bone of contention 30409

bone of contention something that two or more people argue about fiercely over a long period of time

example :- The property issue long remained a bone of contention among the Tay siblings. It even prevented their getting together for a family reunion dinner during the New Year celebrations.

Tear someone off a strip 30408

Tear someone off a strip

Talk to someone angrily


A : The next time I see Charlie I'm going to tear him of a strip. I lent him a book called 'Improve Your Memory' and he hasn't given it back. He's had it for over a year now.

B : Why doesn't he return it ?

A : He says he keeps forgetting.

This is based on the Old English verb tear which meant rage/ be violently angry. As is quite common in the evolution of a word, it has become confused with the more modern version, nowadays tear means pull apart/rip.

find Mr. Right 30407

find Mr. Right

- to find the right or perfect person

The woman is always hoping to find Mr. Right but so far she has not had any luck

clear as crystal 30406

clear as crystal
1. Cliché very clear; transparent. (*Also: as ~.) The stream was as clear as crystal. She cleaned the windowpane until it was clear as crystal.
2. Cliché very clear; easy to understand. (*Also: as ~.) The explanation was as clear as crystal. Her lecture was not clear as crystal, but at least it was not dull.

keeps going and going and going 30405

keeps going and going and going,ENERGIZER SLOGANS

Lounge lizard 30404

Lounge lizard

Some idioms are popular for a while, disappear, and then return. This is one of them. A lounge lizard is a particular type of man who dresses neatly, is a good conversationalist, and shows a fondness for meeting wealthy ladies at social events. "Lance has a reputation of being a lounge lizard. It's said he's seeking a rich wife."

Left holding the bag 30403

Left holding the bag

Kevin went to the beach with his friends. They dug up all kinds of things in the sand, but when one of the things proved difficult to deal with, they all ran away screaming. "They left me holding the bag," Kevin said. To be left holding the bag is to be given a difficult or awkward problem to deal with. "Everyone I was with seems to have disappeared," Kevin frowned.

BIB 30402

BABERO

dummy (para bebé) (British), pacifier 30401

CHUPETE

Go Down Like A Lead Balloon 30400

Go Down Like A Lead Balloon:
To be received badly by an audience

Sod's Law 30399

Sod's Law (British humorous)
the way in which plans fail and bad things happen where there is any possibility of them doing so It's Sod's Law that on the one occasion when the train arrives on time, I'm late!

at a set time 30398

at a set time
at a particular time; at an assigned time. Each person has to show up at a set time. Do I have to be there at a set time, or can I come whenever I want

read oneself to sleep 30397

read oneself to sleep
to read something in preparation for falling asleep. I need a really dull book so I can read myself to sleep. That's the kind of book I use to read myself to sleep

Put the heat / screws on someone 30396

Put the heat / screws on someone

Definition: pressure someone to do something

He's putting the heat on me to finish the report.
Janet's really putting the screws on her husband to get a new car

stick to someone's fingers 30395

stick to someone's fingers
Fig. to remain in someone's possession; to be stolen by someone. Other people's watches tend to stick to Max's fingers. Watch that clerk. Your change tends to stick to his fingers

Also-ran 30394

Also-ran This term refers to an unsuccessful competitor whose performance is
so much poorer than the winner's that it appears insignificant.
"He entered the contest hoping that he wouldn't end up as an 'also-ran'.

Not wash 30393

Not wash
If a story or explanation will not wash, it is not credible

life and limb 30392

life and limb
continued existence or serious injury These skiers risk life and limb every day for the thrill of a super-fast downhill run. The storms across the west are posing a threat to life and limb.
Usage notes: used when talking about situations in which someone could die or be injured, as in the

be like a spare prick at a wedding 30391 (British taboo, humorous)

be like a spare prick at a wedding (British taboo, humorous)

to feel silly because you are present at an event but no one needs you and no one is talking to you Everyone else there had come with their partners and I was left feeling like a spare prick at a wedding.

pinch-hit for (someone) 30390

pinch-hit for (someone)

- to substitute for someone

Informal. To substitute for another in a time of need
The best batter on the baseball team was asked to pinch-hit for the injured player

slighlest sign 30389

sin la menor señal

dou·ble-park 30388

dou·ble-park (dbl-pärk)
tr. & intr.v. dou·ble-parked, dou·ble-park·ing, dou·ble-parks
To park alongside another vehicle already parked parallel to the curb

good enough for 30387

good enough for
someone or something adequate for someone or something. This seat is good enough for me. I don't want to move. I'm happy. It's good enough for me. That table is good enough for my office

knew it was coming 30386

knew it was coming and (had) known it was coming
to have expected in advance that something was to happen. I shouldn't act surprised. I knew it was coming. It's his own fault. He should have known it was coming.

ophidian [əʊˈfɪdɪən]30385

ophidian [əʊˈfɪdɪən]
adj
1. snakelike
2. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Animals) of, relating to, or belonging to the Ophidia, a suborder of reptiles that comprises the snakes
n
(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Animals) any reptile of the suborder Ophidia; a snake
[from New Latin Ophidia name of suborder, from Greek ophidion, from ophis snake

un·fath·om·a·ble 30384

un·fath·om·a·ble (n-f-m-bl)
adj.
1. Difficult or impossible to understand; incomprehensible: unfathomable theories.
2. Difficult or impossible to measure: the unfathomable depths

We've all seen them, envied them: They are the Cubicles of Unfathomable Awesomeness, beacons of style in the soulless sea of the modern

rash attempt 30383

rash attempt;
una intentona

cold meat 30382

embutido

canteen 30381

cantimplora

DELETERIOUS 30380

deleterious Having a harmful effect; injurious: the deleterious effects of smoking
explosive device attacks, suicide attacks and abductions, targeting civilians and Afghan and international forces and their deleterious effect on the stabilization, reconstruction and development efforts in Afghanistan, and condemning further the […]

Rank and file 30379

Rank and file

Are you a leader in a club or an organization ? If not, you could say that you belong to the rank and file. The rank and file refers to the ordinary people within a group, a club, or an organization. "The general is very busy today. He's out inspecting the rank and file."

Fall by the wayside 30378

Fall by the wayside
To fall by the wayside is to give up or fail before completion

refill a prescription 30377

refill a prescription
sell a second or subsequent set of doses of a medicine upon a doctor's orders. The pharmacy refused to refill my prescription because it has expired. If you want the drugstore to refill your prescription, just give them the prescription number over the telephone

On The Same Page 30376

On The Same Page ( different people are looking at an issue in the same way, as when reading from the same page ...

Ethnic Cleansing 30375

Ethnic Cleansing:
Killing of a certain ethnic or religious group on a massive scale

pull a boner 30374

pull a boner
verb
•to make a mistake

derived benefit from 30373

derived benefit from
sacó un beneficio de

stop the rot 30372

stop the rot
to do something to prevent a situation from continuing to get worse The team had been suffering low morale before Smith was brought in to stop the rot.

a laundry list (mainly American)30371

a laundry list (mainly American)
a long list of subjects (usually + of ) It wasn't much of a speech - just a laundry list of accusations against the government

'Rose-colored glasses 30370

'Rose-colored glasses'

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If people see things through rose-colored (coloured) glasses, they see them in a more positive light than they really are

Bac·chic 30369

Bac·chic (bkk)
adj.
1. Greek & Roman Mythology Of or relating to Bacchus.
2. bacchic Drunken and carousing; bacchanalian

AD LIBITUM (adverb)30368

AD LIBITUM (adverb)
The adverb AD LIBITUM has 1 sense:

1. without advance preparation


Familiarity information: AD LIBITUM used as an adverb is very rare

out of thin air 30367

out of thin air
Fig. out of nowhere; out of nothing. Suddenly—out of thin air—the messenger appeared. You just made that excuse up out of thin air

de la nada

ambrosia 30366

ambrosia
n. legendary food of the gods (Greek Mythology); something that has a wonderful taste or smell; dessert made of fruits and coconut; genus of hermaphroditic composite herbs that includes ragweeds

quick study 30365

quick study
n.
One who is able to memorize something easily and quickly or is able to understand and deal with something easily and successfully.

quench 30364

quench (kwnch)
tr.v. quenched, quench·ing, quench·es
1. To put out (a fire, for example); extinguish.
2. To suppress; squelch: The disapproval of my colleagues quenched my enthusiasm for the plan.
3. To put an end to; destroy.
4. To slake; satisfy: Mineral water quenched our thirst.
5. To cool (hot metal) by thrusting into water or other liquid

Ghetto blaster 30363

Ghetto blaster

A type of portable cassette player which can play music extremely loudly


A : My grandmother moves music but she's getting deaf and couldn't hear her record player very well. She's solved the problem now.

B : What did she do -- buy a hearing aid ?

A : No. A ghetto blaster.

This expression came from America and became popular during the 1980s. Ghetto means a poor, urban area and blast means an explosion -- in this case of noisy music. They are popular with young men, who carry them around in city streets ( often in deprived areas ). The volume is designed to impress other people rather than to entertain.

Left at the altar 30362

Left at the altar

Altars are found in churches. People getting married stand before them and say "I do." If one of the parties fails to appear, the other is left at the altar. That has come to mean someone is rejected or his hopes are not fulfilled. "I wasn't promoted. I was left at the altar again," Rooney frowned

flat out like a lizard drinking 30361

Flat out like a lizard drinking'

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An Australian idiom meaning extremely busy, which is a word play which humorously mixes two meanings of the term flat out.

Draw and quarter 30360

Draw and quarter

It was once common to execute criminals by having their four limbs drawn ( pulled ) off. Thank heavens criminals are not drawn and quartered any more, though we still use this idiom ( humorously ) to threaten a person ! "My wife said she would draw and quarter me if I came home late again," Ken said. "I hope she doesn't mean it !"

a banana skin 30359

a banana skin (British)
something which causes or is very likely to cause embarrassing problems The new tax has proved to be a banana skin for the government.

mean·while 30358

mean·while (mnhwl, -wl)
n.
The intervening time.
adv.
1. During or in the intervening time: Meanwhile, life goes on.
2. At the same time: The court is deliberating; meanwhile, we must be patient

fault-finding 30357

fault-finding
n
1. continual and usually trivial criticism
2. (Electronics) the systematic investigation of malfunctions in electronic apparatus

A soliloquy 30356

A soliloquy is a device often used in drama whereby a character relates his or her thoughts and feelings to him/herself and to the audience without addressing any of the other characters.[1] Soliloquy is distinct from monologue and aside. Soliloquies are similar to yet distinct from a monologue; an exclusive view of a character's dramatized action within a play-world, typically addressing another character or group of characters.

Soliloquies were frequently used in poetic dramas; dramas in prose tend to use a more realistic speaking style and rarely if ever feature them. The plays of William Shakespeare feature many soliloquies. The "To be or not to be" speech in Hamlet is perhaps the most famous one in the English language. Macbeth's "Tomorrow and tomorrow" speech and Juliet's "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" are other famous examples of Shakespearean soliloquies (although Juliet's speech is overheard

able-bodied 30355

able-bodied /'eɪbəl'bɑ:did / || /ˌeɪbəl'bɒdid/ adjetivo
sano, no discapacitado

What is the weather like today? 30354

What is the weather like today? I want to go out a bit

hot·bed 30353

hot·bed (htbd)
n.
1. An environment conducive to vigorous growth or development, especially of something undesirable: a hotbed of intrigue.
2. A glass-covered bed of soil heated with fermenting manure or by electricity, used for the germination of seeds or for protecting tender plants

a hotbed of discord

flotsam and jetsam 30352

flotsam and jetsam
people or things which are not wanted or have no value
Usage notes: Flotsam and jetsam are the pieces of broken wood and other waste material found on the beach or floating on the sea.
Drug addicts, the homeless, all are viewed as the flotsam and jetsam of today's society.

restos y desechos

everlasting life 30351

everlasting life

A Dictionary of the Bible | 1997 | W. R. F. BROWNING | 527 words | © A Dictionary of the Bible 1997, originally published by Oxford University Press 1997. (Hide copyright information) Copyright
everlasting life Endless existence uninterrupted by death. In several parables Jesus taught that this present life leads on to a further phase whose nature depends on our conduct here (Luke 16: 25; Matt. 25: 46). It is argued by some modern theologians that this further phase could not be damnation: such is the love of God for each human being that it is inconceivable that he could create us with so much potential for responding to that love and then that human evil could entirely destroy that potential. Cf

table wine 30350

An unfortified wine considered suitable to be served with a meal

run one's feet off 30349

tuck in
To make (a child, for example) secure in bed for sleep, especially by tucking bedclothes into the bed.

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tuck in 30348

tuck in
To make (a child, for example) secure in bed for sleep, especially by tucking bedclothes into the bed.

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'Let your guard down' 30347

'Let your guard down'

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If you let your guard down, you relax and stop looking out for danger.

'Across the board' 30346

'Across the board'

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If something applies to everybody, it applies across the board

an accident waiting to happen 30345

an accident waiting to happen
a very dangerous situation in which an accident is very likely The speed that people drive along this road, it's an accident waiting to happen

a fact of life 30344

a fact of life
an unpleasant fact or situation which people accept because they cannot change it (not used with the ) She grew up in Northern Ireland during the 1970s when violence had become a fact of life.

Brush up on 30343

Brush up on

Professor Oxbridge has been invited to give a talk on the history of his school. He hasn't read anything about it for so long that he'll have to brush up on it. That is, he'll have to refresh his knowledge of it. "There, I've brushed up on the subject." Professor exbridge smiled.