Phrase a Week
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:00:00 GMT
Handle with kid gloves ... I kid you not.
Cold turkey ... Just chat amongst yourselves.
Nail your colours to the mast ... Go on, you know you want to.
Second guess ... You old second guesser, you.
Security blanket ... Feeling insecure? - you know you need this.
As different as chalk and cheese ... No, really, they are different.
Weasel words ... Up to 50% or more words with this piece...
The writing is on the wall ... The moving finder writes...
Pig's ear ... Pig's where?
A norange ... Norange? No such word you say? Well,maybe.
What you see is what you get ... Coine by computer boffins? No, coined by kids.
Double Dutch ... Uncoil that rope.
Jack ... Jack - the most common of all men.
Pony up ... Hey, pony. Where's that sick squid you owe me?
Fathom out ... Come here; I want to fathom you.
If the shoe fits ... Then wear it.
Bunny boiler ... Tastes like chicken, I am told.
May you live in interesting times ... Or perhaps you'd prefer not to.
For good measure ... Measure twice; cut once.
Like it or lump it ... Lump? What's that?
Blood, sweat and tears ... Woe, woe, and twice woe.
Loose cannon ... Clergyman with a stomach upset? I don't think so.
In the sticks ... No, not the Styx; the sticks.
Forlorn hope ... Don't give up - the army didn't.
Abracadabra ... And for my next trick...
Between a rock and a hard place ... Not the best position to be in.
Booby Prize ... Step right up - win a prize.
Fair to middling ... This week's phrase is fair to middling. Yes, it is.
Bean counter ... How many beans make five?
Turn of phrase ... This week it's the turn of Turn of Phrase.
Purple patch ... In trouble? Get off that pole.
Purple patch ... Torn your loons? You need a purple patch.
Rest on your laurels ... That doesn't sound very comfortable.
A dog is a man's best friend ... He is now.
Jack of all trades ... Who was Jack?
As daft as a brush ... How many brushes does it take to change a lightbulb?
Eeny, meeny, miny, mo ... So many origins - take your pick.
Hard-hearted ... Have you tried Aspirin?
Beat around the bush ... Get to the point.
Dressed to the nines ... Go on; go one over the eight.
Say cheese ... Go on; you know you want to.
Which is which ... Find out what's what.
Mum's the word ... I'm an Egyptian prince - my daddy was a mummy.
What's not to like? ... Really - what?
To all intents and purposes ... That money you owe me; let's forget it.
To all intents and purposes ... To all intents and purposes, this explains the phrase's origin.
It's not rocket science ... No; it isn't.
As cute as a bug's ear ... Doesn't sound cute - but it is.
Take the gilt off the gingerbread ... Mmm - cake, gold-plated cake.
Beyond the pale ... What's behind that bucket?
Spruce-up ... A new year - time to tidy-up the language locker.
Let there be light ... 400 years later, let there be light.
Doff your hat ... What does on must do off.
My cup of tea ... Two sugars, please.
Have no truck with ... No, thank you.
Fell off the back of a truck ... Psst! Wanna buy a used phrase?
Fed up ... Keep eating - you look too cheerful.
Five o'clock shadow ... Is it that time already? I'm feeling rather unkempt.
Knock into a cocked hat ... Hatted and battered.
Good riddance ... ...and take your bad rubbish with you.
Montezuma's revenge ... You don't need to go all the way to Mexico...
Houston, we have a problem ... No chance you could beam us down is there?
Vice versa ... It's versa vice all over again.
Mind your Ps and Qs ... Go on then. Mind them.
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing ... Yes; It is.
Carpe diem ... Stop carping; get plucking.
Vis-à-vis ... Face it, or dosey doh.
Cash on the nail ... And you don't need to travel to Bristol to do it.
Pigs might fly ... Might? They really do.
Dog in the manger ... Got a dog? Got a manger? Best keep them apart.
Hat trick ... Hat trick - is that a trick with a hat? Well, yes it is.
Once in a blue moon ... Just how rare are blue moons?
As pleased as Punch ... You're looking pleased. Is it all the punch you've been drinking?
Left in the lurch ... In the lurch? Now you're right in it.
It ain't over till the fat lady sings ... Nope, it really ain't.
Clutch at straws ... Whether you 'clutch at straws' or 'grasp at straws', what straw is that?
Panic stations ... Don't panic - use your loaf.
Drag race ... Life's a drag man - let's have a race.
The bee's knees ... Mind your own bee's knees.
In the nick of time ... We say that now - they didn't in the past.
Get off your high horse ... We say that now - they didn't in the past.
Cotton on ... Well, do you?
The living daylights ... Daylights - how can they be living?
Going to hell in a handbasket ... Well, how would you like to get there?
Woe betide you ... Whoa there Neddy.
Household words ... Who first made the expression 'household words' into household words?
Life begins at forty ... But when did life begin starting at forty?
Hard lines ... That's tough, but what is a line exactly?
Bite the bullet ... Mmm... bullet.
Lock, stock and barrel ... The whole thing - it's all here.
A complete shambles ... Shambles - good or bad?
Nosy Parker ... Who was Nosy Parker?
Lark about ... But where? In the sky? In the mud? In the rigging?
On the button ... Which button is that?
In spades ... Digging around for the source of this?
High on the hog ... Another slice of ham, milord?
On the ball ... Yes, but which ball?
Without so much as a by your leave ... Buy your leaves, guvnor?
If it ain't broke, don't fix it ... 'Ain't broke'? Don't you mean 'isn't broken' old boy?
Hobby-horse ... What's your hobby, horse?
Toffee-nosed ... Mmm, toffee.
Full to the gunwales ... Gunwales, gunnels; what are they?
A pig in a poke ... Is that a pig in your pocket, or...?
Bring home the bacon ... Who's filched my flitch?
Sleep tight ... No, I didn't tell you to get drunk.
Namby-pamby ... Your cringing, fawning subject sire.
You can lead a horse to water ... ...but a pencil must be lead.
A red rag to a bull ... Excuse me Daisy - can you see this?
In a pickle ... In deep trouble.
Raze to the ground ... Shave Sir?
Peter out ... Fizzle and splutter.
Phrases coined by Sir Walter Scott ... Who coins the phrases? Arise, Sir Walter.
Pull out all the stops ... Stop that noise; I'm trying to play the organ.
Out of sorts ... Sorted; or is it?
Over the moon ... Outer space, or in the nursery?
Birds of a feather ... There's a falcon. Time to flock.
Card-sharp ... Look sharp, here comes a big fish.
Lose your marbles ... Quick, they are rolling down the drain.
By hook or by crook ... We will find the origin, one way or another.
Swan song ... Dying to sing.
The jury is still out ... Okay. You can come back in now.
Fuddy-duddy ... What does it mean?
Tempest in a teapot ... A what? In a where?
A picture is worth a thousand words ... Here's an explanation - or would you prefer a picture?
Pass the buck ... Pass the buckie to the lefthand side.
Movers and shakers ... Shake it up baby now.
Plain sailing ... No trains; just plains and boats.
Hair of the dog ... Foaming at the mouth? Try some hair.
Someone is walking over my grave ... Is it me, or is it cold in here?
Off his own bat ... He's gone batty.
Cotton-picking ... Just hold on a minute.
Cherchez la femme ... Is this a dagger I see before me?
Old codger ... Could I borrow a cup of sugar?
La-di-da ... Oh lardy!
Rule of thumb ... Put that stick down.
The proof of the pudding ... Go on - prove it.
Copper-bottomed ... Need a new saucepan?
Hobson's choice ... What sort of choice is that?
A skeleton in the closet ... In the closet? I keep mine in a cupboard.
A stitch in time saves nine ... Saves nine what?
Ring aring o'roses ... A plague on your folk etymology.
My old Dutch ... From Holland? No. From Fife? No. Well, where then?
In the offing ... Off you go.
Yellow belly ... From the Wild West? More like the wild east.
Augur well ... Augur or bode? Take your choice.
Back to square one ... Probably from a game, but which one?
Wax poetic ... Okay, but can you also wane poetic?
Derring-do ... Derring? What's derring?
At loggerheads ... Going to Wales for your holidays?
Without let or hindrance ... No let, no hindrance? Do you need a rub?
Double cross ... Doubling and crossing? You must really be annoyed with someone.