|
Idiom |
Definition |
Usage |
| wade into |
join in |
The football player
decided to wade into the fight to protect
his teammates. |
| WAIT
FOR (ONE’S) SHIP TO COME IN |
when one gets an unexpected lucky gift, especially money
The expression probably originates from merchants who made
their wealth when their goods came into port on a ship. |
1. Just give me a little more time to pay back the money I
owe you. I don’t have it right now, but I will when my ship
comes in.
2. They keep saying that all their problems will be solved
when they get rich. They’re always waiting for their ship to
come in, but it never will. |
| wait on someone
hand and foot |
serve
someone in every
possible way |
He likes to wait
on his wife hand and foot. |
| wait up for |
not go to bed and wait
for |
The woman decided to
wait up for her daughter to come home. |
| waiting tables |
serving food |
He spent the summer
waiting tables at the resort. |
|
wake-up call |
|
|
| walk all over |
control and take
advantage of |
She is always trying to
walk all over him. |
| walk away with |
steal |
Someone tried to
walk away with the office computer. |
| WALK IN
(SOMEONE’S) SHOES |
in someone else’s situation |
1. I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes when your father
finds out about the dent you put in his car.
2. It seems easy to tell others what to do or how to run
their lives, but you can’t really understand them until you
have walked in their shoes. |
| WALKING
ON AIR |
blissfully happy
Synonyms: on cloud nine; seventh heaven
The expression is always used in the present participle
form. The past tense is formed by using “was/were” and the
future tense is formed by using “will be.” |
1. Lucy met Frank three weeks ago and fell madly in love
with him. She’s been walking on air ever since.
2. If Bruce gets accepted by Harvard Law School on a full
scholarship, he will be walking on air. |
| walk in the park |
easy |
This class is gonna be a walk in the park. |
| walk of life |
social level |
People from every
walk of life came to event. |
| walk off with |
steal |
Someone tried to
walk off with the office computer. |
| walk out |
go on strike |
Many workers at the
factory decided to walk out today. |
| walk out |
leave suddenly |
They decided to
walk out in the middle of the meeting. |
| walk the floor |
walk back and forth
across the floor |
She will usually
walk the floor when she is nervous. |
| walk the plank |
resign |
The manager of the
department was forced to walk the plank. |
| walking papers |
dismissal |
She was given her
walking papers from his company last week. |
| waltz off with |
take |
The home team was able
to waltz off with the championship again. |
| warm up to |
become friendly with |
She could easily
warm up to the new student. |
| warm up |
practice |
The baseball team began
to warm up before the game. |
| WASH
(ONE’S) HANDS OF (SOMETHING/ SOMEONE) |
to put something out of one’s life or to stop claiming
responsibility for something |
1. I’m tired of trying to help my brother find a job, and I
won’t have anything further to do with him. I wash my hands
of the whole business.
2. They agreed to go into business with their friend, but
later found that he treated them unfairly. They decided they
wanted nothing more to do with him, so they washed their
hands of him. |
| washed up |
no longer successful |
The player was all
washed up and had to retire. |
| waste one's
breath |
speak pointlessly |
Do not waste
your breath trying to change her mind. |
| watch it |
be careful |
I think you should
watch it if you travel to that city. |
| watch one's P's
and Q's |
be well-behaved |
The teacher told him to
watch his P's and Q's. |
| water down |
make weaker |
You need to
water down the new office policies. |
| WATER
UNDER THE BRIDGE |
past and finished; over and done with
The expression makes the analogy of life as a river of
water. The water that has passed under the bridge is that
part of a person’s life that is past. |
1. John and I were married and divorced several years ago. I
don’t often think of him or wonder where he is now. That
part of my life is water under the bridge.
2. Mary Ann had a bad experience when she was young, but she
doesn’t let herself think too much about it. It’s water
under the bridge. |
| WAVE OF
THE FUTURE, THE |
a strong, growing trend |
1. Wireless internet connections are the wave of the future.
Soon, you won’t need any cords at all.
2. It wasn’t long ago that miniskirts were the wave of the
future. Now they are a thing of the past. |
| way off base |
way off base |
The plan to redesign the
office was way off base. |
| way the wind
blows |
situation occurs |
The vacation plans will
depend on which way the wind blows. |
| wear and tear |
damage as a result of
ordinary use |
She put a lot of
wear and tear on her car. |
| wear away |
disappear |
The face on the coin
began to wear away. |
| wear down |
deteriorate |
The river proceeded to
wear down the rocks over time. |
| wear down |
exhaust |
Try not to wear
down the employees with a long speech. |
| wear off |
disappear |
The face on the coin
began to wear off. |
| wear on |
annoy |
She was really beginning
to wear on him. |
| WEAR
(ONE’S) HEART ON (ONE’S) SLEEVE |
to display one’s feelings openly
The expression suggests that a person’s heart (and therefore
feelings) is exposed for all to see as though it were worn
on the sleeve. In medieval Europe, knights used to tie to
their sleeves handkerchiefs or ribbons representing the
women they loved. In the 1700s, young men would wear the
names of their sweethearts on their sleeves for Valentine’s
Day. |
1. Richard has never made a secret of his love for Jane. He
has always worn his heart on his sleeve.
2. If you want to attract someone, sometimes you have to
pretend you don’t really care rather than wearing your heart
on your sleeve. |
| wear out |
deteriorate |
The shoes began to
wear out after only one week. |
| wear out |
exhaust |
Try not to wear
out the employees with a long speech. |
| wear out one's
welcome |
stay too long |
Try not to wear
out your welcome at the party. |
| wear thin |
disappear |
The face on the coin
began to wear thin. |
| wear thin |
be less believable |
Her excuses have begun
to wear thin. |
| WEAR
THE PANTS IN THE FAMILY |
to make the major decisions and have the greatest amount of
power in a family
The expression suggests the stereotype of a traditional
family in which the person who wears the pants (the man) is
the person who controls the family. |
1. Shelly and her husband disagreed on where to go on
vacation, but they decided to work it out instead of fight.
Neither one of them wears the pants in the family.
2. Who makes the decisions in your family? Who wears the
pants in your family? |
| weasel
out |
|
|
| weed out |
sort and dispose of |
She needs to
weed out the clothes she does not want anymore. |
| weigh on |
concern and worry |
The upcoming college
entrance exam began to weigh on her. |
| weigh upon |
concern and worry |
The upcoming college
entrance exam began to weigh upon her. |
| weigh one's
words |
think about what you
will say |
You should weigh
your words before you tell her. |
| well-off |
wealthy |
The owner of the
restaurant is certainly well-off. |
| well-to-do |
wealthy |
The owner of the
restaurant is certainly well-to-do. |
| went through |
was okay |
It went through
this time. |
| well and good |
good |
It is well and
good that he wants to discuss the problem. |
| well-heeled |
wealthy |
The owner of the
restaurant is certainly well-heeled. |
| WET
BEHIND THE EARS |
young and inexperienced
Antonym: know the ropes
Similar to: born yesterday
The expression comes from that fact that newly born (young)
animals are wet at birth. Because of the close creases
behind their ears, this area is usually the last to dry. |
1. Ben is new to this business. He’s wet behind the ears.
2. They haven’t had much experience teaching yet. They’re
still wet behind the ears. |
| WET
BLANKET |
a person who is seen as never wanting to take part in fun
activities; a person who ruins a good time
This expression appears to come from the practice of using a
wet blanket to put out campfires. If one thinks of the fire
as being vibrant and exciting, then putting a wet blanket
over it would extinguish or diminish that excitement. |
1. Don’t invite Jerry to come along. He’s a wet blanket, and
he just ruins everyone’s good time.
2. Why don’t you relax and have a little fun? Don’t be such
a wet blanket. |
| WET
(ONE’S) WHISTLE |
to wet one’s lips; to have a drink of something |
1. After a hard day’s work in the sun, I always enjoy
wetting my whistle with a cold drink.
2. The singer needed to wet his whistle before he could
continue singing. |
| what's cooking |
is happening |
She really wants to know
what's cooking. |
| what's doing |
is happening |
She really wants to know
what's doing. |
| what's up |
is happening |
She really wants to know
what's up. |
| what's up with |
what is happening with |
Hey, what's up
with the manager today. |
| what's with |
what is happening with |
Hey, what's with
the manager today. |
| what's the big
idea |
what were you thinking |
Hey, what's the
big idea using the car without asking? |
| what's
up? |
|
|
| what's what |
one thing from another |
It is hard to tell
what's what at an auction. |
| WHAT
IT’S CRACKED UP TO BE, (NOT) |
not as good as its reputation; not as good as it is supposed
to be
The expression is used in the negative or question forms
only. |
1. I thought this car was the best model around, but it’s
not what it’s cracked up to be. Every week something else
goes wrong with it.
2. You’ve traveled to the Caribbean islands. Are they
everything you expected? Are they what they’re cracked up to
be? |
| WHEN
HELL FREEZES OVER |
never
This expression indicates that something is so unlikely that
it will only happen when a place as hot as hell freezes. |
1. My parents don’t like me to drive alone. They’ll buy me a
car when hell freezes over.
2. Jake tried to get me to run a race with him, but I
already know he’s faster than I am. I’ll race him when hell
freezes over. |
| when
it rains, it pours |
|
|
| WHEN
THE CHIPS ARE DOWN |
when the situation is critical; when things are going badly
The expression probably originates from a game like poker in
which the players use ‘chips’ to represent money they are
betting. To be ‘down on chips’ would be to not have many, or
much money, left. |
1. Henry is such a good friend. You can always count on him
to help you when the chips are down.
2. Laura’s a pleasant person, but she always seems to
disappear when we need to get a project finished. When the
chips are down, she’s never around. |
| where
there's smoke there's fire |
|
|
|
WHIP/LICK (SOMEONE/SOMETHING) INTO SHAPE |
to mold or assemble something into its proper shape quickly
This expression comes from the very old belief that bear
cubs were born misshapen and had to literally be licked into
shape by their mothers and fathers. By the late 1600s, this
phrase was being used with the figurative meaning it has
now. |
1. The football coach told the players that they had been
lazy all summer but that he was going to lick them into
shape before the first game of the season.
2. We don’t have much time left, and this report is due
tomorrow. Do you think we have enough time to whip it into
shape? |
| WHITE
COLLAR WORKER |
an office worker
Antonym: blue collar worker
The expression describes the color of the collar (and
therefore the business shirt) worn by office workers. A
manual laborer would not wear a white shirt because it would
get dirty very quickly and be hard to keep clean. |
1. This company doesn’t employ any manual laborers. Everyone
who works for this company is a white collar worker.
2. Dick likes to work outside in the fresh air and sunshine.
He wouldn’t be very happy as a white collar worker in an
office somewhere. |
| WHITE
ELEPHANT |
an item that no one wants to buy or that is difficult to get
rid of; a costly but useless possession
The item is usually not worthless, but for some reason other
than cost, the item is difficult to sell. The origin of the
expression is a traditional custom from Siam, present-day
Thailand. If a rare albino (white) elephant was captured, it
was the property of the emperor, and only he could ride or
use the animal. Whenever the emperor wished to ruin someone
who displeased him, he would give the man a white elephant.
The man would then be forced to feed and care for the animal
but could neither use nor destroy it. |
1. The salesman has been trying to get rid of that car for
more than a year. It costs too much to run and insure, so no
one wants it—it’s a white elephant.
2. The department store is having a white elephant sale.
They’ve reduced the prices on all the merchandise that they
haven’t been able to sell. |
| WHITE
LIE |
a minor, polite, or harmless lie
Similar to: stretch the truth
The expression suggests that a white lie is an innocent or
inconsequential lie. |
1. When Jenny’s parents asked her where she had gone, she
told them she had been at the library, but she didn’t tell
them that she had also gone to the movies. She told her
parents a white lie.
2. When Carol asked me what I thought of her new dress, I
told her she looked good in it. I didn’t really like the
dress, but since I did not want to hurt Carol’s feelings I
told her a little white lie. |
|
WHITEWASH |
to conceal something bad; to make something look better than
it really is
The expression originates from the paint-like substance
called whitewash, made from lime and water, which is used to
paint houses and fences cheaply. |
1. The boss doesn’t want to get rid of his secretary, even
though she has made some very costly mistakes. The boss
simply keeps whitewashing the situation, pretending that her
errors are insignificant.
2. The doctor told Susan’s parents the truth about their
daughter’s condition. He felt it wouldn’t be fair to
whitewash the seriousness of Susan’s illness. |
| WHOLE
KIT AND CABOODLE, THE |
the entire amount; the whole lot
Synonym: lock, stock, and barrel
The expression is often used to describe items which might
not normally be included or which one might expect to be
excluded, such as the trash from the wastebaskets (sentence
2). Dating from the late 1800s, the whole kit and caboodle
is actually the combination of words with a similar meaning.
Both kit and caboodle mean a collection, and the combination
into a single phrase is a way of adding emphasis. |
1. Some strangers came to our yard sale yesterday and bought
everything we had. They bought the whole kit and caboodle.
2. When the landlord evicted the man, he cleared out all the
man’s possessions and put them out on the sidewalk,
including the man’s trash from his wastebaskets! He put out
the whole kit and caboodle. |
| WHOLE
NINE YARDS, GO THE |
the entire amount; (to go) all out
Compare to: pull out all the stops; go to town; go whole hog
The term comes from the World War II era where a fighter
pilot’s chain of ammunition was twenty-seven feet long (or
nine yards). So when he fired all this on the target, he
said “I gave it the whole nine yards” — meaning, he gave it
all he had. |
1. The girl’s father decided to spare no expense in getting
the very best of everything for his daughter’s wedding. He
wanted the whole nine yards.
2. We could save a little money on this dress by using less
cloth in the skirt if you don’t want to go the whole nine
yards. |
| wiggle
room |
|
|
|
WILD-GOOSE CHASE |
a useless or difficult search
This expression is first recorded in Shakespeare’s play
Romeo and Juliet, and at that time actually referred to
horse racing, not birds as the as the phrase might imply. In
horse racing a wild-goose chase was a type of racing where
the horses run in a V-like formation, similar to the way
birds fly. Later, the connection to horse racing was lost in
use, and people assumed the phrase came from flying geese. |
1. First my cousin told me I could buy what I needed at one
store; then she sent me to three more. I never did find it.
She sent me on a wild-goose chase.
2. Tom went all over town from one office to another trying
to find out how he could apply to change his citizenship. At
the end of the day, he was no closer to finding out, and he
had been on a wild-goose chase. |
| WING IT |
to improvise; to do something without planning or
preparation
Similar: by the seat of (one’s) pants, play it by ear
Dating from the late 19th century, wing it was originally a
theatrical term. Impromptu (unprepared) actors would quickly
look over their speaking lines before going onto stage and
then someone in the wings (behind the stage curtains) would
prompt the actors on their exact lines. |
1. Today is the day I’m supposed to present my report to the
board of directors, but I’m not at all prepared. When I
stand up in front of them, I’m going to have to wing it.
2. We don’t know how we’re going to handle the situation.
It’s hard to plan for something like this in advance, so
we’ll just wing it and hope for the best. |
| wiped out |
tired |
I was really
wiped out after looking at those lines. |
| WIPE
THE SLATE CLEAN |
to set a situation right or erase something bad
A slate is a small chalkboard. |
1. I know I’m in trouble for misbehaving in class last week,
but I want to do better. I want to wipe the slate clean.
2. When Kyle was rude to his mother, she sent him to his
room, but his punishment was over by dinner time. The slate
had been wiped clean. |
| wires
crossed |
|
|
| WITH
BATED BREATH |
hardly breathing at all because of fear, excitement, or
other strong emotion
Bated is a shortened form of abated, which means to lessen
or put on hold. The first recorded use of bated is in 1596
in Shakespeare’s play Merchant of Venice: “With bated
breath, and whisp’ring humblenesse.” The expression is used
in situations in which someone is waiting tensely for
something to happen. |
1. Alan took out a small ring. Jennifer knew this was the
moment, and she waited with bated breath for him to ask her
to marry him.
2. The swimmer stood silently with bated breath as he waited
for the starter’s gun to go off. |
| WITH
FLYING COLORS |
triumphantly; victoriously
Large ships often sailed into ports with their flags
(colors) raised and flying in the wind. This image of glory
and victory was eventually extended to any event through
which one became triumphant. |
1. We weren’t sure how the boys would do on their exams, but
they passed with flying colors.
2. You look so nervous, but I know you can do it. Don’t
worry; you’ll sail through with flying colors. |
| WOLF IN
SHEEP’S CLOTHING |
someone who presents himself as a harmless person, but who
has intentions that are not honorable
The expression comes from Aesop’s fable of the wolf that, in
order to get close to a flock of sheep it wants to eat,
clothes itself in a sheepskin to avoid detection. |
1. The police have been looking for that criminal for
months. He approaches people and pretends he is selling them
valuable stocks that are really worthless. He’s a wolf in
sheep’s clothing.
2. John is such a good-looking young man, women are
attracted to him quickly. It’s easy to see why people who
don’t know him think he is probably a wolf in sheep’s
clothing, when he is really a gentleman. |
| work out |
exercise |
She likes to
work out at the gym. |
| work out |
develop |
They needed to
work out the plans of the new product. |
| write off |
remove the expense of |
They were able to
write off the money spent on entertainment. |
| WRONG
SIDE OF THE TRACKS, COME FROM THE |
the poor part of town
The expression suggests that towns or cities are divided
into a right (i.e. rich) side and a wrong (i.e. poor) side
by the railroad tracks that run through them.
The expression is often used to describe where someone comes
from. |
1. Sharon knew her parents would never approve of her
marriage to Ricky because he came from the wrong side of the
tracks.
2. Mr. and Mrs. Dawson didn’t want their children to attend
Smithson High School because it was on the wrong side of the
tracks and it might be dangerous for the children to walk
from home to school by themselves. |
