usingenglish.co m http://www.usingenglish.com/members/idioms/index.php?show=IdiomsEnglish Idioms: N Ho me > Me mb e rs > Id io ms & Slang English Idio ms: 110 ent ries beginning wit h 'N' No q uarte r This me ans witho ut me rcy. We can say no q uarte r g ive n o r aske d . No q ue stio n This id io m me ans that so me thing is ce rtain o r d e finite . No q ue stio ns aske d If so me thing is to b e d o ne and no q ue stio ns aske d , the n it d o e sn't matte r what me tho d s are use d o r what rule s are b ro ke n to e nsure that it g e ts d o ne . No re st fo r the we ary No re st fo r the we ary me ans that yo u must ke e p o n wo rking e ve n tho ug h yo u're e xhauste d o r tire d . No re st fo r the wicke d Bad p e o p le will no t b e at e ase o r will b e to rme nte d . ('No p e ace fo r the wicke d ' is also use d .) No skin o ff my no se If so me thing 's no skin o ff yo ur no se , it d o e sn't affe ct o r b o the r yo u at all. No smo ke witho ut fire This id io m me ans that whe n p e o p le susp e ct so me thing , the re is no rmally a g o o d re aso n fo r the susp icio n, e ve n if the re is no co ncre te e vid e nce . ('Whe re 's the re 's smo ke , the re 's fire ' is also use d .) No sp ine If so me o ne has no sp ine , the y lack co urag e o r are co ward ly. No sp ring chicke n If so me o ne is no sp ring chicke n, the y are no t yo ung . No string s attache d If so me thing has no string s attache d , the re are no o b lig atio ns o r re q uire me nts invo lve d . No Swe at No Swe at me ans so me thing is e asy. Fo r e xamp le , " This co nte st is just no swe at." me aning " This co nte st is just e asy." No time fo r If yo u have no time fo r an activity, yo u have ab so lute ly no d e sire to sp e nd o r waste any time d o ing it. Yo u can have no time fo r p e o p le , to o . No time like the p re se nt If p e o p le say that the re 's no time like the p re se nt , the y b e lie ve that it is far b e tte r to d o so me thing no w than to le ave it fo r late r, in which case it mig ht ne ve r g e t d o ne . No time to lo se If the re 's no time to lo se , the n it's time to g e t starte d o the rwise it wo n't b e finishe d o n time . No two ways ab o ut it If the re are no two ways ab o ut so me thing , the re is no o the r p o ssib le inte rp re tatio n. No use to man o r b e ast If so me thing o r so me o ne is no use to man o r b e ast, the y it o r the y are utte rly use le ss. No d 's as g o o d as a wink (UK) 'A no d 's as g o o d as a wink' is a way o f saying yo u have und e rsto o d so me thing that so me o ne has said , e ve n tho ug h it was no t said d ire ctly. The full p hrase (so me time s use d in the UK ) is 'a no d 's as g o o d as a wink to a b lind ho rse '. No d d y wo rk (UK) Unimp o rtant o r ve ry simp le tasks are no d d y wo rk. No ne so b lind as tho se who will no t se e This id io m is use d whe n p e o p le re fuse to acce p t facts p re se nte d to the m. ('No ne so d e af as tho se who will no t he ar' is an alte rnative .) No se in the air If so me o ne has the ir no se in the air, the y b e have in a way that is me ant to sho w that the y are sup e rio r to o the rs. No sy p arke r (UK) A no sy p arke r is so me o ne who is e xce ssive ly inte re ste d in o the r p e o p le 's live s. ('No se y p arke r' is an alte rnative sp e lling .) No t a sno wb all's chance in he ll The re is ab so lute ly no p o ssib ility o f so me thing hap e ning if the re 's no t a sno wb all's chance in he ll. No t all the re If so me o ne isn't all the re , the y are a little b it stup id o r crazy. No t b at an e ye If so me o ne d o e sn't b at an e ye , the y d o no t re act whe n o the r p e o p le no rmally wo uld . No t b o rn ye ste rd ay Whe n so me o ne says that the y we re n't b o rn ye ste rd ay, the y me an that the y are no t naive o r e asily fo o le d . No t cricke t (UK) If so me thing is no t cricke t, it is unfair. No t e no ug h ro o m to swing a cat If a ro o m is ve ry small, yo u can say that the re isn't e no ug h ro o m to swing a cat in it. No t fo r no thing Usually fo llo we d b y the wo rd " b ut," this is e sse ntially a call to p ay atte ntio n to the ne xt wo rd s o ut o f the sp e ake r's mo uth, e .g ., " No t fo r no thing , b ut d id yo u se e the way he lo o ke d at yo u?" No t g ive a fig If yo u d o n't g ive a fig ab o ut so me thing , yo u d o n't care ab o ut it at all, e sp e cially use d to e xp re ss ho w little o ne care s ab o ut ano the r's o p inio ns o r actio ns. No t g ive a mo nke y's (UK) If yo u co uld n't g ive a mo nke y's ab o ut so me thing , yo u d o n't care at all ab o ut it. No t g ive the time o f d ay If yo u wo uld n't g ive the time o f d ay to so me o ne , yo u d islike the m so much that yo u wo uld no t e ve n use co mmo n co urte sy. No t have the he art If yo u d o n't have the he art to d o so me thing , yo u d o n't have the stre ng th o r co urag e to d o so me thing . (Usually use d in the ne g ative ) No t have two nicke ls to rub to g e the r (USA) If a p e rso n d o e sn't have two nicke ls to rub to g e the r, the y are ve ry p o o r. No t have two p e nnie s to rub to g e the r If so me o ne hasn't g o t two p e nnie s to rub to g e the r, the y are ve ry p o o r ind e e d . No t hurt a fly So me b o d y who wo uld no t hurt a fly is no t ag g re ssive . No t kno w b e ans ab o ut (USA) If so me o ne d o e sn't kno w b e ans ab o ut so me thing , the y kno w no thing ab o ut it. No t kno w e no ug h to co me in o ut o f the rain So me o ne who d o e sn't kno w e no ug h to co me in o ut o f the rain is p articularly stup id . No t kno w yo u are b o rn This ind icate s that the p e rso n d e scrib e d is unaware o f his o r he r g o o d fo rtune o r is unaware o f ho w d ifficult d ay to d ay life was b e fo re he /she was b o rn. Typ ical usag e : 'Kid s to d ay d o n't kno w the y are b o rn'. No t miss a trick If so me o ne d o e sn't miss a trick, the y take ad vantag e o f e ve rything that co uld he lp the m o r mig ht b e an o p p o rtunity fo r the m. No t much co p De scrib ing a film o r so me thing as no t much co p is a way o f saying that yo u d id n't think much o f it. No t my b ro the r's ke e p e r If yo u say that yo u are no t yo ur b ro the r's ke e p e r, it me ans that yo u are no t re sp o nsib le fo r so me o ne o r what hap p e ns to the m as a co nse q ue nce o f the ir actio ns. No t my cup o f te a If so me thing is no t yo ur cup o f te a, yo u d o n't like it ve ry much. No t o ur b ag If so me thing is no t yo ur b ag , it is no t re ally suitab le fo r yo ur ne e d s o r yo u d o n't like it much. No t the o nly p e b b le o n the b e ach If so me thing is no t the o nly p e b b le o n the b e ach, the re are o the r p o ssib ilitie s o r alte rnative s. No t to b e sne e ze d at If so me thing is no t to b e sne e ze d at, it sho uld b e take n se rio usly. No t trust so me o ne furthe r than yo u can thro w the m If yo u d o n't trust so me o ne furthe r than yo u co uld thro w the m, it me ans yo u d o n't trust the m at all. No t wash If a sto ry o r e xp lanatio n will no t wash, it is no t cre d ib le . No t with a b ang b ut a whimp e r To e nd o n a mute d no te - mo st like ly in a situatio n whe re o ne wo uld have e xp e cte d a mo re sp e ctacular finish. This e xp re ssio n was co ine d b y T.S. Ellio t in his 1925 p o e m, The Ho llo w Me n, which e nd s: This is the way the wo rld e nd s This is the way the wo rld e nd s This is the way the wo rld e nd s No t with a b ang b ut a whimp e r. No t wo rth a re d ce nt (USA) If so me thing is no t wo rth a re d ce nt, it has no value . No t wo rth a tinke r's d am This me ans that so me thing is wo rthle ss and d ate s b ack to whe n so me o ne wo uld trave l aro und the co untrysid e re p airing thing s such as a kitche n p o t with a ho le in it. He was calle d a 'tinke r'. His d am was use d to sto p the flo w o f so ld e ring mate rial b e ing use d to clo se the ho le . Of co urse his 'trad e ' is p assé , thus his d am is wo rth no thing . Sugge st an Idiom Search 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 . Ge ne rate d in 0.016 se co nd s