The lion’s share is the largest part, the greatest and most desirable portion of something. The lion’s share is a common English phrase by the year 1701. The phrase comes from a fable written by Aesop, in which the lion goes hunting with three other beasts. When it’s time to …
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Lay of the land is a phrase that figuratively or metaphorically means the current state of affairs, how something is organized. Literally, the lay of the land is the arrangement of features upon the land. One usually assesses the lay of the land in preparation for action. The idiom lay of …
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Tit for tat is an interesting idiom that means a response in kind, retaliation, counterattack. Tit for tat may be used as a noun or as an adjective. When used as an adjective, tit-for-tat is hyphenated. The phrase tit for tat is thought to have derived from the Middle English …
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A chip on your shoulder is a metaphor which means that you are habitually negative, combative or have a hostile attitude, usually because of a deep resentment or long-held grievance. The term chip on your shoulder seems to have first been used to describe the Royal Navy Dockyards’ shipwrights’ entitlement …
You probably heard your parents, grandparents, or anyone older say “Heavens to Murgatroyd” and wondered what they meant. It’s an expression whose origin can be traced to an old cartoon show. Snagglepuss was the character who said heavens to Murgatroyd. Add this idiom to your vocabulary by understanding its meaning …
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In the hopper means something is in preparation or is on its way. When something is in the hopper, it is going through the last refinements before it is ready to begin or to be presented. A hopper is part of an agricultural or industrial machine that is a sorting …