Category: Idiom of the Day

The criminal act or practice of processing large amounts of money obtained through illegitimate or illegal means, often in small increments through banks or other legitimate businesses, so as to conceal its source or origins. Watch the video

A very quick and easy way to earn money. Primarily heard in UK. Watch the video

A brief period of time in which one is or has been particularly successful, popular, famous, etc., especially when set against an otherwise moderate or unremarkable life. Watch the video

An extreme, unorthodox, and often provocative or distasteful remedy to a complex problem, generally suggested humorously or satirically. (An allusion to Jonathan Swift’s 1729 essay A Modest Proposal, in which he suggests that the poor of Ireland could alleviate their woes by selling their children as food.) Watch the video

A portrayal of a situation highlighting both positive and negative aspects of its nature or status. Watch the video

A signal, message, or communication that has, or is interpreted as having, multiple, ambiguous, or contradictory meanings. (Often plural.) Watch the video

The gradual expansion or widening in scope of a project, action, or task, especially a military operation, beyond its initial goal or objective. Watch the video

To be slightly or somewhat mistaken, incorrect, or inaccurate. Watch the video

The perfect or most suitable woman to be in a relationship with or to marry. Watch the video

The imaginative capability to create or recall sound within one’s mind; the part of the mind that experiences imagined or recalled sound. (An allusion to the “mind’s eye,” which is likewise responsible for mental imagery.) Watch the video