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English Idioms: W

Ho me

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Me mb e rs

> Id io ms & Slang

English Idio m s: 165 e nt rie s be ginning wit h 'W'

Who we ars the tro use rs?

(UK) The p e rso n who we ars the tro use rs in a re latio nship is the d o minant p e rso n who co ntro ls thing s.

Who will ring the b e ll?

'Who will ring the b e ll?' asks who will assume the re sp o nsib ility to he lp us o ut o f a d ifficult situatio n.

Who le b all o f wax

(USA) The who le b all o f wax is e ve rything .

Who le clo th

(USA) If so me thing is mad e o ut o f who le clo th, it is a fab ricatio n and no t true .

Who le kit and cab o o d le

The who le kit and cab o o d le me ans 'e ve rything ' re q uire d o r invo lve d in so me thing . ('Kab o o d le ' is an alte rnative sp e lling .)

Who le ne w b all g ame

If so me thing 's a who le ne w b all g ame , it is co mp le te ly ne w o r d iffe re nt.

Who le nine yard s

The who le nine yard s me ans me ans e ve rything that is ne ce ssary o r re q uire d fo r so me thing .

Who le she b ang

The who le she b ang includ e s e ve ry asp e ct o f so me thing .

Why b uy the co w whe n yo u can g e t the milk fo r fre e

This id io m is usually use d to re fe r to me n who d o n't want to g e t marrie d , whe n the y can g e t all the b e ne fits o f marriag e witho ut
g e tting marrie d .

Why ke e p a d o g and b ark yo urse lf?

The re 's no ne e d to d o so me thing yo urse lf whe n yo u have so me b o d y to d o it fo r yo u, usually trivial matte rs.

Wid e b e rth

If yo u g ive so me o ne a wid e b e rth, yo u ke e p yo urse lf we ll away fro m the m b e cause the y are d ang e ro us.

Wid e o f the mark

If so me thing is wid e o f the mark, it is inaccurate o r inco rre ct.

Wild g o o se chase

A wild g o o se chase is a waste o f time - time sp e nt trying to d o so me thing unsucce ssfully.

Wild cat

A wild cat sche me is rash - financially o r e thically - and will p ro b ab ly fail.

Will ne ve r fly

If an id e a o r p ro je ct, e tc, will ne ve r fly, it has no chance o f succe e d ing .

Will-o '-the -wisp

So me thing that d e ce ive s b y its ap p e arance is a will-o ’-the -wisp ; it lo o ks g o o d , b ut turns o ut to b e a d isap p o intme nt.

Win b y a no se

If so me b o d y wins b y a no se , the y o nly just b e at the o the rs.

Wind o w d re ssing

If so me thing is d o ne to p re te nd to b e d e aling with an issue o r p ro b le m, rathe r than actually d e aling with it, it is wind o w d re ssing .

Wind o w to the so ul

Eye s are so me time s re fe rre d to as the wind o w to the so ul.

Wing and a p raye r

If yo u d o so me thing o n a wing and a p raye r, yo u try to d o so me thing and ho p e yo u'll succe e d e ve n tho ug h yo u have ve ry little
chance o f succe ss.

Winne r take s all

If e ve rything g o e s to the winne r, as in an e le ctio n, the winne r take s all.

Wip e the flo o r with

(UK) If yo u wip e the flo o r with so me o ne , yo u d e stro y the arg ume nts o r d e fe at the m e asily.

Wip e the smile o f so me o ne 's face

If yo u wip e the smile o f so me o ne 's face , yo u d o so me thing to make so me o ne fe e l le ss p le ase d with the mse lve s.

With a he avy hand

If so me o ne d o e s so me thing with a he avy hand , the y d o it in a strict way, e xe rting a lo t o f co ntro l.

With child

(UK) If a wo man's with child , she 's p re g nant.

With flying co lo urs (co lo rs)

If yo u p ass so me thing with flying co lo urs (co lo rs), yo u p ass e asily, with a ve ry hig h mark o r g rad e .

With frie nd s like that, who ne e d s e ne mie s?

This e xp re ssio n is use d whe n p e o p le b e have b ad ly o r tre at so me o ne b ad ly that the y are sup p o se d to b e frie nd s with.

Withe r o n the vine

If so me thing withe rs o n the vine , it fails to g e t the inte nd e d re sult, d o e sn't co me to fruitio n.

Within a whiske r

If yo u co me within a whiske r o f d o ing so me thing , yo u ve ry ne arly manag e to d o it b ut d o n't succe e d .

Witho ut a hitch

If so me thing hap p e ns witho ut a hitch, no thing at all g o e s wro ng .

Wo e b e tid e yo u

This is use d to wish that b ad thing s will hap p e n to so me o ne , usually b e cause o f the ir b ad b e havio ur.

Wo e is me

This me ans that yo u are sad o r in a d ifficult situatio n. It's archaic, b ut still use d .

Wo lf in she e p 's clo thing

A wo lf in she e p 's clo thing is so me thing d ang e ro us that lo o ks q uite safe and inno ce nt.

Wo o d fo r the tre e s

(UK) If so me o ne can't se e the wo o d fo r the tre e s, the y g e t so caug ht up in small d e tails that the y fail to und e rstand the b ig g e r
p icture .

Wo rd o f mo uth

If so me thing b e co me s kno wn b y wo rd o f mo uth, it is b e cause p e o p le are talking ab o ut it, no t thro ug h p ub licity, e tc.

Wo rd o f the law

The wo rd o f the law me ans that the law is inte rp re te d in an ab so lute ly lite ral way which g o e s ag ainst the id e as that the lawmake rs
had wishe d to imp le me nt.

Wo rd s fail me

If wo rd s fail yo u, yo u can't find the wo rd s to e xp re ss what yo u are trying to say.

Wo rk like a charm

If so me thing wo rks like a charm, it wo rks p e rfe ctly.

Wo rk like a d o g

If yo u wo rk like a d o g , yo u wo rk ve ry hard .

Wo rk the syste m

If p e o p le wo rk the syste m, the y e xp lo it the state o r similar se tup to the ir ad vantag e .

Wo rk yo ur fing e rs to the b o ne

If yo u wo rk yo ur fing e rs to the b o ne , yo u wo rk e xtre me ly hard o n so me thing .

Wo rk yo ur so cks o ff

If yo u wo rk yo ur so cks o ff, yo u wo rk ve ry hard .

Wo rk yo ur tail o ff

If yo u wo rk yo ur tail o ff, yo u wo rk e xtre me ly hard .

Wo rld at yo ur fe e t

If e ve rything is g o ing we ll and the future lo o ks full o f o p p o rtunity, yo u have the wo rld at yo ur fe e t.

Wo rld is yo ur o yste r

Whe n the wo rld is yo ur o yste r, yo u are g e tting e ve rything yo u want fro m life .

Wo rm info rmatio n

If yo u wo rm info rmatio n o ut o f so me b o d y, yo u p e rsuad e the m to te ll yo u so me thing the y wante d to ke e p fro m yo u.

Wo rm turns

Whe n the wo rm turns, p e o p le sto p acce p ting a b ad situatio n and b e co me ho stile .

Wo rm's e ye vie w

A wo rm's e ye vie w o f so me thing is the vie w fro m b e lo w, e ithe r p hysically o r so cially.

Wo rse fo r we ar

If so me thing 's wo rse fo r we ar, it has b e e n use d fo r a lo ng time and , co nse q ue ntly, isn't in ve ry g o o d co nd itio n. A p e rso n who 's
wo rse fo r we ar is d runk o r hig h o n d rug s and lo o king ro ug h.

Wo rse thing s hap p e n at se a

This id io matic e xp re ssio n is use d as a way o f te lling so me o ne no t to wo rry so much ab o ut the ir p ro b le ms.

Sugge st an Idiom

Se arch

Ple ase No te

Ple ase no te that the se d atab ase s co ve r co llo q uial lang uag e and co ntain so me te rms that d e al with vulg ar and tab o o sub je cts. Yo u can
o p t to filte r-o ut e xp licit co nte nt o n yo ur

p re fe re nce s

p ag e .

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