Idioms | List of Idioms

Race against the clock/time | Discuss

Race against the clock / time

Meaning:

Work or do something very fast to finish it before a deadline

If you have a situation in which you have to finish doing something very quickly by a deadline, you call that situation a race against the clock / time.

Example:

They started a race against the clock to finish the interior of the new store that was scheduled to open in a month.

The engineers worked 15 hours a day to complete the new computer system by the deadline. It was really a race against time.

Rain cats and dogs | Discuss

Rain cats and dogs

Meaning:

To rain very heavily.

If you say "It's raining cats and dogs," you mean it is raining very heavily.

Example:

They didn't cancel the game even though it was raining cats and dogs.

It will rain cats and dogs tomorrow, but he will go to work as usual.

Read between the lines | Discuss

Read between the lines

Meaning:

Guess what someone's real thoughts, feelings, or intentions from what you hear or read.

If you read between the lines, you understand the real meaning of something a person says or writes
even though you are not given details.

Example:

Linda tried to be cheerful and said she was okay, but reading between the lines, I could see she was really upset.

They didn't say directly it was our fault, but it was easy to read between the lines. (It was easy to guess they meant it.)

Right as rain | Discuss

Right as rain

Meaning:

Needed, appropriate, essential, or hoped-for and has come to mean perfect, well, absolutely right.

Rings a bell | Discuss

Rings a bell (with someone)

Meaning:

If you say something (a word or a phrase, especially a name) rings a bell (with you), you mean you have heard it before, or it reminds you of something.


Example:

The name "Nora" sounds familiar. It rings a bell.

Thank you for taking so much time to describe the person, but I'm sorry that doesn't ring a bellwithme.