Entry 1
Apples and pears
Meaning Cockney rhyming slang for stairs.
Usage Mostly Britain.
Example
- Time for bed Jimmy - get yourself up the apples and pears.
Pronunciation
Idioms · 7 entries
Fruit
What does "Fruit" mean?
Cockney rhyming slang for stairs.
Apples and pears
Blow a raspberry
Buy a lemon
USA, early 20th century.
Hear it on the grapevine
USA
Peachy keen
USA, mid-20th century.
The apple of my eye
Britain, 9th century - making it one of the oldest phrases in the language that is still in regular use in its original form.
Top banana
USA. Derived from burlesque shows where the top comic was given a banana.
Entry 2
Blow a raspberry
Meaning Cockney rhyming slang for fart.
Example
- Not good timing - we were sitting at the table when Granny said grace and he let go a raspberry.
Pronunciation
Entry 3
Buy a lemon
Meaning Waste money by purchasing a car that is frequently faulty.
Usage Worldwide.
Example
- I thought that my new VW was top of the range but it's never out of the repair garage - a real lemon.
Pronunciation
Entry 4
Hear it on the grapevine
Meaning Hear rumors about something from an anonymous informal contact.
Usage Worldwide.
Example
- The girls in the dorm were talking and I heard it on the grapevine that Judy is pregnant.
Pronunciation
Entry 5
Peachy keen
Meaning Excellent; wonderful.
Usage Mostly USA.
Example
- Wow, that 20-year old whiskey is peachy keen..
Pronunciation
Entry 6
The apple of my eye
Meaning Someone who is cherished above all others.
Usage Worldwide.
Example
- She's my only child - the apple of my eye.
Pronunciation
Entry 7
Top banana
Meaning The leading, most important, person in a group or organisation.
Usage Mostly USA.
Example
- Russia is supposed to be a democracy but everyone knows Putin is top banana and what he says goes.
Pronunciation