Here are some of the idioms I learned from my colleagues and friends.
You snooze you loose
Clear as mud
more … than you can shake a stick at
Meaning an abundance, plenty.
There are more datetime formats in use in the computing world than you can shake a stick at.
Playing hooky
(thanks John)
Used to mean skipping schools. But now it’s used to mean any kind of skipping.
How’s your new digs?
Asking how is your new place.
Can’t draw blood from a stone/turnip
Meaning useless effort usually financially.
Strike the iron while it’s hot
Jump the gun
Do something too soon without thinking too carefully about it. For example, I jumped the gun when I sent out that email without thinking.
A chip off the old block
Meaning a kid resembles his/her parents
Splitting hairs
Argue over trivial. In Chinese, they say “picking bones in an egg”.
the long pole in the tent
It means the most difficult part of a process, or the thing that takes the most time. (Courtesy of Kristene)
Wouldn’t poke it with a ten foot pole
When you really, really don’t want something, you say you wouldn’t poke it with a ten foot pole. In Chinese, you say one wouldn’t poke a hornet’s nest with a pole or tong ma feng wo. (Courtesy of Joe)
No money no dice
Related to casino environment. If you have no money, you can’t roll dice. (Courtesy of Joe)
Kiss (Keep it simple stupid)
In Chinese, we say nong qiao cheng zhu(????) meaning one made fool of oneself tring to be a smarty pant. (Courtesy of Joe)
Does a bear shit in the woods?
Refer to something obvious. Dah! (Courtesy of Joe)
Is the pope catholic?
Dah! (Courtesy of Joe)
HHIC: hit honcho in charge
(Courtesy of Joe)
Proof is in the pudding
Secret in the source
A little bird told me
If you don’t want to tell someone where you got the information, you tell him/her that a little bird told me. (Courtesy of Joe)
From soup to nuts
Full course dinner.
Going under bender
(Courtesy of Joe)
Right church wrong pew
Close but not quite right (Courtesy of Joe)
Make up a tree and leave
(Courtesy of Joe)
Off like a dirty shirt
(Courtesy of Joe)
Way off the left field
(Courtesy of Joe)
Don’t rain on my parade
(Courtesy of Joe)
Take the bull by the horn
(Courtesy of Joe)
Mercy rule
(Courtesy of Bryan)
Beats the shit out of me
(Courtesy of Bryan)
Any dog has his day
(Courtesy of Bryan)
Wrap around the axle
Wrap around the finger
(Courtesy of Joe)
He is not the sharpest knife in the drawer
(Courtesy of Joe)
Great googly moogly
Arranging deck chairs on a sinking ship
(Courtesy of Joe)
Fiddle while rome burns (Nero did that)
(Courtesy of Joe)
Three sheets to the wind
When someone is really drunk(Courtesy of Bryan)
Nail jelly to the wall
(Courtesy of Kristene)
Pushing noodle up the hill
(Courtesy of Kristene)
Rearranging the death chair
(Courtesy of Kristene)
Keep your eyes peeled
(Courtesy of John)
Keep your fingers in the pie
Keep a few irons in the fire
Out of thin air
Out of wazoo
(Courtesy of Bryan)
(Courtesy of Joe)
Free boat (get it for free)
(Courtesy of Joe)
Whole nine yards
Whole ball of wax
A blind squirrel finds a nut
(Courtesy of Joe)
It makes about much sense as blind men driving
(Courtesy of Joe)
Blind leading the blind
(Courtesy of Joe)
Shooting fish in a barrel
(Courtesy of Joe)
Slam dunk
Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey
(Courtesy of Bryan)
Going to hell in a handbasket
(Courtesy of Joe)
Don’t pull mask off the lone ranger
(Courtesy of Joe)
Pissing contest
(Courtesy of Bryan)
Don’t piss into the wind
(Courtesy of Joe)
Thick as a pea soup
(Courtesy of John)
Close but no cigar
(Courtesy of Joe)
It’s a slow boat to China
Up the shit creek without a paddle
(Courtesy of Joe)
Pretty penny
She’s burning the candle at both ends
He’s pulling the wool over her eyes
He’s leading you up the garden path
I’ve got a bone to pick with you
I can smell a rat
They paid through the nose for it
He has turned over a new leaf
Tango Uniform
Yank your chain
Pushing a rope
Grin and bear it
Pass the buck
Pass on a counterfeit to another person
American Football Related
* Throw a hail Mary: throw a last minute desperate ball hoping it will result in a touchdown. (Courtesy of Brice)
* Drop back ten and punt: When you want to start over with a positive attitude. (Courtesy of Joe)
R-Rated
FNG: F* New Guy
SNAFU: Situation Now All F*ed Up
FUBAR: F*ed Up Beyond All Recognition
PEBKAC: problem exists between keyboard and chair
Slang Web Sites
3 Responses to American Idioms