|
Idiom |
Definition |
Usage |
| ugly duckling |
unattractive |
She was an ugly
duckling when she was a child. |
| under a cloud |
under suspicion |
The politician has been
under a cloud over the possibility of
taking bribes. |
| under a cloud |
depressed |
He has been
under a cloud since he lost his job. |
| under cover |
in disguise |
The detective went
under cover to look for the drug dealers. |
| under fire |
being scrutinized |
The owner is
under fire for poor working conditions at the
factory. |
| under one's belt |
completed |
He already has enough
experience as a manager under his belt. |
| under one's belt |
in his stomach |
After he has a big
breakfast under his belt, he is ready for
work. |
| under one's
breath |
quietly |
He was talking
under his breath in the library. |
| under one's nose |
in an obvious place |
He found his wallet
under his nose. |
| under one's own
steam |
without assistance |
He completed the project
under his own steam. |
| under one's
thumb |
under his control |
He is only a salesman
but he has his boss under his thumb. |
| under one's wing |
under his care |
He took the new employee
under his wing. |
| under the
counter |
secretly |
The drugs are being sold
under the counter. |
| under the hammer |
up for sale at an
auction |
The painting went
under the hammer and sold for a very high
price. |
| under the table |
in secret and illegally |
He paid some money
under the table in order to get his product
exported into the country. |
| under the
weather |
ill |
He is feeling
under the weather so he is going to bed early
tonight. |
| under wraps |
not allowed to be seen |
The new car was still
under wraps when the auto show started. |
| unearthly hour |
absurdly early |
We got up at an
unearthly hour this morning so we could get ready
to go camping. |
| until hell
freezes over |
for an eternity |
He said that he would
not talk to his friend again until hell freezes over. |
| up against |
in contact with |
The ladder was standing
up against the tree in the yard. |
| up for grabs |
available |
This is a good sale.
Everything is up for grabs. |
| up against |
confronted with |
He was up
against a lot of problems when he went to
university. |
| up and about |
recovered |
She is now up
and about after her injury. |
| up front |
honest |
He was up front
about the condition of the car. |
| up in arms |
very angry and ready to
fight |
The villagers were
up in arms over the proposal. |
| up in the air |
undecided |
It is still up
in the air whether or not she will attend college. |
| up one's alley |
something he is good at |
Computer programming is
up his alley. |
| up one's sleeve |
something kept secret |
He probably has
something up his sleeve. |
| upper crust |
most famous and importan
peoplet |
The upper crust
of the city are members of this country club. |
| upper hand |
advantage |
The union members have
the upper hand in the negotiations. |
| ups and downs |
moments of good and bad
fortune |
He is having a few
ups and downs but generally he is doing
well. |
| upset the
applecart |
ruin the situation |
Try not to upset
the applecart. |
| up the creek |
in trouble |
She is up the
creek now that she has lost her homework. |
| up the creek
without a paddle |
in trouble and unable to
do anything about it |
She is up the
creek without a paddle now that she failed the
class. |
| up the river
without a paddle |
in trouble and unable to
do anything about it |
She is up the
river without a paddle now that she failed the
class. |
| up to |
as high as |
The snow was up
to her waist. |
| up to |
secretly planning |
She was trying to figure
out what he was up to. |
| up to |
the decision of |
It is up to
his wife whether or not they purchase the house. |
| up to it |
able to do it |
They were not sure if he
was up to it or not. |
| up to the job |
able to do it |
They were not sure if he
was up to the job or not. |
| up to |
until |
She had not been to
Japan up to this year. |
| up till |
until |
She had not been to
Japan up till this year. |
| up until |
until |
She had not been to
Japan up until this year. |
| up to one's ears |
very busy |
She is up to her
ears with the project. |
| up to par |
at the usual level |
His work was not
up to par and he was asked to quit his job. |
| up to scratch |
at the usual level |
His work was not
up to scratch and he was asked to quit his job. |
| up to snuff |
at the usual level |
His work was not
up to snuff and he was asked to quit his job. |
| up to the mark |
at the usual level |
His work was not
up to the mark and he was asked to quit his job. |
| up to someone |
her decision |
It is up to her
when it is time to leave. |
| up to the chin |
deeply involved |
He has been up
to the chin in the project. |
| used to |
accustomed to |
She is not used
to living in such a big city. |
| use one's head |
think |
You should use
your head a little more. |
| use one's bean |
think |
You should use
your bean a little more. |
| use one's noodle |
think |
You should use
your noodle a little more. |
| use one's noggin |
think |
You should use
your noggin a little more. |
| use up |
completely use |
They had to use
up the paper before ordering more. |
In
this lesson you will learn American English idioms beginning with
the letter U. You will learn the definition and study the usage of
each idiom.