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List of Popular Idioms and Usages Part D

By VJ

Here is the fourth part of the series. I hope you read the other parts in the series, if not find it in the archive link list on the right side.

  1. Daisy Roots: Boots (Cockney Rhyming Slang).
  2. Dark horse: Someone who accomplishes something previously unknown.
  3. Date rape: Rape by an acquaintance in a social meet.
  4. Davy Jones’ locker: Bottom of the sea.
  5. Dead cat bounce: An automatic recovery from a financial crisis.
  6. Dead ringer: An exact duplicate. This came into existence from horserace. The ringer is a horse substituted for one to defraud the bookies.
  7. Designer dyke: A lesbian of glamorous feminine beauty.
  8. A diamond in the rough: Someone with good character but lacking social grace.
  9. Dickey dirt: Shirt (Cockney Rhyming)
  10. Differently abled: handicapped or disabled. This is a more acceptable and better term than handicapped. And can be used not to offend such people.
  11. Doesn’t know shit from Shinola: To talk about someone with no knowledge or no judgment of matters. Shinola is a shoe polish.
  12. Dog and bone: Telephone. (Cockney rhyming).
  13. Dog days: Very hot days.
  14. Dog in the manger: Very spiteful or mean spirited.
  15. Dog’s bollocks: Excellent
  16. Dog’s breakfast: A mess or muddle.
  17. Done a runner: Left in a hurry.
  18. Done to a turn: Cooked just OK.
  19. Donkey’s years: A very long time.
  20. Don’t keep a dog and bark yourself: Make your employees do what they are meant to, and don’t do it yourself.
  21. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth: Don’t be ungrateful when you are given something.
  22. Don’t upset the applecart: Don’t change the situation.
  23. Double Dutch: Nonsense
  24. Double whammy: A blow or setback.
  25. Down at heel: Impoverished.
  26. Down the pan: Wasted and unrecoverable. Same meaning as “Down the tubes.”
  27. Dressed up to the nines: Dressed flamboyantly.
  28. Drink like a fish: Drink heavily. Fish is always in water and is supposed to drink too much.
  29. Dropping like flies: Falling down ill or dead quickly in large numbers.
  30. Drummed out of the army: Dismissed from army service.
  31. Dust up: A fight.

More of the usages will be added and I know this is devoid of examples; they will be added soon.

Here are some posts you might like:

Semantics of Words

The Main Reason Why Your Writing Fails

Some English Errors

Why Superfluity Sustains

Copyright © Lenin Nair 2008
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