VOCABULARY - IDIOMS

Da Man

Meaning: An accomplished or skillful person. Generally used in the compliment

Dance to Someone’s Tune

Meaning: Consistently follow someone’s directions or influence

Dance with the Devil

Meaning: Knowingly do something immoral

Dark Horse

Meaning: A surprise candidate or competitor, especially one who comes from behind to make a strong showing

Darken Someone’s Door (Step)

Meaning: To visit someone unexpectedly or unwelcome. It implies that the visit is unwanted or inconvenient.

Dead Ahead

Meaning: Directly ahead, either in a literal or a figurative sense

Dead as the Dodo

Meaning: Completely extinct; totally gone

Dead Eye

Meaning: A good shooter, a good marksman

Dead Heat

Meaning: An exact tie in a race or competition

Dead of Winter

Meaning: The coldest, darkest part of winter

Dead ringer

Meaning: Very similar in appearance

Dead Run

Meaning: Running as fast as possible

Dead Shot

Meaning: A good shooter, a good marksman

Deep Pockets

Meaning: The new owner has deep pockets, so fans are hoping the football team will improve next year with new players

Deliver the Goods

Meaning: Provide what is expected

Devil’s Advocate

Meaning: Someone who argues a point not out of conviction, but in order to air various points of view

Dirty Look

Meaning: A facial manner that signifies disapproval

Do 12-Ounce Curls

Meaning: Drink beer

Dodge a Bullet

Meaning: To narrowly escape disaster

Doesn’t Amount to a Hill of Beans

Meaning: Is unimportant, is negligible

Dog Days of the Summer

Meaning: The hottest day of summer

Dog in the Manger

Meaning: A person who prevents others from using something, even though the person himself or herself does not want it

Dog-and-Pony Show

Meaning: A flashy presentation, often in a marketing context

Dog-Eat-Dog

Meaning: Intensely competitive

Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover

Meaning: Don’t be deceived by looks; don’t rely on looks when judging someone or something

Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk

Meaning: Don’t worry about minor things.

Don’t Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth

Meaning: Do not question the value of a gift. The expression comes from the practice of determining the age and health of a horse by looking at its teeth.

Double-Dip

Meaning: Improperly get income from two different sources

Double-Edged Sword

Meaning: Something that can be helpful or harmful; something beneficial that also has a downside

Down in the Dumps

Meaning: Depressed, sad

Down the Road

Meaning: In the future (in your lifetime)

Drag One’s Feet (or Heels)

Meaning: To do something reluctantly and slowly

Drag Your Feet

Meaning: Do something very reluctantly; delay doing something

Drain the Lizard

Meaning: Urinate

Draw a Blank

Meaning: Be unable to remember something

Draw a Line in the Sand

Meaning: Issue an ultimatum; specify an absolute limit in a conflict

Draw a Line Under (Something)

Meaning: To conclude something and move on to something else

Draw a Long Bow

Meaning: Exaggerate, lie

Draw the Line

Meaning: To set a limit to what one will accept

Dressed Up to the Nines

Meaning: Someone is wearing very smart or glamorous clothes

Drink the Kool Aid

Meaning: Accept a set of ideas uncritically, often dangerous ones

Drive a Hard Bargain

Meaning:

• To be tough and uncompromising in negotiation, aiming to get the best possible deal for yourself.
• To be very skilled at negotiating and getting favorable deals.

Drive a Hard Bargain

Meaning:

• To be tough and uncompromising in negotiation, aiming to get the best possible deal for yourself.
• To be very skilled at negotiating and getting favorable deals.

Drive a Wedge Between

Meaning: Try to split factions of a united group by introducing an issue on which they disagree

Drive Someone Up the Wall

Meaning: Deeply irritate someone

Drop a Line

Meaning: To write a letter or send an email

Drop the Ball

Meaning: Fail to fulfill one’s responsibilities; make a mistake

Dry Run

Meaning: A practice execution of a procedure

Dutch Courage

Meaning: Alcohol drunk with the intention of working up the nerve to do something

Dutch Uncle

Meaning: A highly critical person

Dyed-In-The-Wool (adj.)

Meaning: Consistent in an affiliation or opinion over a long period; inveterate