Reader Opinions
Innoxent Ayeza – (day in, day out) February 1, 2015
It has been proven throughout history that those who worked day in and day out were at the pinnacle of success.
mohammad musa – (break the news) December 22, 2014
Is the new that can be known by this idiom good or bad
salma Ahmed – (die in harness) November 29, 2014
He will die in harness but he will never give up.
rabiya – (at arm’s length) November 11, 2014
I always had the feeling she was keeping me at arm’s length.
prabhu kumar – (make a beeline for) October 21, 2014
To take lead in danger.
Emma Francis – (cat among the pigeons) October 15, 2014
John’s bad behavior in class set the cat among the pigeons
Afreen – (Hobson’s choice) August 28, 2014
Like doctor prescription
Simon Best – (draw the line) August 5, 2014
One meaning of the idiom “to draw the line” concerned parish boundaries in England. This was important especially concerning the pre-1832 poor laws.
Some parishes strictly enforced these laws and prevented any outsiders from moving in. Outsiders or “sojourners” could work there during the day but had to leave the parish by days end.
Failure to do so could mean a spell in the stocks for 3 days with bread and water. The parish lines were exactly defined to avoid any disputes.
Santosh – (cat among the pigeons) March 10, 2014
I would like to add an example.
The minister’s remarks about godmen set the cat among the pigeons.
Rajeev – (dot the i’s and cross the t’s) February 18, 2014
My theory: the origin for only the two letters t and i is when proof reading writer’s manuscripts. Assume the word is ‘twitter’ and the t and i are not cross and dotted.
