2005
1). Keep ones nose to the grindstone
Stay hard at work
We expect John to get good grades again, since he really keeps his nose to the grindstone.
This expression, first recorded in 1539, alludes to a tool that must be sharpened by being held to a grindstone.
2). Throw someone for a loop / throw for a loop
knock down or over with a feather; knock sideways, overcome with surprise or astonishment
The news of his death knocked me for a loop.
Being fired without any warning threw me for a loop. Jane was knocked sideways when she found out she won.
The first two of these hyperbolic colloquial usages, dating from the first half of the 1900s, allude to the comic-strip image of a person pushed hard enough to roll over in the shape of a loop.
The third hyperbolic term, often put as You could have knocked me down with a feather, intimating that something so light as a feather could knock one down, dates from the early 1800s; the fourth was first recorded in 1925.
3). Letter perfect
The precise wording rather than the spirit or intent.
Since it was the first time he’d broken the rules, the school decided to ignore the letter of the law and just give him a warning. [Late 1500s]
4). Off the wall
Something that is off the wall is unconventional.
5). Out to lunch
If someone’s out to lunch, they are crazy or out of touch.
6). Salt something away
Keep in reserve, store, save
He salted away most of his earnings in a bank account.
This idiom alludes to using salt as a food preservative. [Mid-1800s]
7). Take someone to the cleaners
Take or cheat one out of all of one’s money or possessions
Her divorce lawyer took him to the cleaners.
That broker has taken a number of clients to the cleaners. [Slang; early 1900s]
Drub, beat up
He didn’t just push you—he took you to the cleaners. [Slang; early 1900s]
8). Wear the pants in the family
Exercise controlling authority in a household
Grandma or husband (incase of husband and wife) wears the pants at our house.
2004
1. To bring grist to the mill.
Something that you can use to your advantage is grist for the mill.
2. Set one’s cap at
Pursue someone romantically
We all thought Anne had set her cap for Joe, but we were wrong.
In the 1700s this term, which may have alluded to donning one’s best headgear, was applied to members of either sex, but by the early 1800s it generally described a woman chasing a man. It is probably obsolescent.
3. To draw the long bow
If someone draws a long bow, they lie or exaggerate.
4. To send a person to Coventry
To ostracize, or systematically ignore someone
5. Beer and skittles
People say that life is not all beer and skittles, meaning that it is not about self-indulgence and pleasure.
6. The acid test
An acid test is something that proves whether something is good, effective, etc, or not.
7. A skeleton in the cupboard.
If you have a skeleton in the cupboard, or in the closet, you have a secret in your past which could damage you if it became known.
To discover a mare’s nest
2003
(1) Kick the bucket
To die
(2) Bolt from the blue
If something happens unexpectedly and suddenly, it is a bolt from the blue.
(3) Put your foot down
When someone puts their foot down, they make a firm stand and establish their authority on an issue.
(4) Worth your salt
Someone who is worth their salt deserves respect.
(5) Down the drain
On the way to being lost or wasted; disappearing
Buying new furniture when they can’t take it with them is just pouring money down the drain. During the Depression huge fortunes went down the drain.
This metaphoric term alludes to water going down a drain and being carried off.
(6) All cars
Swan song
A person’s swansong is their final achievement or public appearance.
(8) Cheek by Jowl
If things or people are cheek by jowl, they are very close together.
(9) in a nutshell
Concisely, in a few words
Here’s our proposal—in a nutshell, we want to sell the business to you.
This hyperbolic expression alludes to the Roman writer Pliny’s description of Homer’s Iliad being copied in so tiny a hand that it could fit in a nutshell.
For a time it referred to anything compressed, but from the 1500s on it referred mainly to written or spoken words.
(10) Give me five
If someone says this, they want to hit your open hand against theirs as a way of congratulation or greeting.
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