A-Z of Entries
A
accidentally on purpose
ace in the hole
actions speak louder than words
Adam’s apple
Advocatus Diaboli (see “devil’s advocate”)
African dominoes (see “devil’s bones”)
after all is said and done
after the fact
against the grain
alive and kicking
all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others
all brawn and no brain (see “brawn and no brain”)
all cats are gray
all dressed up and no place to go
all sense and no nonsense
allez, allez, come in free (see “ollie, ollie, oxen free”)
all men are enemies
an arm and a leg
any excuse will serve a tyrant
apple of my eye
April Fool’s
armed to the teeth
as a rule of thumb
as good as gold
as slow as molasses in January (see “slow as molasses in January”)
as slow as molasses in winter (see “slow as molasses in January”)
as slow as molasses in wintertime (see “slow as molasses in January”)
as the crow flies
at the cutting edge (see “cutting edge”)
at the drop of a hat
au contraire
B
backhanded compliment
bad apple spoils the barrel (see “one bad apple spoils the whole barrel”), a
bad apple spoils the bunch (see “one bad apple spoils the whole barrel”), a
bad excuse is better than none at all, a
badabing
bananas (see “go bananas”)
barbershop quartet (see “Dutch rub”)
barge in
basket case
bats in the belfry
beat a dead horse (see “beating a dead horse”)
beat about the bush
beat all (see “beat the Dutch”)
beat around the bush (see “beat about the bush”)
beat the band (see “beat the Dutch”)
beat the devil’s tattoo
beat the Dutch
beat the odds
beat up his quarters
beat up quarters (see “beat up his quarters”)
beat up someone’s quarters (see “beat up his quarters”)
beating a dead horse
bee’s knees
beeline
best laid plans of mice and men, the (see “best laid schemes of mice and men, the”)
best laid schemes of mice and men, the
between a hammer and an anvil (see “between the Devil and the deep blue sea”)
between a rock and a hard place (see “between the Devil and the deep blue sea”)
between the Devil and the deep blue sea
bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, a
black out (as in “censorship”)
black out (as in “no power”)
black out (as in “unconscious”)
blackmail
bling
bling bling (see “bling”)
blues
bobby
bogey (see “bogey golf”)
bogey golf
bogey man (see “bogey golf”)
boondoggle
bosom buddies
Boxing Day
brawn and brain (see “brawn and no brain”)
brawn and no brain
brevity is the soul of wit
brick and click
brick-and-mortar store
bringing home the bacon
broad in the beam
brown out (as in “censorship”)
brown out (as in “no power”)
brown out (as in “unconscious”)
buck stops here, the
budge an inch
butter no parsnips (see “many words will not fill a bushel”)
by hook or by crook
by night all cats are grey (see “all cats are gray”)
C
call of the wild
candle in the dark
carry coals to Newcastle
carrying coals to Newcastle (see “carry coals to Newcastle”)
cat’s pyjamas
chain is only as strong as its weakest link, a
change horses in midstream
chicken feed
chickenfeed (see “chicken feed”)
chill (see “chill out”)
chillaxin’ (see “chill out”)
chill out
choke
clean as a hound’s tooth (also see “white as a hound’s tooth”)
clear Mackay, the (see “the real McCoy)
close but no banana (see “close but no cigar”)
close but no cigar
coast is clear, the
cock your pistol
cold day in Hell
cop
cop out
cosmic red out (see “red out”)
cotton pickin’ minute (see “cotton picking minute”)
cotton picking minute
couch potato (see “mouse potato”)
cowards die many deaths
cowards die many times before their deaths (see “cowards die many deaths”)
creature comforts
cross your fingers
cut from the same cloth
cut it out
cutting edge
cyberchondria
D
dark horse
days on end
dead as a doornail
dead duck
dead line (see “deadline”)
deadline
dead pan
dead-pan (see “dead pan”)
deadpan (see “dead pan”)
dead right
dead to rights (see “dead right”)
dead ringer
deliver to the winds (see “throw caution to the wind”)
devil dodger
devil to pay
devil’s advocate
devil’s bedpost
devil’s bones
devil’s printer
diamond in the rough
digirati
do as I say and not as I do
don’t take any wooden nickels
do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do
dog days
done like a Frenchman
don’t change horses in midstream (see “change horses in midstream”)
double Dutch
double talk (see “double Dutch”)
doughboy
dollars-and-cents
dollars to buttons (see “dollars to doughnuts” and “dollars to dumplings”)
dollars to donuts (see “dollars to doughnuts” and “dollars to dumplings”)
dollars to doughnuts (also see “dollars to dumplings”)
dollars to dumplings (also see “dollars to doughnuts”)
down in the dumps
dressed to the nines
drum up business
dragnet
dressed to kill
drop a brick
duck out
duck soup
ducks in a row
dumb cluck
Dutch comfort
Dutch date (see “Dutch treat”)
Dutch dinner (see “Dutch treat”)
Dutch lunch (see “Dutch treat”)
Dutch rub
Dutch treat
Dutch uncle (see “talk like a Dutch uncle”)
Dutchman’s breeches
Dutchman’s draft
Dutchman’s log
Dutchman’s pants (see “Dutchman’s breeches”)
Dutchman’s trousers (see “Dutchman’s breeches”)
E
early bird catches the worm, the
early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise (see “early to bed, early to rise”)
early to bed, early to rise
easy as pie
eat, drink and be merry
eat humble pie
eat like a horse
eaten out of house and home
edutainment
egghead
everything’s peachy (see “everything’s just peachy”)
everything’s just peachy (see “everything’s just peachy”)
excuse my French (see “pardon my French”)
F
face like a wet weekend, a
face that would stop a clock, a (see “face to stop a clock”)
face that could stop a clock, a (see “face to stop a clock”)
face to stop a clock, a
fair play
fait accompli
falling asleep
familiarity breeds contempt
far out
fast and loose
fat of the land
Finagle’s Law
fit to be tied
flash in the pan
flog a dead horse (see “beating a dead horse”)
flogging a dead horse (see “beating a dead horse”)
fly by the seat of your pants
fly by the seat of your trousers (see “fly by the seat of your pants”)
fly off the handle
Flying Dutchman, the
for goodness sake
for the birds
footloose
footloose and fancy free
forty ways from Sunday (see “seven ways to Sunday”)
forty ways to Sunday (see “seven ways to Sunday”)
four legs good (see “four legs good, two legs bad”)
four legs good, two legs bad
fox in the henhouse
frenemy
from scratch
fuzz
fuzzy math
G
gauche
genome
gerrymander
get up with the cows and go to bed with the chickens (see “go to bed with the chickens and get up with the cows”)
get your dander up
get your ducks in a row (see “ducks in a row”)
go bananas
go by the board
go to bed with the chickens (see “go to bed with the chickens and get up with the cows”)
go to bed with the chickens and get up with the cows
God willing and the creek don’t rise
going Dutch (see “Dutch treat”)
golf caddie
golf caddy (see “golf caddie”)
good money after bad
H
hair out of place (see “not a hair out of place”)
hand in the cookie jar
handicap
hangout
happy as a clam
harvest moon
haul coals to Newcastle (see “carry coals to Newcastle”)
have a beef with someone
have a screw loose (see “screw loose”)
have your ducks in a row (see “ducks in a row”)
heart on my sleeve
heavens to murgatroyd
Hell bent to leather
held in leash (see “on a short leash”)
helter skelter
hen-pecked (see “henpecked”)
henpecked
here’s mud in your eye (see “mud in your eye”)
hippo handing (see “Dutch rub”)
his name is mud
hit the sack
Hobson’s choice
hold the horses (see “hold your horses”)
hold the hosses (see “hold your horses”)
hold your horses
holy moley
holy moly (see “holy moley”)
horse around (see “horsing around”)
horsing around
horse of a different colour
horse of another colour (see “horse of a different colour”)
horse play (see “horsing around”)
horse-play (see “horsing around”)
horse of that colour (see “horse of a diferent colour”)
horseplay (see “horsing around”)
horsepower
hubba hubba
hundred ways from Sunday (see “seven ways to Sunday”)
hundred ways to Sunday (see “seven ways to Sunday”)
I
I brook no truck with you
I heard it through the grapevine
I’d rather drink from the cup of mediocrity
if it weren’t for you and big potatoes, we’d only have small potatoes
if my grandmother had wheels
if you want something done well, do it yourself
I’ll be swizzled
I’m a Dutchman
in a jiffy
in a New York Minute
in a people of the blind, the one-eyed man is king (see “one-eyed man is king, the”)
in glorious technicolor
Indian gift (see “Indian giver”)
Indian giver
ins and outs
in stitches
in the black
in the closet
in the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king (see “one-eyed man is king, the”)
in the dark
in the dark, all cats are gray (see “all cats are gray”)
in the doghouse
in the doldrums
in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king (see “one-eyed man is king, the”)
in the limelight
in the mind’s eye
in the monarchy of the blind, the one-eyed man is king (see “one-eyed man is king, the”)
in the pink
in the red
in the twinkling of an eye
into the fire (see “out of the frying pan into the fire”)
in vivid, living color
Indian summer
iron out the kinks
it’s a doozy
it’s a gas
it’s in a Wewoka switch
it’s in the bag
J
jack of all trades
jailbird
jerkwater town
John Hancock
just peachy (see “everything’s just peachy”)
K
kept in leash (see “on a short leash”)
kettle of fish
killed by kindness
King’s ransom
knock, knock, who’s there
know the ropes
L
landed gentry
laughing stock
leaning on lamp posts (see “miracles leaning on lamp posts”)
leap in the dark
left-handed compliment (see “backhanded compliment”)
leopard can’t change his spots, a
let her rip
let’s boycott
let sleeping dogs lie
like a hen needs a flag
like white on rice
little summer (see “Indian summer”)
loose cannon
lose your marbles
lost your marbles (see “lose your marbles”)
lunatic in charge of the asylum (see “fox in the henhouse”)
lunatic running the asylum (see “fox in the henhouse”)
lush
lynch mob
M
mackamuck (see “muck-a-muck”)
mad as a March hare
make both ends meet (see “make ends meet”)
make ends meet
make no bones about it
man after my own heart
mandarin (see “Whitehall mandarin”)
manna from heaven
many a true word is said in jest
many a true word is said in joking (see “many a true word is said in jest”)
many a true word is spoken in jest (see “many a true word is said in jest”)
many words will not fill a bushel
marry in haste
mice and men (see “best laid schemes of mice and men, the”)
milk of human kindness
miracles leaning on lamp posts
monkey scrub (see “Dutch rub”)
monkey watching the bananas (see “fox in the henhouse”)
monkey’s uncle, a
more cooks the worse potage, the (see “too many cooks spoil the broth”)
more fun than a barrel of monkeys
more fun than a barrel full of monkeys (see “more fun than a barrel of monkeys”)
mouse potato
muck-a-muck
muck and money go together (see “where there’s muck there’s brass”)
muckety muck (see “muck-a-muck”)
mucky muck (see “muck-a-muck”)
mud in the eye (see “mud in your eye”)
mud in your eye
mum’s the word
Murphy’s Law
my pears are poaching
N
needle in a haystack
neither a borrower nor a lender be
never inspect the teeth of a gift horse (see “never look a gift horse in the mouth”)
never look a gift horse in the mouth
never twice without thrice (see “never two without three”)
never two without three
New York minute (see “in a New York minute”)
nick of time
nilly willy (see “willy nilly”)
no man ought to look a given horse in the mouth (see “never look a gift horse in the mouth”)
noogie (see “Dutch rub”)
not a hair out of place
O
of mice and men (see “best laid schemes of mice and men, the”)
off the cuff
ollie, ollie, oxen free
olly, olly, oxen free (see “ollie, ollie, oxen free”)
on a short leash
on a wing and a prayer
on the cuff (see “off the cuff”)
on the cutting edge (see “cutting edge”)
one bad apple spoils the whole barrel
one bad apple spoils the boxful (see “one bad apple spoils the whole barrel”)
one-eyed man is king, the
out of the blue
out of the frying pan (see “out of the frying pan into the fire”)
out of the frying pan into the fire
outside the box
over the top
P
package deal
paddywagon
pan out
panned out (see “pan out”)
pandora’s box
pardon my French
peachy (see “everything’s just peachy”)
peachy keen (see “everything’s just peachy”)
peanut gallery
peanut politics (see “peanut gallery”)
peanuts (see “chicken feed”)
penny saved is a penny earned, a
penny wise and pound foolish (see “penny wise, pound foolish”)
penny wise, pound foolish
picture is worth a thousand words, a
picture perfect
pieces of eight
platonic relationship
plumb tuckered out (see “tuckered out”)
political football
possession is nine tenths of the law
pour good money after bad (see “good money after bad”)
pour salt in an open wound
putting on the Ritz
Q
R
reading someone the riot act
real McCoy, the
real Mackay, the (see “the real McCoy”)
real McKay, the (see “the real McCoy”)
red-handed
red letter day
red out
red night at morning, sailors take warning (see “red sky at night, sailors delight”)
red sky at night, sailors delight
red sky at night, sailors delight; red sky at morning, sailors take warning (see “red sky at night, sailors delight”)
red sky at morning, shepherds warning (see “red sky at night, sailors delight”)
red sky at night, shepherds delight (see “red sky at night, sailors delight”)
riding roughshod
rings a bell
road to Hell is paved with good intentions, the
rob Peter to pay Paul
rouge your knees
roughshod (see “riding roughshod”)
rub it in
rub it in their faces (see “rub it in”)
rub it in their noses (see “rub it in”)
ruckus
rucus (see “ruckus”)
rukus (see “ruckus”)
Russian haircut (see “Dutch rub”)
S
save for a rainy day
saved by the bell
savoir faire
screw loose
send her packing (see “send him packing”)
send him packing
send a shiver down my back (see “send shivers down my spine”)
send a shiver down my spine (see “send shivers down my spine”)
send shivers down my back (see “send shivers down my spine”)
send shivers down my spine
send shivers up and down my back (see “send shivers down my spine”)
send shivers up and down my spine (see “send shivers down my spine”)
seven ways from Sunday (see “seven ways to Sunday”)
seven ways to Sunday
shaggy dog story
shake a stick at
shaking of a lamb’s tail (see “two shakes of a lamb’s tail”)
she’s a pip
shilly shally (see “beat about the bush”)
shiver me timbers (see “send shivers down my spine”)
shiver my timbers (see “send shivers down my spine”)
shoot the breeze
shot in the dark
shotgun marriage (see “shotgun wedding”)
shotgun wedding
shoot your cookies (see “toss your cookies”)
shutterbug
sick as a dog
sign of the times
six ways from Sunday (see “seven ways to Sunday”)
six ways to Sunday (see “seven ways to Sunday”)
skin of his teeth
skin of my teeth (see “skin of his teeth”)
skin of your teeth (see “skin of his teeth”)
skunk in the parlor
slap on the wrist
slow as molasses in January
slow as molasses in winter (see “slow as molasses in January”)
slow as molasses in wintertime (see “slow as molasses in January”)
smart alec
snap shot
snap your cookies (see “toss your cookies”)
snowball’s chance in Hell
something stinks around here
sorry sight
sour grapes
southpaw
space out
special kind of stupid
spic and span
spiffed
spiflicated (see “spiffed”)
stark mad (see “stark raving mad”)
stark raving mad
stark staring mad (see “stark raving mad”)
stealing her thunder (see “stealing his thunder”)
stealing his thunder
stiff upper lip
still waters run deep
straining at the leash
strong as a buffalo (see “strong as an ox”)
strong as a bull (see “strong as an ox”)
strong as an ox
suffering succotash
Sunday driver
swap horses in midstream (see “change horses in midstream”)
swap horses crossing the river (see “change horses in midstream”)
sweets to the sweet
swing for her (see “swing for that”)
swing for him (see “swing for that”)
swing for that
swizzled (see “I’ll be swizzled”)
T
take English leave (see “take French leave”)
take French leave
take leave of your senses (see “taken leave of your senses”)
taken leave of your senses
take my Texas time
talk into the wind (see “shoot the breeze”)
talk is cheap
talk like a Dutch uncle
teed off
teed off on (see “teed off”)
Texas time (see “take my Texas time”)
that’s a sack of cold chestnuts
the very pink of (see “in the pink”)
there’s method in my madness
thick as thieves
thief watching the bank vault (see “fox in the henhouse”)
third degree
throw a stick at (see “shake a stick at”)
throw caution to the wind
throw discretion to the wind (see “throw caution to the wind”)
throw good money after bad (see “good money after bad”)
throw in the towel
to boot
to the nines (see “dressed to the nines”)
too many chiefs and not enough Indians
too many cooks spoil the broth
too many cooks spoil the soup (see “too many cooks spoil the broth”)
too many cooks spoil the stew (see “too many cooks spoil the broth”too many irons in the fire
too much of a good thing
tooth and nail
toss your cookies
to thine own self be true
tower of strength
trompe l’oeil
tucker out (see “tuckered out”)
tuckered out
turned down
tune in
tune out
two bits
two legs bad (see “four legs good, two legs bad”)
two shakes of a lamb’s tail
two shakes of a nanny goat’s tail (see “two shakes of a lamb’s tail”)
twush
U
united we stand, divided we fall
up in arms
V
vanish into thin air
W
watershed event (see “watershed moment”)
watershed moment
weasel out
what’s done is done
what’s past is prologue
wheel and deal
when all candles be out, all cats be gray (see “all cats are gray”)
when Hell freezes over
when pigs fly
when you’re all dressed up and no place to go (see “all dressed up and no place to go”)
where there’s muck there’s brass
where there’s muck there’s money (see “where there’s muck there’s brass”)
white as a hound’s tooth (also see “clean as a hound’s tooth”)
Whitehall mandarin
white on rice (see “like what on rice”)
white out (as in “to erase”)
white out (as in “weather conditions”)
whiter than white
willy nilly
wing it
wolf guarding the sheep (see “fox in the henhouse”)
wolf in sheep’s clothing
woof your cookies (see “toss your cookies”)
word to the wise, a
X
Y
Yankee dime (see “Dutch rub”)
yanks
you can’t have your cake and eat it, too
you never had it so good
Z
zone out
