1985
a) By and by
After a while, soon
She’ll be along by and by.
The expression probably relies on the meaning of by as a succession of quantities (as in “two by two”). This adverbial phrase came to be used as a noun, denoting either procrastination or the future.
William Camden so used it for the former (Remains, 1605): “Two anons and a by and by is an hour and a half.” And W.S. Gilbert used it in the latter sense when Lady Jane sings plaintively that little will be left of her “in the coming by and by,” that is, as she grows old (Patience, 1881). [Early 1500s]
b) The lion’s share
The greater part or most of something
Whenever they won a doubles match, Ethel claimed the lion’s share of the credit. As usual, Uncle Bob took the lion’s share of the cake.
This expression alludes to Aesop’s fable about a lion, who got all of a kill because its fellow hunters, an ass, fox, and wolf, were afraid to claim their share.
c) In black and white
When it is very clear who or what is right and wrong, then the situation is black and white.
d) To bring to book
Call to account, investigate
He was acquitted, but one day soon he’ll be brought to book.
As for your records, the IRS is sure to bring you to book concerning your tax deductions.
This term uses book in the sense of “a written record,” such as an account book or ledger. [c. 1800]
e) To read between the lines
Perceive or detect a hidden meaning
They say that everything is fine, but reading between the lines I suspect they have some marital problems.
This term comes from cryptography, where in one code reading every second line of a message gives a different meaning from that of the entire text. [Mid-1800s]
f) To stick to one’s guns
Hold fast to a statement, opinion, or course of action
The witness stuck to her guns about the exact time she was there.
This expression, originally put as stand to one’s guns, alluded to a gunner remaining by his post. Its figurative use dates from the mid-1800s.
g) To be under a cloud
If someone is suspected of having done something wrong, they are under a cloud.
h) By fits and starts / in fits and starts
With irregular intervals of action and inaction, spasmodically
The campaign is proceeding by fits and starts.
This expression began in the late 1500s as by fits, the noun fit meaning a “paroxysm” or “seizure”; starts was added about a century later.
1984
a) To look a gift horse in the mouth
Be critical or suspicious of something received at no cost
Dad’s old car is full of dents, but we shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
This term, generally expressed as a cautionary proverb (Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth), has been traced to the writings of the 4th-century cleric, St. Jerome, and has appeared in English since about 1500. It alludes to determining the age of a horse by looking at its teeth
b) To have an axe to grind
If you have an axe to grind with someone or about something, you have a grievance, resentment and you want to get revenge or sort it out. In American English, it is ‘ax’
c) To wash one’s dirty linen in public / air one’s dirty linen or laundry
Expose private matters to public view, especially unsavory secrets
These metaphors are reworking of a French proverb, IL fault laver son linge sale en famille (“One should wash one’s dirty linen at home”), which was quoted by Napoleon on his return from Elba (1815). It was first recorded in English in 1867.
d) To pocket an insult
e)To take to one’s heels
Run away
When the burglar alarm went off they took to their heels.
This expression alludes to the fact that the heels are all one sees of a fugitive running away fast. Although similar expressions turned up from Shakespeare’s time on, the exact idiom dates only from the first half of the 1800s
f) To win laurels
g)A gentleman at large
Free, unconfined, especially not confined in prison
To our distress, the housebreakers were still at large. [1300s]
At length, fully; also, as a whole, in general
The chairman talked at large about the company’s plans for the coming year
Shakespeare wrote in Love’s Labour’s Lost (1:1): “So to the laws at large I write my name” (that is, I uphold the laws in general). This usage is somewhat less common. [1400s]
Elected to represent an entire group of voters rather than those in a particular district or other segment
Alderman at large, representing all the wards of a city instead of just one, or delegate at large to a labor union convention. [Mid-1700s]
1982
1- To come to a dead end
A passage that has no exit
This street’s a dead end, so turn back. [Late 1800s]
An impasse or blind alley, allowing no progress to be made
This job is a dead end; I’ll never be able to advance. [c. 1920]
2- To turn a deaf ear
If someone turns a deaf ear to you, they don’t listen to you.
3- Every dark cloud has a silver lining
An element of hope or a redeeming quality in an otherwise bad situation
The rally had a disappointing turnout, but the silver lining was that those who came pledged a great deal of money.
This metaphoric term is a shortening of Every cloud has a silver lining, in turn derived from John Milton’s Comus (1634): “A sable cloud turns forth its silver lining on the night.”
4- Blowing hot and cold together
Change one’s mind, vacillate
Jean’s been blowing hot and cold about taking a winter vacation.
This expression comes from Aesop’s fable (c. 570 B.C.) about a man eating with a satyr on a winter day. At first the man blew on his hands to warm them and then blew on his soup to cool it. The satyr thereupon renounced the man’s friendship because he blew hot and cold out of the same mouth.
The expression was repeated by many writers, most often signifying a person who could not be relied on.
William Chillingworth put it: “These men can blow hot and cold out of the same mouth to serve several purposes””(The Religion of Protestants, 1638).
5- To let the cat out of the bag
If you accidentally reveal a secret, you let the cat out of the bag, Give away a secret
Mom let the cat out of the bag and told us Karen was engaged.
This expression alludes to the dishonest practice of a merchant substituting a worthless cat for a valuable pig, which is discovered only when the buyer gets home and opens the bag. [Mid- 1700s]
6- To put the cart before the horse
Reverse the proper order of things or events
Don’t put the cart before the horse and give away the punch line.
This expression has been used since antiquity but was first recorded in English in 1520.
7- To sail in the same boat
If people are in the same boat, they are in the same predicament or trouble.
8- A Swan Song
A final accomplishment or performance, one’s last work.
I’m resigning tomorrow; this project was my swan song.
This term alludes to the old belief that swans normally are mute but burst into beautiful song moments before they die. Although the idea is much older, the term was first recorded in English only in 1890
Admin