English Idioms: From Take a Cake to Sow One՚s Wild Oats, to Keep Late Hours
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Take a Cake
- Be the most outstanding in some respect, either the best or the worst. That advertising slogan really took the cake. What a mess they made of the concert — that takes the cake!
- This expression alludes to a contest called a cakewalk, in which a cake is the prize. Its figurative use, for something either excellent or outrageously bad, dates from the 1880s.
Take Something with a Grain of Salt ⟋ Pinch of Salt
If you should take something with a grain of salt, you shouldn՚t necessarily believe it all.
To Fall Back Upon
Rely on, have recourse to I fall back on old friends in time of need, or When he lost his job he had to fall back upon his savings. [Mid-1800s]
To be Taken Aback
- Surprise shock He was taken aback by her caustic remark.
- This idiom comes from nautical terminology of the mid-1700s, when be taken aback referred to the stalling of a ship caused by a wind shift that made the sails lay back against the masts. Its figurative use was first recorded in 1829.
To Burn Midnight Oil
- Stay up late working or studying the semester is almost over and we՚re all burning the midnight oil before exams.
- This expression alludes to the oil in oil lamps. [Early 1600s]
To be in Hot Water
If you get into hot water, you get into trouble
To be on the Carpet
Summoned before someone in authority for punishment
To Give Oneself Airs
- Assume a haughty manner, pretend to be better than one is I՚m sick of Claire and the way she puts on airs.
- Airs here means “a manner of superiority.” [c. 1700]
To Have the Courage of One՚s Convictions
- Behave according to one՚s beliefs Carl wouldn՚t give his best friend any of the test answers; he had the courage of his convictions.
- This expression is believed to have originated as a translation of the French le courage de son opinion ( “the courage of his opinion” ) , dating from the mid-1800s and at first so used. By the late 1800s it had changed to the present form.
The Onlooker Sees Most of the Game
To Come to a Dead End
- A passage that has no exit this street՚s a dead end, so turn back. [Late 1800s]
- An impasse or blind alley, allowing no progress to be made this job is a dead end; I՚ll never be able to advance. [c. 1920]
To Turn a Deaf Ear
If someone turns a deaf ear to you, they don՚t listen to you.
To Let the Cat Out of the Bag
- If you accidentally reveal a secret, you let the cat out of the bag, give away a secret Mom let the cat out of the bag and told us Karen was engaged.
- This expression alludes to the dishonest practice of a merchant substituting a worthless cat for a valuable pig, which is discovered only when the buyer gets home and opens the bag. [Mid1700s]
To Put the Cart Before the Horse
- Reverse the proper order of things or events don՚t put the cart before the horse and give away the punch line.
- This expression has been used since antiquity but was first recorded in English in 1520.
To Sail in the Same Boat
- If people are in the same boat, they are in the same predicament or trouble.
To Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth
- Be critical or suspicious of something received at no cost Dad՚s old car is full of dents, but we shouldn՚t look a gift horse in the mouth.
- This term, generally expressed as a cautionary proverb (Don՚t look a gift horse in the mouth) , has been traced to the writings of the 4th-century cleric, St. Jerome, and has appeared in English since about 1500. It alludes to determining the age of a horse by looking at its teeth
To Have an Axe to Grind
- If you have an axe to grind with someone or about something, you have a grievance, resentment and you want to get revenge or sort it out.In American English, it is ‘ax’
To Wash One՚s Dirty Linen in Public ⟋ Air One՚s Dirty Linen or Laundry
- Expose private matters to public view, especially unsavoury secrets
- These metaphors are reworking of a French proverb, IL fault laver son linge sale end Famille ( “One should wash one՚s dirty linen at home” ) , which was quoted by Napoleon on his return from Elba (1815) . It was first recorded in English in 1867.
To Take to One՚s Heels
- Run away when the burglar alarm went off, they took to their heels.
- This expression alludes to the fact that the heels are all one sees of a fugitive running away fast. Although similar expressions turned up from Shakespeare՚s time on, the exact idiom dates only from the first half of the 1800s.
The Writing on the Wall ⟋ Handwriting on the Wall
- If the writings on the wall for something, it is doomed to fail. A warning or presentiment of danger The Company was losing money, and seeing the handwriting on the wall, she started to look for another job.
- This expression comes from the Bible (Daniel 5: 5 - 31) , in which the prophet interprets some mysterious writing that a disembodied hand has inscribed on the palace wall, telling King Belshazzar that he will be overthrown
To Sow One՚s Wild Oats
- Behave foolishly, immoderately or promiscuously when young Brad has spent the last couple of years sowing his wild oats, but now he seems ready to settle down.
- This expression alludes to sowing inferior wild oats instead of good cultivated grain, the verb sowing — that is, “planting seed” — in particular suggesting sexual promiscuity. [Mid-1500s]
To Keep Late Hours
Stay awake until late at night never call Ethel before noon; she keeps late hours and sleeps all morning.