Idioms and Phrases part 6

Not for nuts	Under no circumstances
To sport one’s oak	To keep one’s door close
Odd and even	Game of chance
to carry off the palm	To be victorious
To be par for the course	To be what one would expect to happen or expect somebody to do
To pay the debt of nature	To die
To know (somebody) off his pedestal	To show that he is no longer highly regarded
Penn y wise and pound foolish	shaving small sums at the risk of large ones
To be in the picture	To be familiar with the matter
To pip(somebody) at the post	To defeat at the last moment
To stretch a point	To make an exception
Printer’s devil	The youngest apprentice in a printing office
To put out feelers	Cautiously check the views of others
a/the sixty four dollar question	An important question that is very difficult to answer
The quick and dead	All people alive or dead
In a flat spin	In a state of panic
To be the dead spit of	Exact counterpart or likeness of
To stew in one’s own juice	To suffer the consequences of one’s own action
To strike a chord	To say something that other people sympathize or identify with
To have the sun in one’s eye	To drink
A month of Sundays	A long period of time
to put to the sword	To kill
Not for all the tea in china	No matter how great the reward
The king of terror	Death
As thick as thieves	Very friendly
The tip of the iceberg	Small but evident part of a much larger concealed situation
A man about town	A man who spends much time at fashionable parties, clubs, theatres
To lay someone under tribute	To impose tax on somebody
To swear like a trooper	To use very obscene or blasphemous language
To twiddle one’s thumb	To be idle
To be up before somebody	To appear in court
To take the veil	To become a nun

Beyond the veil	In the world high above
Null and void	Not legally binding , invalid
Waifs and strays	Homeless children, odds and even
Weal and woe	Prosperity and adversity
A wild cat strike	Illegal strike
Neck of the woods	Area, neighbourhood
Under duress	Uncontrolled
Look a gift horse in the mouth	Find fault with a gift
To bear up with	To endure
To strike one	To realise suddenly
Four days on end	For a long time
To drive home	To emphasize
Thrust down one’s throat	Remind repeatedly
Sing froid	To remain calm and composed in the difficult situation
Argus eye	Observant
Big draw	A huge attraction
Cog in the wheel	An important person
To seize the nettle	To deal with firmly
Took exception to	Object to
To pass the buck	To pass the responsibility
Leaps and bounds	Rapidly
Bids fair	Seem likely
Backstairs influence	Underhand means
Worth of salt	Of value
Make a wry face	Show disappointment
Flesh and blood	Children
At a premium	Valued highly
Speak volumes	Serve as strong testimony to
Get a kick	Get a thrill
To curry favour	Gain favour
On the cards	Certain
Wipe the nose	To Cheat
Family way	Pregnant
Have an eye	Have an extra talent
Keep your nose clean	Keep out of trouble
Small talk	Light conversation
Botch something up	To mess something up, to do a bad job of something

Come to a head	To reach a crisis
See through the design	Be aware of the trick
To a hair	Exactly
Held in camera	Not open to the public
Prodigal son	Extravagant
Die in harness	Die while still working
Take people inn	Cheat people
Carry off of the feet	Wild with excitement
Like a fish out of water	In troubled situation
Running riot	Behaving wild
Hard of hearing	deaf
Jew’s eye	A possession of high value
In a nutshell	In a simple and brief manner
To carry the can	Accept the blame
Every lecture’s cup of tea	What one likes and can do well
Put/Throw an spanner in the works	To do something that prevents a plan or activity from succeeding
A scarlet women	A whore , a prostitute
To rate soundly	Censure strongly
Bad blood	Angry feeling
Carrot and stick	Reward and punishment
Through thick and thin	Through days of struggle
Straight from the shoulder	Without evasion
Come down from ivory towers	Detachment and seclusion
Bite the dust	Humiliated
To meet half way someone	Come to a compromise with someone
Put some one to mettle	Arouse some one to do his best
Take heart	Cheered up
Falling foul of	Quarrelling with
Take up the cudgels for	Defend vigorously
High words	Angry words
Tiptoe	Anxious
Green horn	Novice
Ere long	Shortly
Turn the coat	Change the party
Play ducks and drakes with	Squandering
Make parade of	Speak highly of
Egged on	Instigate

Monkey’s monkey	Kind not cash
Long and short	Main point
Look blank	Surprise
Null and void	Invalid
Out of pocket	Without money
A man of parts	A man of ability
At loose ends	Badly managed
Bad debts	Unrealisable debts
Ever and anon	Frequently
Fast living	Luxurious living
Born in the purple	Born of royal parents
In the long run	Ultimately
Kith and kin	Relatives
Look blue	Appear disturb