Idioms/Phrase List with Alphabet A

Idioms/Phrase List with Alphabet A

|| Idioms List A || Idioms List B || Idioms List C-E  || Idioms List F-H ||

|| Idioms List I-N || Idioms List O-S || Idioms List T-Z ||

 

Idiom/Phrase	Meaning
A bad business	An unfortunate event
A baker’s dozen	Thirteen
A bear garden	A place or scene of tumult
A bee in bonnet	An obsession about something
A big shot	Important person
A Bird In The Hand Is Worth Two In The Bush:	Having something that is certain is much better than taking a risk for more, because chances are you might lose everything.
A Blessing In Disguise:	Something good that isn't recognized at first.
A bread and butter letter	An appointment letter
A brown study	Absorbed in reading
A cast of the eye	A squint
A cat’s paw	To make somebody a tool
A chip off the old block	Characteristics of one’s ancestors
A Chip On Your Shoulder:	Being upset for something that happened in the past.
A close fisted man	A mean or stingy man
A cuckoo in the nest	A child whose parentage is doubtful and may therefore not belong by blood to the family
A curtain lecture	The scolding of a husband by his wife in private
A damsel in distress	A helpless woman
A Dime A Dozen:	Anything that is common and easy to get.
A dog’s chance	No hope at all
A Doubting Thomas:	A skeptic who needs physical or personal evidence in order to believe something.
A Drop in the Bucket:	A very small part of something big or whole.
A drug in the market	Commodities no in demand
A fair crack of the whip	A period of importance
A fifth columnist	Traitor
A fly in the ointment	A problem in a situation
A Fool And His Money Are Easily Parted:	It's easy for a foolish person to lose his/her money.
A fool’s errand	A useless undertaking
A gone coon	One whose case is hopeless
A grass widow	A women whose husband is temporarily away from her
A green horn	An inexperienced man
A hill of beans	A thing of little value
A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand:	Everyone involved must unify and function together or it will not work out.
A jaundiced eye	prejudice
A lady’s man	A lover of woman company
A latchkey child	A child who returns from school etc. To and empty house because both parents working
A laughing stock	Looking ridiculous
A left handed compliment	An insincere
A Leopard Can't Change His Spots:	You cannot change who you are.
A lick and a promise	A feeble attempt
A man about town	A man who spends much time at fashionable parties, clubs, theatres
A man before the mast	A common sailor
A man of means	A rich man
A man of parts	A man of ability
A man of weight	A man of importance
A month of Sundays	A long period of time
A nig-nog	A fool
A past master	An expert
A Penny Saved Is A Penny Earned:	By not spending money, you are saving money (little by little).
A Picture Paints a Thousand Words:	A visual presentation is far more descriptive than words.
A Piece of Cake:	A task that can be accomplished very easily.
A pig in poke	And article which was brought without previous inspection and which turns out to be worth less than what one paid for it.
A pipe dream	An impractical plan
A rolling stone	One who is never constant to one’s work
A scarlet women	A whore , a prostitute
A Skelton in the cupboard	A past event which is kept secret by a family/ something embarrassing or shameful
A Slap on the Wrist:	A very mild punishment.
A sop to Cerberus	Ransom to an enemy
A sore point	Something which hurt
A tall order	A task difficult to perform
A Taste Of Your Own Medicine:	When you are mistreated the same way you mistreat others.
A Toss-Up:	A result that is still unclear and can go either way.
A wild cat strike	Illegal strike
A Windfall:	a sum of money that you win or receive from someone unexpectedly or from a bank that floats on the stockmarket.
a/the sixty four dollar question	An important question that is very difficult to answer
Acquainted with	To meet someone
Act on /upon	Have and effect on/upon
Actions Speak Louder Than Words:	What you do is more meaningful than what you say.
Ad hock	For the special purpose
Adam’s ale	Water
Add Fuel To The Fire: & Add fuel to the flame	To worsen the situation.
Advise of	Acquainted with
Aegean stable	To remove on evil
Against The Clock:	Rushed and short on time.
All agog	Restless
All and sundry	Everything without distinction
All Bark And No Bite:	When someone is threatening and/or aggressive but not willing to engage in a fight.
All Greek to me:	Meaningless and incomprehensible like someone who cannot read, speak, or understand any of the Greek language would be.
All In The Same Boat:	When everyone is facing the same challenges.
All the better to	Same to
All the same	Nevertheless , but yet
All the same	Yet
Allow for	Including something when you are calculating something or planning something
Allow of	Make possible
An Arm And A Leg:	Very expensive. A large amount of money.
An armchair job	A regular job which is considered easy and well-paid
An Axe To Grind:	To have a dispute with someone.
An eye on the main chance	Looks after his won welfare
An eye to the main chance	Object to make money
An ivory tower	A place or state of life that is out of touch with people and reality
An old flame	Sweat heart
Answer fro	Be responsible
Apple of My Eye:	Someone who is cherished above all others.
Argus eye	Observant
As a rule	Usually
As fit as fiddle	Strong and healthy
As High As A Kite:	Anything that is high up in the sky.
As snug as a bug in the rug	Very cosy and snug
As the crow flies	In a straight line
As thick as thieves	Very friendly
As ugly as sin	Exceptionally ugly
Assumes airs	To pretend to superiority
At a loose end	Unoccupied , idle
At a lose end	Nothing to do
At a loss	To be confused
At a loss	To be puzzled
At a loss	To be unable to decided
At a low key	At reducing
At a premium	Valued highly
At a rate of knots	Sluggishly
At all events	Positively
At back and call	At disposal
At case	Easily
At close quarters	Close examinations
At cross purposes	Misunderstanding of each other’s purposes
At ease	Embarrassed
At home	Comfortably
At loose ends	Badly managed
At odds	In dispute
At one’s wit’s end	To be completely confused
At sea	Confused
At sixes and sevens	In disorder
At stake	In danger
At the drop of hat	Without delay
At the rate of knots	Very fast
Awkward silence	Embarrassing silence

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