American Popular Expressions "D"

                               

damage control: to fix a problem, usually used with the verb "do." Clint made his girlfriend angry because of something he said, so now he has to do damage control.
damaged goods: a person who has gone through a difficult experience; this can also be used for a thing that is broken. After her boyfriend broke up with her, Monique feels like she's damaged goods.
(one's) days are numbered: to have a sickness that will result in death; to be at the end of a period of time. Due to an aggressive form of lung cancer, Geraldo knows that his days are numbered.
dead as a doornail: dead That fish washed up on the shore is dead as a doornail.
deal me in: make me a part of an agreement; I agree. I like your ideas and I want to be a part of this. Deal me in.
(not) deal with a full deck: to be crazy. It's obvious that Tara isn't dealing with a full deck these day. Look at what she's done to herself.
die with one's boots on: to die while working at one's job; to die in the line of duty. I don't plan to die with my boots on. Hopefully, I can retire before I'm 60.
(as) different as night and day: to be very different; one person is the opposite of another. Although they're brothers, they're as different as night and day.
do it blindfolded: to know something so well, one can perform the action without looking; to be very familiar with an action. I've biked to work so many times over the years, I could probably do it blindfolded.* *blindfold: a cloth or something similar that prevents sight.
do the legwork: to do all the necessary preparation work for something: making phone calls, making arrangements, researching, and traveling. Michael will have to do a lot of legwork to prepare for his business meeting.
do unto others as you would have them do unto you: treat other people the way you want to be treated; also known as "the golden rule," this comes straight from the Bible. Jesus advised that people live by the golden rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
do your own thing: do something that you enjoy doing Instead of going out on a Friday night, George likes to do his own thing and play the cello.
don't hold your breath: to say that something is going to take a long time. A: When is Luke going to get a regular job? B: Don't hold your breath. He's happy working just 20 hours a week delivering pizza.
dose of one's own medicine: to receive punishment or treatment that was previously given to others. Christine got a dose of her own medicine when her boyfriend, Tom, ignored her at the party.
down to the wire: close to a deadline; at the very end of a time period, something is finished. It's down to the wire. We have to get these documents signed and delivered by tomorrow.
drag one's feet: to take a long time to do something; to be reluctant to act. Victoria knows that Ted wants to marry her, but he's really dragging his feetin deciding when to do it.
drive a hard bargain: to negotiate skillfully and get what one wants. Although Scott Perkins drives a hard bargain, he's tries to be fair to the people he does business with.
drive someone crazy: to make someone crazy; to cause worry. The daily pressure from his job is starting to drive him crazy.
drop in the bucket: a very small amount within a large amount. Tanya made another payment on her loan, but she owes so much money, the check she wrote was just a drop in the bucket.
drop the ball: to make a mistake. This is a sports metaphor, probably taken from football. A: Your score on that test was terrible. What happened? B: I don't know. I really dropped the ball, didn't I?
drunk as a skunk: very drunk; someone who has had too much alcohol. Look at Henry! He can't drive home. He's drunk as a skunk.

American Popular Expressions "C"

                               

call it a day: stop working; to decide to quit working and go home. David called it a day and snuck out of the office a little after 3:00.
call someone's bluff: to suspect that someone is lying and put that suspicion to a test. (This expression comes from the game of poker) I think you're lying, so I'm going to call your bluff.
can't make heads or tails of something: unable to see something clearly; something is indistinguishable from something else. The uniforms worn by the athletes on the field were so similar, we couldn't make heads or tails of the players during the game.
can't see the forest for the trees: you can't see the entire forest because the trees are in the way. Something small prevents the view or understanding of something large. Maritza gets too distracted by small problems at work. If she can't see the forest for the trees, she'll never get ahead in the company.
carrot and stick approach: a method of providing incentive for work; the carrot is a reward; the stick is a punishment. The teacher uses a carrot and stick approach to make students turn work in on time.
carry the ball forward: take responsibility; take charge. (This is a sports metaphor.) We need someone who is going to carry the ball forward and make sure this project gets finished.
cast in the same mold: made in the same way; resembling someone, usually a family member. All the men in this family are cast in the same mold.
cast the first stone: to be quick to punish or criticize someone. (This is a biblical reference.) Don't be too quick to cast the first stone. She might have a good explanation for why the house is such a mess.
caught with (one's) pants down:found in an embarrassing situation. Vincent tried to steal money from his own company, but one day he was caught with his pants down and promptly lost his job. Later he was sent to jail.
change horses in midstream: make a change in the middle of a situation, sometimes a bad situation. It's not a good idea for our company to change horses in midstream with a new project manager. Let's see what happens in the next couple of months with the guy who's working for us now.
charity begins at home: Rather than give money to needy people you don't know, it might be better to give the money to friends, family, or oneself.
(the) chickens come home to roost:a problem or a person has returned to place where the problem may have started. If troubled young people don't get a good education in preparation for the future, the chickens will surely come home to roost.
(a) chicken with its head cut off:when a live chicken has its head cut off, it runs around wildly for a brief time as if it were still alive because the nervous system is still active. After losing her purse, she ran around like a chicken with its head cut offlooking in all the stores and other places that she had visited that day.
chief cook and bottle washer: an owner of a business who does all the various jobs within his or her company. As chief cook and bottle washer, Edmund doesn't mind taking out the garbage at the restaurant that he owns.
chip off the old block: a son or a daughter who behaves in the same manner as a parent. Matt could tell his son was a chip off the old block by the way the baby laughed and smiled.
chip on (one's) shoulder: to feel insecure about a situation or oneself; to be in a defensive mood. Because of all her tattoos, she has a big chip on her shoulder and thinks she's discriminated against at work.
clean as a whistle: very clean. The engine on this car is as clean as a whistle.
cleanliness is next to godliness: to be neat and clean is to be close to God. Believing that cleanliness is next to godliness, Bruce makes sure that his apartment is spotless.
close but no cigar: very close, but not completely to the goal for a reward. Wow! Close but no cigar. It looks like you lost the match.
(the) coast is clear: there's no one around; it's safe to make an escape. If the coast is clear, try to leave your hotel room and meet me in the lobby.
come again?: What did you say? Repeat that, please. Come again? I'm sorry, we have a bad connection. I can't really hear what you said.
come in from the cold: return to a previous position; to come back. David decided to come in from the cold after living in the mountains by himself for over ten years.
come out of nowhere: to suddenly appear; to make a surprise appearance. Ted thought he was going to win the race, but suddenly John came out of nowhere and pulled ahead.
come out of the closet: to admit that one belongs to a group; often used when someone admits to being homosexual. It's a little easier now for a gay person to come out of the closet, but it still makes some people uncomfortable.
come to a screeching halt: to come to a quick stop. Production of the machines came to a screeching halt when a manager found a defect causing safety concerns.
come with the territory: to be a natural or expected part or outcome of something. Learning how to point and shoot a gun comes with the territory when you join the army.
cream of the crop: the best of something or a group. (crop = a plant grown for harvest, such as wheat.) Only the cream of the crop will have an opportunity to attend school at Harvard.
cross someone's path: to meet someone unexpectedly; to run intosomeone. Earlier today I crossed the path of a teacher I had in high school. I saw her in the park and we talked for a few minutes.
cross that bridge when you come to it: to take care of a problem when it happens. A: What will we do about retirement? B: Well, we can cross that bridge when we come to it.
cry over spilled milk: to get upset about something relatively minor; to get upset about something that has already happened and can't be changed. There's no need to cry over spilled milk. If you ripped your jacket, you can get it fixed.
curiosity killed the cat: curiosity will get someone in trouble; don't be too curious about something.
cut off one's nose to spite the face:to hurt oneself in order to get revenge or hurt another person. You can cut off your nose to spite your face, but if you and Andrea don't make up and settle your differences, you might lose a really great friend.