Idioms | List of Idioms

Call it a day

Meaning:

To declare the end of a task.

Can't make head nor tail (out) of something / someone

Meaning:

Not be able to understand

If you can't make head nor tail (out) of something or someone, you can't understand it/him/her at all.

Example:

Could you show me how to use this machine? I can't make head nor tail out of the instructions in the manual.

Bob is a very strange guy. Everything he says and does is very strange. I cannot make head nor tail of him.

Cast pearls before swine

Meaning:

Offer or show something valuable, good, or beautiful to someone who does not understand its value

If you are casting pearls before swine, you are wasting your time showing or offering something very helpful or valuable to someone who does not understand or appreciate it.

Example:

Don't bother explaining Shakespeare to Bob. It would be like casting pearls before swine.

Tom wouldn't listen to Sarah's wise advice. She was just casting pearls before swine.

Cat nap

Meaning:

A nap.

Catch someone's eye

Meaning:

Attract someone and make him/her look at something.

If someone or something catches your eye, you look because of interest.

Example:

While driving on the freeway, an interesting billboard caught my eye.

Suddenly something flying in the sky caught his eye. It was a big bird he had never seen before.

Chew the fat

Meaning:

To chat idly or generally waste time talking.

Chink in one's armor

Meaning:

An area of vulnerability

Chomp at the bit

Meaning:

To show impatience or frustration when delayed.

Clam up

Meaning:

To become silent; to stop talking.

Get (have) cold feet

Meaning:

Suddenly become (be) very nervous about doing something that you were going to do.

If you get cold feet, you become afraid to do something that you planned to do or agreed to do.

Example:

It's normal for young people to get cold feet before their wedding.

He agreed to go bungee jumping with his friends, but he got cold feet when they arrived at the jump.

Cold shoulder

Meaning:

To display aloofness and disdain.

Quit cold turkey

Meaning:

Quit a bad habit such as smoking or drinking alcohol suddenly, without any gradual adjustment.

If you quit something (smoking, etc.) cold turkey, you stop it suddenly and completely.

Example:

Tom was a heavy drinker for more than 15 years; then he quit drinking cold turkey. He's never drunk again since then.

Cook Someone's Goose

Meaning:

Get someone in trouble. Keep someone from succeeding.

If you cook someone's goose, you get him/her into trouble or prevent him/her from succeeding at something.



Example:

Ted stayed up late yesterday at a party and missed an important meeting in the morning.
He told his boss he was sick, but one of his colleagues cooked his goose. She saw him dancing at the party last night.

When the president made a wrong decision about the country's economic policy, his political goose was cooked.

Cool someone's heels

Meaning:

Wait for a long time.

If you cool your heels, someone makes you wait for a long time with nothing to do, so you get bored or impatient.

Example:

While they were having a long meeting, Mary was cooling her heels waiting for the results.

The show was so popular that I had to cool my heels in a long line at the box office.

Couch potato

Meaning:

A person who spends a lot of idle time sitting and watching television.

If a person is a couch potato, he/she is not active and spends most of his/her time sitting and watching TV.
He/she doesn't do anything productive.

Example:

School children don't play outside as much as before. Many of them are overweight couch potatoes.

Don't be a couch potato! You're just wasting your time.

Cut a rug

Meaning:

To dance

Cut the cheese

Meaning:

To pass gas, fart, break wind

Cut the mustard

Meaning:

To perform well; to meet expectations.