Category: Idiom of the Day

To be well behaved and act appropriately. Watch the video

An audio or visual instruction used in the UK and Ireland to be careful stepping over the space between a train’s carriage and the platform when boarding or disembarking. Primarily heard in UK, Ireland. Watch the video

To be exceptionally forgetful or absentminded. Watch the video

Something of little, trivial, or no value but which appears to be attractive or valuable on first reckoning. An allusion to Esau in Genesis 25:29–32, who sells to Jacob his birthright to his family’s estate for a bowl of lentil stew (pottage). Watch the video

A set or series of memories of one’s past life, likened to a roadway that one may visit or take a tour of. (Used primarily in the phrase “stroll/take a trip/walk etc. down memory lane.”) Watch the video

To be as good as or have the qualities that someone predicted, expected, or hoped for. Watch the video

To worry, grow anxious, or distress oneself unnecessarily over something that has yet to happen. Watch the video

A very famous and popular person who receives exceptionally positive media coverage or attention. Watch the video

Battlefield surgery that is performed hastily so as to quickly stabilize a patient and prevent their imminent death. Popularized (and possibly coined) by H. Richard Hornberger in his semi-autobiographical novel M*A*S*H, which focused on doctors serving in a fictional mobile army surgical hospital during the Korean War. Primarily heard in US. Watch the video

As much as or to the point that one wants; to the point of contentment, satiety, or surfeit. Watch the video