high-strikes
Corruption of Hysterics.
Browse English 2293
All languages English Tiếng Việt
Where will you be? Anywhere UK & IrelandUnited StatesOnline slangBusiness jargon
higher education
Education beyond high school, typically at a university or college
higher than a kite
Extremely happy or excited
highfalutin’
Showy, affected, tinselled, affecting certain pompous or fashionable airs, stuck up; "come, none of yer HIGHFALUTIN’ games," i.e., you must not show off or imitate the swell here.—American slang, now common in Liverpool and the East-end of London. From the Dutch, VERLOOTEN. Used generally now in the sense of fustian, high-sounding, unmeaning eloquence, bombast.
highland bail
Fists and cuffs; to escape the constable by knocking him down with the aid of a companion.
Highland Mary
The most shadowy of Robert Burns's sweethearts, but the one to whom he addressed some of his finest poetry, including "My Highland Lassie, O," "High- land Mary" ("Ye banks and braes and streams around the castle o' Montgomery"), "Thou Ling'ring Star," and — perhaps — "Will ye go to the Indies, my Mary?
highway robbery
excessive or unfair pricing
hike
To hike off; to run away. CANT.
hike the Appalachian Trail
undertake a challenging and ambitious endeavor
hike up
to pull or lift something up
hill and dale
A fixed-order word pair (irreversible binomial); full definition pending editorial review.
hill folk
So Scott calls the Cameronian Scottish Covenanters, who met clandestinely among the hills. Sometimes the Covenanters generally are so called.
hill to die on
An issue worth fighting for to the end
hills and valleys
Ups and downs in life or a situation
Hilton's Lost Horizon
In World War II the name was applied to the secret air base used by the U.S.A. Air Force for the great attack on Japan.
him and her
a man and a woman, especially a couple
him's
his
himself not being seen
To this he subse- quently adds another reason, saying, "The Egyptians worship God symbolically in the crocodile, that being the only animal without a tongue, like the Divine Logos, which standeth not m need of speech." (De hide et O stride, vol. 11, p. 381.
hind leg
To kick out a hind leg; to make a rustic bow.
hind tit
the last or worst part of something
hindsight is 20/20
It is easy to understand or see something after it has happened
hindsight is always twenty-twenty
It is easy to understand or see things clearly after they have happened
hindu sculpture
It should not be confused with Elephantine Island, in the Nile, off" Assouan, from which sprang the kings of the
Hindustan Regiment
See REGIMENTAL NICKNAMES. Hinny. See MULE.
hinney, my honey
A north country hinney, particularly a Northumbrian: in that county, hinney is the general term of endearment.
Hipfocratean School
The "Dogmatic" school of medicine, founded by Hippocrates. See EMPIRICS.
hipped
Aware, informed.
hipped
Bored, offended, crossed, low-spirited, &c. This may have been originally hypped, and have had some connexion with hypochondriacal affections.
hippocratic oath
A code of ethics governing the profession and sworn to by physicians upon taking a doctor's degree. The oath relates particularly to the inviolability of secrecy concerning any communication made by a patient in the course of consultation, and en- joins the absolute integrity essential in dealing with problems arising from a patient's confes- sion or revelation.
hire and fire
Have complete control over employing and dismissing staff
hired gun
A skilled expert hired to do a specific job
hired muscle
People hired to intimidate or use physical force
his and hers
Belonging to or for the use of both a male and a female
his bark is worse than his bite. (17th century)
Someone is less harmful than they seem to be.
his best work to date
Someone's most accomplished or successful work so far
his days are numbered
They are drawing to a close; he is near death. God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. — Dan. v, 26.
his fingers are all thumbs
Said of a person awkward in the use of his hands.
his geese are swans
He sees-things in too rosy a light, is too pleased with his own doings and his own possessions.
his heart sank into his boots
In Latin, Cor illi in genua decidit. In French, Avoir la peur au ventre. The last two phrases are very expressive: Fear makes the knees shake, and it gives one a stomach ache ; but the English phrase suggests that his heart or spirits sank as low as possible short of absolutely deserting him.
his intellectual sovereignty
(Myster. Egypt., sec. 7, cap. ii, p. 151.) The classic myth is that Lotis, a daughter of Neptune, fleeing from Priapus was changed into a tree, which was called Lotus after her, while another story goes that Dryope of CEchalia was one day carrying her infant son, when she plucked a lotus flower for his amusement, and was instantaneously trans^ formed into a lotus.
his life was cut short
He died prematurely. The allusion is to Atropos, one of the three Parcas, cutting the thread of life spun by her sister Clotho.
his mouth was made
He was trained or reduced to obedience, like a horse trained to the bit.
his or her
used to refer to someone without specifying their gender
his star is in the ascendant
He is in luck's way; said of a person to whom some good fortune has fallen and who is very prosperous. According to astrology, those leading stars which are above the horizon at a person's birth influence his life and fortune; when those stars are in the ascendant, he is strong, healthy, and lucky; but when they are in the descendant below the horizon, his stars do not shine on him, he is in the shade and subject to ill- fortune. Cp.
his teeth are drawn
His power of doing mischief is taken from him. The phrase comes from the fable of the lion in love, who con- sented to have his teeth drawn and claws cut, in order that a fair damsel might marry him. When this was done the girl's father fell on the lion and slew him.
hissing hot
Extremely good or popular
History of Dr
Faustus (about 1589) and Goethe's Faust (1790-1833) is founded on Dr. Johann Faust, or Faustus, a magician and astrologer, who was bora in Wurtemberg and died about 1538.
history repeats itself
Events and situations from the past often recur in similar forms
hit a lick
to take advantage of an opportunity to gain something
hit a snag
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
hit a wall
To reach a point where progress is impossible
hit above one's weight
To achieve something beyond one's expected ability or status
hit and miss
Random.
hit and run
to crash into something or someone and then leave quickly
hit and split
A fixed-order word pair (irreversible binomial); full definition pending editorial review.
hit below one's weight
To perform below one's expected or actual ability level
hit below the belt
to unfairly criticize or attack someone's weak point
hit home
To have a strong and personal impact on someone
hit it and quit
achieve something and then stop
hit it and quit it
to have a brief, casual sexual encounter
Advertisement
Ad space — ads help keep Idiomer free. Premium will remove them.