For example, using the American idiom like gangbustersmay be a bad idea if you are likely to be read by British or Australian readers.īelow is a list of all our posts on idioms.Īccording to Hoyle and according to CockerĪsleep at the switch and asleep at the wheelĪt the end of one’s rope or at the end of one’s tetherĪt Wits End – Meaning, Origin and Correct SpellingĪ cog in the wheel and a cog in the machineĪ shot in the dark and a stab in the darkĪ taste of one’s own medicine and a dose of one’s own medicineīackhanded compliment and left-handed complimentīack the wrong horse and bet on the wrong horseīated Breath or Baited Breath – Meaning and Originīatten Down the Hatches – Meaning and Originīeat swords into plowshares and beat swords into ploughsharesīehind The Eight Ball – Meaning And Originīlow your own trumpet and toot your own hornīreadcrumbs, breadcrumb trail and trail of breadcrumbsĬarry a torch for someone, torch song and torch singerĬarved in stone, set in stone and written in stoneĬash on the nail and cash on the barrelheadĬhamping At The Bit Vs Chomping At The Bit & MeaningĬome-to-Jesus moment and come-to-Jesus meetingĬoming Down the Pike vs. What does bed of roses expression mean Definitions by the largest Idiom Dictionary. Idioms generally convey a casual tone, and it’s risky to use them whenever there’s a possibility that a substantial portion of your readers won’t understand. Definition of bed of roses in the Idioms Dictionary. And some are simply metaphors (e.g., in the doghouse, kick a hornet’s nest).
certain facial expression on her face as she asked Mark a question. Others use recognizable words in strange ways (e.g., cut to the chase, rule of thumb). The beach water traveled across the front of the house like sea gulls wading in the. Some idioms are expressions that keep their meanings even after their origins have been forgotten. Others include words or phrases that are rare outside their idiomatic uses (e.g., rest on one’s laurels, sleight of hand). Although most of us only use a few idioms in our everyday speech, it’s believed that there are tens of thousands of them in the English language. A selection of idioms and their meaning, for students and English language learners to understand common phrases that have a different meaning from the. These expressions are usually figurative and would be nonsensical if read literally. An idiom is a word or phrase whose meaning can’t be understood outside its cultural context.