American Idioms

Idiom of the day :- Eighty Six

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

A certain item is no longer available. Or this idiom can also mean, to throw away.

Idiom of the day :- rack one’s brain / (To) rack one’s brain

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

To try very hard to think of something. ex. “I racked my brain, but I couldn’t remember his name.” 

Idiom of the day :- Once in a blue moon

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

If you say that something happens once in a blue moon, you are emphasizing that it does not happen very often at all.

Idiom of the day :- Larger than life

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

When a person, an object or an event is larger than life, he, she or it is unusually remarkable or significant … often because reports of him, her or it have been greatly exaggerated. ‘I suspect the things Owen says about his achievements are larger than life.’ ‘I used to think the stories about there being ghosts here were larger than life !’ the cat cried.

Idiom of the day :- Eat humble pie

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

Be very submissive after regretting an action or words A : Last week Charles accused his new secretary, Fiona, of stealing his wallet. It disappeared from his briefcase during lunchtime. B : How awful ! I expect she lost her job immediately. A : No, Charles gave her a pay rise. The next day he found his wallet at home. It hadn’t been stolen after all, so he had to eat humble pie all week and offer Fiona more money before she agreed to stay ! In the Middle Ages umbles were the unpleasant but edible parts of a deer which were cooked in a pie. The best deer meat was eaten by the rich, whereas the umble pie was eaten by their servants who were of a lower social class. Over time the word umble became confused with the word humble which means meek or submissive to give the current expression. It is often used in the following forms, have to eat humble pie and make someone eat humble pie.

Idiom of the day :- Dressed like a peacock

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

A peacock is actually the male of the species. A female is a peahen. In the world of idioms, however, a person of either sex who is dressed handsomely and colorfullycan be said to be dressed like a peacock. ‘Nelly is dressed like a peacock tonight. She’s been invited to have dinner with her boss.

Idiom of the day :- Mad as a wet hen

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

Gustov is mad as a wet hen. ‘You are the most annoying chicken I have ever seen ! You must stop running,’ he shouted. Gustov knows a lot about chickens because he has been cooking them for many years – and to be mad as a wet hen is to be very angry ! ‘I would rather see you mad as a wet hen than see me in your cooking pot !’ the hen replied.

Idiom of the day :- Go to any lengths

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

A person who will go to any or to great lengths to do something is very determined. That’s because this expression means to do everything possible to achieve a desired result. ‘Penelope would go to any lengths to be an astronaut.’ ‘Ken has gone to great lengths to develop a new and unusual business.’

Idiom of the day :- Nightmare scenario

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

The most awful series of events that can be imagined A : I’m very worried about nuclear weapons. If every country has them I don’t see how we can avoid the nightmare scenario of a world war which destroys the whole Earth. There’s only one solution. B : What’s that ? A : Move to another planet ! This expression was first used during the Gulf War in 1991. The Americans and their allies were using military force against Iraq, which had occupied its neighbor Kuwait. according to the Americans, the nightmare scenario was the possibility of Iraq retreating very quickly from Kuwait without being defeated. This would mean that the Iraqi army would still be powerful and able to attack against the future.

Idiom of the day :- Spill the Beans

Usage, examples and definition of the Idiom :-

Did you know that Harry was going to take Kathy on a Caribbean cruise ? Yes, I did. He was planning on surprising her with the tickets fro their anniversary, but someone spilled the beans. What a shame ! That was supposed to have been a surprise. Yes, it’s too bad that someone told her about the trip beforehand and ruined Harry’s surprise. That’s OK. Her enthusiasm was not dampened in the least!