Top

Special interest

Phrase has meaning to a special interest

Aircraft and aviation
Balls to the wall
Flying by the seat of your pants
Pushing the envelope
Wing and a prayer

Gambling
Dead ringer
Dicey situation
Pass the buck
Put my two cents in
Shoe inNew
Straight from the horse's mouth
The buck stops here
When the chips are down

Hunting and guns
Barking up the wrong tree
Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey
Drop the hammer
Flash in the pan
Half cocked
In the pinkNew
Loaded for bear
Lock and load
Lock stock and barrel
Loose cannon
Sitting duckNew
Turkey shoot
Under the gun

Military
Bang for the buck
Bite the bullet
Bought the farm
Boot camp
Called on the carpet
Feather in your cap
Hunky dory
King of the hill
Loose lips sink ships
Over the topNew
The whole nine yards
Three squares

Nautical
Above board
Clean bill of health
Down the hatch
From stem to stern
In the doldrums
Passed with flying colors
Room to swing a cat
Show your true colors
Square meal
The smoking lamp is out
Three sheets to the wind
Toe the line
Under the weather

Religion
For the love of Pete
Knock on wood
Straight and narrow
The writing is on the wallNew
Tie the knot
White elephant

Sports and games
Down to the short strokes
Down to the wire
Get a leg up
Hat trick
On the ball
Put English on it
Roll with the punchesNew
Take a dive
Upper hand
 

Obsolete references

The world has changed yet the phrase hasn't
Armed to the teeth
Busting your chopsNew
Can't hold a candle to
Clear as a bellNew
Close but no cigarNew
Cooking with gas
Dead as a door nail
Dressed to the nines
Dressed to a teaNew
Drop a dime
Hold your feet to the fire
Irons in the fire
Jump on the bandwagon
Keep your pants on
Keep your shirt on
Let the cat out of the bag
Living hand to mouth
Mind you P's and Q's
One red cent
Pan out
Pot to piss in
Reading the riot act
Rings a bellNew
Rule of thumb
Sleep tight
Strike while the iron is hot
Thumbs up
With a grain of saltNew
Worth its salt
 

Obscure facts

Makes sense if you know some little known fact
At the eleventh hour
Back handed compliment
Bleed like a stuck pig
Blow off some steam
Blowing smoke
Brand spanking new
Break a legNew
Bust your ballsNew
Catbird seat
Chew the fat
Cold Turkey
Crocodile tears
Cut from the same cloth
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth
Face the music
Hell's half acre
High on the hog
Horse of a different colorNew
Horse sense
In the blackNew
In the redNew
Kiss of death
Long in the tooth
Once in a blue moon
Paint the town redNew
Pardon my French
Piss like a race horse
Pissing and moaning
Pull out all the stopsNew
Raining cats and dogs
Red letter day
Red-light district
Read between the lines
Sell yourself short
Sucking hind tit
The bottom lineNew
The cold shoulder
The third degree
Wet behind the ears
Widow's peak

Stories and events

Reference to events and stories
Albatross around your neck
Battling windmills
Between a rock and a hard place
Bread is buttered
Brownie points
Draw the line
Find the pony
Fifth Beatle
I'll be a monkey's uncle
In like Flynn
Katy bar the door
Keeping up with the Jones's
Living the life of Riley
Name will be MuddNew
Pie in the sky
Salad days
Skeletons in the closet
Smart alec
Wearing your heart on your sleeve

Rhymes and slang

Meant to entertain through rhyme
Cool as a cucumberNew
Even steven
Fat city
In a pig's eye
Kit and caboodle
Lay it out in lavenderNew
Mind your own bee's wax
Right as rainNew
To hell in a handbasketNew
 

Obscure definitions

Words with obscure definitions
Beyond the pale
Box your ears
By hook or by crook
Chock Full
Chink in the armorNew
Cracker jack
Cut to the quick
Easy as pie
Eating crow
Hell bent for leather
Hit the sack
Hurts like the dickens
Jig is up
Lo and beholdNew
Lord willing and the creek don't riseNew
Lucky stiff
Not all it's cracked up to be
On a lark
On the lamNew
Pig in a poke
Scot free
Slow poke
The world is your oyster
Tit for tat
Topsy turvy
With bated breath

Altered phrases

Phrase is changed or abbreviated
Can it
Cock and bull story
Con artist
Cut the mustard
Eat your heart out
Eating humble pie
Cet your goatNew
Happy as a clamNew
In high cotton
It's a doozy
Kick the bucket
Make no bones about it
Making hay
On the fly
On the wagon
Ring of truthNew
Spittin image
Straight as an arrowNew
To skin a catNew
The proof is in the pudding
What's the skinny

Obvious

Reasonably obvious yet interesting
All wet
At the end of my rope
Bite your tongue
Brown nosing
By the short hairs
Can't get a word in edgewise
Charm the pants off
Cut to the chaseNew
Dog's breakfast
Down in the mouth
Down to the gnat's ass
Dot your 'i's and cross your 't's
Ducks in a row
Egg on your face
Fish or cut baitNew
Fit to be tied
Going SouthNew
Hog washNew
Keep it under your hat
Laid an egg
Making money hand over fist
Mark my words
Over the hill
One for the road
Quit your belly aching
Raise the roofNew
Rub it in
Smoke and mirrors
Stink to high heaven
Take a powder
Tongue in cheek
Under my wing


Copyright ©1998, Chuck Moreland, all rights reserved
email morelandc@aol.com | Home
Updated 10/11/98