Phrase Finder

Idioms · 29 entries

Nature

What does "Nature" mean?

It’s better to have a lesser but certain advantage than the possibility of a greater one that may come to nothing.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

The United Kingdom.

A thorn in my flesh

The United Kingdom.

Al fresco

The United Kingdom adaptation of an Italian expression

All at sea

Britain, late 19th century.

Barking up the wrong tree

Britain, 19th century.

Beat around the bush

Britain, 1400s. One of the oldest non-Biblical phrases in the language.

Between a rock and a hard place

USA, 20th century. Sometimes mistakenly thought to come from Homer’s Odyssey.

Big fish in a small pond

USA, late 19th century.

Blood is thicker than water

Britain. Probably coined by Sir Walter Scott, 1815.

Come hell or high water

USA, late 19th century.

Daisy roots

Britain.

Every cloud has a silver lining

Britain, 17th century. From a poem by John Milton.

Factory farming

USA, mid-20th century.

Feeding frenzy

USA, mid 20th century.

Field day

Britain, 18th century.

Go out on a limb

USA, 19th century.

Hit the hay

USA, early 20th century.

Knock on wood

USA, early 20th century. Other variants, like ‘touch wood’ are earlier.

Level playing field

USA, 20th century.

Little fish in a big pond

USA, early 20th century.

Magic mushroom

USA, 1950s, although the plants themselves have been used for centuries.

Nest egg

Britain, 17th century.

Once in a blue moon

Britain, 19th century.

Steal someones thunder

Britain, early 18th century. From a reference to the machines used in theatres to make the sound of thunder.

The Big Pond

USA, 1840s. Previously called, in both UK and USA as ‘The Great Pond’.

The fog of war

The sound of leather on willow

Up shit creek without a paddle

USA, 1890s. Note: Shit creek isn’t a real place.

Water under the bridge

Entry 1

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

Meaning It’s better to have a lesser but certain advantage than the possibility of a greater one that may come to nothing.

Usage One of the most widely used proverbs throughout the English-speaking world.

Example

  • The questions in the final round looked hard so we opted out of the big prize and took the smaller $2,000 second prize. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush you know.

Pronunciation

Entry 2

A thorn in my flesh

Meaning A persistent and difficult to ignore annoyance.

Usage Worldwide.

Example

  • The anti-capitalist campaigners turned up at every political meeting. They were are real thorn in the flesh for the government.

Pronunciation

Entry 3

Al fresco

Meaning In the open air.

Usage Worldwide.

Example

  • The weather’s lovely, let’s have our lunch al fresco on the terrace.

Pronunciation

Entry 4

All at sea

Meaning In a confused, disordered state.

Usage Worldwide.

Example

  • He dropped his notes just before the interview and panicked. You could say he was all at sea.

Pronunciation

Entry 5

Barking up the wrong tree

Meaning Responding to something which isn't the important issue.

Usage Worldwide.

Example

  • The government is blaming the immigrants for the banking crisis, but they're barking up the wrong tree there.

Pronunciation

Entry 6

Beat around the bush

Meaning Avoiding the main topic.

Usage Worldwide.

Example

  • If you want Jill to go out with her, don't beat around the bush - ask her.

Pronunciation

Entry 7

Between a rock and a hard place

Meaning Between two unwelcome options.

Usage Worldwide.

Example

  • The only choices I have are poverty or a boring job - I'm between a rock and a hard place.

Pronunciation

Entry 8

Big fish in a small pond

Meaning An important person but only so within a small area of influence.

Usage Worldwide.

Example

  • Alison is the queen of the post room. She's a big fish in a small pond though - no one in the rest of the company knows who she is.

Pronunciation

Entry 9

Blood is thicker than water

Meaning Family loyalties are stronger than those to other people.

Usage Worldwide.

Example

  • It was just me and his son in the job interview. I had no chance, blood is thicker than water you know.

Pronunciation

Entry 10

Come hell or high water

Meaning Despite any great difficult or obstacle.

Usage Worldwide.

Example

  • I'm going to get to Cornwall by nightfall, come hell or high water.

Pronunciation

Entry 11

Daisy roots

Meaning Cockney rhyming slang for boots.

Usage Mostly Britain.

Example

  • I can't get them on. Either my feet have got bigger or these daisies have shrunk.

Pronunciation

Entry 12

Every cloud has a silver lining

Meaning An encouragement to be optimistic. Even bad events have a good side to them.

Usage Worldwide.

Example

  • Okay he wasn't faithful but at least you found out now rather than after the wedding - every cloud has a silver lining.

Pronunciation

Entry 13

Factory farming

Meaning Rearing livestock under industrial conditions.

Usage Worldwide.

Example

  • I'm dead against factory farming of pigs. I prefer to see them out in the open air, rooting about for their food.

Pronunciation

Entry 14

Feeding frenzy

Meaning A frantic competition or exploitation - like a group shark attack.

Usage Worldwide.

Example

  • When Princess Diana was killed there was a feeding frenzy of journalists trying to get the story.

Pronunciation

Entry 15

Field day

Meaning A day noted for remarkable or exciting events.

Usage Worldwide.

Example

  • When my daughter was married everyone had a real field day.

Pronunciation

Entry 16

Go out on a limb

Meaning Take a risk to support someone or something.

Usage Worldwide.

Example

  • He knew his boss was an army man, so saying that he was against the war was really going out on a limb.

Pronunciation

Entry 17

Hit the hay

Meaning Retire to bed.

Usage Mostly USA.

Example

  • I'm exhausted. Do you mind if I hit the hay.

Pronunciation

Entry 18

Knock on wood

Meaning Knuckle tapping on wood in order to avoid bad luck or to continue having good luck.

Usage Worldwide.

Example

  • I have never broken a bone - touch wood.

Pronunciation

Entry 19

Level playing field

Meaning Fair competition where no side has an advantage.

Usage Worldwide.

Example

  • There were six of them and only four of us, so it wasn't really a level playing field.

Pronunciation

Entry 20

Little fish in a big pond

Meaning Someone considered unimportant compared to their more significant peers.

Usage Worldwide.

Example

  • Jimmy's first school only had seven pupils and he was the star, but when he got to high-school he was a little fish in a big pond.

Pronunciation

Entry 21

Magic mushroom

Meaning A type of mushroom with hallucinogenic properties - sometimes known as 'shrooms'.

Usage Worldwide.

Example

  • Henry's turned into a real dope head - stoned every night. If it's not the wacky backy it's the magic mushrooms.

Pronunciation

Entry 22

Nest egg

Meaning Savings set aside for future use.

Usage Worldwide.

Example

  • That pension will keep building until I'm 65. Its a good little nest egg.

Pronunciation

Entry 23

Once in a blue moon

Meaning A rare occurrence.

Usage Worldwide.

Example

  • West Bromwich Albion have won the cup. but only every once in a blue moon.

Pronunciation

Entry 24

Steal someones thunder

Meaning Take the credit for something someone else did.

Usage Worldwide.

Example

  • Joseph Swan had the first working lightbulb but Edison filed the first patent and effectively stole Swan's thunder.

Pronunciation

Entry 25

The Big Pond

Meaning Nickname of the Atlantic Ocean between the UK and the USA.

Usage Mostly USA and Britain.

Example

  • London's getting boring - I'm planning to hop the big pond and have a weekend in New York.

Pronunciation

Entry 26

The fog of war

Meaning Confusion caused by the chaos of battle.

Usage Worldwide.

Example

  • After the bombing raid we had no idea where the enemy were of what was going to happen next - that's to be expected in the fog of war.

Pronunciation

Entry 27

The sound of leather on willow

Meaning The sound of the ball on the bat in cricket.

Example

  • There's nothing more English than this - sitting in a deckchair at the Worcester county ground, watching the match and the sound of leather on willow.

Pronunciation

Entry 28

Up shit creek without a paddle

Meaning In serious difficulty, with no hope of respite.

Usage Worldwide.

Example

  • We were halfway across the Australian outback when we realised our water bottle had leaked. We really were up shit creek.

Pronunciation

Entry 29

Water under the bridge

Meaning A past experience that you prefer not to affect your current life.

Usage Worldwide.

Example

  • Losing my wife and my job was difficult at the time but I've moved on. Its all water under the bridge now.

Pronunciation