To strike gold: To have great success with something 

TheManofTomorrow:
Without further ado, let us take a look at the underlisted idioms as it will stand to a great length in spicing up our vocabularies in formal settings. That, is the beauty of Idioms anyways.
Also are some examples of them in a sentence to help us better understand its usage.
Gear up because it a long read


1) To make a clean breast of: To confess one’s misdeeds or wrongdoings. To confess without reserve.
I felt so guilty about cheating in the test that I had to make a clean breast of it to my teacher.

Origin: This expression was first recorded in 1752, uses clean breast in the sense of baring one’s heart, the breast long considered the seat of private or secret feelings.

2) To catch a tartar: To lay hold of something or encounter a person who proves too strong for the assailant. To catch a dangerous person.
To fight a strong enemy.

While fighting with the Indian army, the enemy soon realize they have caught a tartar.

3)To have an axe to grind: To have a strong personal opinion about something that you want people to accept and that is the reason why you do something.

When I see him strongly supporting someone who could be his rival, I cannot help but think that he has an axe to grind.


4) To cry wolf: To raise a false alarm, to ask for assistance when you don’t need it.

Origin: The phrase comes from the Aesob fables “The boy who cried Wolf”, in which a young shepherd found it amusing to make villagers think a wolf is attacking his flock.

i. Crying wolf leaves people apathetic to serious victims (Times, Sunday Times (2015))

ii. This administration has cried wolf so many times, it’s difficult to know if there’s a problem or not.


5) To be above board: It means to be honest in any business deal. Meaning there is no connection or cheating.

Origin: From gaming: If card players keep their hands above the table (board), they can be seen to be playing fairly.

i.One of the reason I respect the man was that he was always above board when dealing with the locals.
ii. I expected that big company to try to take advantage of us but so far, all of their dealings with us have been above board.


6) To keep someone in the lurch; to abandon or desert someone in difficult straits.
Origin: This expression alludes to a 16th century French dice game, lourche, where to incur a lurch meant to be far behind the other players.

Jane was angry enough to quit without giving notice leaving her boss in the lurch.


7) To play second fiddle; To support the role or views of another person.

Origin: In an orchestra, the position of second (violinist) fiddle is not glamorous as that of first violinist

Members of the house of senate in Nigeria are wont to playing second fiddle to a motion raised by another prominent member.


8 ) To beg the question: To cause to ask a particular question.

The situation of Nigeria has caused Nigerian too beg the question, Atiku or Buhari?


9) To smell a rat: To begin to suspect or realize that something is wrong in a particular situation, especially when someone is trying to trick you harm you.

i. When he made that offer, I smelt a rat. It sounded to too good to be true.

ii. His wife smelt a rat when he suddenly started working late for the past few weeks.

10) To give the cold shoulder; To intentionally ignore someone to treat someone in an unfriendly way.

i. After I got the promotion, a few of my co-workers started giving me the cold shoulder.

ii. I thought she really liked me but the next day, she gave me the cold shoulder.

11) To set one’s face against; To oppose something or an idea with staunch determination. To disprove strongly.

She told her lover about them eloping to a foreign country but surprisingly, he set his face against such notion.

12) To play to the gallery: To behave in a way “intended to make people admire or support you. To appeal to popular taste.

i. Politicians these days are more interested in playing to the gallery than exercising real influence on world events.

ii.He embellished his speeches with humour and wisecrack about his opponent, clearly playing to the gallery.

13) To stew in one’s own juice; To suffer unaided the consequence of one’s action.

i. John has a terrible temper. When he got mad at us, we just let him go away and stew in his own juice.
ii. The best clap-back for his bellicose attitude is to allow him stew in his own juice and then he can scamper back for protection.

14) To burn the candle at both ends; To overwork or exhaust oneself by doing too many things especially both late at night and early in the morning.

i. The huge project must be worth some dough because it has got me burning the candle at both ends over the past weeks.

ii. I’ve been burning the candle at both ends trying to complete my project before the designated deadline.

15) To strike gold: To have great success with something

i. The studio struck gold with their latest film.

ii. A California nurse has struck gold on a slot machine.

16) To bell the cat: To attempt or agree to perform, an impossibly difficult task. To take lead in danger.
Origin: The Idiom’s origin was from a fiction of a murderous cat troubling a particular set of mice. The mice eventually agreed in a meeting to put a bell on the neck so he can no longer sneak up on them. They agreed on the idea but what remained a mystery was the mouse that will take on such a risky task.

Someone has to bell the cat and tell the commissioner that his own started the violence.


Have a wonderful Monday ahead.

Dexter247:


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