Meaning Of Idiom ‘Throw Down the Gauntlet’ To throw down the gauntlet means to issue a challenge to an opponent. 1Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.,2Kirkpatrick, Elizabeth M. The Wordsworth Dictionary of Idioms. Ware: Wordsworth, 1995. Examples Of Use “In his op-ed, he threw down the gauntlet, declaring the … Read more
Idioms reveal the popularity of a perennially popular activity throughout the world and especially in the U.S. It’s not baseball or billiards. It’s gambling. It is surprising how many common idioms come from gambling. When the chips are down is just one of many American idioms. They didn’t spring up only after Las Vegas became a gambling … Read more
Also: Jump on Someone Jump all Over Someone Meaning of Idiom ‘Jump Down Someone’s Throat’ To jump down someone’s throat is to suddenly, with little provocation, speak to them in an angry, critical and aggressive way, usually in response to something they said or something that happened; to attack someone verbally over something they did before giving … Read more
Also: Get something down to a fine art Meaning of Idiom ‘To Have Something Down to a Fine Art’ To have something down to a fine art means to have achieved a very high level of skill or proficiency in a certain activity, usually through long experience. 1Ayto, John. Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms. Oxford: Oxford U, 2010. See: Fine … Read more
To go down in flames is a common English idiom that has several versions, including go up in flames, go up in smoke, and go down in smoke. The expression is also interesting in that, while most idioms don’t share any real-world cognates, go down in flames could easily be confused with a literal event, describing a building being destroyed by fire. … Read more
Meaning of Idiom ‘To Get Something Down’ To get something down means to become skilled or proficient at something; to eat, drink, or swallow something; to memorize something; to write something down. 1get (something) down. (n.d.) Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. (2015). Retrieved August 19 2017 from http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/get+(something)+down Examples Of Use “I think I’ve got this software program down. It’s … Read more
Get down to brass tacks is an idiom used in English since the late 19th century. Meaning of Idiom ‘Get Down to Brass Tacks’ To get down to brass tacks means to start discussing the most important and crucial aspects of or facts of a problem or situation; to skip over pleasantries or unimportant details or … Read more
Meaning of Idiom ‘Down to Earth’ 1. (To be brought or to come) down to Earth means to be brought back to reality; to become realistic or alert to the actual events going on around one. 1Spears, Richard A. McGraw-Hill’s American Idioms Dictionary. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2008.,2Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, … Read more
This expression is one of a surprising number of idioms with the word pants in them. Meaning To be caught with your pants down means to be caught unawares in a situation to which you are completely unable to respond, react, etc. This expression means much the same as being a “deer in the headlights” except that the situation … Read more