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idioms: men & women

idioms: men & women

Date: Apr 11 2008

Topic: Idioms and Slang

Author: hoda61

Lesson

A poor man's something Something or someone that can be compared to something or someone else, but is not as good is a poor man's version; a writer who uses lots of puns but isn't very funny would be a poor man's Oscar Wilde.

As one man If people do something as one man, then they do it at exactly the same time or in complete agreement.

 Bob's your uncle (UK) This idiom means that something will be successful: Just tell him that I gave you his name and Bob's your uncle- he'll help you

. Every man and his dog A lot of people - as in sending out invitations to a large number of people

 Every man for himself If it's every man for himself, then people are trying to save themselves from a difficult situation without trying to help anyone else.

Every man has his price Anyone's opinion or support can be bought, everyone's principles have a limit.

Every man jack If every man jack was involved in something, it is an emphatic way of saying that absolutely everybody was involved.

Everybody and their uncle This basically means a lot of people or too many people; everybody and their uncle was there.

Failure is the mother of success Failure is often a stepping stone towards success.

 It's not the size of the man in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the man This idiom means that determination is often more important than size, strength, or ability.  ('It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.' is also used.)

 Kissing cousin A kissing cousin is someone you are related to, but not closely.

Like father, like son This idiom is used when different generations of a family behave in the same way or have the same talents of defects.

Man Friday From 'Robinson Crusoe', a 'Man Friday' refers to an assistant or companion, usually a capable one. The common feminine equivalent is 'Girl Friday'. (Also, 'right-hand man'. )

Man in the street The man in the street is an idiom to describe ordinary people, especially when talking about their opinions and ideas.

Man of his word A man of his word is a person who does what he says and keeps his promises.

 Man of letters A man of letters is someone who is an expert in the arts and literature, and often a writer too.

 Man of means A man, or woman, of means is wealthy.

Man of parts A man of parts is a person who is talented in a number of different areas or ways.

Man of straw A weak person that can easily be beaten of changed is a man of straw.

 Man upstairs When people refer to the man upstairs, they are referring to God.

Man's best friend This is an idiomatic term for dogs.

Man's man A man's man is a man who does things enjoyed by men and is respected by other men.

 Marked man A marked man is a person who is being targeted by people who want to do them harm or cause them trouble.

 Mom and pop (USA) A mom and pop business is a small business, especially if it is run by members of a family. It can used in a wider sense to mean that something is small scale.

 New man (UK) A New man is a man who believes in complete equality of the sexes and shares domestic work equally.

 No use to man or beast If something or someone is no use to man or beast, they it or they are utterly useless.

Old friends and old wine are best This idiom means that the things and people that we know well are better than the unfamiliar.

 Old wive's tale A proverb or piece of advice that is commonly accepted as truth and is handed down the generations, but is normally false.

 One man's loss is another man's gain This means thato ne person's setback benefits someone else.

Prince charming A prince charming is the perfect man in a woman's life.

 Renaissance man A Renaissance man is a person who is talented in a number of different areas, especially when their talents include both the sciences and the arts.

Runs in the family If a characteristic runs in the family, it can clearly be seen members of different generations.  A hereditary illness that is passed from one generation to the next also runs in the family.

Say uncle (USA) If you say uncle, you admit defeat. ('Cry uncle' is an alternative form.)

Straw man 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.

The world and his wife If the world and his wife were somewhere, then huge numbers of people were present.

Tied to your mother's apron strings Describes a child (often a boy) who is so used to his mother's care that he (or she) cannot do anything on his (or her) own.

To a man If a group of people does, believes, thinks, etc, something to a man, then they all do it.

 Yesterday's man or Yesterday's woman Someone, especially a politician or celebrity, whose career is over or on the decline is yesterday’s men or women.

Comments

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o alquimista

Kazakhstan

very useful idioms for everyday speech! thanks and Allah bless you!


05:13 AM Oct 08 2011 |

blu1351

blu1351

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

Also Like This sentence :

Don't let the "if "in ur life hold u back

Smile

11:29 AM Jun 01 2009 |

blu1351

blu1351

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

Thanks for your efforts dear Hoda. I’ll use it.

11:25 AM Jun 01 2009 |

leo

Uzbekistan

my greetings!!!!

08:31 AM Dec 18 2008 |

hoda61

hoda61

Morocco

thx for respondingWink

08:15 PM Sep 06 2008 |

Kas-ye

Kas-ye

Yemen

 Agree u Yesterday's man or Yesterday's woman Someone, especially a politician or celebrity, whose career is over or on the decline is yesterday’s men or women.. 

08:56 AM Apr 20 2008 |

hoda61

hoda61

Morocco

08:26 PM Apr 15 2008 |

btaree

btaree

Indonesia

Love to use some of them, but sometimes hard to explain the meaning. Just spontaneously.

03:53 AM Apr 15 2008 |

Nargiza

Uzbekistan

Thank's, idioms are often use in our speech, and it's interesting  to know their meanings!!!!!!

07:22 PM Apr 14 2008 |

abuody

Sudan

its useful one,and gives me insight of  howi use it

 

08:14 AM Apr 14 2008 |

taoufiknet

taoufiknet

Morocco

i have learnt four idioms and i'm gonna use them! thanks a lot

01:00 PM Apr 13 2008 |

stepa

Nigeria

washed sme1 dirty iing in pubic:mean to expose sme1 secret

 

03:19 PM Apr 12 2008 |

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