Do a Lord Lucan 20786

Do a Lord Lucan
If someone disappears without a trace or runs off, they do a Lord Lucan. (Lord Lucan disappeared after a murder)

be duck soup (American informal)20785

be duck soup (American informal)
to be very easy to do Winning your case in court ought to be duck soup.

with each passing day 20784

with each passing day
as days pass, one by one; day by day. Things grow more expensive with each passing day. We are all growing older with each passing day

have a familiar ring 20783

have a familiar ring (to it)
Fig. [for a story or an explanation] to sound familiar. Your excuse has a familiar ring. Have you done this before? This term paper has a familiar ring to it. I think it has been copied

a firm/steady hand on the tiller 20782

a firm/steady hand on the tiller
if someone has a firm hand on the tiller, they have a lot of control over a situation
Usage notes: A tiller is a long handle which is used to control the direction a boat travels.
What people want is a president with a firm hand on the tiller.

fly into the face of danger 20781

fly into the face of danger
Fig. to take great risks; to threaten or challenge danger, as if danger were a person. (This may refer to flying, as in an airplane, but not necessarily.) John plans to go bungee jumping this weekend. He really likes flying into the face of danger. Willard was not exactly the type to fly into the face of danger, but tonight was an exception, and he ordered extra-hot enchiladas

be the soul of discretion 20780

be the soul of discretion

to be good at not talking about things that other people want to keep secret As regards Nigel, he's the soul of discretion. I'm quite sure he won't mention this to anyone.
See bare heart, sell soul

by the seat of one's pants 20779

by the seat of one's pants
Fig. by sheer luck and use of intuition. (*Typically: fly ~; make it ~.) I got through school by the seat of my pants. Pilots who are in fog and using only instruments are flying by the seat of their pants.

come down to 20778

come down to
1. To confront or deal with forthrightly: When you come right down to it, you have to admit I'm correct.
2. To amount to in essence: It comes down to this: the man is a cheat

lay bare something 20777

lay bare something
to discover or tell people about something that was not previously known or was previously kept secret It's been promoted as the biography that lays bare the truth behind the legend.

your lord and master 20776

your lord and master (humorous)
someone who you must obey because they have power over you I have to go and cook supper for my lord and master.

hangout 20775

local

mistankely convicted 20774

ubiquitous 20773

omnipresente

tentatively 20772

provisionalmente

untimely death 20771

muerte prematura

'Mind your own beeswax' 20770

'Mind your own beeswax'

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This idiom means that people should mind their own business and not interfere in other people's affairs.

sti·fling (stflng)20769

sti·fling (stflng)
adj.
1. Very hot or stuffy almost to the point of being suffocating.
2. Being of such a character or nature as to engender a feeling of stultification, repression, or suffocation: "The scholarly correctness of our age can be stifling" (voppressively hot or stuffy a stifling atmosphere


stifling hot

an Indian summer 20768

an Indian summer
1. a period of warm weather which sometimes happens in early autumn Both the UK and Ireland have been enjoying an Indian summer over the past few weeks.
2. a successful or pleasant period in someone's life, especially towards the end of their life The book describes the last 20 years of Churchill's life, including his Indian summer as prime minister between 1951 and 1955.

Ask no questions and hear no lies 20767

Ask no questions and hear no lies."

rule with a velvet glove 20766

rule with a velvet glove

Fig. to rule in a very gentle way. She rules with a velvet glove, but she gets things done, nonetheless. He may appear to rule with a velvet glove, but he is really quite cruel

wouldn't touch someone or something with a ten-foot pole20765

wouldn't touch someone or something with a ten-foot pole

Cliché would not be involved with something under any circumstances. I know about the piece of vacant land for sale on Maple Street. I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole because there used to be a gas station there and the soil is polluted. Tom said he wouldn't touch Sally with a ten-foot pole.

He that hath a full purse never wanted a friend 20764

He that hath a full purse never wanted a friend.
Prov. A rich person always has plenty of friends. Jill: Ever since Joe won the lottery, he's been getting congratulations from friends and relatives he hasn't heard from in years. Jane: You know how it is. He that hath a full purse never wanted a friend.

Never let a problem become an excuse 20763

Never let a problem become an excuse."

bring something to fruition 20762

bring something to fruition
to make something come into being; to achieve a success. Do you think you can bring this plan to fruition? The plan was brought to fruition by the efforts of everyone

sound like a broken record 20761

sound like a broken record

to say the same thing over and over again. (Fig. on a scratch in a phonograph record causing the needle [or stylus] to stay in the same groove and play it over and over.) He's always complaining about the way she treats him. He sounds like a broken record! I hate to sound like a broken record, but we just don't have enough people on the payroll to work effciently.

join forces (with someone)20760

join forces (with someone)

Fig. to combine one's efforts with someone else's efforts. The older boys joined forces with the younger ones to sing the school song. Let's join forces with the other faction and run our own slate of candidates

"Nostalgia isn't what it used to be."20759

"Nostalgia isn't what it used to be."

Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite! 20758

Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite!"

If you don't know where you're going how do you expect to get there?"20757

If you don't know where you're going how do you expect to get there?"

"Eh, what's up doc?" 20756

"Eh, what's up doc?" (Bugs Bunny)

put on the feed bag 20755

put on the feed bag

- to eat a meal (like a horse would)
We put on the feed bag immediately after we got hom

binge and purge 20754

binge and purge

- to overeat and then to vomit
The young woman had eating problems. She would often binge and purge her foo

Cinema is the most beautiful fraud in the world 20753

Cinema is the most beautiful fraud in the world.”
Jean-Luc Godard

as hungry as a bear 20752

as hungry as a bear

- very hungry

I was as hungry as a bear when I returned home from work yesterday.

seize the day 20751

seize the day (formal)
to use an opportunity to do something that you want and not to worry about the future Seize the day, young man. You may never get the chance to embark on such an adventure again.
See also: day, seize

catch the next wave and wait for the next wave 20750

catch the next wave and wait for the next wave
Fig. to follow the next fad. He has no purpose in life. He sits around strumming his guitar and waiting to catch the next wave.

a belly laugh 20749

a belly laugh
a loud laugh which cannot be controlled It's not often you hear the kind of jokes that give you a real belly laugh.

boom out 20748

boom out

[for a loud sound] to sound out like thunder. His voice boomed out such that everyone could hear. An explosion boomed out and frightened us all

be banging/hitting your head against a brick wall 20747

be-like banging/hitting your head against a brick wall
to keep asking someone to do something which they never do I've been trying to get the rules changed for years now but I'm hitting my head against a brick wall. He never listens to me - sometimes I feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall.

ca·per 20746

ca·per 1 (kpr)
n.
1. A playful leap or hop.
2. A frivolous escapade or prank.
3. Slang An illegal plot or enterprise, especially one involving theft.
intr.v. ca·pered, ca·per·ing, ca·pers
To leap or frisk about; frolic.

In my house I'm the boss, my wife is just the decision maker 20745

In my house I'm the boss, my wife is just the decision maker.
Woody Allen

live under the same roof (with someone)20744

live under the same roof (with someone)

Fig. to share a dwelling with someone. (Implies living in a close relationships, as a husband and wife.) I don't think I can go on living under the same roof with her. She was quite happy to live under the same roof with him.

hok·ey 20743

hok·ey (hk)
adj. hok·i·er, hok·i·est Slang
1. Mawkishly sentimental; corny.
2. Noticeably contrived; artificial.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

hoki·ly adv.
hoki·ness, hokey·ness n.

swash·buck·ler 20742

swash·buck·ler (swŏsh'bŭk'lər, swôsh'-)
A flamboyant swordsman or adventurer.
A sword-wielding ruffian or bully.
A dramatic or literary work dealing with a swashbuckler.
[Probably from the striking of bucklers in fighting.]

ram·bunc·tious 20741

ram·bunc·tious (rm-bngkshs)
adj.
Boisterous and disorderly.

lam·baste 20740

lam·baste (lm-bst)
tr.v. lam·bast·ed, lam·bast·ing, lam·bastes Informal
1. To give a thrashing to; beat. See Synonyms at beat.
2. To scold sharply; berate.

poner por los suelos

garish 20739

adj.

Marked by strident color or excessive ornamentation; gaudy.
Loud and flashy: garish makeup. See synonyms at gaudy1.
Glaring; dazzling: "Hide me from Day's garish eye" (John Milton


chillones,estridentes

disjointed 20738

disjointed [dɪsˈdʒɔɪntɪd]
adj
1. having no coherence; disconnected
2. separated at the joint
3. dislocated
disjointedly adv
disjointedness n

Water down 20737

Water down

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meaning: Make something weaker and less effective

Example: The Freedom of Information Act was WATERED DOWN by the Government and didn't give ordinary people much access to official data files

dream something away 20736

dream something away
Fig. to waste away a period of time having fantasies. I just want to sit in the sun and dream the day away. Don't dream away your life!

gin up 20735

gin up
verb to gin up
To setup a snare.
To exaggerate.
To generate, devise or create.
To stir up, stimulate, enliven, etc

crash and burn 20734

crash and burn

1. Lit. [for a plane or car] to crash and burst into flames. The small plane crashed and burned just after it took off.
2. Fig. to fail spectacularly. Poor Chuck really crashed and burned when he made his presentation at the sales meeting.

Culture shock 20733

Culture shock

Feeling uncomfortable in a strange country or place because of the different habits and way of life


A : Bobby is nine years old and has lived in London all his life. When his parents took him to the countryside for the first time it was a complete culture shock.

B : What was he most surprised by ?

A : The cows. He'd thought that milk came from bottles !

This expression refers to any environment which is new and very different from one's own, and is therefore a shock.

look like the cat that swallowed the canary 20732

look like the cat that swallowed the canary
Fig. to appear as if one had just had a great success. After the meeting John looked like the cat that swallowed the canary. I knew he must have been a success. Your presentation must have gone well. You look like the cat that swallowed the canary

put one's hand to the plow 20731

put one's hand to the plow
Fig. to get busy; to help out; to start working. (Alludes to grasping a plow, ready to work the fields.) You should start work now. It's time to put your hand to the plow. Put your hand to the plow and get the job done!

has the world by the tail (with a downhill drag)20730

has the world by the tail (with a downhill drag)
Rur. has destiny under control. The young businessman had the world by the tail with a downhill drag. He had made a million dollars before he was twenty-five. She's got the world by the tail now, but her fame won't last forever.

'Hindsight is twenty-twenty' 20729

'Hindsight is twenty-twenty'

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After something has gone wrong, it is easy to look back and make criticisms.

squeaky clean 20728

68
SQUEAKY CLEAN
Explanation of English Idiom #68
LEGITIMATE AND PROPER.
Example of English Idiom #68
"WE CHECKED ALL OF HER REFERENCES. SHE IS SQUEAKY CLEAN."

sleeping partner (British) also silent partner (American & Australian)20727

sleeping partner (British) also silent partner (American & Australian)
someone who is closely involved with a company, and often provides money for it, but is not a manager of it He was an extremely wealthy man, and she was hoping he might become a sleeping partner in their new vineyards.

A friend is one who has the same enemies as you have 20726

A friend is one who has the same enemies as you have.
Abraham Lincoln

Good seed makes a good crop 20725

Good seed makes a good crop.

Prov. Starting with good materials will help you get good results. Jill: Elsie and Jim are going to have a baby. Jane: I'm sure it will be a good child, since they're both such good people. Good seed makes a good crop. I am sure Robert's business will flourish. He's capable and honest, and good seed makes a good crop.

Save me from my friends. Friends can be more dangerous than enemies20724

Save me from my friends. Friends can be more dangerous than enemies.

It is not work that kills, but worry 20723

It is not work that kills, but worry.

Prov. Working hard will not hurt you, but worrying too much is bad for your health. Nancy: You've been working so many hours every day, I'm afraid you'll get sick. Bill: It's not work that kills, but worry