All Idioms

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strike off

Meaning: Take a person's name off an official list so they are no longer allowed to work in that job.

Example: After the inquiry, the board voted to strike off the surgeon, and he lost the right to practice. Read more ➺


in a rut

Meaning: Stuck doing the same things over and over until life starts to feel dull and stuck.

Example: After ten years at the same desk doing the same work, Mike admitted he was in a rut and began looking for something new. Read more ➺


on the hook

Meaning: Stuck with the duty to pay, deliver, or take the blame.

Example: After his partner skipped town, Mike was on the hook for every dollar of the loan. Read more ➺


in kind

Meaning: Reply with the same kind of action or treatment, often as payback.

Example: Sarah mocked Mike in the meeting, and he answered in kind with a sharp remark of his own. Read more ➺


in the know

Meaning: Having inside information that most people have not been told.

Example: Only a handful of people at the company were in the know about the surprise merger. Read more ➺


bite me

Meaning: A blunt, informal way of telling someone you are annoyed and done listening.

Example: Mike kept poking fun at Sarah's new haircut until she finally said bite me and left the room. Read more ➺


raring to go

Meaning: Very eager and excited to get started.

Example: After a good night's sleep, Mike was packed, coffee in hand, and raring to go before sunrise. Read more ➺


ripple effect

Meaning: A spreading trail of results that begins with one action or event and keeps moving outward.

Example: After the factory shut down, the ripple effect reached local shops, suppliers, and even the town’s school budget. Read more ➺


raison d’etre

Meaning: The thing that makes a person or place feel worth existing

Example: Helping kids learn to read became Sarah's raison d'etre, the one part of the day that never felt like work. Read more ➺


the party is over

Meaning: The carefree stretch is finished and it is time to face reality or own up to what comes next.

Example: After three years of fat bonuses and late nights out, the new boss walked in and everyone felt it at once — the party is over. Read more ➺


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