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


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)


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.


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.


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.


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


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.


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.


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.


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.


between you and me and these four walls

between you and me
between you and me#English


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.


on television

Broadcast through the medium of television.


on the tiles

a night on the tiles

out on the tiles
out on the tiles#English


up poo creek

(euphemistic, idiomatic) Alternative form of up shit creek


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.


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 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.


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


on the regular

On a regular basis, regularly; frequently.


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.


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


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:


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.


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.


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.


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.


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:


like a phoenix from the ashes

(simile, idiomatic) So as to return triumphantly.


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


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.


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.


to the effect

He was vague but said something to the effect that he'd do it soon.

[…]why not cut out the middleman and write the review himself? Then it would say exactly what the client wanted — that it was a terrific book. A shattering novel. A classic memoir. Will change your life. Lyrical and gripping, Stunning and compelling. Or words to that effect.

2012 August 25, David Streitfeld, “The Best Book Reviews Money Can Buy”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:


in reality

In real life, as opposed to online, play, make believe, or theory


before it was cool

(idiomatic) Before (an idea or activity) was popular, trendy, famous, or duly appreciated.


AAMOF

as a matter of fact
as a matter of fact#English

(Internet slang) Initialism of as a matter of fact.


like a stuck pig

(simile) Like a pig or boar being slaughtered.


for shit

A revolutionary hack Cecilia called him. They didn't trust him for shit anymore.

1989, Michael Cormany, Red Winter, Carol Communications, page 48:

In the process, everybody begins to hate his guts because they don't trust him for shit but, you know, he sees himself as the guy who's going to be pragmatic and go down the middle, a lot of people saying, "I think he's with Rosselló, se vendió!"

2001, Amílcar Antonio Barreto, Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, Hunter College. Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños, Puerto Rican Legal Defense, Education Fund (New York, N.Y.), The State of Puerto Rican Politics Aqui Y Allá: Proceedings of a November 21, 2000 Forum, Puerto Rican Legal Defense & Education Fund, page 18:

I filed for full custody of Jason because I didn't trust her for shit to be with him by herself , especially when she started hanging out at the Cocalico Tavern more.

2006, J. F. Gonzalez, The Beloved, Leisure Books, →ISBN, page 139:

Ruger might be a great uncle, but I couldn't trust him for shit with my body, let alone my heart.

2014, Joanna Wylde, Reaper's Legacy: Reapers Motorcycle Club, Random House, →ISBN, page 133:

I eat too many carbs, I can't dance for shit, and I pollute the air with my hairspray.

2014, Theresa Caputo, Kristina Grish, You Can't Make This Stuff Up: Life-Changing Lessons from Heaven, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 37:

(slang, vulgar) For nothing; to no purpose.


in the can

(film, of a take) Having been shot and stored in a film can, or at the equivalent stage for a digital take.

(idiomatic, of a job or project) At a late stage of completion, generally when the actual work is done and some finalizing process must be undertaken.


on the telephone

Talking to someone using a telephone; Synonym of on the phone

(dated, UK) Connected to a telephone system.


in weal and woe

/ɪn ˌwiːl‿n̩ ˈwəʊ/

PIE word
 *wáy
From weal (“prosperity; welfare”) + woe (“great distress or sadness; calamity, trouble”). Compare Dutch wel en wee, Swedish väl och ve.

In both prosperity and adversity; in good times and bad.


at the earliest

Coordinate term: at the latest


on the wallaby

on the wallaby track
on the wallaby track#English


on the wallaby track

Referring to the shy habits of the animal.

(Australia, slang) out of work; unemployed


all sixes and nines

Dear Kori,
 I'm all sixes and nines ... whatever that means. Fragments of me are loosely hanging together.

2015 June 15, Kathari Findlen, Meeting in the Space Between: A Story of Grief, Grace and Gratitude, Balboa Press, →ISBN, →OCLC:

Do you see anything funny about the tail number? It is all sixes and nines!

2008, G. E McIlmoyle, L. R. Bromley, Remembering the Dragon Lady, People Stories Unlimited, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 443:

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see all, sixes, and, nines.


like painting the Forth Bridge

The bridge across the Firth of Forth was in a continuous state of being painted (until finished in 2011, 122 years after its completion): (owing to its large size) as soon as one end was reached, it was time to begin all over again.

Where only an overview has been given, I hope that the book will provide a useful springboard and the appropriate legal advice is sought. The revision has been rather like painting the Forth Bridge and whilst every effort has been made to bring the law as up to date as possible, events often overtake one and a keen eye should be kept on the construction journals and newspapers.

2014, Stephanie Owen, J. R. Lewis, Law for the Construction Industry, page viii:

Weeding can feel like painting the Forth Bridge—by the time you finish, it’s time to start again.

2017 April 29, Alys Fowler, “How to win the war on weeds”, in The Guardian:

(chiefly UK) Never-ending; said of a task which will never be completed due to the perpetual cycle of having to recommence as soon as one has reached the end, or of efforts that are in vain because of this.


from the dead

A translation of Ancient Greek ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν (ek tôn nekrôn) or ἀπὸ τῶν νεκρῶν (apò tôn nekrôn, “from among those who are dead”), a phrase in the New Testament, used for instance in the King James Version. See rise from the dead.

ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν

1987 June 27, Oral Roberts Tells Conference He Has Raised People From the Dead, New York Times

2005 October 7, Back from the Dead, This American Life

2016 July 28, “How Scientists Are Bringing People Back From The Dead”, in Popular Science:

2017 July 24, “Can you bring a language back from the dead?”, in Irish Times:

2017 November 11, Investment Group Plans to Bring World Airways Back From the Dead, Skift

2017 November 26, “'Coco' helps bring the box office back from the dead”, in Los Angeles Times:

(figuratively) from obsolescence or failure

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see from, dead.


of old

In days of old.

I know him of old.

Under the most splendid house in the city is still to be found the cellar where they store their roots as of old, and long after the superstructure has disappeared posterity remark its dent in the earth.

1854 August 9, Henry D[avid] Thoreau, “Economy”, in Walden; or, Life in the Woods, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC:

The station has been refurbished both at ground level and below ground, where the wide, fluorescently lit platforms are an almost unrecognisable metamorphosis of the dingy, reeking Low Level of old.

1960 December, “The Glasgow Suburban Electrification is opened”, in Trains Illustrated, page 713:

These deals have made them more like the radio and TV stations of old — picking popular acts, paying handsomely for their work, assuming greater responsibility for their output — and less like the neutral platforms they once claimed to be.

2022 January 31, Kevin Roose, “Spotify’s Joe Rogan Problem Isn’t Going Away”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(Since) long ago; in, or from, ancient times.


like hey-go-mad

(obsolete) With a high degree of excitement or activity; like crazy.


as who should say

Probably a calque of French comme qui dirait/diroit.

As who ſhould ſay, I am ſir an Oracle, / And when I ope my lips, let no dogge bark.

c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], page 164, column 1:

He doth nothing but frowne, as who ſhould ſay, and you will not haue me, chooſe : he heares merrie tales and ſmiles not […]

c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 165, column 1:

The clowdy Meſſenger turnes me his backe, / And hums; as who ſhould ſay, you'l rue the time / That clogges me with this Anſwer.

c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene vi], page 143, column 2:

in a manner of speaking
in a manner of speaking

(dated) as if one should say, as if to say; so to say; in a manner of speaking.


for the cheap seats

Alluding to the lower-priced seats in a theatre, where the audience might find it harder to hear the performers.

(colloquial) Used to emphasise a repeated assertion.


on the rob

He tries to plug himself in the mains with his knob,
And when he's fully recharged he goes out on the rob.

2004, Goldie Lookin Chain (band), Half Man Half Machine (song)


for old sake's sake

for old times' sake
for old times' sake#English


within a bull's roar

2019, Kevin Rudd, Think the Commonwealth can save Brexit Britain? That’s utter delusion in the Guardian
Much as any Australian, Canadian and New Zealand governments of whichever persuasion would do whatever they could to frame new free-trade agreements with the UK, the bottom line is that 65 million of us do not come within a bull’s roar of Britain’s adjacent market of 450 million Europeans.

The team never came within a bull's roar of winning.

(informal, chiefly in negative constructions) Anywhere near (a place or target).


like a bull at a gate

(idiomatic) charging into some task without much thought, taking action hastily


like winking

(slang, simile) Very rapidly; in a flash.


on the prod

From the way a cattle prod provokes the animal into moving.

was ridin' partners with Chuck Gibbons, the Llano gunman, an' Chuck was always on the prod, sort of. One, two times I figured I might have to shoot it out with him my own self, but wasn't exactly honin' for trouble.

2005, Louis L'Amour, The Trail to Crazy Man, →ISBN:

The current idea of lnjuns being shiftless drunks may apply to many, but they were strong, mean son bitches when on the prod.

2011, Duncan L. Dieterly, Final Battle, →ISBN:

I'm on the prod, not looking to settle down. Especially this close to the border.

2012, Jonas Ward, Buchanan on the Prod, →ISBN:


in the front row

For my entire life the comet hurtled sunward, and then for a fleeting moment I positioned myself in the front row to enjoy its passage as it returned into distant space. For me the 1985-86 Halley apparition will be fondly remembered long after the Halley bars are eaten and the T-shirt fades.

1987, David Deskins, Looking back: amateur adventures with Halley's comet, 1985-1986:

It's just that whenever I screw up, you're always in the front row.

1994, Dana Stabenow, A Cold-Blooded Business, →ISBN, page 83:

I'm proud of your talent and your compassion for people and your place in our family. However your dreams unfold, I'll be in the front row to watch it happen.

2009, Karen Kingsbury, This Side of Heaven: A Novel, →ISBN:

Few passengers cried on the way to the prison. almost all cried on the way home. Camila and aunt Maria sat in silence at first, letting their tears stream unchecked. Then Camila asked, “is anyone from our family going to be there?” “i doubt it.” “i'm surprised. i thought Grandma Vickie would be in the front row.”

2015, Patrick Jones, Guarding Secrets, →ISBN, page 24:

I wrote the HOW and attracted people who were reaching out for help and prepared to help; genuine and loving people who expanded my network, positioned themselves in the front row of my life, new and divine relationships that pushed me to the edge of my comfort zone.

2008, A Story of Empowerment, →ISBN, page 76:

He himself had worked for organisations not always up to the task they had set, but always in the front row to declare their skills and success.

2011, Pietro Giacomo Menolfi, My African Mission, →ISBN, page 299:

The director in the front row of your mind is the result of critical thinking. He or she is the part of you that keeps you on track, helps you stay in the moment, and gives you focus and guidance with your performance.

2012, James Alburger, The Art of Voice Acting, →ISBN:

(idiomatic) Prominent, demanding attention.

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see in, front row.


for cripes sake

for cripes' sake
for cripes' sake#English


for cripes' sake

for Christ's sake
for Christ's sake#English

(minced oath) Euphemistic form of for Christ's sake.


ATTOW

(Internet slang) Initialism of at the time of writing.


with all of one's heart

with all one's heart
with all one's heart#English

Alternative form of with all one's heart


with all one's heart

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-with all one's heart.wav

I love you with all my heart.

Mr. Biden declared that he believed with “all of my heart” that he had made a wise decision.

2021 September 1, Michael D. Shear, Jim Tankersley, quoting Joe Biden, “Biden Defends Afghan Pullout and Declares an End to Nation-Building”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

When Light had finished his story, his companion, Truth, said: "If you like, sister, we will turn in here and rest awhile; shall we?"
"With all my heart," she replied, so they went in and walked round the garden.

1900, Railway Signal: Or, Lights Along the Line, volume 18, page 173:


without book

to make an assertion without book


within an inch of one's life

To a point where one is at great risk of death; or (figuratively, hyperbolic) of severe danger or trouble.

félholtra

to a point where one is at great risk of death

Every drawer had the names of the tools inside written on the front. There were also several parts lockers; they too were labeled and organized within an inch of their lives.

2000, Dana Stabenow, Midnight Come Again, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Minotaur, →ISBN, page 77:

(figuratively, hyperbolic) Almost as much as possible; to an extreme extent.

alaposan

almost as much as possible; to an extreme extent


in someone's light

You're in my light. Move it!

Blocking someone's light, especially when someone is attempting to see a particular thing.


at a guess

The woman opposite him was a mere girl - twenty at a guess.

1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 3, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 27:

(informal) Upon cursory examination; at a glance.


on a wonder

1836, John Mason Peck, letter to college treasurer Dr. Haskell, cited in Austen Kennedy de Blois, The Pioneer School, New York: Fleming H. Revell, Chapter 4, p. 70,
I have taken responsibility in this matter and made a bargain, in which I doubt not every trustee will concur. As I like to put you all on a wonder I will not be very particular now—but only observe that Divine Providence has already more than answered our expectations.

1907, United States Senate, Hearings before the Committee on Military Affairs concerning the Affray at Brownsville, Texas, on the night of August 13 and 14, 1906, Washington: Government Printing Office, p. 406,
Q. Have you ever heard of any conspiracy, or any agreement among the men, to not tell about it?—A. No, Sir
Q. Or to hide knowledge of it?—A. No, sir. The most that I have heard among the men, everybody was on a wonder as to who it was that did do it, did do the shooting.

It was bad enough for white people, but when one of your own color could be so different it put you on a wonder. It was like seeing your sister turn into a ’gator.

1937, Zora Neale Hurston, chapter 5, in Their Eyes Were Watching God, University of Illinois Press, published 1978, page 76:

This is me! Johnny Earthquake! I rassle with light’nin, put a cap on thunder! Set every mammy-jammer in the graveyard on a wonder!

1969, Charles Gordone, No Place to Be Somebody, London: Samuel French, published 1970, act I, page 17:

1993, David Edwards, interviewed in Alan Lomax, The Land Where the Blues Began, New York: Pantheon, p. 402,
Just continually changing like that, catching different trains, I get one or two thousand miles away from home and I get the blues and it put me on a wonder.


OTD

Tickets for the concert will cost £15 OTD.


on the inside

inside, within, inwardly, internally, interiorly, innerly


to the life

(dated) Very closely resembling the original; drawn with great accuracy.


like a knife through butter

(simile) With great ease and effectiveness.

wie durch Butter

only with verbs of cutting or passing through


on the bash

From the hours you keep […] I'd say you were on the bash.

A quick smile played around her lips. "It's from Bondi Beach. Right near Sydney. In Australia, where I'm from. My mom always said I was conceived on that beach, so she gave me that name. She was a young girl then, working square, before she went on the bash. All she could tell me about my dad is that he was a soldier.

2001, Andrew Vachss, False Allegations, →ISBN:

Once they had lost the first flush of youth, started to look like they were on the bash, he saw to it that they were relegated. Like West Ham, his home team, he loved them, but he knew they were not going to win any prizes. Basil's main girls were big earners and, as such, he expected them to look the part. He believed that you got what you paid for, and he saw to it that his girls were paid very well. He walked all the new girls through their first steps personally; he told them how to sit, […]

2008, Martina Cole, The Business: A compelling suspense thriller of danger and destruction, →ISBN:

The only bloody difference between serving drinks to the passengers of British Airways and handing out aperitifs in Mrs Leighton Hunt's Mayfair drawing room was 35,000 feet. It was at a small cocktail party in St John's Wood that I met Amy, a strikingly beautiful young woman who told me that she worked as an escort for an exclusive agency off Park Lane, as indeed did all the other female guests at the party. I'd sort of guessed that they were on the bash, […]

2010, Paul O'Grady, The Devil Rides Out, →ISBN, page 243:

In the evidence he gave before the committee he said that 50 complaints a week were received by his authority. When asked what they were he said late delivery, dirty bottles, wrong change, milk bottles in the wrong place, changing the caps on the tops of bottles, delivery on the wrong days, and vendors going on the bash. That is an indictment of the milk vendors. If the Hutt Valley and Bays Metropolitan Milk Board is giving licences to people to carry on like that, …

1967, Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives [of New Zealand]; Mr McCready, in debate about the Milk Bill, page 3917

[…] cooked lunch, three o'clock smoko, a big dinner and then supper. We always kept a man cook, and you'd never believe how we got them. At the hotel in Wanaka they'd always be getting chefs who were alcoholic; they'd work till they had enough money to go on the bash, then they'd be sacked, so the hotel owner would ring Minaret and send the chef up to us. He'd work as station cook for a while and then, when he wanted a bash again, off he'd go and the hotel would take him back.

1979, Christine Hunt, Something in the Hills: Yesterdays in Central Otago, page 34:


at anchor

a ship riding at anchor

The Galles and thoſe pilling Briggandines,
That yeerely ſaile to the Uenetian goulfe,
And houer in the ſtraightes for Chriſtians wracke,
Shall lie at anchor in the Iſle Aſant.

c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene iii:

As the train rumbled slowly over the Forth Bridge, the western sky was aflame with a particularly gorgeous sunset, and lights were twinkling from the small craft riding at anchor on the calm waters of the firth.

1950 January, Arthur F. Beckenham, “With British Railways to the Far North”, in Railway Magazine, page 8:


across lots

You're a leveller I see, and wouldn't mind knocking me down flat as a pancake, if so be you could run away and get out of this scrape — you're a 'grarium, and would cut across the lot like a streak of lightning if you had a chance.

1838, Joseph Clay Neal, “Fydget Fyxington”, in Charcoal Sketches, Book One, Philadelphia: T. B. Peterson & Brothers, published 1865, page 221:

An' jest ez they wuz settin' down / To take their noonin', Joe looked roun' / And see (acrost lots in a pond / That warn't mor'n twenty rod beyond) / A goose that on the water sot / Ez ef awaitin' to be shot.

1848, James Russell Lowell, “The Two Gunners”, in The Biglow Papers:

I swore in Nauvoo, when my enemies were looking me in the face, that I would send them to hell across lots if they meddled with me; and I ask no more odds of all hell today!

1857 July 26, Brigham Young, Sermon at the Bowery in Salt Lake City:

She chose to go 'cross lots, not because in this case it was nearer than the road, but because it seemed impossible to go another way.

1899, Alice Brown, “A Last Assembling”, in Tiverton Tales:

Alternative form of cross lots (“via a shortcut”)


back at ya

“Mornin’, ladies!” The door chimes were busy for a Tuesday. ¶ “Mornin’ back at ya’ – bein’ a bit presumptuous, aren’t you? I don't see any ladies!”

1996, Jennifer Bosveld, Maggie Lynn and her Perpetual State Fulfillment in Johnstown Ohio, page 49:

Instead of saying, “Thank you” and launching into the monologue, the host said, “Back at ya.” Does this mean that the host was applauding the audience? What for?

2013, Mary Langton, American Idylls, page 22:

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling


from aardvark to zymurgy

In reference to the first and last major words in many English dictionaries.

What a glorious prospect—to be alone on an island, with an opportunity to sit back against a banana tree, and read all the way from aardvark to zymurgy!

1952, John David Marshall, editor, Books, Libraries, Librarians: Contributions to Library Literature, Shoe String Press, page 86:

I read my entire children's encyclopedia, drilling from aardvark to zymurgy. I never made an error at shortstop.

1996, Chang-Rae Lee, Native Speaker, Penguin, →ISBN:

Researchers expect and anticipate that their work will be scrutinized by other scientists and whatever the object of study, from Aardvark to Zymurgy, it is certain to be researched by a plethora of investigators from Stockholm to Shanghai to San Francisco[.]

2002, Melvin A. Benarde, You've Been Had!:

(informal) Synonym of from A to Z: from the beginning to the end; covering everything comprehensively.


on the hustle

(slang) Making a living, or supplementing one's living, by petty crime.


up to anything

Capable of and ready for any kind of mischief.


according to Cocker

UK circa 1760. Eponymous of Edward Cocker (1631–1676), teacher and author of the popular mathematics textbook known as Cocker's Arithmetick (1678).

“Well, so you ought to be, according to Cocker, spending all your time in sick rooms.”
“According to who?”
“According to Cocker.”
“Who is Cocker?”
“Oh, I don't know; some old fellow who wrote the rules of arithmetic, I believe; it's only a bit of slang.[…]”

1859–1861, [Thomas Hughes], “A Crisis”, in Tom Brown at Oxford: […], part 2nd, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, published 1861, →OCLC, page 140:

A man rode at an Arab who fired and missed him, and then seized his spear, with the apparent intention of meeting him as an infantry soldier should, according to Cocker.

1885, Lewis Hough, “Touch and Go!”, in For Fortune and Glory:

It seems that a certain constable whose beat included Dorchester Square was going his round rather late one evening when he noticed a hansom cab drawn up about the middle of the south side of the square. There was no sign of the driver, and no one minding the horse; and as this was not quite according to Cocker, it naturally attracted his attention.

1931, R[ichard] Austin Freeman, “Of a Hansom Cab and a Black Eagle”, in Pontifex, Son And Thorndyke:

(dated, colloquial, British, idiomatic) Done properly, correctly and reliably; in accordance with proper procedure and established rules.


wolog

without loss of generality
without loss of generality#English

(mathematics) Abbreviation of without loss of generality.


like a rat up a drain

like a rat up a drainpipe
like a rat up a drainpipe#English

Alternative form of like a rat up a drainpipe


f.k.a.

Channing Tatum shares Everly with his ex-wife Jenna Dewan. He is currently engaged to Zoë Kravitz; they reportedly first linked up on the set of Kravitz's directorial debut, Blink Twice, f.k.a. Pussy Island.

2024 February 13, Elizabeth Logan, “Channing Tatum Brought His Daughter Everly to an Anime Premiere Like the A+ Dad He Is”, in Glamour:

formerly known as
formerly known as#English


off service

(Singapore) Of a public transport vehicle, not in service.


by inches

to kill by inches

to die by inches


until further notice

Merseyrail said the cuts would be "until further notice".

2022 January 12, Paul Clifton, “Emergency timetables as absences surge due to COVID”, in RAIL, number 948, page 6:

Indefinitely, until a further notification is given to the contrary.

indtil videre

indefinitely, until a further notification is given to the contrary


on the muscle

Tallhato was "on the muscle" going down the backside, attempting to run out. That's not the formula to beat a filly like Windy's Daughter.

1973, Chronicle of the Horse, volume 36, numbers 1-13, page 5:

I really wasn't able to rest him too much because he was on the muscle more than usual tonight.

1990, Harness Horse, volume 56, numbers 5-8, page 22:

(horse-racing) Of a horse: frisky and energetic, seeming keen to race.


with whole skin

He has to return, with whole skin, but without success; and be thrown into arrest, as a traitor.

1837, Thomas Carlyle, The French Revolution: A History […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC, (please specify the book or page number):


off tap

If your number comes up you are off tap and that is that. Dead as a bloody mackerel, no questions asked.

2012, Mark Brandon Read, Chopper Unchopped:

Patty said I was placed in isolation as some members of the aboriginal community had placed me in a category known back then as "OFF TAP" meaning I was to be hurt in some way, shape or form. This would later be retracted as Ray had done one of the most stupid things one could do as an aboriginal in prison 'rape one of his own kind'.

2013, Edgar William, Defined By What I Do or Who I Am, What Makes Me Me?:

(Australia, prison slang) Ostracized and made the target of revenge or punishment.


at the top of one's bent

to the top of one's bent
to the top of one's bent#English

Alternative form of to the top of one's bent


to the top of one's bent

They foole me to the top of my bent.

c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 269, column 2:


beyond the beyonds

(colloquial) Beyond acceptable limits; outrageous.


behind the curtain

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see behind, curtain.


for the taking

/fə ðə ˈteɪkɪŋ/

/fɚ ðə ˈteɪkɪŋ/

"He that believeth hath everlasting life." That life is no distant blessing, hard to win and costly to purchase. It is free. It is yours for the taking. It becomes yours the moment you believe.

[1850?], anonymous [possibly written or edited by Horatius Bonar], The Night Cometh (Kelso Tracts; no. 43), London: James Nisbet & Co., […], →OCLC, page 7:

After all these years of abnegation the crown might yet be his—was his for the taking.

1862 November, “Madeleine Schaeffer. In Three Parts.—Part III.”, in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, volume XXV, number CL, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, publishers, […], →OCLC, chapter VII, page 757, column 2:

How dreadful to live on when you were of no more interest to anyone, but must just 'pass the time' and die. But how much more dreadful to 'pass the time' when you were strong, and life were yours for the taking!

1919 October, John Galsworthy, chapter I, in Saint’s Progress, London: William Heinemann, published December 1919, →OCLC, part IV, page 357:

She had no desire to go near the Swenster mansion again, but neither could she bear to have Enid or Jane sharing in an adventure which was hers for the taking.

1932, Ann Wirt [pseudonym; Mildred Benson], “The Swenster Pearls”, in The Secret of the Sundial (The Madge Sterling Series), Chicago, Ill.: The Goldsmith Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 41:

Compounds such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, water, hydrogen peroxide and oxides of nitrogen are also either available or can be manufactured from local materials [on the Moon, Mars, etc.] without too much difficulty once a base is established. These benefits are there for the taking by any generation willing to take the risks involved.

1989, Arthur E[dward] Smith, “Introduction”, in Mars: The Next Step, Bristol, New York, N.Y.: Adam Hilger, IOP Publishing, →ISBN, page xxi:

[B]eyond the clearing there are miles of uninterrupted sandy beaches, and, running parallel, a slow-moving, winding river, twin tropes of the imperial fantasy of vast terrains there for the taking.

2015, Caroline Field Levander, Matthew Pratt Guterl, “Rich”, in Hotel Life: The Story of a Place Where Anything Can Happen, Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, →ISBN, page 110:

Three times the Mexican gegenpress drew a scampering counterattack, whirring in on goal only to be foiled by a scudding last-ditch tackle or a last pass just awry. Germany were there for the taking, cut open with extraordinary relish by the Mexico attack.

2018 June 17, Barney Ronay, “Mexico’s Hirving Lozano stuns world champions Germany for brilliant win”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2019-08-05:

Available; able to be taken without difficulty.


at twice

(obsolete) Twice; at two distinct times.


in one's born days

in all one's born days
in all one's born days#English

Alternative form of in all one's born days


under canvas

(nautical) Having the sails unfurled; under sail.


by half

Little Miss Smartyboots is too clever by half.

He and two friends were known as “the three pseuds” among the rest of the boys, who thought them too clever by half.

2012 November 9, Decca Aitkenhead, “Robbie Coltrane: ‘I take no nonsense’”, in The Guardian:

(colloquial) By far; by a long chalk; to an excessive extent or degree, especially to the extent that it is negative, gets in the way, etc.


on one's own ground

Dealing with a matter with which one is familiar or expert.


for gosh sake

for goodness' sake
for goodness' sake#English


like a chicken on a June bug

Lots of times you just have to step out on faith when you think something is the right way to go. J.D. took to the forestry stuff like a chicken on a June Bug.

2006, Richard Etheredge, A Logger's Dream, page 61:

So there I was, struggling mightily to protect my virtue with my step-father-in-law all over me like a chicken on a June bug, and I would have been shamed for sure, but the good Lord sent me a sign in the form of a hot brick.

Baz pounced quickly, like a chicken on a June bug.

2014, Allan Lawrence, Olympus and Beyond, page 340:

(Canada, US, simile, informal) Very quickly; in short order.


to one's own cheek

[…] and the immortal history of Adam, when Paradise was no better than this prairie, becos the old gentleman (I like to speak respectfully of my ancestors) had it all to his own cheek.

1846, Peter Lund Simmonds, William Henry Giles Kingston, Simmonds Colonial Magazine and Foreign Miscellany, page 447:

He's one of the richest commoners in Great Britain — give you my word, sir, he's got a princely fortune, all to his own cheek — and he lets his places and lives in chambers in Piccadilly, […]

1891, Ada Cambridge, The Three Miss Kings: An Australian Story, page 126:

(archaic, slang) For one's own private use.


in full fig

Fig may be short for figure, or connected to feague.

(informal) Smartly or fancily dressed, especially in the uniform of a particular profession (soldier, royal servant, actor, etc).


in the house

master of ceremonies
master of ceremonies

(colloquial) Present or performing in a venue; said of a disc jockey or master of ceremonies, etc.

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


on the panel

The "panel" was a list of doctors who could provide limited free healthcare, prior to the introduction of the NHS. This phrase remained in use for some time after that.

(UK, dated) Off work and receiving benefits because one is unwell.


on one's legs

Standing up, especially in order to deliver a speech.


for life

Very fast or strenuously, as if to save one's life.


in the extreme

It was rude in the extreme to act the way he did at the funeral.


out the ass

They will hire a Harvard graduate and pay him out the ass before looking at some middle-aged person who should have had his shit together years ago. Then there's me . . . thirty-four at nine dollars an hour.

2007, Joy Evans-Smith, Secrets to Kill For, page 11:

(US, slang, vulgar) Synonym of out the wazoo


on memo

Of a diamond: having been borrowed by a dealer who does not own it, in order to show it to potential buyers.


on the DL

We like to keep it on the D.L.
because our clientele prefers it that way

2005, “Circus Maximus”, performed by Clutch:

(US, slang) Alternative form of on the down-low

The organization placed Molina on the DL on Wednesday, one day after he was removed in the fourth inning of the Cardinals' 6-0 loss to the Pirates.

2013 July, Jenifer Langosch, “Sprained knee forces Molina to disabled list”, in MLB.com (article), retrieved 2023-11-14:

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


at antipodes

Mark Twain was not a humourist in the sense that Lamb was — the two were at antipodes.

In religion their thoughts ran in widely different channels, and in politics they were at antipodes.

1881, Lyman L. Palmer, History of Napa and Lake Counties:


in one's backyard

(informal) Local to the place where one lives or habitually spends time.


like a dying duck in a thunderstorm

(simile, rare) Looking hopelessly sad and dejected.


in future

Chapter 4 is devoted to setting out the kind of planning and co-ordination we consider to be necessary in future.

1971, The Future Management of Water in England and Wales, H.M. Stationery Office, page 2:

… and if the national debt were liquidated in the manner it ought, and readily might, the nation, it is to be hoped, would in future extend the public money to other purpoſes, than thoſe to which it has hitherto been appropriated, …

1801, George Edwards, Radical Means of Counteracting the Present Scarcity, and Preventing Famine in Future, J. G. Barnard, page 10:

(UK) In the future: at some future time(s).


to all appearance

to all appearances
to all appearances#English


to all appearances

So far as anyone can tell by observation; apparently.


to perfection

To enjoy a wine to its full potential, one must patiently wait until it has aged to perfection.

1993, Strategic Highway Research Program Focus:

She'd stood, head held high like a goddess, the midnight blue dress setting her magnificent figure off to perfection.

2013, Zana Bell, Close to the Wind (Choc Lit):, →ISBN:

In a manner that cannot be bettered; perfectly.


modern as next week

(simile) Thoroughly modern; completely up to date.


on someone's good side

In someone's good graces; approved of by someone; not having annoyed or irritated someone.


in the picture

put someone in the picture, keep someone in the picture


by starts and leaps

Nature does nothing by starts and leaps, or in a hurry.

1692, Roger L’Estrange, “ (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name of the fable.)”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC:

In sudden short bursts; without being tidy and regular.


on the wrong side of the blanket

(born) illegitimately, outside of wedlock


sans nombre

Sixth, de la Plaunche, Argent, a lion rampant, Sable, crowned, Or, round him billets sans nombre, Sable.

1812, Arthur Collins, Collins's Peerage of England; Genealogical, Biographical, and Historical, page 376:

Charles VI. restored to the scutcheon of France the three lilies, first borne by Clovis; the race of Pepin having borne the azure field, semée des fleurs de lys sans nombre, which were also borne by the House of Capet down to 1389.

1877, University magazine, The Dublin university magazine, page 442:

[...] ancient inheritance of his father's family, which were azure, eight lioncels (or perhaps lioncels sans nombre) or.

1894, Henry Gough, James Parker, A Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry, page 380:

Below the rose are the arms of Poitou, golden towers on red, and the old arms of France, azure with fleurs-de-lis sans nombre. Opposite to this on the south side is a small rose with the later shield of France, with only three[…]

1914, Arthur J. de Havilland Bushnell, Storied Windows: A Traveller's Introduction to the Study of Old Church Glass, from the Twelfth Century to the Renaissance, Especially in France, page 188:

The Northamptonshire Washingtons, or one branch of them, bore the following arms: "Paly (sans nombre) argent and gules with three mullets of the first on a chief azure." Another branch of the family bore : Argent with two bars[…]

1914, Robert Hudson George, A History of the Herefordshire Borderland, page 175:

Quarterly, bendy sans nombre or and gules, and likewise sinisterways of the second and first, on a pale sable between two Roman fasces in fess proper, a heart argent , charged with three bendlets purpure, and in chief an annulet[…]

1921, The Ecclesiastical Review, page 463:

(heraldry) Repeated (as a charge like a billet or a division like paly) many times, covering the field with no set number (of the thing).


between ourselves

between you and me
between you and me#English


on a plate

The row started over who will run for parliament in a wealthy rightwing constituency on the left bank in Paris, a safe seat for Sarkozy's ruling UMP. Dati is already a local mayor in the neighbourhood, a job felt to have been handed to her on a plate when she was a Sarkozy favourite. She has since fallen from grace, and when she left government she took a European parliament seat, considered a consolation prize.

2011 December 14, Angelique Chrisafis, “Rachida Dati accuses French PM of sexism and elitism”, in Guardian:

United looked listless, but found the inspiration they were badly lacking in Rashford. First the 21-year-old collected a long ball, bounced through a half-hearted challenge from Maya Yoshida and laid a chance on a plate for Lukaku.

2018 December 1, Tom Rostance, “Southampton 2 - 2 Manchester United”, in BBC Sport:

(colloquial) Within easy reach; easily achieved.

hopealautasella

(idiomatic) within easy reach, easily achieved


in voice

In good condition for singing or speaking.


for you

Alternative form: for ya

That's Jane for you, always moaning about something.

Used as an intensifier to emphasize typicality of behavior

This present is for you.

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


for someone

She knocked my papers out of my hands for me.

"Then why did you handcuff him?" / "He was using vulgar language." / "But why did you put those things on his wrists?" / "I couldn't put them on his mouth." / "What did he do then?" / "He tried to run." / "And what did you do?" / "I broke his jaw for him." / "Why did you break his jaw?" / "Well, I couldn't break his leg, could I?"

1895, “Aut Scissors Aut Nullus”, in John Ames Mitchell, editor, Life, volume 26, page 387:

Broke my nose for me and knocked me on my ass.

She reached out and was only able to get a little hold of his leg and pull it back. She broke his ankle for him.

2007, Jill Whalen, Celtic Tales 8: The Daring, page 33:

Used as an intensifier for actions causing harm or detriment to someone

I wiped his nose for him - on the sidewalk.

Used to indicate that an action normally beneficial may be performed in a way that causes harm or detriment to someone.


in reverse

The Satanic message can be unmasked by playing the song in reverse.

Of a motion, sequence, etc.: backwards; reversed.

When the officer approached the car, the driver put it in reverse and drove away.


on the high ropes

(colloquial) In an elated or highly excited mood.


in disguise

The celebrity went unnoticed by her fans because she was in disguise.

The homeless man was actually a police officer in disguise working to catch drivers texting.

That so-called news story is really advertising in disguise.

(figuratively) Seeming to be something else than what it actually is.


up to the elbows

up to one's elbows
up to one's elbows#English