Idioms

Raining cats and dogs

Meaning: We Brits are known for our obsession with the weather, so we couldnt
omit a rain-related idiom from this list. Its raining cats and dogs when its
raining particularly heavily.
Example: Its raining cats and dogs!
Origins: The origins of this bizarre phrase are obscure, though it was first
recorded in 1651 in the poet Henry Vaughans collection Olor Iscanus.
Speculation as to its origins ranges from medieval superstition to Norse
mythology, but it may even be a reference to dead animals being washed
through the streets by floods.

Turn a blind eye

Meaning: To turn a blind eye to something means to pretend not to have
noticed it.
Example: She took one of the cookies, but I turned a blind eye.
Origins: Interestingly, this expression is said to have arisen as a result of the
famous English naval hero Admiral Horatio Nelson, who, during the Battle of
Copenhagen in 1801, is alleged to have deliberately raised his telescope to his
blind eye, thus ensuring that he would not see any signal from his superior giving
him discretion to withdraw from the battle.

White elephant
By this point, "white elephant" has morphed into a phrase associated with
intentionally tacky gift swaps, but its original usage still gets thrown about on
occasion. It originally stems from literal white elephants, which South Asian
royalty oftentimes kept as vanity pets. In contemporary parlance, it broadens the
definition to encompassing anything huge and expensive that requires more
money than its actual value to maintain.

Apple of my eye
The Book of Deuteronomy first used this phrase in Hebrew, and Shakespeare
popularized its English use in A Midsummer Night's Dream. In spite of the
millennia between them, both eras believed the human pupil to be a solid, applelike construct. This idiom was originally used in a literal sense, but over time
metamorphosed into a term of endearment.

Once in a blue moon

Meaning: The phrase refers to something that happens very infrequently.
Example: I only see him once in a blue moon.
Origins: Confusingly, a blue moon doesnt refer to the actual colour of the moon;
it refers to when we see a full moon twice in one month. This happens every two
to three years. Its thought that the word blue may have come from the now
obsolete word belewe, which meant to betray; the betrayer moon was an
additional spring full moon that would mean people would have to fast for an
extra month during Lent. The saying in its present meaning is first recorded in
1821.

Mad as a hatter
Meaning: Mad as a hatter refers to someone who is completely crazy. A similar
expression is mad as a March hare.
Example: You could ask him, but hes mad as a hatter.
Origins: This is an interesting one. While hatter refers to Lewis Carrolls Mad
Hatter character in Alice in Wonderland, the expression has its origins in the
effects of the chronic mercury poisoning commonly experienced by 18th and 19th
century hat manufacturers owing to the use of mercurous nitrate in felt hats.
Mad as a March hare comes from the behaviour of hares during the breeding
season, when they run and leap about the fields.

Knight in shining armour

Meaning: A knight in shining armour is a heroic, idealised male who typically
comes to the rescue of a female.
Example: He saved me from humiliation hes my knight in shining armour.
Origins: The phrase harks back to the days of Old England, when popular
imagination conjures up images of chivalry and knights coming to the rescue of
damsels in distress. Much of this is likely to be Victorian fantasy, as this was a
period when interest in the legend of King Arthur and the Court of Camelot was
high. The earliest use of the expression was in a poem by Henry Pye in 1790,
which referred to No more the knight, in shining armour dressd.

Know the ropes

Meaning: Someone who knows the ropes is experienced at what they are
doing. Showing someone the ropes means to explain to them how something is
done.
Example: Ask John, he knows the ropes around here.
Origins: This phrase has its origins in the golden age of sailing, when
understanding how to handle the ropes necessary to operate a ship and its sails
was an essential maritime skill. By the mid-19th century it was a common slang
expression, and it survives to this day.

A red herring
Meaning: Often used in the context of television detective shows, a red herring
refers to something designed to distract or throw someone off a trail. Hence in a
detective show, a clue that appears vital to solving a mystery is often added to
heighten suspense, but may turn out to have been irrelevant; it was a red herring.
Example: It seemed important, but it turned out to be a red herring.
Origins: A herring is a fish that is often smoked, a process that turns it red and
gives it a strong smell. Because of their pungent aroma, smoked herrings were
used to teach hunting hounds how to follow a trail, and they would be drawn
across the path of a trail as a distraction that the dog must overcome.

Bring home the bacon

Etymologists remain unsure as to where exactly this particularly tasty idiom
came from, though many trace it back to a Great Dunmow tradition that began in
1104. Apparently the Prior of Little Dunmow awarded a particularly dedicated
married couple with an entire side of bacon as a reward for their virtue. Such
practices continue in the region, occurring every four years, and even found its
way into Chaucer's 1395 The Wife of Bath's Tale and Prologue.

Heard through the grapevine

The wires utilized in America's first telegraph stations oftentimes swooped and
draped in twisted, random patterns. Professionals and onlookers alike believed
the tangled masses resembled grapevines somewhat, eventually birthing a
common idiom still used today. Especially in catchy songs by Smokey Robinson
and The Miracles.

On cloud nine
The whos and whats behind the creation of "on cloud nine" remain largely
obscured, but it burst onto the scene sometime around the 1950s and
spread through its use on a popular radio program. Whenever eponymous
protagonist Johnny Dollar wound up unconscious, he found himself
floating about the popular atmospheric locale. Although it likely existed in
some form or another prior to the show, it caught on as slang for ecstasy
induced by intoxicating substances before undergoing the usual
broadening to encompass any sort of profound happiness.

Skeleton in the closet

In the United Kingdom, one's shameful secrets are kept in the cupboard
rather than the closet, though the origins of the near-identical idioms stem
from the same exact same source. Both literal and figurative skeletons
factored into its popularity, the former when William Hendry Stowell
likened one's wish to hide genetic diseases to shoving bones into closets.
In fictional narratives, a murderer hiding corporeal evidence oftentimes
utilized out-of-the-way areas, subsequently turning safe, domestic scenes
into grisly torrents of terror.

Blacklist
To blacklist someone always held the same definition and connotation, though
modern parlance does not usually mean a literal black list. During King Charles
II's reign, however, it involved black books where he kept the names of those
involved with his father's murder. "Black book" can be used interchangeably with
"blacklist," but the latter is far more popular.

Selling like hot cakes

Around 1839, this tasty term likened anything that sold out quickly to one of
America's most popular foodstuffs. Hotcakes and pancakes have always enjoyed
a beloved spot in the nation's culinary heart, and serve as some of the best
metaphors for anything that flies off the shelves. They never blew up as one
major "flash in the pan" fad, but rather endured as a classic, reliable comfort
food.

Let the cat out of the bag

The most reasonable of the two historical explanations for this phrase actually
ties into another one involving mammals and bagging "a pig in a poke." Dating
back to around 1530, cats often served as sneaky substitutes for their porcine
peers when shady businesspeople tricked their customers. Clever consumers
who exposed their deception eventually spawned the familiar idiom, which
retains a similar, albeit broader, meaning today.

Kick the bucket

One of the more bizarre metaphors in the English language likens death to a
bucket understandably confuses even the most eloquent and learned speakers.
Probably the most likely explanation refers to a now-obsolete method of
slaughtering animals for food. A "bucket" consisted of a wooden frame, from

which the pigs or sheep or other livestock were hung, and the "kicking" element
comes in when the expected neurological struggles ensue after death.

Out of line
In the military, falling out of line meant compromising the unit's integrity and
efficiency. The specialized terminology eventually entered into the mainstream
lexicon, retaining the same connotations.

Talking up a blue streak

18th Century America birthed this humorous little phrase used to describe
incredibly quick speech patterns. Most etymologists and word geeks tend to think
the "blue" refers to lightning tinged with the specific color.

Barking up the wrong tree

Meaning: If someone is barking up the wrong tree, they are pursuing a line of
thought or course of action that is misguided.
Example: Im certain that he was responsible.
I think youre barking up the wrong tree. He was elsewhere at the time.
Origins: The saying refers to a dog barking at the bottom of a tree under the
mistaken impression that its quarry is up it, suggesting that the phrase has its
origins in hunting. The earliest known uses of the phrase date back to the early
19th century.