Grammarist 
Man of the cloth is an idiom that is hundreds of years old. We will examine the meaning of the common idiom man of the cloth, where it came from, and some examples of its idiomatic usage in sentences. A man of the cloth is a clergyman, minister, priest, or other …
Sleep like a top is an idiom that has been in use for hundreds of years; it is mostly used in British English. We will examine the meaning of the common idiom sleep like a top, where it came from, and some examples of its idiomatic usage in sentences. To sleep …
Blowing up one’s phone is a fairly new idiom. We will examine the meaning of the common idiom blowing up one’s phone, where it came from, and some examples of its idiomatic usage in sentences. Blowing up one’s phone means calling someone incessantly, texting someone incessantly, sending a lot of messages or …
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is a proverb that dates to ancient times. We will examine the meaning of the proverb an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, where the expression came from, and some examples of its use in sentences. An eye …
Wright and write are commonly confused words that are pronounced in the same way but are spelled differently and have different meanings, which makes them homophones. We will examine the different meanings of the homophonic words wright and write, the word origins of the terms, and some examples of their English usage in sentences. Wright …
Graduate and graduate are two words that are spelled identically but are pronounced differently and have different meanings, which makes them heteronyms. We will examine the definitions of the words graduate and graduate, where these words came from, and a few examples of their use in sentences. Graduate (GRAD yew ut) is a person who …
My dogs are barking is an American idiom. We will examine the meaning of the common idiom my dogs are barking, where it came from, and some examples of its idiomatic usage in sentences. My dogs are barking is a phrase that simply means my feet hurt. In this case, the word …
Take a shot is an interesting idiom because it has several different meanings. We will examine the meaning of the common idiom take a shot, where it came from, and some examples of its idiomatic usage in sentences. Take a shot is a phrase that may be used literally to mean …
Blaze a trail is an idiom. We will examine the meaning of the common idiom blaze a trail, where it came from, and some examples of its idiomatic usage in sentences. Blaze a trail means to lead the way, to be a pioneer, to be the first to do something with …
Contentious and conscientious are two words that are close in spelling and pronunciation and may be considered confusables. Confusables is a catch-all term for words that are often confused in usage. Two words or more than two words may be confused because they are similar in spelling, similar in pronunciation, or similar …