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English Idioms: O

Ho me

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Me mb e rs

> Id io ms & Slang

English Idio m s: 178 e nt rie s be ginning wit h 'O'

O b je ct le sso n

An o b je ct le sso n se rve s as a warning to o the rs. (In so me varie tie s o f Eng lish 'ab je ct le sso n' is use d .)

O d d s and e nd s

O d d s and e nd s are small, re mnant article s and thing s- the same as 'b its and b o b s'.

O ff co lo ur

If so me o ne lo o ks o ff co lo ur/co lo r, the y lo o k ill.

O ff like a sho t

If so me o ne is o ff like a sho t, the y le ave o r g e t g o ing ve ry q uickly ind e e d .

O ff o n o ne

(UK) If so me o ne g o e s o ff o n o ne , the y g e t e xtre me ly ang ry ind e e d .

O ff the b e ate n track

So me whe re that's o ff the b e ate n track is in a re mo te lo catio n.

O ff the chart

If so me thing g o e s o ff the chart, it far e xce e d s the no rmal stand ard s, g o o d o r b ad , fo r so me thing .

O ff the cuff

If yo u d o so me thing o ff the cuff, yo u d o it witho ut any p re p aratio n.

O ff the g rid

So me o ne who is o ff the g rid live s o utsid e so cie ty and cho o se s no t to fo llo w its rule s and co nve ntio ns.

O ff the ho o k

If so me o ne is o ff the ho o k, the y have avo id e d p unishme nt o r criticism fo r so me thing the y have d o ne .

O ff the mark

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

O ff the rails

If so me o ne has g o ne o ff the rails, the y have lo st track o f re ality.

O ff the re co rd

So me thing o ff the re co rd is said in co nfid e nce b e cause the sp e ake r d o e sn't want it attrib ute d to the m, e sp e cially whe n talking to
the me d ia.

O ff the scale

If so me thing g o e s o ff the scale , it far e xce e d s the no rmal stand ard s, g o o d o r b ad , fo r so me thing .

O ff the she lf

If a p ro d uct is o ff the she lf, it can b e use d straig htaway witho ut any se tting -up .

O ff the to p o f yo ur he ad

If yo u say so me thing o ff the to p o f yo ur he ad , yo u d o n't think ab o ut it b e fo re hand .

O ff the track

If so me thing p uts o r thro ws yo u o ff yo ur track, it d istracts yo u o r ke e p s yo u fro m achie ving what yo u want.

O ff the wall

So me thing that is o ff the wall is unco nve ntio nal.

O ff yo ur chump

(UK) If so me o ne is o ff the ir chump , the y are crazy o r irratio nal.

O ff yo ur g uard

If yo u catch so me o ne o ff the ir g uard , the y are no t re ad y o r p re p are d whe n yo u d o o r say so me thing . ('Take so mo e ne o ff the ir
g uard ' is also use d .)

O ff yo ur ro cke r

(UK) So me o ne who is o ff the ir ro cke r is crazy.

O ff-hand

O ff-hand me ans witho ut p re p aratio n. Pe o p le say that the y d o n't kno w the answe r o ff-hand , me aning that the y d o n't kno w it at that
time .

O h, my g o o d ne ss!

An e xp re ssio n o f surp rise .

O ld che stnut

An o ld che stnut is so me thing that has b e e n re p e ate d so many time s that it has lo st its imp act.

O ld flame s d ie hard

It's ve ry d ifficult to fo rg e t o ld thing s, e sp e cially the first lo ve .

O ld frie nd s and o ld wine are b e st

This id io m me ans that the thing s and p e o p le that we kno w we ll are b e tte r than the unfamiliar.

O ld hat

If so me thing 's o ld hat, it se e ms rathe r o ld fashio ne d and d ate d .

O ld wive s' tale

A p ro ve rb o r p ie ce o f ad vice that is co mmo nly acce p te d as truth and is hand e d d o wn the g e ne ratio ns, b ut is so me time s false .

O ld e r than d irt

So me thing o r so me o ne 's that's o ld e r than the d irt is e xtre me ly o ld .

O ld e r than d irt

So me thing o r so me o ne that's o ld e r than d irt is ve ry o ld ind e e d .

O ld e r than the hills

So me thing o r so me o ne 's that's o ld e r than the hills is e xtre me ly o ld .

O ld e st trick in the b o o k

The o ld e st trick in the b o o k is a we ll-kno wn way o f d e ce iving so me o ne , tho ug h still e ffe ctive .

O live b ranch

If yo u ho ld o ut o r o ffe r an o live b ranch, yo u make a g e sture to ind icate that yo u want p e ace .

O n a fishing e xp e d itio n

If so me o ne is o n a fishing e xp e d itio n, the y are trying to g e t info rmatio n, o fte n using inco rre ct o r imp ro p e r ways to find thing s o ut.

O n a missio n

Be ing o n a missio n re fe rs to acting in a d e te rmine d way and so fo cus in d o ing so me thing that he /she is o b livio us o f anything e lse
aro und him/he r.

O n a razo r e d g e

If so me thing is o n a razo r e d g e , it it is in a risky situatio n and the o utco me is ve ry unce rtain.

O n a ro ll

If yo u're o n a ro ll, yo u're mo ving fro m succe ss to succe ss.

O n a sho o g ly p e g

(Sco t) So me thing , like a p e rso n's jo b , that's o n a sho o g ly p e g is inse cure .

O n a silve r p latte r

If yo u hand o r g ive so me thing o n a silve r p latte r to so me o ne , yo u le t the m have it to o e asily.

O n all fo urs

If so me o ne is o n all fo urs, the y crawl.

O n Care y Stre e t

(UK) If so me o ne is o n Care y Stre e t, the y are he avily in d e b t o r have g o ne b ankrup t.

O n fire

If yo u're o n fire , yo u're d o ing re ally we ll at so me thing .

O n g o o d te rms

If p e o p le are o n g o o d te rms, the y have a g o o d re latio nship .

O n ho ld

If so me thing is o n ho ld , no actio n is b e ing take n.

O n ice

If p lans are p ut o n ice , the y are d e laye d and no actio n will b e take n fo r the fo re se e ab le future .

O n my b ack

If p e o p le are o n yo ur b ack, the y are b o the ring o r nag g ing yo u.

O n my watch

If so me o e thing hap p e ns o n yo ur watch, yo u are re sp o nsib le fo r it as yo u we re in charg e .

O n p ins and ne e d le s

If yo u are o n p ins and ne e d le s, yo u are ve ry wo rrie d ab o ut so me thing .

O n te nte rho o ks

This me ans that she is waiting imp atie ntly and e xcite d ly fo r so me thing .

O n The Anvil

If so me thing is o n the anvil, it is b e ing d iscusse d o r p re p are d b ut is no t ye t re ad y.

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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