Skip to main content

Popular Idioms and Usages Part I

By VJ

After introducing you to my idioms and usages series, here is the eighth in the series. Please also visit other items in this popular idioms series, and voice your comments.

  1. If I had my druthers: If I could choose what I could do.
  2. I will go to the foot of our stairs: Expression of surprise.
  3. In a quandary: Not knowing which to choose.
  4. In like Flynn: Someone got it made, originated from Hollywood actor Errol Flynn.
  5. In someone’s bad books: To be in disgrace.
  6. In stitches: Laughing outrageously.
  7. In the bag: Well secured.
  8. In the buff: Naked.
  9. In the cart: In trouble.
  10. In the catbird seat: In the control of a situation.
  11. In the club: Pregnant. (or “in the pudding club”)
  12. In the limelight: At the center of attention.
  13. In the offing: Likely to happen in some time.
  14. In the red: In debt or need for money.
  15. In the pink: In good health.
  16. In your face: In a bold aggressive manner.
  17. Indian giver: One who gives a gift only to take it back later (I am an Indian myself, but I don’t take gifts back. This should be a deranged man’s guess).
  18. Iron hoof: Poof (homosexual). A Cockney Rhyming slang.
  19. Is the Pope Catholic/Polish: Ironic way to express something is true beyond any shadow of doubt.
  20. It came like a bolt from the blue: Came as a surprise.
  21. It never rains but pours: Said to mean that the problems come massively when they do.
  22. Ivory Tower: A state of separation from real-life problems.

I would much appreciate your comments on the work done on this new blog of mine, dedicated to the News Stories. As another feat, my blog has been elected as one of the ten participants in the Bloghology Competition, 2008 here.

Copyright © Lenin Nair 2008

Labels

Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 24, 2008 at 11:15 AM

    Hi Lenin,

    It is my pleasure to host you in May 2008 Bloghology. I really liked your blog because it will add significant value to other bloggers, and it is promising.

    Let me correct one issue. Bloghology is not a competition, yet it is an open platform for all bloggers, completely open for all bloggers. Interested bloggers can sign up at www.bloghology.org

    Wish you all the best!
    Mert Erkal

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMay 25, 2008 at 12:20 PM

    Hi Lenin,

    I was searching on the forums.digitalpoint.com for some link exchanges, and I got your this site for free backlink.

    How do we confirm that successful backlink has been established?

    Thanks!
    Mnis

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Comments are moderated very strictly

Popular posts from this blog

En Dash, Em Dash, and Hyphen

By VJ
We have three types of dashes in use: The hyphen, En Dash, and the Em Dash. In this post, we will see how to use them all correctly. Hyphen (-) The hyphen is the minus key in Windows-based keyboards. This is a widely used punctuation mark. Hyphen should not be mistaken for a dash . Dash is different and has different function than a hyphen. A hyphen is used to separate the words in a compound adjective, verb, or adverb. For instance: The T-rex has a movement-based vision. My blog is blogger-powered. John’s idea was pooh-poohed. The hyphen can be used generally for all kinds of wordbreaks . En Dash (–) En Dash gets its name from its length. It is one ‘N’ long (En is a typographical unit that is almost as wide as 'N'). En Dash is used to express a range of values or a distance: People of age 55–80 are more prone to hypertension. Delhi–Sidney flight was late by three hours. In MS Word, you can put an En Dash either from the menu, clicking Insert->Symbol or by the key-combinatio...
11 comments
Read more

Power of Short Sentences

By VJ
Post dedicated to Thomas Hardy (see History Today below). There are monster sentences like the one you encounter as the first paragraph of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens . One of my friends, whom I am getting equipped for his IELTS ( what is this? ), told me that the examination recommends long sentences. In writing classes also, I guess it’s longer sentences most tutors promote. But indubitably shorter sentences are more powerful . We will see why. Take a long sentence for instance: Tom Cruise, one of the finest actors in the whole world, is perhaps the most powerful celebrity to exist ever according to Time Magazine, but many people still dispute this fact and point out that there are more powerful and popular actors than Cruise, though they were unsuccessful in providing the total number of fans, who liked the films of those actors. This is a long sentence and it is very confusing . Though it has a logical construction and conveys a meaning, it falters in many occasions and seems ...
1 comment
Read more

Creative Writing: Crafting Characters With Emotional Appeal in Mind

By VJ
When you read the greatest fiction works ever, have you ever asked what was so compelling about them that you not only kept reading it, but you ended up reading all other major works of the writer? It may well be because the writer touched your emotional quotient quite a bit. Every reader has a unique taste . Some like to read suspense thrillers , some tender love stories, and some others dark horror and bloodshed stories . That’s why there are all sorts of genres out there. When a writer gives you what exactly you want, you will keep reading. Here we come to the emotional appeal. Character Imperfection Perfect characters may not always be the upshot of a writer’s deliberation. It may well be due to ignorance . Usually the upcoming writers take it for granted that if they create perfect characters, they will be able to garner a bigger audience . It is not true. You have to ask yourself what a character would do in a particular situation. Perfect characters—perfect gunmen, perfect...
1 comment
Read more