Idioms
I've always found idioms or colloquialisms, or if you prefer quirky
sayings interesting. Take 'Crazy as a Bedbug'. From the first word we know it's
referring to some form of craziness. It could be a person, a slogan, a scheme or
even a law, but it's crazy. Where did this saying come from? Is it very old? I
know it's been around for awhile.
Here's a few more to scratch your head about:
- Smart as a whip — a whip?
- Hairbrained idea
- Bun in the oven
- Keep on truckin'
- Flummox the lummox — I have no idea what this is a substitute for.
- Jump right on it
- Break a leg
- Shake a leg
- Keep your nose to the grindstone — man that's gotta hurt.
- Cat's pajamas — did cats ever wear pajamas?
- Bee's knees — bees have knees?
- Get the lead out
- Gnat's eyebrow
- Dumb as a box of socks—well we have smart as a whip and dumb as box of socks
- Not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
- Is the Pope Catholic?
- Only one oar in the water
- Not playing with a full deck
- You can't outthink someone who doesn't think
- Can of worms — going fishing?
- Doubting Thomas
- Chip on his shoulder
- An arm and a leg
- At the drop of a hat
- Barking up the wrong tree
- Cock and bull story
- Let's cut to the chase
- Devil's advocate
- All your eggs in one basket
- Dead ringer
- Eighty-six
- Drive me up the wall
- Dry run
- Rags to riches
- Beating around the bush
- Graveyard shift — lookout for the ghosts
- Head over heels
- In the buff
- Kick the bucket
- Kitty corner
- Stiff one — drink that is J
- Let sleeping dogs lie
- On the fence
- Over the top
- Raining Cats and Dogs
- Under the weather
- When pigs fly
- Til the cows come home
- Whole nine yards
- Last straw
- Spitting image
- Ducks in a row
That's enough for now. As you can see, some idioms are in
such common use we think of them more like vocabulary. How about you. Can you
share any clever idioms with us?
In case any of you are interested, here are my latest
releases, Hollywood Witches and Going Deep. Both are on sale at Amazon or All
Romance:
Buy Link
Buy Link All
Romance
7 comments:
flummox the lummox - a lummox is a huge waste of space - so it's confusing a not-so-intelligent person.
My personal favourite is - when pigs fly
Great covers.
I love "when pigs fly" too! One you may not have heard (I think it's southern) "Like a duck on a June bug."
Fun post. :)
Hi Daryl, Yep When Pigs fly is a cute one.
Thanks for dropping by, Dee
Hi Jenna, No, I never heard that one. Not surprising there's a lot of them. I like it though.
Thanks for the comment and the suggestion.
Dee
Actually, it's "hare brained." As in rabbit. ;-)
That makes sense. That's what happenes when you only hear it and don't see that written version.
Thanks Jesse
Dee,
Loved your blog. We use a lot of your list on a daily basis and don't think anything about it.
I'll have to pay more attention and see how many I've used in a week, or month. Really interesting.
Good luck on your new releases. The covers look fantastic.
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