A
- A blessing in disguise
- A misfortune that turns out to be good.
- Failing the first medical turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
- A dime a dozen
- Very common and of little value.
- Cheap flashlights like this one are a dime a dozen.
- A Hail Mary
- A desperate last-chance attempt. (Football.)
- The late appeal was a Hail Mary.
- A piece of cake
- Something very easy.
- Compared with the oral board, the written paper was a piece of cake.
- Across the board
- Applying to everyone or everything equally.
- Fuel prices rose across the board this quarter.
- Add insult to injury
- Make a bad situation even worse.
- To add insult to injury, the taxi never arrived.
B
- Back to the drawing board
- Start again after a failure.
- The prototype flooded on the first dive, so it is back to the drawing board.
- Ballpark figure
- A rough estimate. (Baseball origin.)
- Can you give me a ballpark figure for the repair time?
- Bark up the wrong tree
- Pursue a mistaken idea or accuse the wrong person.
- If you think I hid the keys, you are barking up the wrong tree.
- Beat around the bush
- Avoid saying something directly.
- Stop beating around the bush and give me the real figures.
- Bend over backwards
- Try extremely hard to help.
- The clerks bent over backwards to reissue our passes.
- Better late than never
- Doing something late is better than not at all.
- The medal came thirty years afterwards, but better late than never.
- Bite off more than you can chew
- Take on more than you can handle.
- Taking two languages in one term is biting off more than you can chew.
- Bite the bullet
- Face something painful with courage. (Military origin.)
- They bit the bullet and cancelled the summer leave period.
- Boots on the ground
- Troops physically deployed in an area.
- Satellites help, but you still need boots on the ground.
- Break a leg
- Good luck! (Said before a performance.)
- You are presenting first? Break a leg!
- Break the ice
- Make people feel comfortable in a new situation.
- Marion opened with a remark about the weather to break the ice.
- Burn the midnight oil
- Work late into the night.
- Melanie burned the midnight oil preparing the inspection file.
- Burn your bridges
- Destroy relationships you may need later.
- Leave on good terms and do not burn your bridges.
- Bury the hatchet
- Make peace; end a quarrel.
- The two workshops finally buried the hatchet.
- By the skin of your teeth
- By a very narrow margin.
- Bridget passed the swim test by the skin of her teeth.
C
- Call it a day
- Stop working for the day.
- We have been at this since dawn; let us call it a day.
- Call the shots
- Be in charge; make the decisions.
- On this deployment the squadron commander calls the shots.
- Catch someone red-handed
- Catch someone in the act.
- The patrol caught the smuggler red-handed at the fence.
- Close ranks
- Unite to defend the group.
- The department closed ranks around its spokesperson.
- Cost an arm and a leg
- Be extremely expensive.
- Replacing the sonar dome cost an arm and a leg.
- Cover all the bases
- Prepare for every possibility. (Baseball.)
- The evacuation plan covers all the bases.
- Cross that bridge when you come to it
- Deal with a problem only when it happens.
- If the runway closes, we will cross that bridge when we come to it.
- Cry over spilled milk
- Complain about something that cannot be changed.
- The tender sank years ago; there is no use crying over spilled milk.
- Cut corners
- Do something carelessly to save time or money.
- Nobody cuts corners when an aircraft is being refuelled.
- Cut to the chase
- Get to the main point.
- The admiral has four minutes, so cut to the chase.
D
- Dodge a bullet
- Narrowly escape a serious problem.
- The fire stopped at the next building; we dodged a bullet.
- Down to the wire
- Undecided until the last moment.
- The bidding for the contract went down to the wire.
- Draw the line
- Set a limit on what you will accept.
- I will lend you my notes, but I draw the line at writing your essay.
- Drop a bombshell
- Announce shocking news.
- She dropped a bombshell: the unit is being disbanded.
- Drop the ball
- Fail in one's responsibility.
- Somebody dropped the ball on the vaccination records.
E
- Easier said than done
- Harder to do than to talk about.
- Refuelling at sea in a swell is easier said than done.
F
- Face the music
- Accept the consequences.
- He falsified the log and now he has to face the music.
G
- Get a second wind
- Find new energy after being tired.
- The choir got a second wind after the interval.
- Get cold feet
- Lose courage at the last moment.
- The recruit got cold feet on the edge of the platform.
- Get down to business
- Start working seriously.
- Introductions over, let us get down to business.
- Get out of hand
- Become uncontrollable.
- The exercise got out of hand once the smoke grenades went off.
- Get your act together
- Organize yourself and behave effectively.
- Get your act together before the commander's round.
- Give someone the benefit of the doubt
- Choose to believe someone without proof.
- It was his first week, so give him the benefit of the doubt.
- Go the extra mile
- Do more than what is required.
- Our instructor goes the extra mile for the slower learners.
H
- Hang in there
- Keep going; don't give up.
- Hang in there; the results go up on Friday.
- Hit the books
- Study hard.
- My oral board is in three weeks, so I am hitting the books.
- Hit the nail on the head
- Describe a situation exactly.
- Your explanation of the delay hit the nail on the head.
- Hit the road
- Leave; start a journey.
- The convoy leaves at five, so let us hit the road.
- Hit the sack / hit the hay
- Go to bed.
- Reveille is at four, so I am going to hit the hay now.
- Hold the fort
- Take care of things while others are away.
- Can you hold the fort while I take the crew to lunch?
- Hold your fire
- Wait; don't react yet.
- Hold your fire until the investigation is complete.
I
- In hot water
- In trouble.
- Curtis is in hot water for losing his identity card.
- In the home stretch
- In the final phase. (Racing.)
- One module to go and we are in the home stretch.
- In the same boat
- In the same difficult situation.
- Every squadron faces the same shortage; we are all in the same boat.
- In the trenches
- Doing the hard, unglamorous work.
- He spent ten years in the trenches before making chief.
- It's not rocket science
- It is not difficult to understand.
- Threading a mooring line is not rocket science.
J
- Jump the gun
- Act too soon.
- We jumped the gun and announced the results too early.
K
- Keep an eye on
- Watch carefully.
- Keep an eye on the barometer while I plot the course.
- Keep your chin up
- Stay cheerful in difficulty.
- Keep your chin up; the retest is next month.
- Kill two birds with one stone
- Achieve two goals with one action.
- Studying on the ferry kills two birds with one stone.
L
- Learn the ropes
- Learn the basics of a job. (Nautical origin.)
- Give the new corporal a month to learn the ropes.
- Let the cat out of the bag
- Reveal a secret by accident.
- Neil let the cat out of the bag about the retirement party.
- Loose cannon
- An unpredictable, uncontrollable person. (Naval origin.)
- Keep him away from the journalists; he is a loose cannon.
M
- Miss the boat
- Miss an opportunity.
- Register before noon or you will miss the boat.
- Monday-morning quarterback
- Someone who criticizes decisions after the fact. (Football.)
- It is easy to be a Monday-morning quarterback after the inquiry.
N
- No man's land
- Dangerous ground controlled by nobody. (WWI origin.)
- Between the two fences lies a strip of no man's land.
O
- Off the hook
- Free from blame or obligation.
- The camera footage let the driver off the hook.
- On cloud nine
- Extremely happy.
- Vince has been on cloud nine since the baby arrived.
- On the ball
- Alert, competent, quick to react.
- The duty clerk is on the ball; nothing gets past her.
- On the fence
- Undecided between two options.
- Ellen is on the fence about extending her contract.
- On the front lines
- In the most active or exposed position.
- Volunteers were on the front lines of the relief effort.
- On the radar
- Receiving attention; being noticed.
- Coastal erosion is now on the radar of the ministry.
- On thin ice
- In a risky position.
- One more late report and you will be on thin ice.
- Once in a blue moon
- Very rarely.
- A supply flight reaches this island once in a blue moon.
- Out of left field
- Strange and unexpected. (Baseball.)
- That accusation came completely out of left field.
- Out of the blue
- Completely unexpectedly.
- The recall message arrived out of the blue at midnight.
P
- Pass with flying colors
- Succeed brilliantly. (Naval flags origin.)
- Douglas passed the navigation exam with flying colors.
- Play devil's advocate
- Argue the opposite position to test an idea.
- Playing devil's advocate, what if the radar fails completely?
- Pull someone's leg
- Tease or joke with someone.
- Nobody is being posted to Greenland - I am pulling your leg.
- Pull yourself together
- Calm down and regain self-control.
- Pull yourself together; the visitors are already at the gate.
R
- Rain or shine
- Whatever happens; in any weather.
- The morning run takes place rain or shine.
- Rank and file
- The ordinary members of an organization.
- The pay rise pleased the rank and file.
- Read between the lines
- Understand the hidden meaning.
- Read between the lines and you will see the base is closing.
- Ring a bell
- Sound familiar.
- That surname rings a bell; was he in our intake?
- Rule of thumb
- A practical, approximate rule.
- As a rule of thumb, allow two hours for every hundred kilometres.
S
- See eye to eye
- Agree with someone.
- The two chiefs never see eye to eye about maintenance.
- Show your true colors
- Reveal your real character. (Naval origin.)
- The crisis made him show his true colors.
- Sit tight
- Wait patiently.
- Sit tight in the hangar until the storm passes.
- Sleep on it
- Wait until tomorrow before deciding.
- It is a big decision, so sleep on it.
- So far, so good
- Everything is fine up to now.
- Three days at sea and no engine trouble - so far, so good.
- Speak of the devil
- Said when a person arrives just as you mention them.
- Speak of the devil, here comes the duty officer.
- Spill the beans
- Reveal a secret.
- Whatever you do, do not spill the beans about the transfer.
- Step up to the plate
- Take responsibility; accept a challenge. (Baseball.)
- When the chief fell ill, Deborah stepped up to the plate.
- Stick to your guns
- Maintain your position under pressure.
- The engineer stuck to her guns about the faulty valve.
T
- Take a rain check
- Postpone an invitation to another time.
- I would love to come, but may I take a rain check?
- Take it with a grain of salt
- Be skeptical about it.
- Take the corridor gossip with a grain of salt.
- The ball is in your court
- It is your turn to act or decide.
- I have made my offer, so the ball is in your court.
- The best of both worlds
- The advantages of two different things at once.
- Evening classes and daytime work give her the best of both worlds.
- The elephant in the room
- An obvious problem everyone avoids.
- Nobody mentioned the fuel shortage, the elephant in the room.
- The last straw
- The final problem that makes a situation unbearable.
- Losing the spare radio was the last straw for the chief.
- The whole nine yards
- Everything; the complete package.
- Stretchers, blankets, oxygen - the whole nine yards.
- Through thick and thin
- Through good times and bad.
- The old crew stayed together through thick and thin.
- Throw in the towel
- Give up. (Boxing origin.)
- Soaked and exhausted, the crew still refused to throw in the towel.
- Time flies
- Time passes very quickly.
- Time flies during a long refit.
- To make a long story short
- To summarize.
- To make a long story short, the ferry never sailed.
- Touch base
- Make brief contact. (Baseball origin.)
- I will touch base with the harbour master this afternoon.
- Twist someone's arm
- Pressure someone to do something.
- They twisted Rory's arm until he agreed to give the speech.
U
- Under fire
- Being attacked or strongly criticized.
- The mayor is under fire for the flooded shelters.
- Under the weather
- Slightly ill.
- Craig skipped the parade because he was under the weather.
- Up in arms
- Very angry and protesting.
- Parents are up in arms about the closure of the clinic.
- Up in the air
- Uncertain, undecided.
- Our departure date is still up in the air.
W
- When pigs fly
- Never.
- Blake will tidy his locker when pigs fly.
- Wrap your head around
- Manage to understand something complex.
- I still cannot wrap my head around the new pay system.
Y
- Your guess is as good as mine
- I don't know either.
- Will the parts arrive on Monday? Your guess is as good as mine.
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