Look a gift horse in the mouth Look a gift horse in the mouth When you look a gift horse in the mouth, you are not grateful for something that has been given to you. Instead, you ask questions about it or try to find faults with it, not being grateful or thankful for what …
Have Cold Feet 1100 Words Have Cold Feet 1100 Words To suddenly become hesitant and uncertain about what you plan to do, be uncertain, be indecisive, vacillate, waver, falter, dither, dawdle, think twice, have qualms, have doubt: My cousin was all set to join the paratroops, but at the last moment, he got cold feet. …
Keep a Stiff Upper Lip Keep a Stiff Upper Lip to have the ability to stay calm and not show your feelings in a difficult or upsetting situation, be courageous in the face of trouble, have a poker face, look blank, show no emotion: Men were taught to keep a stiff upper lip. Antonyms express …
Spill the beans 1100 Words Spill the beans 1100 Words to tell people secret information, to give away a secret, let the cat out of the bag, let on, blow someone’s cover, give the game away, reveal: So who spilled the beans about her affair with David? Antonyms keep secret
Cool one’s heels 1100 Words Cool one’s heels 1100 Words Be kept waiting by somebody for an appointment, date, meeting, etc., wait and see, be patient, play the waiting game, hold back, hold off, twiddle one’s thumbs: I’ll put him in a cell to cool his heels for a bit. Antonyms advance, do, go, take …
Swap horses in midstream Swap Horses in Midstream to change your mind and interrupt an activity that is already running, change your mind in the middle of an activity: You have already placed your bet on this racing car, and I’m afraid you cannot swap horses in midstream. Antonyms insist on something
Sour Grapes 1100 Words Sour Grapes 1100 Words If you describe someone’s attitude as sour grapes, you mean that they are angry because they have not got or achieved something that they wanted, the scornful denial that something is attractive or desirable because it is unobtainable, affected scorn, resentment, jealousy, bitterness, ill feeling, envy, ill …
Have an ax to grind Have an ax to grind to have a strong opinion about something, which you often try to persuade other people is correct, to have a private reason for doing something, to have a selfish motive in the background: Environmentalists have no political ax to grind – they just want to …
A bitter pill to swallow A bitter pill to swallow something that is very unpleasant but which must be accepted and dealt with: Losing the championship to a younger player was a bitter pill to swallow.
Thumbs Down 1100 Words Thumbs Down 1100 Words used to show disapproval of something, sign of rejection, denial, red light, veto, rebuff, negation: They’ve given our plan the thumbs down (= They have disagreed with our plan). Antonyms thumbs up