Idioms

Idioms

For common expressions in the language.

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Idioms

silly season

Language; Idioms

The silly season is midsummer when Parliament is closed and nothing much is happening that is newsworthy, which reduces the press to reporting trivial and stupid stories.

all mouth and trousers

Language; Idioms

(UK) Someone who's all mouth and trousers talks or boasts a lot but doesn't deliver. 'All mouth and no trousers' is also used, though this is a corruption of the original.

straw man

Language; Idioms

A straw man is a weak argument that is easily defeated. It can also be a person who is used as to give an illegal or inappropriate activity an appearance of respectability.

moral high ground

Language; Idioms

If people have/take/claim/seize, etc, the moral high ground, they claim that their arguments, beliefs, etc, are morally superior to those being put forward by other people.

axe to grind

Language; Idioms

If you have an axe to grind with someone or about something, you have a grievance, a resentment and you want to get revenge or sort it out. In American English, it is 'ax'.

succeed in the clutch

Language; Idioms

If you succeed in the clutch, you perform at a crucial time; it is particularly used in sports for the decisive moments of the game. The opposite is ‘fail in the clutch.’

too many irons in the fire

Language; Idioms

This means juggling too many projects at once and something’s bound to fail; when a smith had too many irons in his fire, he couldn’t effectively keep track of all of them.