American Idioms

Idiom of the day :- come up short / (To) come up short

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

To not quite achieve one’s goal. ex. “The students tried to raise $1,000 for the school play, but they came up short.” 

Idiom of the day :- Corner the market in something

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

In this expression the word ‘corner’ means to have control of enough of something — it could be anything that is bought and sold — to be able to manipulate ( control ) its price. It’s the same as having a monopoly. ‘Now, if I could just corner the market in sand, I’d get rich !’ Winston laughed.

Idiom of the day :- serve someone right / (To) serve someone right

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

To serve as appropriate punishment for someone. ex. “They put him in jail for 5 years? Serves him right!” 

Idiom of the day :- Dog Latin / English / Chinese, etc

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

‘Dogs are friends of the whole human race,’ Fido barked in rather bad Latin. ‘A role in which I played a significant part,’ Scotty added. Fido and Scotty are conversing in dog Latin. To speak or write dog Latin / English / Chinese, etc. is to speak or write bad Latin, English, Chinese, etc. In other words, not like a native would speak or write it.

Idiom of the day :- eat one’s heart out / (To) eat one’s heart out

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

To be envious or jealous (used mostly as a command). ex. “Eat your heart out Frank, I’m going to Paris!”

Idiom of the day :- rain cats and dogs / (To) rain cats and dogs

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

*somewhat archaic* To rain very hard. ex. “It was raining cats and dogs last night.” NB: Because of the antiquated nature of this idiom, it’s best to say “It was raining very heavily” instead. 

Idiom of the day :- First and foremost

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

First and most importantly. ex. “First and foremost, you have to treat every customer with respect.” 

Idiom of the day :- scratch the surface / (To) scratch the surface

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

To begin finding out about something. ex. “We’ve only begun to scratch the surface in this field.” 

Idiom of the day :- Elbow room

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

Enough space (room) to feel comfortable. 

Idiom of the day :- Last resort

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

When Hubert got off the train at Microville all the hotels were full. As a last resort he stayed in an old inn on the edge of town. ‘It was my last resort,’ Hubert sighed. ( As a ) last resort is a course of action taken when all other methods or attempts have failed.