on fleek

Lexico
Newsweek
The Fader
Urban Dictionary

Origin unknown. Early entries for fleek in the Urban Dictionary date to 2003 (defined as “smooth, nice, sweet”) and 2009 (“awesome”); perhaps as a blend of fly (“well dressed, smart in appearance; in style, cool”) + sleek. The term was popularized by a video posted on the online video-hosting service Vine on June 21, 2014 by Chicago-area teen Kayla Newman, under her username “Peaches Monroee”, in which Newman, who had just had her eyebrows done for the first time, proudly declared “eyebrows on fleek”. She claimed that the term “just came to [her] out of the blue”. Lexico suggests it is “apparently an arbitrary formation”.

blend

Mama's fried chicken is on fleek. Popeye's is a close second, but mama's is number one.

2015 March 19, April Oberman, quoting Jalen Luter, “The Four Food Groups in the South: Home-cooked Cuisine to Live By”, in Beryl Kessio, editor, The Crimson Crier, number VI, Harvest, Ala.: Sparkman High School, page 8, column 2:

The vocal interplay between Cindy Wilson, Fred Schneider and Kate Pierson was (as the kids say), on fleek.

2015 April 2–8, Eleni P. Austin, “Kate Pierson: ‘Guitars and Microphones’ (Lazy Meadow Music)”, in Tracy Dietlin, editor, Coachella Valley Weekly, volume 4, number 2, Coachella Valley, Calif.: Tracy Dietlin, page 14, column 1:

Aquarius […] Your career game will be on fleek when the sun goes into Cancer on June 21.

2015 May 22, Aurora Tower, “Here’s Your Complete Love and Life Horoscope for Summer”, in Cosmopolitan, New York, N.Y.: Hearst Corporation, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-06-23:

If you want to do outdoorsy things, follow the crowds to Clear Creek Canyon for climbing, Mt. Evans for hiking/climbing, and Summit County for skiing/snowboarding. Be mindful that Summit County is totes legit and your kit must be on fleek.

2017 December 14, Nick Doublas, quoting “Piney the 2x4”, “The Best Denver, CO Hacks from Our Readers”, in Lifehacker, archived from the original on 2021-06-13:

"This media we call social," the poem says, "is anything but." There is nothing wrong with wanting to document good times, on-fleek outfits and maybe even a particularly scrumptious Starbucks order. Just don't make it a priority.

2015 January 20, Abagail Kruise, “Don’t make social media a top priority, spend some time offline with loved ones”, in Cameron Teague Robinson, editor, The BG News, volume 94, number 54, Bowling Green, Oh.: Bowling Green State University, →OCLC, page 4, column 5:

Your coat has to really be on fleek to be dope in New York. Your outerwear just has to be on point at all times. That's really the first thing people see.

2015 February, Dio Anthony, quoting Xosha Roquemore, “Xosha Roquemore: The Realist”, in Aleksandar Tomovic, editor, Bello, West Hollywood, Calif.: Bello Media Group, Image Nation Studio, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 92, column 3:

After several costume changes, I settled on an acceptably less-crazy dress and boots. It's just that I was so damn excited about my first trip to The Grey and I needed my look on fleek, OK?

2015 February 4–10, Jessica Leigh Lebos, “Catching shades of Grey”, in Jim Morekis, editor, Connect Savannah: The News, Arts & Entertainment Weekly, Savannah, Ga.: Morris Multimedia, page 10, column 1:

No wonder her fashion choices are on fleek.

2017 December 6, Anna Murphy, “A bustier is still a killer way to power-dress”, in The Times, London: News UK, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2018-03-10:

(slang, of an article of clothing or outfit) Stylish and perfectly chosen or put together.

"I'm definitely pro-eyebrow, but don't go overboard. You gotta have your eyebrows filled in just the right amount for them to be on fleek," [said] Senior Raven Johnson.

2014 October 16, Ryan Ghisetti, “New brow-raising trend emerges”, in Gillen Martin, Zoe Ziegler, editors, The Arcata High School Pepperbox, volume 87, number 1, Arcata, Calif.: Arcata High School, page 30, column 2:

One day their weave might be “on fleek” (looking good) then the next morning they wake up looking like Django when he was chained, and that's a scary sight.

2015 April, Wanya Williams, “Keepin’ It Real or Keepin’ a Weave”, in Sarah Asch, Riley Kuffner, Holly Parkin, editors, The Tam News, volume X, number VI, Mill Valley, Calif.: Tamalpais High School, page 23, column 3:

Her hair was on fleek or whatever them dumb hoes be saying on Instagram.

2015 April 1, Deborah Collins, “TC”, in Down Bad, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN:

"I used to say Natalia looked fit,"” she [Emer] explains, "but now I'm like, 'Your eyebrows are on fleek.'"

2017 December 22, Annie Lord, “Exploring the Future of Makeup with the Highly-contoured Teens of Beautycon”, in Vice, New York, N.Y.: Vice Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-07-11:

(slang, of eyebrows or hair) Sleek and perfectly groomed or styled; well-groomed.


en juego

(idiomatic) at stake, on the line, at issue, at risk


in the pudding club

* Possibly derived from the round shape of a pregnant abdomen, resembling that of a traditional boiled pudding.
* An alternative suggestion is an association with dialectal English pod (“belly”), German puddig (“swollen”), Westphalian Low German Puddek (“lump, pudding”).

(UK, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, colloquial, slang) Pregnant.


on the wrong side of history

Washington reporters . . . were seen by the president's people as on the wrong side of history—both technologically and politically.

1993 June 27, “The 'Jurassic Park' Press”, in Newsweek, retrieved 2015-04-21:

As gays have moved into the mainstream, Republicans have landed on the wrong side of history.

2007 June 14, Michael Kinsley, “The Quiet Gay Revolution”, in Time, retrieved 2015-04-21:

The Roberts court has too often been on the wrong side of history, most pointedly in its retrograde refusal to protect the right to vote.

2014 June 25, Linda Greenhouse, “The Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Cellphone Privacy”, in New York Times, retrieved 2015-04-21:

(idiomatic, usually politics, derogatory) Having policies or practices that are perceived as not progressive or enlightened; behaving in a manner that reflects out-of-date or disapproved opinions.


by hell

By hell, she's thick!

(vulgar) Exclamation of shock or surprise.


WROL

(survivalism) Initialism of without rule of law: describing a situation where police and legal systems have broken down


up to 11

It's the weekly half hour when the emotion is turned up to 11 but the atmosphere is so quietened that you can hear the dust clattering against the studio's lighting rig.

2010 May 22, Shane Hegarty, “Intimate details prove too close to the chat-show bone”, in The Irish Times, Dublin: Irish Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2016-04-22:

All of our ring personas are elements of our real personalities, but turned up to 11.

2012 August 15, Chris Richards, “Blade is set to cut other wrestlers down to size”, in Brentwood Gazette:

But because this is the internet, someone always has to pitch in and turn the hostility up to 11.

2015 April 18, Helen Lewis, “If only the sci-fi writers who hijacked the Hugo awards had the wit to imagine a world beyond the Good Old Days”, in The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-09-10:


in pig

‘I am in pig, what d'you think of that?’
‘A most hideous expression, Linda dear,’ said Aunt Emily, ‘but I suppose we must congratulate you.’

1945, Nancy Mitford, The Pursuit of Love, Penguin, published 2010, page 84:

(of a sow) Pregnant; also (humorous) used of a woman.


on pump

to buy something on pump

(US, Nebraska) On credit; with payment delayed until later.


in close neighbourhood

(archaic, figurative) Within close proximity.


in close neighborhood

And being in close neighborhood with the enemy we were necessitated to be pretty alert.

in close neighbourhood
in close neighbourhood#English

Alternative form of in close neighbourhood


on nodding terms

to be on nodding terms with one's neighbours

perhaps there was a squirrel or two whom he could befriend, or at least one day be on nodding terms with.

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

Having a relationship which is not close or fully developed (with someone).


on song

Alex (not on) Song as ITV pundit in Berlin -- West Ham's former Barcelona player endured a tough evening in ITV's Champions League final studio. https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/world-of-sport/alex--not-on--song-as-itv-pundit-192922810.html

(UK, informal) Playing or performing well.


in duplicate

This contract is in duplicate.


up on one's ear

When you got up on your ear and called me names, and said I had brought you eleven miles to look at a sapling, didn't I explain to you that all the whale-ships in the North Seas had been wooding off of it for more than twenty-seven years?

1870–1871 (date written), Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], “”, in Roughing It, Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Company [et al.], published 1872, →OCLC, page 552:

[H]e has been wronged, so he gets up on his ear, and he kicks like a two-year-old bay steer.

1890, Samuel R Brown, May-day dreams, Passion flowers, Poetic flights and prosy thoughts, book 3, p. 86 (Google preview):

"He's right up on his ear," said Clint gloomily. "If he gets us now he will send us all packing, and don't you doubt it!"

1916, Ralph Henry Barbour, chapter 10, in Left Guard Gilbert:

I know a salesman of this sort who will never make his mark, who flares up, "gets up on his ear," as they say, when ever his sensitive, sore spots are touched.

1916, Orison Swett Marden, Selling Things (reprinted in How to Sell without "Selling", Robert C. Worstell ed., 2014), ch. 23 (Google preview)


comme un poisson dans l'eau

comme un poisson dans l’ eau (canonical)

Literally, “like a fish in water”. Cognate with Occitan coma un peis dins l'aiga. Compare also the antonymous English idiom like a fish out of water.

être comme un poisson dans l’eau

like a duck takes to water
like a duck takes to water

(simile) like a duck takes to water, in one's element


ترى

تَرَى مو كِذا تِنْكَتِب


to let

Of a property: being advertised for rent.


על פי

he-prep

עַל־פִּי • (al pi)

עַל ־פִּי (canonical)
al pi (romanization)


round the wicket

Benaud, bowling round the wicket and pitching into the rough of Trueman's footholds, brought such a collapse that in 20 minutes to tea England virtually lost the game.

2011, Steven Lynch, Wisden on the Ashes: The Authoritative Story of Cricket's Greatest Rivalry:

around the wicket
around the wicket#English

(cricket) Alternative form of around the wicket


in town

He'll be in town next week for business.

Tell everyone I'll be in town for a few days.

They definitely make the best burgers in town.

Lots of new businesses are opening up in town.

In the town or city where one lives; in the town or city being referenced.

(as traditionally used in the environs of London, England, sometimes written 'in Town') In London, especially central London.

In the growing gambling industry, alongside table games (poker, roulette, etc.) and slot machines, there is a new game in town.

2012, William Schnoebelen, Romancing Death:

(informal) Present; making an appearance.


at play

There are children at play in the street.

Another opposition force at play is the Move Forward party – hugely popular among young Thais for its radical reform agenda.

2023 May 14, Heather Chen, Kocha Olarn, “Polls close in Thailand as opposition takes on kingdom’s conservative cliques”, in CNN:


بسم

بِسْمِ (canonical)
bi-smi (romanization)

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم#Arabic

Alternative form of بِاسْمِ (bi-smi) used in بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ (bismi llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīmi).


on the outside looking in

on the outside, looking in
on the outside, looking in#English

Alternative form of on the outside, looking in


on the outside, looking in

Won't you take me back again? I'll be waiting here till then / On the outside looking in

1964, “I’m On the Outside (Looking In)”, performed by Little Anthony and the Imperials:

"In a sense, I've always felt on the outside, looking in," Mr. Douglas says. "It's my background, damn it. My father was an illiterate Russian immigrant, a ragman, the lowest rung on the economic scale. There were six sisters and my mother; I was the only boy. To be a young Jewish boy in a town—Amsterdam, in upstate New York—that was quite anti-Semitic."

1988 August 24, Mervyn Rothstein, “Kirk Douglas And Anger”, in New York Times, retrieved 2015-08-02:

A recurrent theme of Theroux's books is this sense of being an alien, on the outside looking in.

1997 May 18, Marianne Macdonald, “Who is Paul Theroux?”, in Independent (UK), retrieved 2015-08-02:

While China's economy soars, hundreds of millions of migrant workers and rural peasants have been left on the outside looking in.

2007 August 2, Ishaan Tharoor, “India's Democratic Advantage”, in Time, retrieved 2015-08-02:

(idiomatic) Excluded from a group, process, or opportunity, and feeling downhearted as a result.


through the gate

(cricket, slang) Through a gap between the bat and the batsman's shin pad.


for Africa

Suggesting large aid donations to the Third World.

Every Christmas, my mother makes fruitcakes for Africa.

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see for, Africa.


above one's pay grade

beyond one's pay grade
beyond one's pay grade#English


in season

Morel mushrooms are only in season for a few weeks in spring.


on the pat and mick

on the Pat and Mick
on the Pat and Mick#English


on the Pat and Mick

Rhyming slang for on the sick. Pat and Mick are stereotypical Irish names.

Things are very different when you are off on the sick. . . . For a start, when you are on the Pat and Mick you no longer go to work.

1981 October 2, Jack McLean, “Limping along the road to recovery”, in Glasgow Herald, Scotland, retrieved 2015-08-10:

I'm on the pat and mick at the mo. Only went to town to see my mother off on the train, as she'd come down for the weekend to cheer me up.

2008 July 22, Daisy Dart, “Re: Fatal bus accident in Leeds”, in Bus and Coach Forum, UK, retrieved 2015-08-10:

While lifting the SD1's battery the handle came off. . . . [I]t then bounced and landed on my foot—good job I was wearing my toetectors otherwise I would have spent Christmas on the pat and mick.

2013 Dec. 8, Bren, "Dropped car battery," autoshite.com Motoring chat forum (UK) (retrieved 10 Aug 2015)

Cockney rhyming slang
Cockney rhyming slang

(Cockney rhyming slang) Sick; out of commission due to being unwell.


at places

I felt dizzy and fainting at places, but I still made it to the finish line.

Light to moderate rain/temporary showers accompanied by temporary gusty wind is likely to occur at many places over the area with moderately heavy falls at places.

2013, A.S. IslamS. Attwoodet al., Assessment of capabilities, needs of communities, opportunities and ...:

Concern about the relationship between disorder and crime is further deepened by the fact that disorder and crime often co-exist at places.

2007, Sue-Ming Yang, Causal Or Merely Co-existing: A Longitudinal Study of Violence and Disorder:

(idiomatic) In some, possibly rare places.


at variance

For the good and the wicked are ever at variance with each other, and also sometimes the wicked are at variance with each other, and moreover a wicked man is sometimes at variance with himself.

(idiomatic) not in accord; in a state of disagreement


in the line of duty

"I'd hate to have the Inspector send in a report to headquarters, 'Constable Beresford missing in the line of duty.'"

1922, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 35, in Man Size:

Last year 88 other U.S. policemen were killed in the line of duty.

1965 September 10, “Helping the Widows”, in Time, retrieved 2018-03-20:

Quinn's friends repeat the mantra that Officer Galluzzo was just doing his job, the implication being that mistakes made in the line of duty should be forgiven.

2015 December 18, Kekla Magoon, “Review of All American Boy by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely”, in New York Times, retrieved 2018-03-20:

(idiomatic) As part of or while performing official duties, usually of the military or police personnel, or of government officials.

as part of or while performing official duties

при исполне́нии служе́бных обя́занностей

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see in, the, line, of, duty.


away from home

(UK, sports) Away; at the venue of an opposing team or competitor.

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see away, from, home.


on the road

Some salesmen spend a lot of time on the road.

(US, Canada, sports) At the venue of an opposing team or competitor.

Of a purchased vehicle: including everything required in order to start driving, such as registration and taxes.

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see on, the, road.


on talking terms

They weren't on talking terms last time we saw them.

It is more professional to accept differences, no matter what the grievance, and walk away on talking terms.

We are on talking terms with him about his business.

(idiomatic) able to talk with someone, either in general or about the particular topic

Reality and I were simply not on talking terms.

(idiomatic, figuratively) in agreement or harmony with (something)

After completing the last lesson, the student should be on “talking terms” with anyone who discusses the subject of algebra.

(rare) Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see on, talking, terms.


on a tear

/ɒn ə ˈtɛə(ɹ)/

[T]he team was on a tear, having laid waste to three early round tournament opponents by a total victory margin of 82 points.

1981 April 13, “Sport: Raging Bull of Basketball”, in Time, retrieved 2015-08-28:

To say he went on a tear after turning professional would be an understatement. He went fourteen fights without tasting defeat.

2014 November 7, Dan Hardy, “Michael Bisping analysis”, in Independent, UK, retrieved 2015-08-28:

[T]he market has been on a tear for more than six years and continues to trade near record highs.

2015 July 9, William D. Cohan, “The Bumbling, Irrelevant New York Stock Exchange”, in New York Times, retrieved 2015-08-28:

(idiomatic) engaged in a continuous, fast-paced procession of actions or events, especially with favorable results.

Congress has been hopping mad and the U.N.-haters have been on a tear.

2001 May 29, Thomas L. Friedman, “Foreign Affairs: 95 to 5”, in New York Times, retrieved 2015-08-28:

[W]hen the gay activist and playwright Larry Kramer goes on a tear, when he really lays into somebody about being politically lazy or not wearing a condom,. . . [y]ou hear rage.

2012 September 27, Wesley Morris, “‘How to Survive a Plague’ looks back at AIDS activism’s power”, in Boston Globe, retrieved 2015-08-28:

(idiomatic) In or into a protracted state of agitation, fury, or zeal.

The man I want to tell you about, the one I met at the bar at Jimmy's Steak House, was on a tear. Hardly surprising, since this was a bar, after all, and what do people do at bars except drink, and one drink leads to another -- and if you're in a certain frame of mind, I suppose, you don't stop for a day or two or maybe more.

2013, T. C. Boyle, T.C. Boyle Stories II: The Collected Stories of T. Coraghessan Boyle, →ISBN:

That Kelly, when he goes on a tear, he don't wait for the bars to open.

1998, Dana Stabenow, Fire and Ice, page 77:

Binge drinking; engaged in a bout of heavy consumption of alcoholic beverages; on a bender.


ar hyn o bryd

From ar (“at”) + hyn (“this”) + o (“of”) + bryd (“time”).

compound

at this point in time
at this point in time

(idiomatic) at the moment, at this point in time


in the furtherance of justice

in the interest of justice
in the interest of justice#English


in the interest of justice

Motion to dismiss in the interest of justice

(law, US, idiomatic) the reason of case dismissal used when the judge decides that justice will be best served when the case is dismissed

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see in, the, interest, of, justice.


by one's lonesome

on one's lonesome
on one's lonesome#English


on one's lonesome

"Sittin' there all on her lonesome the whole day long, it's understandable she gets down in the dumps."

1996, Joan Jonker, Sweet Rosie O'Grady (2012 Headline ebook edition), Google books online

But his skills with a bike were unassailable — while the factory teams were struggling with setup, it was Dunlop on his lonesome that gave the company its first International victories.

2003, Aaron P. Frank, Honda Motorcycles, →ISBN, page 176:

Working on his lonesome every day definitely had him craving a bit of human company.

2015, Josephine Myles, chapter 10, in Scrap, →ISBN:

(idiomatic) Alone; without aid or accompaniment.


on the wind

(nautical) As close as possible to the direction that the wind is blowing.


san am céanna

at the same time (simultaneously; on the other hand)


off-air

He agreed to an off-air interview.

Alternative spelling of off air, especially when used attributively.


off the lay

(of domestic poultry) having stopped laying eggs for some reason.


fu acis

It is uncertain whether acis is the same word as accuis (“cause, occasion”). If so, either the meaning ‘pretense’ is nowhere else attested for accuis or the scribe misinterpreted the Latin sub obtentu.

fu acis [translating sub obtentu]

808, Book of Armagh, 189ᵃ2, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (1901–03, Cambridge University Press; reprinted 1975, 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. 1, p. 498, l. 29


BEO

(space flight) Abbreviation of beyond Earth orbit.


d'or

louis d’or ― louis d'or

tuer la poule aux œufs d’or

to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs

avoir un cœur d’or

âge d’or

règle d’or

noces d’or

le silence est d’or

parler d’or


im Fall

Vorurteil 9: Pfadfinder singen altmodische Lieder. «He! Wir singen im Fall auch moderne Sachen», sagt Simon.

2004 September 4, “Schweizerischer Pfaditag 2004”, in Berner Zeitung, page 35:

Prejudice 9: Boy scouts sing old-fangled songs. “Hey! We also do sing by the way modern stuff” Simon says.

Sie habe sehr gut Klavier gespielt. Das kann sie jetzt nicht mehr. «Die da würden ja noch funktionieren», sagt sie, streckt beide Hände in die Luft und bewegt die Finger. Aber sie sehe nicht mehr sehr gut. Sonst sei sie gesund. «Ich habe in den ganzen hundert Jahren ‹im Fall› noch nie Kopfschmerzen gehabt.»

2008 November 19th, Malolo Kessler: «Ich wäre gerne Pianistin geworden», in St. Galler Tagblatt, No. 271, p. 37 (archived online; retrieved October 18, 2015), p. 37

She have played the piano very well. That, she cannot do anymore. “These would still do” she says stretching her arms in the air and moving her fingers. But she is not able anymore to see very well. Otherwise she be healthy. “Just to let you know, I have never had headaches in all of these one hundred years.”

(Switzerland, idiomatic) just to let you know; by the way


in Minne

1976, Max Frisch: Santa Cruz: Eine Romanze [1947]. In: Hans Mayer; in collaboration with Walter Schmitz (edd.): Gesammelte Werke in zeitlicher Abfolge. 1st edition. Complete editions in 13 volumes. Part 3, volume 2/1: 1944–1949. Santa Cruz, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, p. 67

Why have you come? So that we touch on the past once again, nothing else, we forgive each other, everything [is] amicable, we smile, we banter about tears shed, nothing else, it was an episode for the man, and the wistfulness turns it again into a little episode, into a supplement of great delight, into a visit in passing, into an evening full of sentiment with nuts and wine …

Warum bist du gekommen? Daß uns das Vergangene noch einmal rühre, nichts weiter, man verzeiht sich, alles in Minne, man lächelt, man scherzt über vergossene Tränen, nichts weiter, es war eine Episode für den Mann, und die Wehmut, sie macht noch einmal ein Episödchen daraus, einen Nachtrag der Wonne, einen Besuch im Vorübergehen, einen gefühlvollen Abend bei Nüssen und Wein …

Seit über 50 Jahren haben sie sich immer in Minne abgesprochen, spielten den Europäern den Chefposten beim IWF zu und den Amerikanern jenen bei der Weltbank.

2000 March 3, Victor Breu, “Schröder forsch, Clinton nett, Jospin agil”, in Zürcher Tagesanzeiger, number 9, page 2:

For more than 50 years they have always arranged with each other by mutual (and amicable) agreement, they passed the top positions at the IMF to the Europeans and those at the World Bank to the Americans.

Wer glaubt, die Polarisierung werde sich in Minne auflösen, weil Amerika unter Präsident Obama auf multilaterale Zusammenarbeit setzt, irrt.

2009 April 26, “Die Menschenrechte sollten nicht zerredet werden”, in NZZ am Sonntag, page 17:

Whoever believes that the polarization will dissolve peacefully because America under President Obama focuses on multilateral cooperation, is mistaken.

(Switzerland) by/in mutual (amicable) agreement, without the occurrence of any hostile argument; amicably, peacefully


naar de gallemieze

naar de gallemiezen
naar de gallemiezen#Dutch


naar de gallemiezen

Ik zei dat je voorzichtig moest zijn! Mijn hele auto is naar de gallemiezen!

I told you to be careful! My car is completely wrecked!

wasted, ruined, destroyed, done for, to the dogs


om te beginnen

first of all, to begin with, for starters, for one


for England

Suggests that if there was a world championship for the given action, the person under discussion could compete on the national team.

Before Venita, who could chatter for England, had a chance to hand over too much more information, Marty jumped in defensively.

2011, Bernardine Kennedy, Past Chances, Hachette UK, →ISBN:

She always wore the most disgustingly old-fashioned clothes and she could moan and complain for England but the thing that really bugged Sharon about Anne was that, despite having the disposition of a wet weekend in Scarborough, she always signed her departmental notes 'Annie' and she always turned the dot on the 'i' into a flower.

2014, David Menon, Fireflies: Detective Superintendent Jeff Barton #2, David Menon:

She could sleep for England. It's not unusual for teenagers to sleep for England, I know, but I believe Amy experienced depressions in her early teens.

2014, Janis Winehouse, Loving Amy: A Mother's Story, Random House, →ISBN:

(UK, idiomatic) Very well or for a long time.

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see for, England.


up to one's eyes

He wrote that Gillies "even dressed my woulds himself and visited me at night to see if I was comfortable, though he was up to his eyes in work."

2022, Lindsey Fitzharris, The Facemaker, page 78:

up to one's eyeballs
up to one's eyeballs#English


i tide

head

fixed expressions with fossilized case endings

in time (at or before the time assigned)


in the bed

She's a real freak in the bed.


au propre

mettre au propre

remettre au propre

(linguistics) Ellipsis of au sens propre: literally, in the literal sense


for all one knows

I haven't seen her for weeks. For all I know, she's moved to another country.

Turn out the light
Don't try to save me
You may be wrong for all I know
But you may be right

1980 March 7, Billy Joel, “You May Be Right”, in Glass Houses:

Possibly or conceivably, given one's limited knowledge.


i hel

form removed with the spelling reform of 2005; superseded by i hjel


i hel

From i + hel. Compare Swedish ihjäl and Danish ihjel (> Norwegian Bokmål i hjel).

Han vart slegen i hel.


like merry hell

But basically the classical musicians kept their eyes glued to their parts and played like merry hell, and the drummer kept his eyes glued on the conductor drummed like merry hell whenever he was cued—but there was no emotional unity […]

2003, Maxwell Steer, Music and Mysticism: Parts 3 and 4, page 11:

They saw us and ran for it like merry hell, trying to get there and plunder it before we could raise the alarm.

2015, Jonathan Peace, The Bloodstone Of Cerillion, page 51:


like one needs a hole in the head

I need another parking citation like I need a hole in the head.


at adventure

From Middle English at aventure, a calque of Anglo-Norman and Old French a l'aventure (“at random”).

(obsolete) Alternative form of at a venture


at a venture

From earlier at adventure, with the same meaning, from Anglo-Norman and Old French a l'aventure (“at random”).

For when the Mind is once re-pleniſh’d with ſound and good Principles, not taken up at a Venture, but upon the most mature Deliberation, what can we reaſonably expect, but that it ſhould exert it ſelf in a ſuitable Manner upon all proper Occaſions.

1713, George Oldham, A Sermon Preach’d at Bishop’s-Stortford in Hertfordshire, Aug. 25. 1713. at the Anniversary Solemnity of the School-Feast.:

For my own part, I never in my life began a letter more at a venture than the present.

He had nothing better to do than to take chance for his guide, and to go at a venture through the streets of the city.

1911, Jules Verne, translated by Charles F. Horne, Round the World in Eighty Days:

(dated) at random, without application of due thought, haphazardly or recklessly


on someone's mind

She had been on his mind since they met at the bar late last night.

(idiomatic) Preoccupying someone; present in someone's thoughts.


on it like a car bonnet

From English on it with the fanciful elaboration like a car bonnet, the latter part chosen because it rhymes with the first part.

Students have described being focused like... / ... An eagle watching its prey ... a footballer with their eye on the ball ... ‘on it like a car bonnet’ ... catching a wave ... ‘just do it’ ... rolling your sleeves up ... keeping the rhythm in a band ... in the zone ... in a bubble ...a tiger

2015, Jeff Gill, Will Medd, Get Sorted: How to Make the Most of Your Student Experience, Palgrave, →ISBN, page 49:

‘I had my researchers check the files on all the mispers and cold cases five years either side of that date estimate, on females of that approximate age. This is what they found. Fill your boots.’ He took a large gulp of his drink. / ‘I’m impressed, you've been moving fast.’ / ‘On it like a car bonnet, mate.’

2015, Peter James, You Are Dead, New York, N.Y.: Minotaur Books, →ISBN:

We'll spin it that you and me were having a friendly chat over a pint, and you just happened to mention the victim hiring you to find a necklace. Whereupon I, seeing as how I knew stuff you didn't, was on it like a car bonnet and got you to sing like a canary what's won the X Factor and got top billing at the Royal Opera House.

2016 July, J. L. Merrow, Blow Down: The Plumber's Mate, Cincinnati, Oh.: Samhain Publishing, →ISBN:

(simile, humorous) Synonym of on it (“actively working to solve a problem, etc.”)


like talking to a wall

Are you even listening to me? It's like talking to a wall.

(idiomatic) A futile or unsuccessful attempt at communication due to the ignorance or stubbornness of the other party.

mar a bhith a' bruidhinn ri each na chadal


like talking to a brick wall

like talking to a wall
like talking to a wall#English

Alternative form of like talking to a wall


צווישן האַמער און קאָוואַדלע

צווישן האַמער און קאָוואַדלע • (tsvishn hamer un kovadle)

between a rock and a hard place
between a rock and a hard place

(idiomatic) between a rock and a hard place (literally "between hammer and anvil")

en-צווישן_האַמער_און_קאָוואַדלע-yi-prep_phrase-zM7myrbj


ca două picături de apă

like two peas in a pod
like two peas in a pod


in the driving seat

in the driver's seat
in the driver's seat#English

(idiomatic) alternative form of in the driver's seat


with due respect

with all due respect
with all due respect#English


in the room

Being a party to confidential negotiations.

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see in, the, room.


to bits

2015 December 30, RT, "Belgium’s nuclear power plants ‘falling to bits’ – German officials"

2016 January 3, David Lloyd, “Ben Stokes is a mongrel, he’ll tear you to bits… but he’s also England’s jewel”, in Daily Mail:

Into small pieces; indicating total destruction.

2016 January 6, Neil Cameron, Evening Times 'Donald Findlay would be "thrilled to bits" if Cowdenbeath beat Rangers'

2016 January 6, Lara Martin, Reveal 'CBB's Stephanie Davis on boyfriend Sam Reece: "I love him to bits. He's my rock."'

(British, informal) very much (typically describing positive emotions)


achter de hand

in reserve, kept aside for when the need arises


at a push

At first she had wondered what he wanted of her, when (so she had heard) plenty of round-heeled Washington girls were his at a push.

1978, Herman Wouk, War and Remembrance, Back Bay Books, published 2002, page 523:


up to one's ass in alligators

(Canada, US, slang) Beset by multiple difficulties or adversaries that must be dealt with quickly.


à mão de semear

Mas acontecia que naquele momento não tinha pedra nenhuma. Paciência. Nem sempre temos aquilo que queremos à mão de semear. Levantei os pés, dobrei os joelhos e encostei o queixo à mão. Depois fechei os olhos e assim me deixei ...

2015, Haruki Murakami, Crónica do Pássaro de Corda, Leya, →ISBN:

(idiomatic) in reach; an arm's length away


i. e. S.

Abbreviation of im engeren Sinne, or im engen Sinne.

stricto sensu, in the narrow(er) sense, more specifically, more precise


on TV

Broadcast through the medium of television.


fo sho

Based on a non-rhotic accent with the dough-door merger, which is found in some varieties of African American Vernacular English. Compare mo (“more”), fo' (“for; four”).

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling

(slang) Pronunciation spelling of for sure.


with every fiber of one's being

The girl was righ - there was a sign, a call in them - something to which I responded with every fibre of my being.

1900, Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim, page xxxv. 244:


on the surface

On the surface, the film is a globe-trotting gross-out caper in which Nobby, who's from a hellish version of the titular Lincolnshire town ("twinned with Chernobyl"), is reunited with his long-lost brother Sebastian (Mark Strong), who has become a spy for the British secret services.

2016 February 23, Robbie Collin, “Grimsby review: ' Sacha Baron Cohen's vital, venomous action movie'”, in The Daily Telegraph (London):


unto the ages of ages

Calque of Ancient Greek εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων (eis toùs aiônas tôn aiṓnōn).

calque

εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων

(formal, idiomatic) For all time, forever.


en ciernes

Si Sumar, la plataforma en ciernes que promueve la vicepresidenta segunda del Gobierno, Yolanda Díaz, lograse aglutinar todo ese espacio, estaría en posición de obtener un gran resultado, hasta 57 escaños […]

2022 December 6, Xosé Hermida, “La división a la izquierda del PSOE situaría a la derecha al borde de la mayoría”, in El País:

If Sumar, the fledgling platform promoted by second vice president Yolanda Díaz, were to succeed in uniting all of this space, it could be in a position to obtain a great result with up to 57 seats […]

(idiomatic) in the making, fledgling, soon-to-be


under the hood

Referring to the hood (bonnet) of a motor vehicle, which covers the engine.

Internet search engines are easy to use, but there's a lot going on under the hood.

Under the hood, Mosaic is primitive by today's standards, but it's design is recognizable. Sure, it's all black, white and gray with flat buttons, but it would take absolutely no time to adjust to it.

2010 September 2, Niraj Chokshi, “The Stagnant History of the Browser Interface: A Retrospective”, in The Atlantic:

There have been some tweaks under the hood, as you would expect, and one major alteration that will probably divide fans, but this 25-year-old motor is very much still running.

2022 March 4, Mike Channell, “Gran Turismo 7 review – the ultimate racing game is fresh and comfortingly familiar”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(figurative) Beneath the surface; in its internal workings.


out of step

At the march-past, little Johnny was out of step with everyone else.

The soldiers […] marched out of step in spite of the drum-beat,

1940, Graham Greene, The Power and the Glory, Penguin, published 1977, Part 1, Chapter 4, pp. 51-52:

Not matching the movement of one's feet with that of others, or with an accompanying beat, while marching or walking.

epätahdissa

rhythmic movement opposed to that of others

The government is increasingly out of step with public opinion.

If, now and then, during their travels, they had fallen slightly out of step, harmony had been restored by their return to the conditions she was used to.

1920, Edith Wharton, chapter 21, in The Age of Innocence, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC, book II, pages 207–208:

What disturbed him was the discovery that in sensibly ordering his affairs he had got out of step, and not into step, with life.

1930, Dashiell Hammet, chapter 7, in The Maltese Falcon, New York, N.Y., London: Alfred A[braham] Knopf, →OCLC, pages 77–78:

Industry experts are concerned that if the railway doesn't change tack, it would soon find itself out of step with the needs of the nation and in the crosshairs of a Treasury looking to slash spending.

2021 October 20, Ben Jones, “The benefits of (and barriers to) more leisure travel by rail”, in RAIL, number 942, page 32:

The US president won rave reviews in Kyiv and Warsaw. But his old, cold war mindset is out of step with a changing world[.]

2023 February 26, Simon Tisdall, “Outdated and out of time: Biden’s crusade for global democracy is doomed to fail”, in The Observer, →ISSN:

(figurative) Not matching or in agreement (with someone or something).


in error

The cheque was sent in error.

You are in error in your conclusions.


about that life

I'm about that life, so it's no biggie to me. I've been in these streets before.

2014, M. T. Pope, Both Sides of the Fence 4: Bad Blood:

"It's a new lounge. You guys will love it." "Mia may love it. Some of us aren't about that life," Estelle said. "Mia isn't about that life anymore^([sic]) either," I said […]

2015, Claire Contreras, Paper Hearts, page 333:

One of the three woman, Maria Garcia, testified she was stabbed 13 times by Genesis Matos-Ramirez. Matos-Ramirez said during the attack, "I'm all about that life, I will kill you," Garcia testified

2015 July 10, “Women to face trial over street brawl stabbings”, in Allentown Morning Call:

According to the fan who earlier uploaded photos of the run-in to Instagram, he gave a rambling answer when asked to confirm he was Delonte West, saying: 'I used to be, but I'm not about that life anymore.'

2016 February 25, “Delonte West videos show ex NBA star bellowing at kids and ...”, in Daily Mail:

(slang) Having or desiring an ostentatious lifestyle, especially involving sex, drugs, and violence.

He was a cowboy at heart, like the rest of them, although he had never lived the life of a real cowboy or he might not be fantasizing about that life

2015, George T. Lindsey, Mesa Flats Resort Predators and Politics, page 403:

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see about, that, life.


to one's name

My uncle gambled away his fortune, and now he hardly has a penny to his name.

She calls herself a novelist, but she only has a few short stories to her name.


to order

Police believe that the painting was stolen to order for a private collection.

Hamburgers are cooked to order. Consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish, or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness.

As ordered or requested; to fulfil a command or request.

на заказ

as ordered or requested; to fulfil a command or request


down the pan

From the former use of pan as a synonym of chamber pot.

(idiomatic, UK slang) Synonym of down the toilet: wasted; irretrievable.


down the khazi

"Whoever the hell is running the place now has made a terrible mess of it," he said... "Not in the sense that it looks different, or that it isn't pretty much permanently full. It's just that the food as gone utterly down the khazi."

2009 February 19, Gareth Lewis, Southern Daily Echo:


down the toilet

Well, their reputation is down the toilet.

(idiomatic) Into a state of collapse or failure: wasted, squandered; irretrievable.


down the cludgie

(Scotland slang, idiomatic, euphemistic) Alternative form of down the toilet: wasted or irretrievable.


up the proverbial

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-up the proverbial.wav

(euphemistic) Euphemistic form of up shit creek.


with one's jaw in one's lap

Extension of the metaphor used in jaw-dropping.

The contortionist's performance left me with my jaw in my lap.


μετά το μεσημέρι

head

μετά το μεσημέρι • (metá to mesiméri)

Expression, equivalent to the formal μετά μεσημβρίαν (metá mesimvrían).


in flying colours

in flying colors
in flying colors#English

British standard spelling of in flying colors.


like a bitch on heat

like a dog on heat
like a dog on heat#English

(simile, vulgar) Synonym of like a dog on heat


אין כּעס

אין כּעס • (in kas)

זי וועט זײַן אין כּעס!


en danseuse

(cycling) Riding out of the saddle, standing up, and rocking from side to side for leverage


on the rivet

When riding at maximum speed, a racer often perches on the front tip of the saddle, where the shell of an old-style leather saddle would be attached to the saddle frame with a rivet.


like a moth to the flame

From the behavior of moths, that are instinctively attracted to light and are sometimes observed to go directly into flames, seemingly committing suicide.

I came back and back to the same bad relationship, like a moth to the flame.

Inescapably allured by something harmful.

像飛蛾撲火一樣

inescapably allured by something harmful


in rare form

He's usually quite confrontational anyway, but he's in rare form today so watch out.

(idiomatic) Operating or performing at a high level or at one's best; extreme.


op de been

Literally, “on the legs”, with an old endingless plural of been (instead of contemporary benen). Compare the same construction in German auf den Beinen.


on one's Pat Malone

Australian rhyming slang; possibly from the ballad Paddy Malone in Australia, recounting the tribulations of an Irish immigrant.

"Who's paying?" asked Oscar. "Abo Department?"
"Oh, no," said Lace lightly. "I'm doing it on my pat."

1938, Xavier Herbert, chapter IX, in Capricornia, page 139:

"My daughter worries about me. Isn't that nice," Brian said to the room. "She'd be on her Pat Malone there then, wouldn't she?"

2004, Jay Verney, Percussion, St Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press, page 298:


in full flow

Clattenburg pulled play back and infuriated Pardew a second time when Joel Ward carried on in a promising position despite being fouled by Marcos Rojo, only to be stopped in full flow by the official.

2016 May 22, Phil McNulty, “Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester United”, in BBC:

(talking, acting or moving) rapidly, with no sign of stopping


on one's pat

on one's Pat Malone
on one's Pat Malone#English

(Australia, slang) Alternative form of on one's Pat Malone


like a dose of salts

From the laxative properties of Epsom salts.

After five minutes' conversation with me the old folks would penetrate the deception like a dose of salts.

1949, P.G. Wodehouse, The Mating Season:

Every so often a mass campaign swept the country like a dose of salts, and officials, writers, artists, people in the public eye were purged and flushed out on a tidal wave of hysteria.

2009, Esther Cheo Ying, Black Country to Red China, →ISBN:

Carew, a notorious axeman, had just gone through a neighbouring regional station like a dose of salts, restructuring and streamlining, as he liked to call it.

She was a bit concerned about the old woman getting down on her knees because of her complaints about rheumatism, but ever since Becky had dropped her off, the maid had not stopped working and had gone through the hotel like a dose of salts.

2015, June Francis, A Mother's Duty, →ISBN, page 212:


out of one's skin

I jumped out of my skin when the doorbell rang.

I thought I was alone in the house, so his sudden appearance frightened me out of my skin.

Conveying the idea that somebody is terrified.


במו ידיו

בְּמוֹ יָדָיו

בְּמוֹ יָדָיו • (b'mó yadáv)

בְּמוֹ יָדָיו (canonical)
b'mó yadáv (romanization)

עוד לא הכל עשיתי ממש במו ידי \ עוד לא הכל ניסיתי, עוד לא אהבתי די

1977, Naomi Shemer, “עוד לא אהבתי די” (ód ló ahávti dái, “I haven’t loved enough yet”)

I haven't yet done everything really by myself / I haven't yet tried everything, I haven't yet loved enough

ód ló hakól asíti mamásh b'mó yadái / ód ló hakól nisíti, ód ló ahávti dái

(to do something) with one's own hands, by oneself


at one's fingers' ends

The more business he got, the greater his power seemed to grow of getting at its pith and marrow; and however late at night he sat carousing with Sydney Carton, he always had his points at his fingers' ends in the morning.

1859, Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC:

at one's fingertips
at one's fingertips#English


on blast

Back-formation from put someone on blast.

“I really did want someone who also has to be on blast and be judged in the public forum of writing lyrics and has to sing and has to play instruments,” Bridwell continues, “someone that understands the weight that carries around with it. And someone who knows the industry side of it. That was the main lightning rod. This guy is going to get it more than anyone else could. He has been on both sides of the damn desk. At least I’ll have a good ear to bend if shit goes wrong.”

2016 June 21, Matt Fink, “Band of Horses: The Art of Contradiction”, in Paste Magazine:

Jim Murphy is on blast... for being dismissive of the England football team.

2014 March 9, “So much for Better Together... Jim Murphy insults English team”, in Express (UK):

The Cleveland Animal Shelter is on blast this week as hundreds of community members push for changes in the way it operates.

2012 June 26, “Adopted dog killed before pickup, Cleveland shelter on blast”, in WRCB-TV:

(slang) In an embarrassing position from having been publicly denounced or exposed, especially from being shamed on social media.


on tour

On a journey through a given list of places, such as by an entertainer performing concerts.


from post to pillar

Possibly a reference to the rapid movement of the ball in real tennis. The term is believed to have given rise to the modern term from pillar to post.

Whyche dooñ he hym sent to Contrycion, / And fro thensforth to Satysfaccion. / Thus fro poost to pylour was he made to daunce, / And at the last he went forthe to Penaunce.

c. 1420, formerly attributed to John Lydgate, Hrre [sic] Folowyth the Interpretacõn of the Names of Goddis and Goddesses of this Treatyse Folowynge as Poetes Wryte, [Westminster, i.e., London: Printed by Wynkyn de Worde, published 1498], OCLC 561380359; republished as Oscar Lovell Triggs, editor, The Assembly of Gods: or, The Accord of Reason and Sensuality in the Fear of Death by John Lydgate. Ed. from the Mss. with Introduction, Notes, Index of Persons and Places, and Glossary, by Oscar Lovell Triggs (Early English Text Society, Extra Series; 69), London: Published for the Early English Text Society by K. Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1896, OCLC 4125645, page 34, lines 1145–1148

{“A Dialogue Containing the Number of the Effectual Proverbs in the English Tongue. Part II. Chapter II.”, page 55} What, a post of physic, (said she)? Yea a post; / And from post to pillar, wife, I have been tossed / By that surfeit. And I feel a little fit / Even now, by former attempting of it.
{“Three Hundred Epigrammes, upon Three Hundred Prouerbes, Invented and Made by John Heywood”, page 218} 251. "Of Post and Pillar." / Tossed from post to pillar: thou art a pillar strong; / And thou hast been a pillar, some say, too long.

1562, John Heywood, Iohn Heywoodes Woorkes. A Dialogue Conteynyng the Number of the Effectuall Prouerbes in the Englishe Tounge, Compact in a Matter Concernynge Two Maner of Maryages. With One Hundred of Epigrammes: and Thrée Hundred of Epigrammes vpon Thrée Hundred Prouerbes: and a Fifth Hundred of Epigrams. Whervnto are Now Newly Added a Syxt Hundred of Epigrams by the Sayde Iohn Heywood, London: [Imprinted at London in Fléetestrete by Thomas Powell], OCLC 78701810; republished as John S. Farmer, editor, The Proverbs, Epigrams, and Miscellanies of John Heywood: Comprising A Dialogue of the Effectual Proverbs in the English Tongue Concerning Marriages—Five Hundred Epigrams—Three Hundred Epigrams on Three Hundred Proverbs—The Fifth Hundred Epigrams—A Sixth Hundred Epigrams—Miscellanies—Ballads—Note-book and Word-List (Early English Dramatists), London: Privately printed for subscribers by the Early English Drama Society, 18 Bury Street, Bloomsbury, W.C., 1906, OCLC 24204980, pages 55 and 218

[page 45] The bill for the temporary removal of the seat of Government of the United States to the city of Baltimore was taken up for its second reading. […] [pages 47–48] Does it not show, in terms of unequivocal meaning, that it was the opinion of the men best qualified to decide, that the seat of Government, once fixed under the provision of the constitution, must be permanent? It was not then imagined that the Government ought to be travelling about from post to pillar, according to the prevalence of this or that party or faction.

1804 March 19, “Seat of Government”, in “the author of the Thirty Years' View” [i.e., Thomas Hart Benton], editor, Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856. From Gales and Seaton's Annals of Congress; from their Register of Debates; and from the Official Reported Debates, by John C. Rives, volumes III (October 17, 1803 – April 25, 1808), New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, 346 & 348 Broadway; Columbus, Oh.: Follett, Foster & Co., published 1857, →OCLC, pages 45 and 47–48:

Q. You applied to Secretary [George Sewall] Boutwell because you had ascertained you could not get redress anywhere else?—A. No; we were sent from pillar to post, and from post to pillar, and we got no satisfaction any way.

1872, Testimony in Relation to Alleged Frauds in the New York Custom-House, Taken by the Committee on Investigation and Retrenchment (United States Senate, 42d Congress, 2d Session; report no. 227), volume III, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing-Office, →OCLC, page 181:

How often we see men who have been nearly everything in the world outside the unelastic professions—directors and secretaries, clerks in all manner of offices, and managers of all sorts of schemes—knocking about from America to England, and from Australia to Japan; without specialty, but with a good general business faculty, understanding all about tare and tret and double entry and working up a business, they are the very embodiments of the popular saying, and are flung from pillar to post and from post to pillar, as a juggler flings his plates or balls from one hand to the other.

1874 May, “From Pillar to Post”, in Sarah J[osepha] Hale, Louis A[ntoine] Godey, editors, Godey's Lady's Book and Magazine, volume LXXXVIII, number 527, Philadelphia, Pa.: Published by Louis A. Godey, N.E. cor. Sixth and Chestnut Sts., →OCLC, page 422:

(idiomatic, obsolete) From one place (or person, or task) to another; from pillar to post, hither and thither.

Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club
Notes and Queries
Oxford English Dictionary
Penguin Books


above one's station

The serf's ideas of equity were above his station.

Maternus, a private ſoldier, of a daring boldneſs above his ſtation,[…] plundered with impunity the rich and defenceleſs cities of Gaul and Spain.

1776, Edward Gibbon, chapter IV, in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan; and T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC, page 91:

Of higher social status than suitable for one's position, standing, or rank.


on cue

I was talking to Bob about the noise made by my neighbours, when right on cue their music started thumping through the wall.


at each other's throats

Hariri's endorsement of Aoun for the presidency on Thursday is a dramatic and expedient marriage of opposing political camps that have been at each other's throats for years.

2016 October 22, Rami G Khouri, “Lebanese oligarchy preserves its interests once again”, in Aljazeera:


from the hip

Hasluck tells the story at a rapid pace and with racy charm. There is some refreshingly Australian talking from the hip. "When a company's being milked, you don't look for a bucket under its tits. You look up its arse."

By necessity, then, most of us were teaching from the hip.

1993, Linda Myers, Approaches to Computer Writing Classrooms: Learning From Practical Experience, page 86:


in public

Don't you know it's rude to pick your nose in public?

In view of other people, who may be strangers.

открито

in view of other people — see also publicly


till the cow come home

until the cows come home
until the cows come home#English

(obsolete) Alternative form of until the cows come home.


just on

Harkness checked the time. It was just on half-past eleven.

1977, William McIlvanney, chapter 38, in Laidlaw:


through the floor

“I was being paid in stock options, not salary increases, and my stock went through the floor,” she says.

2009, Jerry Oppenheimer, Toy Monster: The Big, Bad World of Mattel, page 69:

(figurative) Having fallen to a very low level or amount.


btdubs

From an oralization of btw or BTW, pronounced as bee-tee-double-u, that was shortened to bee-tee-dubs.

(abbreviation, Internet slang) by the way


by any stretch of the imagination

en-au-by any stretch of the imagination.ogg

The British Prime Minister isn't a monarch by any stretch of the imagination.

(idiomatic, chiefly in negative constructions) by any means; in any sense; regardless of how one puts or considers it


by no stretch of the imagination

en-au-by no stretch of the imagination.ogg

(idiomatic) Synonym of by no means: certainly not, definitely not, not by any means.

by no means

(idiomatic) Synonym of in no way: never ever, not for any reason; in no sense.


from top to toe

He was armed from top to toe.

She was tattooed from top to toe.

of a person's appearance or equipment, completely, all over


over nine thousand

From episode 28 of the anime TV series Dragon Ball Z ("Goku's Arrival", 1997), referring to Goku's increase in power level.

(humorous, Internet slang, idiomatic) off the charts; through the roof (beyond expectations)

List of Dragon Ball Z episodes (season 1)


for my sins

I'm organizing the office Christmas party this year, for my sins.

(humorous) Jokingly suggesting that some ostensibly undesirable task or situation has been assigned as a punishment.


against the world

It's you and me against the world.

(idiomatic, usually of people) Together; as a group, unit, or couple.


voor spek en bonen

(chiefly sports and games) not for real, not competitively (indicating a noncompetitive participant)

(by extension) useless, to no avail, ineffective; without doing anything substantial, relevant or worthwhile


na mij de zondvloed

Calque of French après moi le déluge. Literally, “after me the deluge”.

Used to express indifference about events after one's death or more generally indifference about the future.


naar de filistijnen

Formed out of the sense "philistine, destructive person" of Filistijn (“Philistine”).

(informal) down the khazi, destroyed, wasted


below the surface

beneath the surface
beneath the surface#English


beneath the surface

She saw what was beneath the surface and realized he was not such a bad guy.


in the tank

[J]ournalists were stung by a pair of "Saturday Night Live" skits that portrayed them as in the tank for Obama.

2008 May 5, Howard Kurtz, “Media Notes: Obama's Chilly Spring”, in Washington Post, retrieved 2016-11-02:

"We are working hard to get the word out and meet the people, but in some ways it seems as if the press is in the tank for Villaraigosa."

2009 February 11, “Craig Rubin: L.A. mayoral candidate”, in Los Angeles Times, retrieved 2016-11-02:

Leading the charge of the utterly crazy is, you won’t be surprised to hear, Donald Trump, who has accused the Fed of being in the tank for Democrats.

2016 February 12, Paul Krugman, “On Economic Stupidity”, in New York Times, retrieved 2016-11-02:

(idiomatic, US, politics, often followed by for or with) Supportive, approving, favorably disposed.

(idiomatic, informal) In a state of decline, failure, or prolonged poor performance.

“When you lose a fight knowing you had more in the tank or that you should’ve done something different, those regrets haunt you,” MacDonald said. “You learn from that, so it never happens again. It makes you better.”

2018 September 27, Lance Pugmire, “Rory MacDonald is one tough competitor”, in Los Angeles Times:

“I’m leaving, because with such a privileged role comes responsibility — the responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead and also when you are not,” said Ms. Ardern […]. “I know what this job takes. And I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It’s that simple.”

2023 January 19, Christina Caron, “Should You Quit Your Job?”, in The New York Times:

(idiomatic) In reserve; available for future use.

He went in the tank after his opponent put him all in.

(poker, slang) Contemplating a decision for a long time.


uit den ouden doosch

(humorous, archaising, neologism) Deliberate misspelling of uit de oude doos.


uit de oude doos

18th century. Literally, “from the old box”.

(idiomatic) from times of old, old school


bij de konijnen af

20th century. Literally, “after the manner of rabbits”.

lit

(idiomatic) despicable, insufferable, disgusting, horrible


between you and me and these four walls

between you and me
between you and me#English


bij de beesten af

20th century. Literally, “after the manner of beasts”.

(idiomatic) horrible, outrageous, insufferable, disgusting


zonder aanzien des persoons

Literally, “without looking at the person”. From the frequent biblical expression “to regard/recognize faces” (i.e. be partial to one's friends or the mighty), which follows the expression in Deuteronomy 1:17. The Vulgata translates this as respicere/accipere personam (e.g. Luke 20:21). Compare German ohne Ansehen der Person.

(idiomatic) indiscriminately, without discrimination


in one's head

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see in, one's, head.

The old-school way, with the chief scout having it all in his head, gave no continuity. If he gets run over by a bus he takes all the knowledge with him.

2013 August 10, Michael Calvin, “Sport: Scouting system that reveals David Moyes' mind”, in Independent, UK, retrieved 2106-12-09:

"I have actually gotten to revisit, in my head, all the museums I've ever gone to."

1996 March 24, Frank Bruni, “The Grunge American Novel”, in New York Times, retrieved 2106-12-09:

(idiomatic, of information, a plan, etc.) Within one's intellect, memory, or mind.

"Kids disappear into imaginary relationships all the time" . . . but "usually there's a limit to how far that imaginary relationship can go, because it's all in their head."

1993 November 28, John Schwartz, “Caution: Children at play on information highway”, in Washington Post, retrieved 2106-12-09:

When a neurologist ruled out medical causes like Lyme disease, Ms. Abaspour recalled, her husband said, “I think we should just give her a placebo — it’s all in her head.”

2006 October 22, Pam Belluck, “Living With Love, Chaos and Haley”, in New York Times, retrieved 2106-12-09:

The tape was the piece of evidence that assured Cohle that this grand conspiracy wasn't all in his head.

2014 April 5, Gwilym Mumford, “True Detective recap: season one, episode seven”, in Guardian, UK, retrieved 2106-12-09:

(idiomatic, of a false belief, delusion, etc.) Within one's imagination; without basis in reality.

Captain Whalley, who seemed lost in a mental effort as of doing a sum in his head, gave a slight start.

1902, Joseph Conrad, chapter 5, in The End of the Tether:

(idiomatic, mathematics, of performing a calculation) Mentally.

(idiomatic) Anxious due to overthinking an issue.


over one's skis

Per Noreen Malone’s article in the Intelligencer: “the phrase’s metaphorical use seems to have begun in the finance world. Its first non-skiing print usages came in the early nineties, in publications like Investment Dealers’ Digest. For instance, a 1991 article quoted a “market source” describing a race between Goldman Sachs’ and Lehman Bros.’ preferred stock desk. “Someone said [Lehman] couldn’t get a clean legal opinion on it. They may have been out over their skis a little bit with their structure.””
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2012/05/where-did-the-phrase-over-his-skis-come-from.html
As in skiing, the person in question has taken a position from which they must quickly back away. Taking a position that one lacks the ability to maintain. Quite normal in skiing, but costly in other fields.

[T]he Michigan coach said Cunningham was “way out over his skis” in projecting that Lewis’ absence was due to more than a minor injury.

2016 September 5, Nick Bromberg, “Jim Harbaugh: ESPN commentator ‘way out over his skis’ speculating on player suspension”, in Yahoo Sports, retrieved 2016-12-13:

getting ahead of oneself
get ahead of oneself

(idiomatic) Acting or speaking prematurely; getting ahead of oneself.


εν πάση περιπτώσει

head

εν πάση περιπτώσει

εν πάση περιπτώσει • (en pási periptósei)

el-phrase

εν πάση περιπτώσει

εν ουδεμιά περιπτώσει older spelling: ἐν οὐδεμιᾷ περιπτώσει

A calque of French en tout cas. Katharevousa set phrase (polytonic spelling: ἐν πάσῃ περιπτώσει) with preposition ἐν (en, “in”), the feminine singular dative πάσῃ (pásēi) of πᾶς (pâs, “everyone”) & περίπτωσις (períptōsis, “encountering”) -modern περίπτωση (períptosi, “case, instance”)-.

lang

ἐν πάσῃ περιπτώσει

ἐν πάσῃ περιπτώσει

Εν πάση περιπτώσει, αποδείχτηκε ότι ήταν λάθος.

En pási periptósei, apodeíchtike óti ítan láthos.

(formal) in any case, at any rate, anyhow, regardless


naar de ratsmodee

Borrowed from Yiddish נאָך דער אשמדאי (nokh der ashmodey), with a shifted r due to re-analysis.

bor

נאָך דער אשמדאי

(Netherlands, informal) broken, ruined, down the khazi


op een drafje

Club wint spannende Brugse derby, Anderlecht op drafje voorbij STVV (titel) ... Anderlecht heeft vanavond dan weer vlot gewonnen van een zwak STVV. ...: 3-1.http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/7988/sport/photoalbum/detail/1350876/1052536/4/Club-wint-spannende-Brugse-derby-Anderlecht-op-drafje-voorbij-STVV.dhtml

... Dat biechten verliep toen reeds op een drafje en volgens een stramien en eindigde met een standaard opgelegde penitentie van het bidden van drie onzevaders en drie weesgegroeten. ...http://willydezutter.be/?tag=volkskunde

(figuratively) quickly and not very thoroughly


on television

Broadcast through the medium of television.


στην άκρη της γλώσσας

head

στην άκρη της γλώσσας • (stin ákri tis glóssas)

Calque of French sur le bout de la langue.

calque

Δεν γεύομαι στην άκρη της γλώσσας για κάποιο λόγο.

I can't taste on the tip of my tongue for some reason.

Den gévomai stin ákri tis glóssas gia kápoio lógo.

στην στην#Greek

άκρη άκρη#Greek

της της#Greek

γλώσσας γλώσσας#Greek

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see στην (stin), άκρη (ákri), της (tis), γλώσσας (glóssas).

Έχω τ' όνομά της στην άκρη της γλώσσας αλλά δε μου έρχεται.

I have her name on the tip of my tongue but it won't come to me.

Écho t' ónomá tis stin ákri tis glóssas allá de mou érchetai.

on the tip of one's tongue
on the tip of one's tongue

(idiomatic) on the tip of one's tongue (known but not quite remembered)

en-στην_άκρη_της_γλώσσας-el-prep_phrase-6d3rw66r


on the tiles

a night on the tiles

out on the tiles
out on the tiles#English


van het kastje naar de muur

Literally, “from the cupboard to the wall”.


in hart en nieren

Helmut Kohl is een Europeër in hart en nieren


up poo creek

(euphemistic, idiomatic) Alternative form of up shit creek


διὰ παντός

head

διὰ παντός • (dià pantós)


with the manner

Corruption of "with the mainer", from French main (“hand”).

O villain, thou stolest a cup of sack eighteen years ago, and wert taken with the manner, and ever since thou hast blush'd extempore.

1597, William Shakespeare, Henry IV, part I:

Replevy any Man imprisoned for the Forest, being taken with the Manner, or lndicted: But this Statute reaches not to that of de Homine Repligiando, directed Castodi Forestae.

1680, Sir Edward Coke, The Great Charter of the Forest, Declaring the Liberties of it:

And a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, neither she be taken with the manner;

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Num 5:13:

This coming to my perusal, I could not condemn ordinary men for lying, whin I saw it in request amongst them that would be counted philosophical persons; yet could not but wonder at them, that, writing so manifest lies, they should not think to be be taken with the manner;

1894, Lucian of Samosata (Francis Hickes - translator), Lucian's True History:

(archaic, idiomatic) in the very act; red-handed.


in blijde verwachting

(somewhat formal) Synonym of in verwachting (“pregnant, expecting”)


between you, me, and the gatepost

between you, me, and the bedpost#English

Synonym of between you, me, and the bedpost


like a moth to a flame

like a moth to the flame
like a moth to the flame#English

Alternative form of like a moth to the flame


in de fik

|
(extract uit De Leidse sleutelgaten hun song "Joke stop toch met koken"): We stonden op een camping in de buurt van St.-Tropez,—En Joke wilde koken, ze had zin in een soufflé.—Ik vroeg of ik kon helpen maar ze zei: “Nee dat doe ik”.—En binnen twee minuten stond ons tentje in de fik!


op een na

Rotterdam is die op een na grootste stad van Nederland.

Rotterdam is the second largest city in the Netherlands.

(adverbial, modifying superlatives) second (e.g. "second best", "second last", "second largest")


op een na

Joyce had het op een na beste cijfer bij de toets.

Joyce had the second highest mark at the test.

De hardloper uit onze buurt kwam als op een na laatste aan.

The runner from our neighbourhood arrived second last.


voor Piet Snot

Ben 'k hier nu voor Piet Snot gekomen of gaat ge 't me nog zeggen?

Did I come here for nothing or are you going to tell me?


in places

It could turn a little misty in places towards dawn.

The edges of the pond had already turned to ice in places in October.

The jumper was worn in places.

In some places and not everywhere; of a patchy nature.


up the Oxo Tower

In reference to the Oxo Tower, a building on the River Thames in London, formerly owned by the makers of Oxo stock cubes (whose brown colour is likened in this phrase to that of excrement).

> > You and your wimmin have been missing out.
>
> more an (female) arse man myself
Have you been up the Oxo Tower?

2012, joeh, “Re: Royal Family is all stuffy and dull”, in uk.politics.misc (Usenet):

Until recently, London has had only one building that works by way of a euphemism for bumming. Yes — the Oxo Tower on the South Bank has been the sole venue to allow people to post Facebook update statuses such as: 'First date with Grace last night. I took her up the Oxo Tower.'

2013 February 8, Caitlin Moran, “The Shard”, in The Times:

(UK, slang, humorous) Of sexual intercourse: anally.


like throwing a hot dog down a hallway

En-au-like throwing a hot dog down a hallway.ogg

(simile, slang, vulgar) Used to describe penetrative sex with a woman who has a large, spacious vagina.


boven de Moerdijk

(Netherlands) in the Northern Netherlands


beneden de Moerdijk

(Netherlands) in the Southern Netherlands; (less commonly) in the southern Low Countries


ఏదో విధంగా

ఏదో విధంగా • (ēdō vidhaṅgā)

(idiomatic) By any means possible; one way or another; by hook or by crook.


in het achterhoofd

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see in, het, achterhoofd.

(idiomatic) in mind, in the back of one's mind


aig an dùbhlan le

Tha mi aig mo dhùbhlan le Dòmhnall!

I am at the end of my tether with Donald!

at the end of one's tether
at the end of one's tether


in what world

Use of a reference to alternative realities to imply that the thing criticized is inconsistent with our own reality.

In what world is it "wholly unconscionable and politically unpalatable" to deny Nigeria a Security Council veto?

2005, Chicago journal of international law, volume 6, page 635:

In what world is the ability to be attacked by bees on command a superpower?

2014, Joseph R. Lallo, The Other Eight, volume 1:

How. (used in rhetorical questions to criticize something as completely inconsistent with reality and/or logic).


in someone's day

in someone's time
in someone's time#English


met smart

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see met, smart.


on the regular

On a regular basis, regularly; frequently.


van slag

Originally in reference to mechanical clocks.

having a sound mechanism that is out of alignment with the time-keeping mechanism (of mechanical clocks)


over the line

Coordinate term: over the edge

But despite being the first episode of The Simpsons to feature Marge’s naked butt, there’s nothing particularly risque about any of the nudity—if anything, the pitchfork-wielding farmer’s threat of “ass-forking” feels the most over the line.

2016 January 24, Les Chappell, “TV: Review: The Simpsons (Classic), “Natural Born Kissers” (season nine, episode 25, originally aired 05/17/1998)”, in The Onion AV Club:

(idiomatic) Beyond the level of what is acceptable.


on keel

It does take some experience with balance and acceleration to keep a snowmobile on keel in the deep woods.

1971 January 10, Seth S. King, “What Has Two Skis, Tank Treads”, in The New York Times:

1980, “Signalman’s Odyssey: part IV,” INSCOM Journal, Arlington, VA: Army Intelligence and Security Command, June, 1980, p. 10,
A sudden gust of wind twice caught us unawares, lifted one outrigger balance-pole off the water and nearly had us turned turtle. Immediately, four of us dove along the catwalk, threw our hanging weights onto the poles and, just in time, brought the boat on keel.

As the boys went through drills, Sullivan called orders, criticism and encouragement through an electronic megaphone. “Keep your boat on keel. You’re dropping down on port with every catch,” he observed to the varsity eight as it sped upstream rowing at full pressure.

1988 April 21, Alice Digilio, “Crew making a splash in area high schools”, in The Washington Post:

Moving straight ahead without wobbling or tilting. (of a watercraft, etc.)

He walked-ran day after day although it was a living bore, the sameness, the ritual. This extraordinary world—is this how life wants me to live it? But he ran to keep himself on keel, to wind himself into work the next morning.

1979, Bernard Malamud, chapter 8, in Dubin’s Lives:

[…] special teams of medical workers are as much frustrated as dedicated. For they know what should be done for their sick infants, but lack all manner of medical equipment to diagnose, to incubate, to sterilize, to medicate, to nudge small lives back on keel.

1990 July 5, Francis X. Clines, “Evolution in Europe; In Fabled Samarkand, Newborns Fight for Life”, in The New York Times:

2006, George W. Bush, speech given at Kansas State University, quoted in The Washington Post, 23 January, 2006,
We don’t always agree with China, of course. It’s a complex relationship, but it’s one in which, in my judgment, it’s best to be in a position where we can dialogue and discuss things in order to keep relations on keel and keep peace in that part of the world.

(figuratively) Under control, proceeding or running smoothly.


off keel

1896, William Sharp, Boston: Lamson, Wolffe & Col, Chapter 4, p. 78,
The tide was full and the dingey was off keel. The punt nosed the pebbly slope like a terrier, but her stern swung clear.

[…] at the finish the boat is moving faster, and the blade must be taken out more sharply if it is to avoid pulling the boat off keel.

1906, Arthur Wesselhoeft Stevens, chapter 1, in Practical Rowing with Scull and Sweep, Boston: Little, Brown & Co., page 10:

At any rate, Gull had done a hurried repair job on the ship, for it was traveling with the labored toil of an old man walking uphill. It was off-keel. The body of the ship leaned at an angle to the line of flight.

1946 June, Ross Rocklynne, “The Bottled Men”, in Astounding Science-Fiction, volume 37, number 4, page 89:

Out of balance, tilting to one side. (of a watercraft, etc.)

The lower half of a duplex apartment on a shabby Montreal street, dark as limbo, jerry-built fifty years ago and going off keel ever since.

1960, Brian Moore, chapter 1, in The Luck of Ginger Coffey, Boston: Little, Brown & Co., page 4:

I’ve learned the lesson that the worst thing that can happen to a gambler is to let his recent losses or wins knock him off keel emotionally.

1998 November 8, Linda Greenhouse, “Horse Sense”, in The New York Times Magazine:

Attorney General John D. Ashcroft provided an update to the group on his efforts to develop a legislative package to expand the powers of law enforcement to fight terrorism. He outlined a two-phase strategy, aimed first at “immediate disruption and prevention of terrorism” and followed by longer-term efforts to put terrorists “off keel.”

2002 January 31, Bob Woodward, Dan Balz, “At Camp David, Advise and Dissent”, in The Washington Post:

(figuratively) Out of control, not proceeding or running smoothly.


in het echt

We konden hem in het echt ontmoeten.

for real, in real life (as opposed to in a story or similar)

face to face (as opposed to on a picture or a screen, or via telephone etc.)


inter martelo kaj amboso

LL-Q143 (epo)-NMaia-inter martelo kaj amboso.wav

Literally, “between a hammer and an anvil”.

between a rock and a hard place
between a rock and a hard place#English

between a rock and a hard place (in a difficult situation)


ged a mharbhadh tu mi, chan urrainn do

Ged a mharbhadh tu mi, chan urrainn dhomh a thuigsinn.

For the life of me, I can't understand it.

for the life of one (lit. Although you would kill me, I cannot...)


for the love of me

(idiomatic) no matter what I do; whatever I do


as fate would have it

as luck would have it
as luck would have it#English

Alternative form of as luck would have it


op wieltjes

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see op, wieltjes.

De één was heel erg actief op kerkelijk gebied, terwijl een ander getypeerd kan worden als "christen op wieltjes".

1990 October 2, “5 Jaar Evang. Gemeente”, in De IJsselbode, page 2:

Hij knipoogde. ‘Denkt u dat we nu ‘gelovigen op wieltjes’ genoemd kunnen worden?’

2006, Annette Smith, Thuis in Ruby Praire, tr. by Petra Koopmans, Zomer en Keuning, →ISBN, page 73:

2013, Diederick Klein Kranenburg, ‘Samen voor ons eigen’. De geschiedenis van een Nederlandse volksbuurt: de Haagse Schilderswijk, 1920–1985, Uitgeverij Verloren (1st ed.), →ISBN, page 110, quoting a man named Gillian.
Het gevolg was dat ze met kerst van alle kanten een kerstpakketje kreeg. Ze zeggen wel eens: een katholiek op wieltjes. Nou mijn oma was nog veel erger.

(please add an English translation of this quotation)

(colloquial, Netherlands) nominally belonging to a religion or denomination but nonpracticing


in drink

About two o'clock the following morning his daughter, who slept with her window open, heard a most fearful yell from that direction, but it was no unusual thing for him to bawl and shout when he was in drink, so no notice was taken.

1904, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of Black Peter:

(dated, postpositive) Drunk, under the influence of large amounts of alcohol.


for goodness' sakes

A euphemistic replacement of "God" in for God's sake.

'For goodness' sakes, Father,' cried Emma, the bright tears in her eyes drying because her eyeballs were so hot and angry, 'for goodness' sakes, Father, the idea of acting - so - horrid.

1928, Fannie Hurst, A President is Born, page 23:

"Didn't you talk to her, for goodness sakes? Just what have you been doing in there for the past hour?"

1991, John S. Applegate, Thy Kingdom Come: Tales of a Small-Town Lawyer, →ISBN, page 169:

"Oh, for goodness sakes. At least can you tell me if she's there?"

2000, Parnell Hall, A Clue for the Puzzle Lady, →ISBN, page 272:

'For goodness sakes, Ray,' Aunty Bea exclaimed exasperated, 'haven't you noticed the state of your niece?'

2014, Anne McCullagh Rennie, Reach for the Dream, →ISBN:

(idiomatic, euphemistic) Used to express frustration, exasperation, annoyance.

Learn to play a reed instrument; do not borrow money; do not lend money; do not make money — [laughter] — and for goodness sakes, do not lose money.

1994, Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, page 769:

The most important thing that I would say to you, is as you develop those priorities, for goodness sakes, also take the time to think about the future and the burden that we are going to put on future generations by what you do today.

2004, United States Congress Senate Committee on Finance, Examination of proposals for economic growth and job creation:

They finished each other's sentences, for goodness sakes!

2010, Julie Christensen, Searching For Meredith Love, →ISBN:

He was an undercover agent, for goodness sakes. Once a job was done, of course he would move on.

2012, Andrea Edwards, Secret Agent Groom, →ISBN:

(idiomatic, euphemistic) Used for emphasis.

For goodness' sakes!" Fannie broke out in surprise when she saw Molly there. "For goodness' sakes! Where you been hiding these days?"

1943, Estelle Schrott, Heaven is for the Angels, page 352:

Surprise, surprise, do you believe your eyes? Well for goodness sakes, that takes the cake.

2002, Spotlight Grade 1 Songs and Stories, →ISBN, page 10:

"For goodness sakes — " she repeated. Now she was just surprised.

2005, Wallace J. Gordon, One Day in Paris, →ISBN:

(idiomatic, euphemistic) Used to express surprise or amazement.


of all time

That was the best movie of all time!

“I am completely full. You cooked such a delicious meal. That was one of your top fifty quiches of all time. Now, come on, let me do the washing-up tonight.”

2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:


on a string

The magician had the audience on a string with his fascinating illusions.

You've only got my heart on a string and everything a-flutter

1984, “No More Lonely Nights”, performed by Paul McCartney:


op vrije voeten

Literally, “on free feet”. Compare German auf freiem Fuß.


i forfjor

(adverbial) (in) the year directly preceding last year


on one's beam ends

By analogy with a capsizing ship; see usage note at beam-ends.

(UK, dated) In a parlous or destitute state.


r-pw

(after a series of nouns) expresses disjunction between the preceding nouns; or.


like a fart in church

Rick's scam to palm her off on Huey went over like a fart in church, just like Huey had predicted. She had indignantly scolded him when he brought it up.

2012, Jeff Brooks, Life During a Nation's Death, page 199:

(slang, vulgar, simile) In a way that is very poorly received.

Their blue uniforms and badges stick out like a fart in church.

2006, Michael Diamondstein, Cloaked in Doubt:

stick out like a sore thumb
stick out like a sore thumb

(slang, vulgar, simile) With great incongruity; so as to stick out like a sore thumb.


from where one sits

From where I’m sitting, Mad Max: Fury Road is, quite simply, the greatest action movie ever made. Miller found a way to tell a moving, mythic, larger-than-life story in a fully-realized alternate world, and he did it without ever letting up on the throttle.

2017 December 1, Tom Breihan, “Mad Max: Fury Road might already be the best action movie ever made”, in The Onion AV Club:

From one's position or vantage point; according to one's point of view.


from where one is sitting

from where one sits
from where one sits#English


at all adventures

Yet all men couet to haue their children speake latin: and so do I verie earnestlie too. We bothe, haue one purpose: we agrée in desire, we wish one end: but we differ somewhat in order and waie, that leadeth rightlie to that end. Other would haue them speake at all aduentures: and, so they be speakinge, to speake, the Master careth not, the Scholer knoweth not, what.

1570, Roger Ascham, “The first booke for the youth”, in The Scholemaster, London, page 3:

Am I in earth, in heaven, or in hell?
Sleeping or waking? mad or well-advised?
Known unto these, and to myself disguised!
I’ll say as they say and persever so,
And in this mist at all adventures go.

c. 1594 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Comedie of Errors”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

This is the lowest degree of that, which can be truly called Reason: For where the Mind does not perceive this probable connexion; where it does not discern, whether there be any such connexion, or no, there Men’s Opinions are not the product of Judgment, or the Consequence of Reason; but the effects of Chance and Hazard, of a Mind floating at all Adventures, without choice, and without direction.

1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], “Chapter 17, Of Reason”, in An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], →OCLC, book IV, § 2, page 341:

1759, David Hume, The History of England: under the House of Tudor, London: A. Millar, Volume 2, Chapter 5, p. 613,
It is believed, that the master of Gray, gained by the enemies of that princess, gave secretly his advice not to spare her, and undertook at all adventures to pacify his master.

(obsolete) At random, in any manner, any which way; in whatever way one can, as best one can.

c. 1560, John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners (translator), Arthur of Brytayn, London: Robert Redberne, Chapter 43, p. 47,
And whan Arthur saw the noblenesse of thys chambre, and specyally of this bedde he had great plesure to behold it and sayd to him selfe how that at all aduentures he wold lye downe on the bedde, and not to ferre for anye drede of death […]

[…] can we so slightly depress the all wise purpose of a deliberating God, as if his consultation had produc’d no other good for man but to joyn him with an accidental companion of propagation, which his sudden word had already made for every beast? nay, a far less good to man it will be found, if she must, at all adventures, be fastned upon him individually.

1645, John Milton, chapter 9, in The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce, London, page 49:

[…] when he came out [the Captain] ask’d them, if they approv’d of his running the Ship on Shoar at all Adventures; to which they all unanimously agreed, and cry’d out Any Thing to save our Lives.

1743, Robert Drury, The Pleasant, and Surprizing Adventures of Mr. Robert Drury, during his Fifteen Years Captivity on the Island of Madagascar, London, page 11:

(obsolete) No matter what might happen, come what may.


sondergleichen

[ˈzɔndərˈɡlaɪ̯çən]

[ˈzɔndɐˈɡlaɪ̯çən]

[ˈzɔndɐˈɡlaɪ̯çn̩]

Univerbation of sonder (“without”) + gleich (“equal”) in the accusative case.


on command

The actor could cry on command.

Inexperienced mages usually cannot cast spells on command.

When it is ordered or desired; through conscious volition.


to the end of time

The man who has gone around the cocktail circuit pounding cheerios to the end of time did not come in here and open his mouth once on the Bill.

1978, New Zealand. Parliament. House of Representatives, Parliamentary Debates, page 4230:


around the traps

While debating whether Sydney is a “Pooftah's Paradise,” Les is careful to protest (and obviously a bit too much) his distance from gay men and sexual practice: “Well, all I can say is that I've knocked around the traps and I've lived in Australia man and boy for donkey's years, and in all that time nobody's every^([sic]) tried to slip their pollywaffle up my doughnut.”

2004, Paul Matthew St Pierre, A Portrait of the Artist as Australian: L'Oeuvre bizarre de Barry Humphries:

I use two fingers to hand the photo to him through the bars of his gate, say, 'You may have heard around the traps that he's missing, Mister Nero, and although he lives in Hobart he's got many Melbourne connections. Know him?'

(Australia, colloquial) here and there; in various places.


om de haverklap

(informal) again and again, all the time, frequently, regularly


in quick sticks

[…] he got us there in quick sticks. We threw some dollars at him and he drove away.

2012, Eric Jackson, Petrol In My Blood, page 171:


at someone's disposal

Many might with joy have sought out her liberal dwelling, but no one had idly waited till the moment it was at her disposal.

1820, Fanny Burney, Cecilia; Or Memoirs of an Heiress, volume 3, page 185:

Stephens used the largest weapon at his disposal—his New York Times column—to imply that the Jewish professor who mildly teased him online was the equivalent of a Nazi propagandist.

2019 September 3, David Karpf, “Bret Stephens Compared Me to a Nazi Propagandist in the New York Times. It Proved My Point.”, in Esquire:

(idiomatic) Available to be used at any time and in any way the user sees fit.


in laywoman's terms

(idiomatic) Phrased simply (for the sake of average women).


in layperson's terms

in layman's terms
in layman's terms#English

(idiomatic) Synonym of in layman's terms


for the lulz

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-for the lulz.wav

First online uses appear around 2006 on 4chan.

Still others are looking for a cause; perhaps this is the most dangerous of all, as their desire to be a part of something can have serious repercussions. And still others are in it all for the lulz.

2012, Will Gragido, Daniel Molina, John Pirc, Nick Selby, Blackhatonomics: An Inside Look at the Economics of Cybercrime, Newnes, →ISBN, page 29:

[…] fairies thought all this military stuff was pretty silly, but they went along with it for the same reason that fairies ever did anything, namely, for the lulz.

2014, Lev Grossman, The Magician's Land, Random House, →ISBN, page 47:

True to his equally controversial reputation, Johnson’s hacker accomplice, Auernheimer, said he mostly did it for the lulz.

2015 October 23, Michael E. Miller, “Controversial blogger, infamous hacker team up to release remaining Planned Parenthood videos”, in Washington Post, →ISSN:

We're hackers on steroids. Our motivation is twofold. We do it because we can. We do it for the lulz.

2017, Chris Brookmyre, Want You Gone, Hachette UK, →ISBN:

(chiefly Internet slang) For kicks, for personal amusement, especially schadenfreude.


in one's altitudes

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-in one's altitudes.wav


like a bag of ferrets

(simile) With a great deal of fuss, commotion, or physical jostling.


like ferrets in a bag

like a bag of ferrets
like a bag of ferrets#English

(simile) Alternative form of like a bag of ferrets


with the best will in the world

Through the 1980s and 1990s it did not train Persian speakers, and eventually those with language and country experience aged and retired, leaving a gap that, with the best will in the world, will take at least a decade to fill.

2009, Daniel Brumberg, Dina Shehata, Conflict, Identity, and Reform in the Muslim World:

With the best will in the world, I find it very difficult to explain how these official sources might have been subverted to falsify information, peddle untruths or generally seek to play games with the general public […]

2012, Jonathon Porritt, Capitalism as if the World Matters, page 4:

(UK) Even with an optimistic and charitable outlook; used to indicate the intractability of a problem.


in high gear

The show goes in high gear when Bill is on screen.


in het kort

Dus, in het kort, niemand krijgt een kerstbonus.

So, in short, nobody gets a Christmas bonus.


from Murphy to Manteo

Murphy is the westernmost town of note in North Carolina; Manteo is the easternmost town of note.

Across the whole state of North Carolina.


on a mission

/ɒn‿ə ˈmɪʃn̩/

/ɑn‿ə ˈmɪʃən/

From on + a + mission (“set of tasks that fulfils a duty or purpose; deeply felt ambition in life”).

So she walked and as the night begun^([sic]) to engulf the countryside Emily still did not tire, she was on a mission; a mission to save her friend, her sister.

2014 March 5, Keira Donegan, “We’re Not Alone”, in The Truth and Other Lies, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 39:

Gareth Southgate's side were on a mission to travel one step further than any England side has done since the 1966 World Cup final win against West Germany and they finally achieved the long-cherished goal as they came from behind to beat Denmark after extra time.

2021 July 7, Phil McNulty, “European Championship – Semi-final: England 2 – 1 Denmark”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 2023-04-12:

Actively and determinedly engaged on a task.

olla päämäärä

actively and determinedly engaged on a task

I'm slipping on my khaki suit (Which one?) / The blue one, gun by my side as I mob to the beach / On a mission and I'm fishing for my DJ Warren G

1993 November 23, Calvin Broadus Jr., Andre Young, Delmar Arnaud (lyrics and music), “Gz Up, Hoes Down” (track 18), in Doggystyle, performed by Snoop Doggy Dogg, Los Angeles, Calif.: Death Row Records, →OCLC:

Unfortunately for that relationship, I was a train wreck from day one. All I could think was, Where can I get some drugs? I was on a mission, as I called it. I knew that if I could find Jeremy, I would be able to get high. I had heard he had advanced to harder drugs. Plus, I trusted him. Either way, I had to find something.

2015, Tracey Helton Mitchell, “Let’s Get This Out of the Way”, in The Big Fix: Hope after Heroin, Berkeley, Calif.: Seal Press, Perseus Books Group, →ISBN, pages 42–43:

I was with a patient, Loretta. “That guy is on a mission,” she told me. ¶ “What does that mean?” I asked. ¶ “A mission. You know, a mission. He needs some crack. He’s on a mission.” […] “I know. That guy is on a mission. I recognize it. Any crackhead would. I seen it many times.” Loretta had been there. She’d first come to me after spending a year in a halfway house getting off drugs.

2015, Susan C. Ball, “1999: Coping with a Different Paradigm”, in Suzanne Gordon, Siobhan Nelson, editors, Voices in the Band: A Doctor, Her Patients, and How the Outlook on AIDS Care Changed from Doomed to Hopeful (The Culture and Politics of Health Care Work), Ithaca, N.Y.; London: ILR Press, Cornell University Press, →ISBN, pages 225–226:

(slang) Looking for drugs; on a drug run.


on task

In other words, it may be important in a parent meeting to report the fact that their child was on task 30% of the time observed, while the comparison student was on task 85% of the time observed.

2005, Steven W. Lee, Encyclopedia of School Psychology, page 92:


on notice

He was put on notice about lateness.

We are all on notice about likely layoffs.

According to Fifi's attorney, John R. Williams, the decision to award his client $6,000 has put police on notice that they cannot harass suspected homosexuals. "The beating in this case was sickening," said Williams. "Just because people are a little different, that's no excuse to beat them up — and juries won't stand for it anymore.

1979 April 14, “Gay Man Wins Beating Case”, in Gay Community News, page 1:

Operations on C++ volatiles do put the compiler on notice that the object may be modified asynchronously, and hence are generally safer to use than ordinary variable accesses.

2011, Victor Pankratius, Ali-Reza Adl-Tabatabai, Walter Tichy, Fundamentals of Multicore Software Development, page 74:


إليه

إِلَيْهِ • (ʔilayhi)

إِلَيْهِ (canonical)
ʔilayhi (romanization)

From إِلَى (ʔilā) + ـه (-hu, -hū, -hi, -hī).


إليهما

إِلَيْهِمَا • (ʔilayhimā)

إِلَيْهِمَا (canonical)
ʔilayhimā (romanization)

إِلَى (ʔilā) + ـهمَا.

af

إِلَى (ʔilā) + ـهمَا


إليها

head

إِلَيْهَا • (ʔilayhā)

إِلَيْهَا (canonical)
ʔilayhā (romanization)

af

إِلَى (ʔilā) + ـهَا (-hā)


إليهن

head

إِلَيْهِنَّ • (ʔilayhinna)

إِلَيْهِنَّ (canonical)
ʔilayhinna (romanization)

af

إِلَى (ʔilā) + هنَّ


like a phoenix from the ashes

(simile, idiomatic) So as to return triumphantly.


op de valreep

From valreep as the place where one embarks on a ship. Compare older op de valreep staan, Danish på falderebet.


nawe

Contraction of na wewe: and you, or with you


in plain sight

(idiomatic) very easy to see or notice especially when it is supposed to be hidden


without a trace

We know where he lives but he's left his apartment without a trace.

2007, James Saunders, Double Doublecross, page 218:

Without showing or leaving behind any sign of something; tracelessly.

бяссле́дна

Not to leave any traces behind, to disappear


seperti kacang lupakan kulit

Literally: like a peanut that forgets about its exocarp/shell


on the dry

I bumped into an old mate of mine, Bill, the other day whom I was banged up with in 1972 in St Bernard's Hospital. He's on the dry now but he told me he has had several lapses since we left muttering that it was all going to be different tomorrow.

1985 August 24, Jeffrey Bernard, “Low life: High and dry”, in The Spectator, page 34:

Then, maybe two weeks before cameras rolled, he'd put the blinkers on again and totally focus on it, and that included staying off the booze. 'I'm on the dry,' he'd announce.

2013, Robert Sellers, “A Date with Cronenburg”, in What Fresh Lunacy is This?: The Authorized Biography of Oliver Reed, Little, Brown Book Group, →ISBN, page 175:

Jessie J hasn't had an alcoholic drink since October 15, 2012. The 'Wild' singer can remember the exact date she last touched booze and claims she only ever drinks on very special occasions because alcohol leaves her lethargic and she worries it might ruin her career.

2013 July 13, “Jessie J on the dry since last October”, in Irish Examiner:

(idiomatic, informal, British, Ireland) temporarily refraining from drinking alcohol


on the mark

The writing was often good, his feel for characters on the mark, but the book was wordy.

1989 Feb. 12, Beverly Lowry, "Books: Everyone is somebody's child" (review of Equal Affections by David Leavitt), New York Times (retrieved 14 Sept 2017)

Three eminent mainstream British economists told MPs . . . that the government had struck the right balance between cuts and spending. Austerity is bang on the mark, they said.

2013 June 7, Phillip Inman, “9 reasons Keynesians aren't winning the argument”, in Guardian, UK, retrieved 2017-09-14:

The Republicans haven't always been on the mark with doomsday predictions about Democratic presidents.

2016 June 25, Joel Connelly, “Older, grayer, battle-scarred Obama still 'fired up, ready to go'”, in Seattle Post-Intelligencer, retrieved 2017-09-14:

(idiomatic) Precisely accurate; correct or appropriate.


at the top of the pile

(colloquial) In the position of highest authority.


like a duck to water

like a duck takes to water
like a duck takes to water#English

(simile, idiomatic) Alternative form of like a duck takes to water


up to the knocker

(slang) Up to the required standard; excellent.

(slang) Dressed in a very showy and elegant way.


at unawares

(dated) unawares; unexpectedly; at a sudden disadvantage.


IWB

(firearms) Initialism of inside the waistband.


beside the mark

In reference to a mark that would be aimed at e.g. in archery.


for the love of all that is good

for the love of God
for the love of God#English


at-will

At-will employment gives the company and the employee the right to terminate the relationship for any reason, and is recognized, with limitations, nationwide.

2001 February 12, InfoWorld, volume 23, number 7, page 69:

How the at-will tenancy arises: The parties could create a tenancy at will expressly, by agreeing that either may terminate at any time. But generally, such a tenancy is created by implication.

2017, Steven L. Emanuel, Emanuel Law Outlines for Property:


on the bow

(nautical) Within 45° of the point right ahead.


als een gek

(simile) like crazy, like mad; generic intensifier, indicating that something occurs to a great or excessive degree.


like speaking to a brick wall

like talking to a wall
like talking to a wall#English

Alternative form of like talking to a wall


on the lash

There's endless coverage of drunken "ladettes" out on the lash, young girls being sick into gutters, lying in streets, smoking, getting pregnant, looking gormless, telling people with research clipboards that "all they wanna be is famous, innit".

2011 January 9, Barbara Ellen, “Too many of us treat young white women as trash”, in The Observer:

(UK, slang) Out drinking socially; usually involving heavy alcohol consumption.


beyond one's wildest dreams

In the weeks that followed they gathered store of fur, not only in quantity, but in quality beyond their wildest dreams. And when one day they took a veritable black fox from a trap, they felt that at last fortune was treating them according to their deserts.

1922, A. M. Chisholm, A Thousand a Plate:

in one's wildest dreams
in one's wildest dreams#English

Alternative form of in one's wildest dreams


in one's wildest dreams

At the same time, the Count de B—— very philanthropically hired an old discolored-looking horse, which was grazing peaceably outside the hut, and mounting the astonished quadruped, who had never, in his wildest dreams, calculated upon having so fine a chevalier on his back, galloped off in search of more solid food, while we set the Indian women to baking tortillas.

1843, Calderón de la Barca, Life in Mexico:

Those most rural routes will not get overhead wires. As Reeve told the seminar: "Even in my wildest dreams, I can't see a business case for electrifying the Far North Line."

2022 August 10, Philip Haigh, “Scotland switched on to electrification”, in RAIL, number 963, page 35:

(idiomatic, normally in the negative) Much better than one could ever expect.


in someone's debt

You never wanted my friendship and you were afraid to be in my debt.

1972 March 14, Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather, spoken by Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), Paramount Pictures:

Very grateful for something (a favor) that someone has done for one.


to the nines

From Scots, perhaps a rebracketing of to then eyne (“to the eyes”) or to thyn eyne (“(up) to your eyes”).


in deep shit

(vulgar) In trouble; in a difficult situation.