

You really knew how to push my buttons.

I end up cleaning up after her, which I’ve repeatedly told her makes me upset. She’s a smart, talented kid. So why does she keep pushing my buttons?

2019 April 10, Cheryl Maguire, “How to Stop Thinking Your Teen Is ‘Pushing Your Buttons’”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(informal) To do specific things to anger someone (or, less commonly, to sexually arouse or otherwise elicit a strong reaction from them), especially intentionally or maliciously.


hand in one's dinner pail

hand in one's dinner pail (third-person singular simple present hands in one's dinner pail, present participle handing in one's dinner pail, simple past and past participle handed in one's dinner pail)

hands in one's dinner pail (present singular third-person)
handing in one's dinner pail (participle present)
handed in one's dinner pail (participle past)
handed in one's dinner pail (past)


give something a try

give something a try (third-person singular simple present gives something a try, present participle giving something a try, simple past gave something a try, past participle given something a try)

gives something a try (present singular third-person)
giving something a try (participle present)
gave something a try (past)
given something a try (participle past)

I always wanted to give windsurfing a try. I reckon it could be fun.

(idiomatic) To try or attempt something.


get into the act

get<,,got,got􂀿UK􂁀:gotten􂀿US􂁀> into the act

get into the act (third-person singular simple present gets into the act, present participle getting into the act, simple past got into the act, past participle (UK) got into the act or (US) gotten into the act)

gets into the act (present singular third-person)
getting into the act (participle present)
got into the act (past)
got into the act (UK participle past)
gotten into the act (US participle past)

The scramble for this business is already on; everybody wants to get into the act. More than 370 American concerns have applied for franchises to give service over foreign and domestic airways.

(informal, idiomatic) To participate in an activity, especially a successful or attractive one.


spring to life

spring to life (third-person singular simple present springs to life, present participle springing to life, simple past sprang to life or sprung to life, past participle sprung to life)

springs to life (present singular third-person)
springing to life (participle present)
sprang to life (past)
sprung to life (past)
sprung to life (participle past)

Sometimes the ideas spring to life fully formed.

Just after the half-hour mark, the contest sprung to life with a frantic passage of play, Lampard's first-time ball releasing Drogba, whose slight hesitation allowed Gael Givet to produce a brilliant saving tackle.

2011 January 15, Sam Sheringham, “Chelsea 4 - 3 Blackburn Rovers”, in BBC:


put someone in their place

put someone in their place (third-person singular simple present puts someone in their place, present participle putting someone in their place, simple past and past participle put someone in their place)

puts someone in their place (present singular third-person)
putting someone in their place (participle present)
put someone in their place (participle past)
put someone in their place (past)

(transitive, idiomatic) To remind someone of their position.

His quips at the party aimed to put the CEO in his place.

The response, culminating in Rooney finishing off a slick exchange of incisive, pass-them-to-death football, quickly put Scotland back in their place.

2014 November 18, Daniel Taylor, “England and Wayne Rooney see off Scotland in their own back yard”, in The Guardian:

Musk has spent a lifetime defying the haters; now, it seems, he’s finally in position to put them in their place.

December 13 2021, Molly Ball, Jeffrey Kluger, Alejandro de la Garza, “Elon Musk: Person of the Year 2021”, in Time Magazine:

(idiomatic) To bring somebody down; to humble or rebuke.


slap bellies

slap bellies (third-person singular simple present slaps bellies, present participle slapping bellies, simple past and past participle slapped bellies)

slaps bellies (present singular third-person)
slapping bellies (participle present)
slapped bellies (participle past)
slapped bellies (past)

Just two months earlier Hattie had caught her and Mr. Jacobson slapping bellies up against a west-wing wall […]

2003, Tracy Price-Thompson, Chocolate Sangria, One World Books, published 2007, →ISBN, page xix:

(slang, vulgar) To have sexual intercourse.


change someone's mind

change someone's mind (third-person singular simple present changes someone's mind, present participle changing someone's mind, simple past and past participle changed someone's mind)

changes someone's mind (present singular third-person)
changing someone's mind (participle present)
changed someone's mind (participle past)
changed someone's mind (past)

How can I change your mind about quitting?

This new film that everyone loves is crap. There, I said it. Change my mind. [a challenge inviting a counterargument]

(idiomatic) To convince someone to make a choice or develop a preference differing from their previous one.


take the cure

take the cure (third-person singular simple present takes the cure, present participle taking the cure, simple past took the cure, past participle taken the cure)

takes the cure (present singular third-person)
taking the cure (participle present)
took the cure (past)
taken the cure (participle past)


take the pledge

take the pledge (third-person singular simple present takes the pledge, present participle taking the pledge, simple past took the pledge, past participle taken the pledge)

takes the pledge (present singular third-person)
taking the pledge (participle present)
took the pledge (past)
taken the pledge (participle past)

(US, dated) To promise to abstain from alcohol.


about ship

about ship (third-person singular simple present about ships, present participle about shipping, simple past about ship or about shipped, past participle about shipped)

about ships (present singular third-person)
about shipping (participle present)
about ship (past)
about shipped (past)
about shipped (participle past)

/əˌbaʊt ˈʃɪp/

From the imperative phrase used as an order aboard sailing ships.

The ships fired grape shot but to no effect. They about ship and went to sea.

1807, A Journal kept at Nootka Sound, John R. Jewitt, page 27:

This Amanda refused and was about shipping to the other side, when the gentleman sprang out, clasped her in his arms, lifted her in, whistled to his horse and the next moment was flying about like mad …

1841 October 17, Amanda Green, "Life of the Nymphs 11", The Sunday Flash, quoted in The Flash Press: Sporting Male Weeklies in 1840s New York, page 148

The captain saw that no further progress could be made with safety, so he about ship, and ran for Newcastle.

1857, John Askew, A Voyage to Australia and New Zealand, page 251:

"Jones fired first and broke its leg, so he charged; Noland hit him in the back, so he about ship and wanted to make mince meat of him for his trouble; when the Doctor sent a shot through his shoulder, and he sprawled," coolly replied the boatswain's mate, as he was cutting the animal's throat, to the numerous inquiries.

1857, From Bombay to Bushire, and Bussora, William Ashton Shepherd, page 193:

We are told repeatedly that the King advised, restrained, coerced, conceded; that he alone saw the end from the beginning, and that in his hand only the helm of the State "about-shipped" or stood still at the right moment.

1858, James Anthony Froude, John Tulloch, editors, Fraser's Magazine, volume 58, page 23:

They stood for the land, and as they could not fetch in before dark, they about ship, and lay "a hull, all that night," finding abundance of fish, "very large and great" [...]

1859, Ancient dominions of Maine, Rufus King Sewall, page 82:

So we about shipped and started back (did not the steamboat men swear some then)?

1863 March 24, Edward Redington, transcribed letter to his wife, Wisconsin Historical Society, page 81

as the sea and the wind were so dead ahead that they found they could make no way, and the boat was at times half full of water, so they about ship and ran before the wind, much to their delight, living on geese and water melons (capital things on a hot day); spent a very comfortable night before the fires, without any blankets [...]

1863, William Charles Baldwin, African hunting from Natal to the Zambesi, including Lake Ngami, the Kalahari Desert &c. from 1852 to 1860, page 14:

She “about-shipped,” and returned up the river again.

1875, anonymous soldier, The Campaigns of Walker’s Texas Division, Lange, Little & Co., page 151

Birds in the air, and seaweeds in the water, indicated the nearness or absence of lands; and there is actual record of one voyage aiming at Rarotonga from the north knowing he had missed it by the coldness of the sea; without delay he about ship, and soon made the island.

1928, Johannes Carl Andersen, Myths & legends of the Polynesians, published 1969, page 86:

Then, his men sweating and straining and reloading, he about ship and did it again and again.

1993, Leslie Conron Carola, editor, The Irish: A treasury of art and literature, page [191]:

(intransitive) Tack; to cause to turn into the wind and through the other side ending with a full 180 degree turn.


ring the welkins

ring the welkins (third-person singular simple present rings the welkins, present participle ringing the welkins, simple past rang the welkins, past participle rung the welkins)

rings the welkins (present singular third-person)
ringing the welkins (participle present)
rang the welkins (past)
rung the welkins (participle past)

Now it ill becomes those who sneer at the stridency of our partisanship to change “the party line” on one another without warning — as in poor Browder’s case — and then ring the welkins, on one side, with the most intemperate denunciations and, on the other side — especially in Russia — with the most abject breast-beatings of confessed guilt.

1953, T.V. Smith, “Democratic Apologetics”, in Ethics, LXIII, № 2 (January 1953), pages 103-4:

make the welkin ring
make the welkin ring#English

Alternative form of make the welkin ring


take the bait

take the bait (third-person singular simple present takes the bait, present participle taking the bait, simple past took the bait, past participle taken the bait)

takes the bait (present singular third-person)
taking the bait (participle present)
took the bait (past)
taken the bait (participle past)

An allusion to a fish swallowing a baited hook.

(literally, fishing) To nibble at bait on a hook.

"I would like to first of all commend all of the police officers today. . . . They were in fact at various times provoked, and they didn't take the bait in any way, shape or form."

1997 August 30, John Kifner, “Thousands Call on City Hall To Confront Police Brutality”, in New York Times, retrieved 2015-05-08:

"He wanted to have a discussion about creationism. . . . But I didn't want that sort of discussion, and when I didn't take the bait, I think I spoiled the script that had been running in his head."

2011 June 2, Nick Duerden, “Dave Gorman: Games for a laugh”, in The Independent, UK, retrieved 2015-05-08:

[T]he singing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. . . was pressed by our colleague, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, into demonstrating his reported ability to sing a rendition of the Irish holiday song, “Christmas in Killarney.” The general, improbably, took the bait, and you can now hear it.

2011 December 9, Craig Whitlock, “Gen. Martin Dempsey knows how to sing a tune”, in Washington Post, retrieved 2015-05-08:

Unlike Bing, GPT-4 usually flat-out refused to take the bait when I tried to get it to talk about consciousness, or get it to provide instructions for illegal or immoral activities, and it treated sensitive queries with kid gloves and nuance.

2023 March 15, Kevin Roose, “GPT-4 Is Exciting and Scary”, in The New York Times:

(figuratively) To be lured by an offer, flattery, or a provocation into doing something, especially something disadvantageous or dubious.


catch the bus

catch the bus (third-person singular simple present catches the bus, present participle catching the bus, simple past and past participle caught the bus)

catches the bus (present singular third-person)
catching the bus (participle present)
caught the bus (participle past)
caught the bus (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-catch the bus.wav

Originated on the alt.suicide.holiday Internet newsgroup in the 1990s.

I have the tools for catching the bus, just not the nerve. Soft suicide I can do. Take some pills, no problem. But never do I succeed that way.

2000, (unknown), “catching the bus tonight..... I hope.....”, in alt.suicide.holiday (Usenet):

If anyone's curious, here's a song my band recorded (totally raw... it never made it out of the studio). A friend of mine caught the bus, and this was my way of saying "Peace."

2004, everwestward, “Is suicide contagious? (was Re: Favorite Songs)”, in alt.suicide.holiday (Usenet):

Anyway at the end of my day, I decided to give him a call because the worse thing that would happen is that I would have to catch the bus.

2010, Michael F. Clark, Life By Suicide, page 116:

this wasn't the first time he spoke of suicide--this was a suicide chat room after all […]
00sexboy00: tonights^([sic]) the night to catch the bus john! u been crying u pussy? ur slanty eyes are all red!
john squeezed them shut and nodded.
gabe wanted to reach a hand through the monitor to comfort his friend. but all he could do was type.

2011, Jake Vander Ark, Lighthouse Nights:

(euphemistic, chiefly Internet) To kill oneself deliberately; to commit suicide.


shut it

Shut it! I don't want to hear another word from you!

"If you 'adn't sleepy fits you'd get some work to do, like other men." "Oh, shut it, woman!"

1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

(usually imperative, rude) To stop talking or making noise; to shut up.


abandon ship

abandon ship (third-person singular simple present abandons ship, present participle abandoning ship, simple past and past participle abandoned ship)

abandons ship (present singular third-person)
abandoning ship (participle present)
abandoned ship (participle past)
abandoned ship (past)

However, an 8-inch shell takes out what's left of Hoels engines, and the ship is rapidly overwhelmed by incoming fire. The order to abandon ship' is given ten minutes later after trading fire with a Tone-class cruiser, and, fifteen minutes after that, the ship rolls over and sinks, Hoel clearly not showing quite the same level of luck as Johnston.

2019 February 27, Drachinifel, 28:44 from the start, in The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?, archived from the original on 2022-11-03:

(nautical, literal) To leave or forsake a ship due to its impending doom.

jättää laiva

to leave or forsake a ship due to its impending doom


balance the ticket

balance the ticket (third-person singular simple present balances the ticket, present participle balancing the ticket, simple past and past participle balanced the ticket)

balances the ticket (present singular third-person)
balancing the ticket (participle present)
balanced the ticket (participle past)
balanced the ticket (past)

(US politics) To pick a vice-presidential candidate who represents a different constituency than the presidential candidate.


turn the scale

turn the scale (third-person singular simple present turns the scale, present participle turning the scale, simple past and past participle turned the scale)

turns the scale (present singular third-person)
turning the scale (participle present)
turned the scale (participle past)
turned the scale (past)

Perhaps Charles Strickland's power and originality would scarcely have sufficed to turn the scale if the remarkable mythopoeic faculty of mankind had not brushed aside with impatience a story which disappointed all its craving for the extraordinary.

1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, “chapter 1”, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC:

(idiomatic) To decide or determine a balanced situation.


breathe a word

breathe a word (third-person singular simple present breathes a word, present participle breathing a word, simple past and past participle breathed a word)

breathes a word (present singular third-person)
breathing a word (participle present)
breathed a word (participle past)
breathed a word (past)

I warn you not to breathe a word of this to anyone, or else!

(idiomatic, chiefly in the negative) To divulge even part of a secret (usually used with a negative).


eat one's gun

eat one's gun (third-person singular simple present eats one's gun, present participle eating one's gun, simple past ate one's gun, past participle eaten one's gun)

eats one's gun (present singular third-person)
eating one's gun (participle present)
ate one's gun (past)
eaten one's gun (participle past)

(idiomatic) To commit suicide, especially by use of a firearm discharged into the victim's mouth.


say uncle

say uncle (third-person singular simple present says uncle, present participle saying uncle, simple past and past participle said uncle)

says uncle (present singular third-person)
saying uncle (participle present)
said uncle (participle past)
said uncle (past)

Unknown. Uncle may be an anglicization of Irish anacal (“protection”).

(US, idiomatic) To admit defeat; indicate submission, such as when wrestling; to ask for mercy.


abjure the realm

abjure the realm (third-person singular simple present abjures the realm, present participle abjuring the realm, simple past and past participle abjured the realm)

abjures the realm (present singular third-person)
abjuring the realm (participle present)
abjured the realm (participle past)
abjured the realm (past)

(chiefly historical, England law) To swear to leave the realm as soon as possible and not return without the permission of the sovereign.


exchange flesh

exchange flesh (third-person singular simple present exchanges flesh, present participle exchanging flesh, simple past and past participle exchanged flesh)

exchanges flesh (present singular third-person)
exchanging flesh (participle present)
exchanged flesh (participle past)
exchanged flesh (past)

[…]it was thought ſhe was a Woman, and was turn'd into a cold fiſh, for ſhe wold not exchange fleſh with one that lou'd her: […]

c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iv], page 293, column 2:

[W]ill-she, nill-she, she must have Roger's company nightly in her bed, to ensure that he lay not with another. . . . To exchange flesh with Roger she would bid all the world defiance.

1977, Jane Lane, A Secret Chronicle: Edward II (2002 House of Stratus reprint), page 140 (Google preview)

She thinks to herself, What crime have I committed? If two people exchange flesh for money, why is it that only the one who contributes the flesh is a criminal and not the one who pays?

1997, Gail Hershatter, Dangerous Pleasures: Prostitution and Modernity in Twentieth-Century Shanghai, →ISBN, page 210:

(rare, archaic, idiomatic, euphemistic) To engage in sexual intercourse.


pour gasoline on the fire

pour gasoline on the fire (third-person singular simple present pours gasoline on the fire, present participle pouring gasoline on the fire, simple past and past participle poured gasoline on the fire)

pours gasoline on the fire (present singular third-person)
pouring gasoline on the fire (participle present)
poured gasoline on the fire (participle past)
poured gasoline on the fire (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-pour gasoline on the fire.wav

Instead of using the opportunity to ease the tensions between Bonn and Washington, Acheson chose to pour gasoline on the fire.

1992, Douglas Brinkley, Dean Acheson: The Cold War Years, 1953-71, Yale University Press, published 1992, →ISBN, page 295:

The Ayatollah Khomeini poured gasoline on the fire with his comments on the mosque seizure, which were broadcast by Iranian radio the day after the attack.

2003, Dennis Piszkiewicz, Terrorism's War with America: A History, Greenwood Press, published 2003, →ISBN, page 39:

As I waited, my silence seemed to pour gasoline on the fire of Jack Reagan's irritation.

2008, E. L. Merkel, Virgins and Martyrs, Five Star, published 2008, →ISBN, page 223:

add fuel to the fire
add fuel to the fire#English

(idiomatic) Synonym of add fuel to the fire


fan the flames

fan the flames (third-person singular simple present fans the flames, present participle fanning the flames, simple past and past participle fanned the flames)

fans the flames (present singular third-person)
fanning the flames (participle present)
fanned the flames (participle past)
fanned the flames (past)

In simple terms, both superpowers poured gasoline on the fire and fanned the flames, hoping that out of the ashes would arise a region committed either to democracy or to Soviet-style communism.

2002, Scott Hunt, The Future of Peace: On the Front Lines with the World's Great Peacemakers, HarperCollins, published 2004, →ISBN, page 207:

Far from putting a distance between them, his absence was only fanning the flames of her affection.

2007, Barbara Cartland, A Dream Come True, M-Y Books Distribution, published 2007, →ISBN:

They worried, too, that such a war would only fan the flames of the Islamic world's animosity toward the United States, producing "a further cycle of terrorist attacks, American casualties and escalation" […]

2010, Calvin F. Exoo, The Pen and the Sword: Press, War, and Terror in the 21st Century, SAGE Publications, Inc., published 2010, →ISBN, page 40:

Atlanta newspapers fanned the flames of racial hatred by carrying stories of lynchings and calling for a renewed Ku Klux Klan to “control” blacks.

2012, Sarah Boslaugh, “Atlanta, Georgia”, in Wilbur R. Miller, editor, The Social History of Crime and Punishment in America: An Encyclopedia, Sage Publications, Inc., →ISBN, page 74:

What I don't see happening is the government fanning the flames of competition.

2012, Steve Faktor, Econovation: The Red, White, and Blue Pill for Arousing Innovation, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., published 2012, →ISBN:

(idiomatic) To intensify or worsen an already difficult situation.


cut someone cold

cut someone cold (third-person singular simple present cuts someone cold, present participle cutting someone cold, simple past and past participle cut someone cold)

cuts someone cold (present singular third-person)
cutting someone cold (participle present)
cut someone cold (participle past)
cut someone cold (past)

To ignore someone insultingly or slightingly.


get ready

get ready (third-person singular simple present gets ready, present participle getting ready, simple past got ready, past participle (UK) got ready or (US) gotten ready)

gets ready (present singular third-person)
getting ready (participle present)
got ready (past)
got ready (UK participle past)
gotten ready (US participle past)

I'll get the tripod ready, and you find the camera.

(transitive) To prepare; to make ready or prepared.

Get ready for the most thrilling experience of your life!

(intransitive) To prepare; to make oneself prepared.


not see straight

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see not, see, straight.


dish the dirt

dish the dirt (third-person singular simple present dishes the dirt, present participle dishing the dirt, simple past and past participle dished the dirt)

dishes the dirt (present singular third-person)
dishing the dirt (participle present)
dished the dirt (participle past)
dished the dirt (past)

The tabloid newspaper was eager to dish the dirt on celebrities.

(idiomatic, informal) To tell salacious gossip.


toss a coin

toss a coin (third-person singular simple present tosses a coin, present participle tossing a coin, simple past and past participle tossed a coin)

tosses a coin (present singular third-person)
tossing a coin (participle present)
tossed a coin (participle past)
tossed a coin (past)

We will toss a coin to see which team goes first.

To flick a coin into the air, making it spin, in order to use the resultant upturned side (“heads or tails”) for making a decision.


play the clitar

play the clitar (third-person singular simple present plays the clitar, present participle playing the clitar, simple past and past participle played the clitar)

plays the clitar (present singular third-person)
playing the clitar (participle present)
played the clitar (participle past)
played the clitar (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-play the clitar.wav

(slang, humorous, uncommon) To masturbate by stimulating one's clitoris.


bust a gut

bust a gut (third-person singular simple present busts a gut, present participle busting a gut, simple past and past participle busted a gut or bust a gut)

busts a gut (present singular third-person)
busting a gut (participle present)
busted a gut (participle past)
busted a gut (past)
bust a gut (participle past)
bust a gut (past)

Something about the way he said that made me just bust a gut: I practically died laughing!

(slang) To develop a pain in the side from laughing hard.


one's heart in one's mouth

I rang the doorbell and waited with my heart in my mouth.

I had my heart in my mouth while I waited for news of my son.

Winger Cheslin Kolbe, sitting with his jersey over his head in the sin after a yellow card at the death, was probably the sight of millions of South Africans around the country who had their hearts in their mouth as they sat through another nail-biting match.

2023 October 28, Leighton Koopman, “YES!!! The Springboks beat the All Blacks to win another Rugby World Cup title”, in Independent Online:

There was a last-ditch quality to England’s defending and when Pierre-Emile Højbjerg shaped a curler for the far corner in the 85th minute, England’s hearts were in their mouths. The shot was off target.

2024 June 20, David Hytner, “Hjulmand rocket earns Denmark draw as England struggle after Kane opener”, in The Guardian:


throw shade

throw shade (third-person singular simple present throws shade, present participle throwing shade, simple past threw shade, past participle thrown shade)

throws shade (present singular third-person)
throwing shade (participle present)
threw shade (past)
thrown shade (participle past)

To begin with, I need to make it clear to those who don’t know that the throwing-shade, dissin’, “reading” style that carried Miss Camille to fame was a persona she assembled after years of ethnographically studying the mannerisms of vernacular black culture, especially black gay sub-culture, and most especially the culture of the black queen.

1994, bell hooks, chapter 7, in Outlaw Culture: Resisting Representations:

Wait, 1989 is actually really, really good. It feels genuine, and only slightly entitled, and mostly awesome. You like how it throws shade, but not too much shade.

2014 December 10, Gina Vaynshteyn, “Emotional Stages of Hating to Loving Taylor Swift”, in Bustle:

And while the meeting made headlines in other ways -- like when POTUS left the queen waiting for 10 minutes on live TV as he was running late -- no one picked up on the subtle shade Queen Elizabeth may have thrown at Trump on three separate occasions.

2018 July 17, “Queen Elizabeth may have thrown shade at President Trump with her brooches”, in AOL:

(originally LGBTQ slang) To subtly insult someone.


pound a beat

pound a beat (third-person singular simple present pounds a beat, present participle pounding a beat, simple past and past participle pounded a beat)

pounds a beat (present singular third-person)
pounding a beat (participle present)
pounded a beat (participle past)
pounded a beat (past)

Assigned to the riverfront precinct for years, he pounded a beat of backstreets and dockyards.

Flat feet may be important to the patrolman who must pound a beat, but in cities with patrol cars, should mild cases of flat feet disqualify?

1948, Alfred Haines Cope, The administration of civil service in cities of the third class in Pennsylvania, page 65:

You can't ask a college graduate who is interested in law enforcement to pound a beat for four years before he becomes a sergeant.

1970, The Bench and Bar of Minnesota, volume 27, page 8:

I worked my way up from a flatfoot pounding a beat to where I am today. I like being a cop, I'm proud of being a cop.

2012, Frank Kane, Grave Danger, section 14:

(idiomatic, usually of a police officer) To walk a regular route.


could have fooled me

you could have fooled me
you could have fooled me#English

Alternative form of you could have fooled me


follow the crowd

follow the crowd (third-person singular simple present follows the crowd, present participle following the crowd, simple past and past participle followed the crowd)

follows the crowd (present singular third-person)
following the crowd (participle present)
followed the crowd (participle past)
followed the crowd (past)

As much as the next guy, I don't like to follow the crowd.

(idiomatic) To conform to majority beliefs, opinions, or practices.


shatter the ice

shatter the ice (third-person singular simple present shatters the ice, present participle shattering the ice, simple past and past participle shattered the ice)

shatters the ice (present singular third-person)
shattering the ice (participle present)
shattered the ice (participle past)
shattered the ice (past)

By extension of the metaphor used in break the ice.

(idiomatic, usually figurative) To break the ice in a sudden or dramatic fashion.


sell one's body

sell one's body (third-person singular simple present sells one's body, present participle selling one's body, simple past and past participle sold one's body)

sells one's body (present singular third-person)
selling one's body (participle present)
sold one's body (participle past)
sold one's body (past)


burp the worm

burp the worm (third-person singular simple present burps the worm, present participle burping the worm, simple past and past participle burped the worm)

burps the worm (present singular third-person)
burping the worm (participle present)
burped the worm (participle past)
burped the worm (past)


itch the ditch

itch the ditch (third-person singular simple present itches the ditch, present participle itching the ditch, simple past and past participle itched the ditch)

itches the ditch (present singular third-person)
itching the ditch (participle present)
itched the ditch (participle past)
itched the ditch (past)

(idiomatic, slang) To masturbate by stimulating one's vagina.


straighten one's face

straighten one's face (third-person singular simple present straightens one's face, present participle straightening one's face, simple past and past participle straightened one's face)

straightens one's face (present singular third-person)
straightening one's face (participle present)
straightened one's face (participle past)
straightened one's face (past)

To cease laughing or smiling, etc., and compose one's features.


pet the kitty

pet the kitty (third-person singular simple present pets the kitty, present participle petting the kitty, simple past and past participle petted the kitty)

pets the kitty (present singular third-person)
petting the kitty (participle present)
petted the kitty (participle past)
petted the kitty (past)

Once you've got her "petting the kitty," watch her carefully, very carefully, not just for your own excitement—though it is, of course, very exciting—but to see how she likes to be touched.

2000, Susan Block, The 10 Commandments of Pleasure: Erotic Keys to a Healthy Sex Life, Souvenir Press, published 2011, →ISBN:

What would happen to all the holidays that bring families together once people discover they'd rather stay home and pet the kitty or spank the monkey?

2005, Serena Anderlini-D'Onofrio, Plural Loves: Designs for Bi and Poly Living, Harrington Park Press, →ISBN, page 160:

Of the 40 percent of wankettes, only one in ten admitted to petting the kitty weekly.

2007, Jamye Waxman, Getting Off: A Woman's Guide to Masturbation, Seal Press, →ISBN, page 215:

(slang, vulgar) To masturbate by stimulating the vulva.


polish the pearl

polish the pearl (third-person singular simple present polishes the pearl, present participle polishing the pearl, simple past and past participle polished the pearl)

polishes the pearl (present singular third-person)
polishing the pearl (participle present)
polished the pearl (participle past)
polished the pearl (past)

Women sometimes tell us that part of the reason they settle for not coming during intercourse is because they're terrified their partner would be offended if they reached down to polish the pearl while they're having sex.

2007, Dorian Solot, Marshall Miller, I Love Female Orgasm: An Extraordinary Orgasm Guide, Da Capo Press, →ISBN:

Both “whittling the whalebone” and “polishing the pearl” are so ingrained in our DNA that infants have been known to handle their business long before it's open for business.

2010, Kristen Schaal, Rich Blomquist, The Sexy Book of Sexy Sex, Chronicle Books, →ISBN, page 64:

There is no official “right way” to polish the pearl. You can use your fingers, lube, toys, or even water from a showerhead.

2010, Christi Smith Scofield, Ted Scofield, Sexy Slang's Bedroom Challenges: 69 Ways to Spice Up Your Sex Life, Sourcebooks, →ISBN, page 90:

(vulgar, slang) To masturbate by stimulating one's clitoris.


tear a cat

tear a cat (third-person singular simple present tears a cat, present participle tearing a cat, simple past tore a cat, past participle torn a cat)

tears a cat (present singular third-person)
tearing a cat (participle present)
tore a cat (past)
torn a cat (participle past)

Yet my chief humour is for a tyrant. I could play / Ercles rarely, or a part to tear a cat in, to make all split.

c. 1595–1596, William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream, act 1, scene 2:

Sirha is this you would rend and teare the Cat / Upon a Stage, and now march like drown'd rat?

c. 1599, John Marston, Histriomastix, act 5, scene 1, page [53]:

Till, in his periwig combustion / Will. Shakespeare sounds like Irish fustian, / In which Macready tears a cat, / And Shiel, the patriot, writes so pat;

1835, George Daniel, “The Conversazione”, in The Modern Dunciad, William Pickering, page 224:

From this performance there is no doubt in anyone's mind that Hamlet is an amateur actor having a fling at histrionics, or as Guthrie might say, "tearing a cat."

1970, Alfred Rossi, Minneapolis Rehearsals: Tyrone Guthrie Directs Hamlet, University of California Press, →ISBN, page 21:

(obsolete, idiomatic, acting) To overact; to violently rant and rave on stage.


eat dirt

eat dirt (third-person singular simple present eats dirt, present participle eating dirt, simple past ate dirt, past participle eaten dirt)

eats dirt (present singular third-person)
eating dirt (participle present)
ate dirt (past)
eaten dirt (participle past)

(idiomatic) To submit in a meanly humble manner to insults; to eat humble pie.


beat the hoof

beat the hoof (third-person singular simple present beats the hoof, present participle beating the hoof, simple past beat the hoof, past participle beaten the hoof or (colloquial) beat the hoof)

beats the hoof (present singular third-person)
beating the hoof (participle present)
beat the hoof (past)
beaten the hoof (participle past)
beat the hoof (colloquial participle past)


beat the wing

beat the wing (third-person singular simple present beats the wing, present participle beating the wing, simple past beat the wing, past participle beaten the wing or (colloquial) beat the wing)

beats the wing (present singular third-person)
beating the wing (participle present)
beat the wing (past)
beaten the wing (participle past)
beat the wing (colloquial participle past)

Thrice have I beat the wing, and rid with night / About the world.

(dated) To flutter or flap; to move with fluttering agitation, or to rush.


get on someone's bad side

get<,,got,got􂀿UK􂁀:gotten􂀿US􂁀> on someone's bad side

get on someone's bad side (third-person singular simple present gets on someone's bad side, present participle getting on someone's bad side, simple past got on someone's bad side, past participle (UK) got on someone's bad side or (US) gotten on someone's bad side)

gets on someone's bad side (present singular third-person)
getting on someone's bad side (participle present)
got on someone's bad side (past)
got on someone's bad side (UK participle past)
gotten on someone's bad side (US participle past)

You don't want to get on that guy's bad side. He loses his temper very quickly and easily.

To do something to upset or anger somebody.


pay a visit

pay a visit (third-person singular simple present pays a visit, present participle paying a visit, simple past and past participle paid a visit)

pays a visit (present singular third-person)
paying a visit (participle present)
paid a visit (participle past)
paid a visit (past)

(idiomatic, euphemistic) To go to the toilet.


keep body and soul together

keep body and soul together (third-person singular simple present keeps body and soul together, present participle keeping body and soul together, simple past and past participle kept body and soul together)

keeps body and soul together (present singular third-person)
keeping body and soul together (participle present)
kept body and soul together (participle past)
kept body and soul together (past)

How did you keep body and soul together before you got your first paying job as an actor?

Trout lives in a rented basement in Ilium, about two miles from Billy’s nice white home. He himself has no idea how many novels he has written—possibly seventy-five of the things. Not one of them has made money. So Trout keeps body and soul together as a circulation man for the Ilium Gazette, manages newspaper delivery boys, bullies and flatters and cheats little kids.

1969 March 31, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Slaughterhouse-Five […] (A Seymour Lawrence Book), New York, N.Y.: Delacorte Press, →OCLC, page 142:

Of a person: to survive; to continue living.


hear the end of it

hear the end of it (third-person singular simple present hears the end of it, present participle hearing the end of it, simple past and past participle heard the end of it)

hears the end of it (present singular third-person)
hearing the end of it (participle present)
heard the end of it (participle past)
heard the end of it (past)

If I spilled wine on their new carpet, I'd never hear the end of it.

The Right Hon[orable] Sir J. G. Ward. — Mr. Symes did not know it. They published this private and confidential letter without either Mr. Symes's or Mr. McCluggage's knowledge or consent. Why, if any of us were to do that sort of thing we would never hear the end of it, nor would any one else hear the end of the improper use of a letter which was beyond all question private and confidential.

1910, New Zealand. Parliament, Parliamentary Debates, volume 153, page 1156:

[…] What happens at the end of July? Seems like those dates ring a bell. I know, it's our state bandmaster's convention. This is the year they are having all those great clinicians. I helped set up the program from our region. No choice: if I don't attend and go to our annual breakfast, I'll never hear the end of it. That's not too bad, it will be fun and there is still all of August to jump in the boat and do some serious fishing.

1992, Tim Lautzenheiser, “The Proverbial Summer Vacation” (chapter 47), in The Art of Successful Teaching: A Blend of Content & Context, page 198:

Kill your dreams if male validation is all that you need / Being a man ain't all that it seems / Yeah, by all means, bro, say what you need / I'll never hear the end of it […]

2023, torr (lyrics and music), “drywall”, in molecule ft. patchymate:

berdly if your friends were homestuck characters who would they be. //sorry autism wants me dead, berdlys my fav character and hs is my spin. you will never heard the end of it from me

2024 April 15, @XxKilla_KrisxX, Twitter:

(idiomatic, colloquial, chiefly in the negative) To cease to be told about, or nagged because of, something.


say boo to a goose

say boo to a goose (third-person singular simple present says boo to a goose, present participle saying boo to a goose, simple past and past participle said boo to a goose)

says boo to a goose (present singular third-person)
saying boo to a goose (participle present)
said boo to a goose (participle past)
said boo to a goose (past)

(chiefly in the negative) To have courage and be assertive.


spill the tea

spill the tea (third-person singular simple present spills the tea, present participle spilling the tea, simple past and past participle spilled the tea or spilt the tea)

spills the tea (present singular third-person)
spilling the tea (participle present)
spilled the tea (participle past)
spilled the tea (past)
spilt the tea (participle past)
spilt the tea (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-spill the tea.wav

Originally from spill the T, standing for truth, which evolved into tea. Possibly as a blend with spill the beans.

They are up in your business because you invited them in by spilling the tea on what you and your man earn.

2012 October, Demetria L. Lucas, “Should I Worry That He Earns Less Money?”, in CARE, number 18, page 18:

[…] she makes good on her promise to out her celebrity husband in the media by going on the top nationally syndicated radio talk show of Neicy Ross, an even more tacky version of Wendy Williams, and spills the tea on her man in delicious detail, […]

2013, Stanley Bennett Clay, "A Fun Quick Read", DBQ Magazine, Volume 3, Issue 1, January/February 2013, page 9

Four different entrepreneurs and talents spill the tea on success, failure and lessons learned.

2013, "The Ones To Watch", Brink Magazine, Issue 26, February/March 2013, page 17

(informal) To disclose information, especially of a sensitive nature.

tea

information, especially sensitive and/or juicy gossip


buy wolf tickets

buy wolf tickets (third-person singular simple present buys wolf tickets, present participle buying wolf tickets, simple past and past participle bought wolf tickets)

buys wolf tickets (present singular third-person)
buying wolf tickets (participle present)
bought wolf tickets (participle past)
bought wolf tickets (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-buy wolf tickets.wav

Dicky bought Terry's wolf tickets by responding with his own barbs and counterchallenges. "A'right, Mr. Motherfucker! I'm buying yo' wolf tickets! Now show me somethin', since you so big and bad," said Dicky […]

2003, Elijah Anderson, A Place on the Corner, second, →ISBN, page 161:

(African-American Vernacular) To call the bluff of, or respond to the threats or boasts of, someone who has been selling wolf tickets.


steal someone's thunder

steal someone's thunder (third-person singular simple present steals someone's thunder, present participle stealing someone's thunder, simple past stole someone's thunder, past participle stolen someone's thunder)

steals someone's thunder (present singular third-person)
stealing someone's thunder (participle present)
stole someone's thunder (past)
stolen someone's thunder (participle past)

Based on a 1704 quote of John Dennis, a literary critic and playwright, who invented a novel method for creating a sound effect for thunder. The play in which he first introduced this method flopped. When the next play shown in the theatre, Macbeth, used his technique for simulating thunder, Dennis was reported in the press as jumping up and crying "How these rascals use me! They will not have my play, yet steal my thunder."

There are several upstarts, who, without the genius to invent a style, have been copying yours, and trying to steal your thunder.

1855, Jno. E. Vought, “Editor's Table (letters)”, in The Knickerbocker: Or, New-York Monthly Magazine Volume 46, page 101:

It also serves to give someone else an opportunity to steal your thunder if he considers there is any amount of thunder in it.

1898, Boot and Shoe Recorder - Volume 33:

The sense of accomplishment is yours to enjoy, and nobody can steal your thunder. Even I couldn't take credit for your weight loss under my own plan, because you're the one who will do the accomplishing.

2001, Holly Bergeim, The Customized No No-Nos Weight Loss Plan, →ISBN, page 40:

(idiomatic) To appropriate someone's ideas or information, typically in order to look better at that person's expense.


gather wool

gather wool (third-person singular simple present gathers wool, present participle gathering wool, simple past and past participle gathered wool)

gathers wool (present singular third-person)
gathering wool (participle present)
gathered wool (participle past)
gathered wool (past)


join forces

join forces (third-person singular simple present joins forces, present participle joining forces, simple past and past participle joined forces)

joins forces (present singular third-person)
joining forces (participle present)
joined forces (participle past)
joined forces (past)

The poor [banana] is even further shrunken. It is no longer spotted. The flecks have joined forces to form brown blotches all over the fruit.

1979 February 3, Nancy Walker, “Going Bananas”, in Gay Community News, volume 6, number 27, page 11:

It all started 6 years ago, as Rutgers University scientists Allan Conney, Ph.D., and George C. Wagner, Ph.D., chatted at an office get-together. […] From this conversation, the two decided to pool their knowledge and join forces.

2007 November, Elizabeth Drake, “Combine and conquer: Use these winning food pairings to protect your health”, in Men's Health, volume 22, number 9, →ISSN, page 124:

2018 December 22, Tom Woods, "Ben Shapiro and Bette Midler sittin' in a tree", Lewrockwell.comhttp://www.lewrockwell.com/2018/12/thomas-woods/ben-shapiro-and-bette-midler-sittin-in-a-tree
When Hollywood and the neocons join forces against something, you know it has to be good.

MPs and non-affiliated peers from across the Leeds City Region have joined forces and are calling on Government to publicly commit to building HS2 East to Leeds at the same time as HS2 West is built to Manchester.

2020 June 17, Richard Clinnick, “Network News: MPs join forces to push for confirmation on HS2 to Leeds”, in Rail, page 22:

(idiomatic) To combine labour, to come together, to unite.


melt in the mouth

(idiomatic, of food) Deliciously soft and creamy, creating a melting sensation when eaten, and therefore needing little chewing.

fondant

deliciously soft and creamy, needing little chewing


fall on someone's neck

fall on someone's neck (third-person singular simple present falls on someone's neck, present participle falling on someone's neck, simple past fell on someone's neck, past participle fallen on someone's neck)

falls on someone's neck (present singular third-person)
falling on someone's neck (participle present)
fell on someone's neck (past)
fallen on someone's neck (participle past)

[W]hen Theseus saw him, his heart leapt into his mouth, and he longed to fall on his neck and welcome him.

1856, Charles Kingsley, The Heroes, Story III: Theseus

If he expected either of them to fall on his neck and weep tears of gratitude at his pompous announcement, the colonel was disappointed.

1910, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 15, in Bucky O'Connor:

I ought to fall on your neck with joy. . . . You are my father's friend, my mother's, mine.

1920, Harold MacGrath, chapter 24, in The Drums Of Jeopardy:

"[T]he moment your delinquent showed the slightest sign of decency . . . you fell on his neck as if he had rescued you from drowning."

1990 March 18, Anne Tyler, “Review of Collected Stories of Wallace Stegner”, in New York Times, retrieved 2015-05-14:

[A]fter falling on my neck and hugging me and calling me “cousin” like a character from a Jane Austen novel, . . . she sat me down.

2012, Karen Templeton, chapter 25, in Hanging by a Thread, →ISBN:

(dated, idiomatic) To embrace someone affectionately or thankfully.

heittäytyä syliin

to embrace someone affectionately or thankfully


fall upon someone's neck

fall upon someone's neck (third-person singular simple present falls upon someone's neck, present participle falling upon someone's neck, simple past fell upon someone's neck, past participle fallen upon someone's neck)

falls upon someone's neck (present singular third-person)
falling upon someone's neck (participle present)
fell upon someone's neck (past)
fallen upon someone's neck (participle past)

fall on someone's neck
fall on someone's neck#English

Alternative form of fall on someone's neck


hit the wall

hit the wall (third-person singular simple present hits the wall, present participle hitting the wall, simple past and past participle hit the wall)

hits the wall (present singular third-person)
hitting the wall (participle present)
hit the wall (participle past)
hit the wall (past)

(informal) To experience sudden fatigue as a result of glycogen depletion, e.g. when cycling.

defallir

experience sudden fatigue from glycogen depletion


meet one's end

meet one's end (third-person singular simple present meets one's end, present participle meeting one's end, simple past and past participle met one's end)

meets one's end (present singular third-person)
meeting one's end (participle present)
met one's end (participle past)
met one's end (past)


saw logs

saw logs (third-person singular simple present saws logs, present participle sawing logs, simple past sawed logs, past participle sawed logs or sawn logs)

saws logs (present singular third-person)
sawing logs (participle present)
sawed logs (past)
sawed logs (participle past)
sawn logs (participle past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-saw logs.wav

Snoring is supposed to resemble the sound of wood being sawn up.


knock the persimmon

knock the persimmon (third-person singular simple present knocks the persimmon, present participle knocking the persimmon, simple past and past participle knocked the persimmon)

knocks the persimmon (present singular third-person)
knocking the persimmon (participle present)
knocked the persimmon (participle past)
knocked the persimmon (past)

From the expression the longest pole knocks the persimmon.

(US, especially Southern US, dated) To succeed; to obtain success.


pop one's cork

pop one's cork (third-person singular simple present pops one's cork, present participle popping one's cork, simple past and past participle popped one's cork)

pops one's cork (present singular third-person)
popping one's cork (participle present)
popped one's cork (participle past)
popped one's cork (past)

And there was Conductor Reyes, who was perfectly ordinary until one day he popped his cork and started explaining delays by announcing Command Center's telephone number and urging riders to phone for themselves.

1998, Marian Swerdlow, Underground Woman: My Four Years as a New York City Subway Conductor, →ISBN, page 172:

I’m sorry to say that even the usually reliable David Denby of The New Yorker seems to have popped his cork, proclaiming it ‘by far the strongest American film of the year.’

2014 September 15, Ashley Esther Fetters Zuckerman, “Inside Movie: Examining American Beauty at 15: A masterpiece, or a farce?”, in Entertainment Weekly, retrieved 2015-07-05:

Everything I’ve read says the shooter was a white supremacist who popped his cork.

2015 July 2, Tom Corrigan, “Gun ownership debate rages on for the racists, crazies”, in Issaquah Press, retrieved 2015-07-05:

(idiomatic) To suddenly behave irrationally; to go crazy.


fly a desk

fly a desk (third-person singular simple present flies a desk, present participle flying a desk, simple past flew a desk, past participle flown a desk)

flies a desk (present singular third-person)
flying a desk (participle present)
flew a desk (past)
flown a desk (participle past)

To be assigned, as a member of a flying organization (air force, air line, etc.) to office duty, usually said of a person who is, or has previously been, qualified to fly an aircraft.


have a say

have a say (third-person singular simple present has a say, present participle having a say, simple past and past participle had a say)

has a say (present singular third-person)
having a say (participle present)
had a say (participle past)
had a say (past)

He didn't have a say in deciding where he and his family would go on vacation.

The essence of a democracy is not that people vote on whatever they want, but that every adult has a say in how he or she is governed.

2011 September 19, David Schmidtz, Jason Brennan, A Brief History of Liberty, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 1891:

We go to school and we go to work under conditions where people don't have a say in their day-to-day life; they don't have a say in the things that happen around them.

2016 January 8, Kevin Danaher, Shannon Biggs, Jason Mark, Building the Green Economy: Success Stories from the Grassroots, Routledge, →ISBN:

(idiomatic, intransitive) To (receive the opportunity to) voice one's opinion.


count cards

count cards (third-person singular simple present counts cards, present participle counting cards, simple past and past participle counted cards)

counts cards (present singular third-person)
counting cards (participle present)
counted cards (participle past)
counted cards (past)

(gambling) To keep track of the cards that have been dealt and those that remain in the deck, in order to calculate the likelihood of certain hands in gambling games such as poker and blackjack.

算牌

keep track of cards that have been dealt


punch someone's lights out

punch someone's lights out (third-person singular simple present punches someone's lights out, present participle punching someone's lights out, simple past and past participle punched someone's lights out)

punches someone's lights out (present singular third-person)
punching someone's lights out (participle present)
punched someone's lights out (participle past)
punched someone's lights out (past)

"My intention was to punch his lights out," Parker said of Garber, "but as I got closer to the mound, my faculties came back and I cooled off. I just him and asked him what was going on."

1979 May 10, “NL Action is Wild and Woolly”, in Spokane Daily Chronicle, retrieved 2015-11-12, page 45:

After nasty phone calls, curses hurled over the back fence, fist-shaking, and other attempts to impress him with your seriousness, you meet him at the supermarket, lose control, and punch his lights out.

1980 July 17, Mike Steere, “Mediation Can Replace Lawsuits”, in Toledo Blade, retrieved 2015-11-12, page 18:

A Jersey Guy is a guy who does his duty and loves his family and will punch your lights out if you insult his wife.

2005 December 11, Terry Golway, “Jersey: Codey Can Now Bow Out With His Head Held High”, in New York Times, retrieved 2015-11-12:

(idiomatic) To give someone a serious beating using one's fists; to punch someone until he or she is unconscious.


split the difference

split the difference (third-person singular simple present splits the difference, present participle splitting the difference, simple past and past participle split the difference)

splits the difference (present singular third-person)
splitting the difference (participle present)
split the difference (participle past)
split the difference (past)

"Come!" said Gamfield; "say four pound, gen'lmen. Say four pound, and you've got rid on him for good and all. There!"
"Three pound ten," repeated Mr. Limbkins, firmly.
"Come! I'll split the difference, gen'lmen," urged Gamfield. "Three pound fifteen."

1838, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], chapter 3, in Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy’s Progress. […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC:

My new brother-in-law Allen told me I should ought to give the preist $5 and I thought it should be about $2 the same as the license so I split the difference and give him $3.50.

1916, Ring Lardner, Sr., chapter 3, in You Know Me Al:

In a financial transaction, to settle on an amount midway between the offer and the asking price.


polish one's rocket

polish one's rocket (third-person singular simple present polishes one's rocket, present participle polishing one's rocket, simple past and past participle polished one's rocket)

polishes one's rocket (present singular third-person)
polishing one's rocket (participle present)
polished one's rocket (participle past)
polished one's rocket (past)

“Scuttlebutt was Crackhead was a pyromaniac. Polished his rocket while he watched. But we could never pin a thing on him.”

2009, Joseph Collum, Brady's Run, page 47:

When Matt finally figured out masturbation, he let us know and then he couldn't stop referring to it and probably polished his rocket at every chance he got. He never seemed to get real interested in girls.

2007, Philip A. Fortnam, Walking Greenbush, page 82:

(slang, euphemistic) To masturbate by stimulating one's penis.


I spy with my little eye

The phrase used in the guessing game I spy.


bat the breeze

bat the breeze (third-person singular simple present bats the breeze, present participle batting the breeze, simple past and past participle batted the breeze)

bats the breeze (present singular third-person)
batting the breeze (participle present)
batted the breeze (participle past)
batted the breeze (past)

(idiomatic, US) To chat; to shoot the breeze.


wander off

wander off (third-person singular simple present wanders off, present participle wandering off, simple past and past participle wandered off)

wanders off (present singular third-person)
wandering off (participle present)
wandered off (participle past)
wandered off (past)

He got bored and wandered off.


cut someone dead

cut someone dead (third-person singular simple present cuts someone dead, present participle cutting someone dead, simple past and past participle cut someone dead)

cuts someone dead (present singular third-person)
cutting someone dead (participle present)
cut someone dead (participle past)
cut someone dead (past)

where he used to cut them dead, he now helps them on with their coats


add oil

add oil (third-person singular simple present adds oil, present participle adding oil, simple past and past participle added oil)

adds oil (present singular third-person)
adding oil (participle present)
added oil (participle past)
added oil (past)

Calque of Chinese 加油 (jiāyóu), particularly in Hong Kong contexts via its Cantonese pronunciation gaa1 jau4-2, sometimes credited to shouts of support during the Macau Grand Prix. Cf. cooking with gas, gas up, fuel up, etc.

(idiomatic, chiefly Hong Kong, China) Synonym of let's go: a cheer of encouragement, support, etc.


pass the river

pass the river (third-person singular simple present passes the river, present participle passing the river, simple past and past participle passed the river)

passes the river (present singular third-person)
passing the river (participle present)
passed the river (participle past)
passed the river (past)

Allusion to the crossing of the river Styx, the boundary between life and Hades, in Classical Greek mythology.

To the beautiful memory of Kenneth Grahame, husband of Elspeth and father of Alastair, who passed the river on the 6th of July, 1932, leaving childhood and literature through him the more blest for all time.

1991, Anthony Hope, edited by Humphrey Carpenter and Mari Prichard, The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pages 216–219:


breathe one's last breath

breathe one's last breath (third-person singular simple present breathes one's last breath, present participle breathing one's last breath, simple past and past participle breathed one's last breath)

breathes one's last breath (present singular third-person)
breathing one's last breath (participle present)
breathed one's last breath (participle past)
breathed one's last breath (past)

1962 October, Tristram Coffin, "Peace in politics", in Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, vol. 18, nr. 8, page 43.
When the isolationists were breathing their last frantic breaths in 1940, Franklin D. Roosevelt boldly campaigned on an internationally based policy.

The grease on his hand from Burt’s apron meant that slowly but surely he was losing his grip. Any moment now, he was going to breathe his last breath.

2012, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Ratburger, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:

breathe one's last
breathe one's last#English


kick someone out of bed

kick someone out of bed (third-person singular simple present kicks someone out of bed, present participle kicking someone out of bed, simple past and past participle kicked someone out of bed)

kicks someone out of bed (present singular third-person)
kicking someone out of bed (participle present)
kicked someone out of bed (participle past)
kicked someone out of bed (past)

I wouldn't kick her out of bed.

(informal, chiefly in the negative) To be unwilling to sleep with (someone).

skulle ikke løbe mange gange rundt om min seng

würde jemanden nicht von der Bettkante stoßen


prime the pump

prime the pump (third-person singular simple present primes the pump, present participle priming the pump, simple past and past participle primed the pump)

primes the pump (present singular third-person)
priming the pump (participle present)
primed the pump (participle past)
primed the pump (past)

As an idiomatic term, from the 1930s. From the metaphor of filling (priming) a liquid pump in order to prepare it for operation.

[…] by supplying, through the Federal Treasury, a sufficient flow of finance and currency that will prime the pump and keep it going until it can start its flow from the well or fountain of national resources.

(economics) To engage in deficit spending .

For example, if you give money to a charity, as a tax reduction or to prime the pump for more money to flow to you, than the actual intent is not making someone else happy, but yourself.

2001, Asa E. Lennon, The Forgotten Self: A Book of Reminders, →ISBN, page 112:

Kate primed the pump by telling the story of Dina teaching her to rappel.

2002, Dana Stabenow, A Fine and Bitter Snow, →ISBN, page 180:

A good way to prime the pump of generosity is by starting with the intangibles such as a smile, or a simple courtesy such as opening a door for someone or extending some other random act of kindness.

2011, Dennis Merritt Jones, The Art of Uncertainty: How to Live in the Mystery of Life and Love It, →ISBN:

If you're starving for some admiring comments, you might have to prime the pump.

2012 -, Poppy Smith, Why Can't He Think More Like Me?, →ISBN:

To give something in order to create the conditions where others will give in return.

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see prime, the, pump.


wouldn't say no

- Fancy a cup of tea?
- I wouldn't say no.

She wasn't necessarily interested in looking for a pick-up, although she probably wouldn't say no to the right offer.

2003, William Kamm, All About Rosie, page 81:


drag ass

drag ass (third-person singular simple present drags ass, present participle dragging ass, simple past and past participle dragged ass)

drags ass (present singular third-person)
dragging ass (participle present)
dragged ass (participle past)
dragged ass (past)

(US, vulgar, slang) To move slowly, or lag behind.


give a fig

give a fig (third-person singular simple present gives a fig, present participle giving a fig, simple past gave a fig, past participle given a fig)

gives a fig (present singular third-person)
giving a fig (participle present)
gave a fig (past)
given a fig (participle past)

I couldn’t give a fig!

For Corinius, who gave not a fig for music or dirges, but liked well of carding and dicing, had brought forth his dice box to play with the son of Corund.

1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros, London: Jonathan Cape, page 32:

The railroads owned by U.S. Steel have never given a fig for prestige so long as their owner's ore was hauled to the mills economically.

1959, David P. Morgan, editor, Steam's Finest Hour, Kalmbach Publishing Co., page 28:

(informal, negative) To care what someone else thinks or does, particularly in relation to what they think or say about the speaker.


turn up one's toes

turn up one's toes (third-person singular simple present turns up one's toes, present participle turning up one's toes, simple past and past participle turned up one's toes)

turns up one's toes (present singular third-person)
turning up one's toes (participle present)
turned up one's toes (participle past)
turned up one's toes (past)

(Australia, colloquial, almost humorous) To die.


wear one's heart on one's sleeve

wear<,,wore,worn> one's heart on one's sleeve

wear one's heart on one's sleeve (third-person singular simple present wears one's heart on one's sleeve, present participle wearing one's heart on one's sleeve, simple past wore one's heart on one's sleeve, past participle worn one's heart on one's sleeve)

wears one's heart on one's sleeve (present singular third-person)
wearing one's heart on one's sleeve (participle present)
wore one's heart on one's sleeve (past)
worn one's heart on one's sleeve (participle past)

en-au-wear one's heart on one's sleeve.ogg

Iago: For when my outward action doth demonstrate
The native act and figure of my heart
In compliment extern, 'tis not long after
But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
For daws to peck at: I am not what I am.

c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], line 64:

Such a man must have reticences in him. If he walk wearing his heart upon his sleeve for daws to peck at, his journey will not extend far!

1840 May 22, Thomas Carlyle, “Lecture VI. The Hero as King. Cromwell, Napoleon: Modern Revolutionism.”, in On Heroes, Hero-Worship and The Heroic in History, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1840, →OCLC, page 202:

There was something very direct and childlike in Virginie Poucette. She could not pretend; she wore her heart on her sleeve.

1915, Gilbert Parker, chapter 18, in The Money Master:

I'm not being smart or trying to be cold on my part / And I'm not gonna wear my heart on my sleeve / But you know people get all emotional

1978, Lou Reed (lyrics and music), “Street Hassle”, in Street Hassle:

I feel so close to you right now, it's a force field / I wear my heart on my sleeve, like a big deal

2011, “Feel So Close”, performed by Calvin Harris:

(idiomatic) To be very transparent, open, or forthright about one's emotions.

parlar amb el cor a la mà

to be transparent or forthright about one's emotions


couch a hogshead

couch a hogshead (third-person singular simple present couches a hogshead, present participle couching a hogshead, simple past and past participle couched a hogshead)

couches a hogshead (present singular third-person)
couching a hogshead (participle present)
couched a hogshead (participle past)
couched a hogshead (past)

I couched a hogshead in a Skypper this darkemans.

1566, Thomas Harman, A Caveat or Warning for Common Cursitors, T. Bensley, published 1814, page 66:

Ben mort, shall you and I heave a bough, mill a ken, or nip a bung, and then we'll couch a hogshead under the ruffmans, and there you shall wap with me, and I'll niggle with you.

1611, Thomas Middleton, “The Roaring Girl”, in Arthur Henry Bullen, editor, The Works of Thomas Middleton, volume 4, published 1885, act 5, scene 1, pages 128–129:

Mayhap we have been in the same bousing ken or stalling ken at some time. Mayhap we have couched a hogshead at the same house in Southwark.

(obsolete, UK, thieves' cant) To lie down to sleep.


cook up a storm

cook up a storm (third-person singular simple present cooks up a storm, present participle cooking up a storm, simple past and past participle cooked up a storm)

cooks up a storm (present singular third-person)
cooking up a storm (participle present)
cooked up a storm (participle past)
cooked up a storm (past)

Kaffe is really cooking up a storm here, with polychromatic fireworks in shimmering primaries exploding and rioting all over the canvas.

1991, Fruits of the Earth: Flowers and Fruit in Needlepoint, page 86:

A Rogers original, Short Stop has the sax section led by Bill Perkins cooking up a storm.

1991, Rapport - Volume 16, Issues 3-17, page 49:

Well, if that's the way it is, I won't ask for further details. Would you like to cook up a storm on the dance floor with me?

2017, Mila Summers, Wake Me with a Kiss, →ISBN:

To make a splash; to create a spectacle.


call the tune

call the tune (third-person singular simple present calls the tune, present participle calling the tune, simple past and past participle called the tune)

calls the tune (present singular third-person)
calling the tune (participle present)
called the tune (participle past)
called the tune (past)


make a big thing out of

make a big thing out of (third-person singular simple present makes a big thing out of, present participle making a big thing out of, simple past and past participle made a big thing out of)

makes a big thing out of (present singular third-person)
making a big thing out of (participle present)
made a big thing out of (participle past)
made a big thing out of (past)

/ˈmeɪk ə ˈbɪɡ ˈθɪŋ aʊt əv/

"I don't know but what you are right. We intend to make a big thing out of you, Dick Rover." / "How?" / "I told you before you'd find out soon enough." / "I presume you'll try to make my father ransom me, or something like that."

1901, Arthur M. Winfield [pseudonym; Edward Stratemeyer], “The Sailing of the ‘Peacock’”, in The Rover Boys on the Great Lakes: Or The Secret of the Island Cave (Rover Boys’ Series for Young Americans; 5), New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers, →OCLC, page 46:

"Mr. Marlowe," she told him quietly, "makes a big thing out of trifles. But when it comes to a really big thing—like saving a man's life—he is out by the lake watching a silly speedboat."

1953, Raymond Chandler, chapter 42, in The Long Good-bye, London: Hamish Hamilton, →OCLC; republished as The Long Goodbye, New York, N.Y.: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, August 1992, →ISBN, page 302:

I find, for example, that the New York Rock and Roll Ensemble, which has made a big thing out of its members being Julliard graduates and of playing a certain amount of "straight" Bach (rather dully) side-by-side with its own songs, has already begun to suffocate itself and its listeners in its own intellectual pretensions.

1969 April 7, Alan Rich, “J. S. Bach and His Thing”, in Clay S[chuette] Felker, editor, New York, volume 2, number 14, New York, N.Y.: New York Magazine Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 57, column 2:

Next Mr. Gregory went on to make a big thing out of the fact that he had caught them climbing "into" the school grounds not long before. He didn't exactly say so, but it was plain that he felt he had interrupted some kind of dry run—a training exercise for a crime in the planning.

1970, Zilpha Keatley Snyder, chapter 19, in The Changeling, New York, N.Y.: Atheneum, →OCLC; republished Guildford, Surrey: The Lutterworth Press, 1976, →ISBN, page 179:

[…] I would, out of respect for them [Hank Greenberg's parents], go along with not playing on Yom Kippur. But evidently it made a very big … You see, the press are always looking for unusual news, so they made a big thing out of it.

2012, Peter Ephross, Martin Abramowitz, quoting Hank Greenberg, “Hank Greenberg: Detroit Tigers, 1930, 1933–1941, 1945–1946; Pittsburg Pirates, 1947: (1911–1986)”, in Jewish Major Leaguers in Their Own Words: Oral Histories of 23 Players, Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 33:

He’s physical and monosyllabic. He does all sorts of cool shit, and he subtly rediscovers his own heroism without making a big thing out of it. But he’s a supporting character, and he knows it.

2017 December 1, Tom Breihan, “Mad Max: Fury Road Might Already be the Best Action Movie Ever Made”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2018-02-22:

(transitive, idiomatic) To call attention to or publicize; to make a fuss about, especially unnecessarily.


hitch one's wagon to a star

hitch one's wagon to a star (third-person singular simple present hitches one's wagon to a star, present participle hitching one's wagon to a star, simple past and past participle hitched one's wagon to a star)

hitches one's wagon to a star (present singular third-person)
hitching one's wagon to a star (participle present)
hitched one's wagon to a star (participle past)
hitched one's wagon to a star (past)

Coined by Ralph Waldo Emerson in his essay "Civilization" (1870).

[Emerson] was not afraid to be homely and racy in expressing thought of the highest spirituality. "Hitch your wagon to a star" is a good instance of his favorite manner.

1891, Henry Augustin Beers, “The Concord Writers 1837-1861”, in Initial Studies in American Letters:

Well, he was done, he solaced himself. He had hitched his wagon to a star and been landed in a pestiferous marsh.

1909, Jack London, chapter 41, in Martin Eden:

So if you've had enough of life as an employee and you're planning to set up your own home-based business, do the sensible thing and hitch your wagon to the fastest rising star today — the Internet.

2002, Luis S. R. Vas, Business Ideas You Can Turn Into Cash:

Pick a star, or hero, or whatever product/service/idea you are presenting, and hitch your wagon to it.

2014, Ozana Giusca, More and Better Customers - Blogging Action Plan, page 19:

(Canada, US, idiomatic) To commit to an aspirational goal or course of action that will lead to fulfillment.


tap the admiral

tap the admiral (third-person singular simple present taps the admiral, present participle tapping the admiral, simple past and past participle tapped the admiral)

taps the admiral (present singular third-person)
tapping the admiral (participle present)
tapped the admiral (participle past)
tapped the admiral (past)

John Camden Hotten's Slang Dictionary (1873) mentions a tale of this having been done with the rum cask in which Lord Nelson's body was brought to England.

(nautical, slang) To steal some liquor from a cask that is in storage or transit.


couldn't stop a pig in a passage

en-au-couldn't stop a pig in a passage.ogg

Joe laughed. ‘Aye, I know I'm a funny little feller. I couldn't stop a pig in a passage, could I lass? But I'm good at me job, else Eddie wouldn't have asked me to come and look at that there roof.’

2004, Margaret Dickinson, chapter 15, in Red Sky in the Morning:

I remember seeing old ladies with incredible bowlegs caused by rickets. Unkind folks would remark ‘They couldn't stop a pig in a passage’.

2008, Wilf’ Lunn, My Best Cellar, page 112:

And he's got funny-looking legs from all the football he plays; talk about bowed legs! Couldn't stop a pig in a passage, that one.

(Yorkshire, idiomatic) To be bow-legged.


crank the handle

crank the handle (third-person singular simple present cranks the handle, present participle cranking the handle, simple past and past participle cranked the handle)

cranks the handle (present singular third-person)
cranking the handle (participle present)
cranked the handle (participle past)
cranked the handle (past)

There are various ways you can do this, including creating capacity by building a strong team, or by setting the sales stream up in such a way that anyone can crank the handle and keep the products going out and the customer demand coming in.

2006, Rebecca Jordan, Kirsty Weir, In Good Company: The essential business start-up guide for women, A & C Black, page 229:

“What do you mean?” said Ozbek. “All he has to do is slide some paper in there, ink the quill and crank the handle”

2008, Brad Thor, The Last Patriot, Atria Books:

The suspension of one's critical faculty is not possible in a risk management exercsie. It is not simply a “crank the handle” process: intelligent analysis needs to be applied at all times throughout the activity, including critical review of the appropriateness of any methodology for an organisation's specific circumstances.

2009, Nick Gifford, Information Security: Managing the Legal Risks, Australia: CCH:

These five questions provide a framework for analyzing the benefits and costs, opportunities and risks. It won't provide a bright-line test or a crank-the-handle algorithm. But you shouldn't be looking for that here anyway.

2010, Robert Mnookin, Bargaining with the Devil: When the Negotiate, When to Fight, Simon & Schuster, pages 32–33:

(business, idiomatic) To perform a process; to do some work.


can't do right for doing wrong

“Hold your confounded tongue!” he bawled. “You can't do right for doing wrong, can you? No, by G-d! […]

1971, George MacDonald Fraser, Flash for Freedom!, page 59:

Insolvency doesn't necessarily happen when a company is doing poorly; quite the contrary, it can happen just as easily when a company is too successful (you see, sometimes you can't do right for doing wrong!).

2013, Steve Collings, Michael Taillard, Corporate Finance for Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, page 201:

They, like the sufferer, need support, since the emotional demands placed upon them can be very intense. They often feel that they can't do right for doing wrong when trying to offer help to the sufferer.

2014, Patricia Furness-Smith, chapter 2, in Overcoming Problem Eating: A Practical Guide, Icon Books:

(British) Be in a situation where any course of action leads to a negative outcome.

damned if one does and damned if one doesn't


eat lead

eat lead (third-person singular simple present eats lead, present participle eating lead, simple past ate lead, past participle eaten lead)

eats lead (present singular third-person)
eating lead (participle present)
ate lead (past)
eaten lead (participle past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-eat lead.wav

(figurative) To commit suicide by shooting oneself in the mouth with a firearm.


chap someone's hide

chap someone's hide (third-person singular simple present chaps someone's hide, present participle chapping someone's hide, simple past and past participle chapped someone's hide)

chaps someone's hide (present singular third-person)
chapping someone's hide (participle present)
chapped someone's hide (participle past)
chapped someone's hide (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-chap someone's hide.wav

get on someone's nerves
get on someone's nerves

(colloquial) To annoy someone; get on someone's nerves.


tread on someone's corns

tread<,,trod:tread:treaded,trod:tread:trodden:treaded> on someone's corns

tread on someone's corns (third-person singular simple present treads on someone's corns, present participle treading on someone's corns, simple past trod on someone's corns or tread on someone's corns or treaded on someone's corns, past participle trod on someone's corns or tread on someone's corns or trodden on someone's corns or treaded on someone's corns)

treads on someone's corns (present singular third-person)
treading on someone's corns (participle present)
trod on someone's corns (past)
tread on someone's corns (past)
treaded on someone's corns (past)
trod on someone's corns (participle past)
tread on someone's corns (participle past)
trodden on someone's corns (participle past)
treaded on someone's corns (participle past)

hurt someone's feelings
hurt someone's feelings

(UK, informal) To hurt someone's feelings.


blow the coals

blow the coals (third-person singular simple present blows the coals, present participle blowing the coals, simple past blew the coals, past participle blown the coals)

blows the coals (present singular third-person)
blowing the coals (participle present)
blew the coals (past)
blown the coals (participle past)

In reference to blowing on the coals of a fire to make it flare up.


give a crap

give a crap (third-person singular simple present gives a crap, present participle giving a crap, simple past gave a crap, past participle given a crap)

gives a crap (present singular third-person)
giving a crap (participle present)
gave a crap (past)
given a crap (participle past)

(chiefly in negative constructions) Synonym of give a shit


light the touch-paper

light the touch-paper (third-person singular simple present lights the touch-paper, present participle lighting the touch-paper, simple past and past participle lit the touch-paper or lighted the touch-paper)

lights the touch-paper (present singular third-person)
lighting the touch-paper (participle present)
lit the touch-paper (participle past)
lit the touch-paper (past)
lighted the touch-paper (participle past)
lighted the touch-paper (past)

(figuratively) To stir people up; to cause anger or excitement.


try conclusions

try conclusions (third-person singular simple present tries conclusions, present participle trying conclusions, simple past and past participle tried conclusions)

tries conclusions (present singular third-person)
trying conclusions (participle present)
tried conclusions (participle past)
tried conclusions (past)


throw gasoline on the fire

throw<,,threw,thrown> gasoline on the fire

throw gasoline on the fire (third-person singular simple present throws gasoline on the fire, present participle throwing gasoline on the fire, simple past threw gasoline on the fire, past participle thrown gasoline on the fire)

throws gasoline on the fire (present singular third-person)
throwing gasoline on the fire (participle present)
threw gasoline on the fire (past)
thrown gasoline on the fire (participle past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-throw gasoline on the fire.wav

Ish called me, laughing. “Mike, did you know we're in a fight?” We thought it was hysterical, and even joked about actually faking a fight just to throw gasoline on the fire.

2005, Andrew Kamenetzky, Fishing on the Edge: He's Not Your Father's Fisherman, Random House Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 207:

So no, I wasn't going to stand there and throw gasoline on the fire by saying, “Ma, you're right. It looks like Danny hit Rosalia, no matter what she says.”

2012, Bil Wright, Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 165:

My presence was likely to throw gasoline on the fire, and though I considered Anderson a friend, of sorts, we weren't close enough to justify me sticking my nose into his marital difficulties.

2013, Jenna Black, Rogue Descendant, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 60:

This is the height of racial paternalism—instead of objectively assessing the facts, the CRS was there to throw gasoline on the fire.

2014, Ben Shapiro, The People Vs. Barack Obama: The Criminal Case Against the Obama ..., Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 182:


throw gas on the fire

throw gas on the fire (third-person singular simple present throws gas on the fire, present participle throwing gas on the fire, simple past threw gas on the fire, past participle thrown gas on the fire)

throws gas on the fire (present singular third-person)
throwing gas on the fire (participle present)
threw gas on the fire (past)
thrown gas on the fire (participle past)

If you let your emotions get the better of you and you respond in kind to the irritated customer, you'll just throw gas on the fire. You may win the argument, but you will almost certainly lose the customer.

2005, Ski Area Management, Beardsley Publishing Corporation, page 36:

Keeping transactions together is about managing everyone's expectations and being a person who does not throw gas on the fire.

2010, Gary Keller, Dave Jenks, Jay Papasan, Shift: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times, McGraw Hill Professional, →ISBN, page 248:

There is a lot of violence in the world these days. Do not throw gas on the fire by showing a child lots of negative images.

2014, Bill Hoatson, Professor Johnson Unhinged: Lectures on Teaching and Parenting, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 112:

I believe we saw the incident escalated to a dangerous level by BLM leadership or lack thereof. We teach our local law enforcement people to defuse situations which may arise, not to throw gas on the fire.

2015, Committee on Natural Resources, Threats, Intimidation and Bullying by Federal Land Managing Agencies, Part II, Oversight Hrg. 113-82, July 24, 2014, 113-2, page 73:


tread on someone's toes

tread<,,trod:tread:trod:tread:trodden> on someone's toes

tread on someone's toes (third-person singular simple present treads on someone's toes, present participle treading on someone's toes, simple past and past participle trod on someone's toes or tread on someone's toes or trodden on someone's toes)

treads on someone's toes (present singular third-person)
treading on someone's toes (participle present)
trod on someone's toes (participle past)
trod on someone's toes (past)
tread on someone's toes (participle past)
tread on someone's toes (past)
trodden on someone's toes (participle past)
trodden on someone's toes (past)


heap coals of fire on someone's head

heap coals of fire on someone's head (third-person singular simple present heaps coals of fire on someone's head, present participle heaping coals of fire on someone's head, simple past and past participle heaped coals of fire on someone's head)

heaps coals of fire on someone's head (present singular third-person)
heaping coals of fire on someone's head (participle present)
heaped coals of fire on someone's head (participle past)
heaped coals of fire on someone's head (past)

An allusion to Romans 12:20 in the Bible.

Therefore if thine enemie hunger, feed him: if he thirst, giue him drink. For in so doing thou shalt heape coales of fire on his head.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Romans 12:20:

To excite remorse in someone by returning good for evil.


use the user

A "Use the User" plan will also be conducted by the outside salesmen and by the floor sales people by telephone.

1931, American Gas Engineering Journal, volumes 134-135, page 8:

Use-the-user premium plans can be devised to fit a great many different types of businesses. Among the largest users of such techniques are appliance manufacturers and their dealers, […]

1962, George Meredith, Effective Merchandising with Premiums, page 140:

(advertising) A promotion that offers some additional bonus to customers who refer further customers.


soften the blow

soften the blow (third-person singular simple present softens the blow, present participle softening the blow, simple past and past participle softened the blow)

softens the blow (present singular third-person)
softening the blow (participle present)
softened the blow (participle past)
softened the blow (past)

Traditionally, people gave a compliment first so it would soften the blow of what was to come after. It does not soften the blow, it fully erases the fact that they ever been complimented because their mind is focused on the last thing they heard, […]

2014, Noah-Jay Michael, Mastering Conversational Hypnosis: Learn the Principles of Hypnotic Language Patterns, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 52:

In prison there are no loved ones to soften the blow of such terrible news. I hated being the one to tell him, but it was infinitely better than if he got the news from someone he rarely heard from.

2015, Cindy Sanford, Letters to a Lifer: The Boy ‘Never to be Released’, Waterside Press, →ISBN, page 181:

European governments moved this weekend to soften the blow of soaring costs and a deepening energy crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine, and scrambled to prepare for the possibility of social unrest as the days grow colder.

2022 September 4, Erika Solomon, “Wary of Cold Days and Hot Tempers, Europe’s Leaders Vow Economic Relief”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(figuratively) To reduce the negative impact of something.


leap through hoops

leap through hoops (third-person singular simple present leaps through hoops, present participle leaping through hoops, simple past and past participle leapt through hoops)

leaps through hoops (present singular third-person)
leaping through hoops (participle present)
leapt through hoops (participle past)
leapt through hoops (past)

jump through hoops
jump through hoops#English


sell the dummy

sell the dummy (third-person singular simple present sells the dummy, present participle selling the dummy, simple past and past participle sold the dummy)

sells the dummy (present singular third-person)
selling the dummy (participle present)
sold the dummy (participle past)
sold the dummy (past)

(sports) To succeed in deceiving an opposing player with a feigned action.


piss on someone's parade

piss on someone's parade (third-person singular simple present pisses on someone's parade, present participle pissing on someone's parade, simple past and past participle pissed on someone's parade)

pisses on someone's parade (present singular third-person)
pissing on someone's parade (participle present)
pissed on someone's parade (participle past)
pissed on someone's parade (past)

rain on someone's parade
rain on someone's parade#English

(idiomatic, vulgar) To rain on someone's parade.


try titles

try titles (third-person singular simple present tries titles, present participle trying titles, simple past and past participle tried titles)

tries titles (present singular third-person)
trying titles (participle present)
tried titles (participle past)
tried titles (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-try titles.wav

To litigate a claim to property (most often real estate) or a public office.


make like a baby and head out

make like a baby and head out (third-person singular simple present makes like a baby and heads out, present participle making like a baby and heading out, simple past and past participle made like a baby and headed out)

makes like a baby and heads out (present singular third-person)
making like a baby and heading out (participle present)
made like a baby and headed out (participle past)
made like a baby and headed out (past)

A pun on head out (“depart for another place”) and the idea of a newborn baby emerging headfirst from the womb.


grease the skids

grease the skids (third-person singular simple present greases the skids, present participle greasing the skids, simple past and past participle greased the skids)

greases the skids (present singular third-person)
greasing the skids (participle present)
greased the skids (participle past)
greased the skids (past)

(informal, idiomatic) To create conditions likely to produce or hasten favorable future developments.


wouldn't harm a fly

wouldn't hurt a fly
wouldn't hurt a fly#English


set the tone

set the tone (third-person singular simple present sets the tone, present participle setting the tone, simple past and past participle set the tone)

sets the tone (present singular third-person)
setting the tone (participle present)
set the tone (participle past)
set the tone (past)

Jesus, a comparative bargain at £45m, sets the tone with relentless pressing and goals that have already made him an indispensable part of Arteta's plans, while Zinchenko brings quality, calm and creation.

2022 October 1, Phil McNulty, “Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham: Gunners show identity & direction in outstanding derby win”, in BBC Sport:

Create the emotional quality to be expected for something.