usingenglish.co m http://www.usingenglish.com/members/idioms/index.php?show=IdiomsEnglish Idioms: C Ho me > Me mb e rs > Id io ms & Slang English Idio ms: 235 ent ries beginning wit h 'C' Cake 's no t wo rth the cand le If so me o ne says that the cake 's no t wo rth the cand le , the y me an that the re sult will no t b e wo rth the e ffo rt p ut in to achie ve it. Calf lick A calf lick is the we ird p arting in yo ur fring e whe re yo ur hair g ro ws in a d iffe re nt d ire ctio n, usually to o ne sid e . Call a sp ad e a sp ad e A p e rso n who calls a sp ad e a sp ad e is o ne sp e aks frankly and make s little o r no atte mp t to co nce al the ir o p inio ns o r to sp are the fe e ling s o f the ir aud ie nce . Call it a d ay If yo u call it a d ay, yo u sto p d o ing so me thing fo r a while , no rmally at le ast until the fo llo wing d ay. Call o n the carp e t If yo u are calle d o n the carp e t, yo u are summo ne d fo r a re p rimand b y sup e rio rs o r o the rs in p o we r. Call the d o g s o ff If so me o ne calls o ff the ir d o g s, the y sto p attacking o r criticising so me o ne . Call the sho ts If yo u call the sho ts, yo u are in charg e and te ll p e o p le what to d o . Call the tune The p e rso n who calls the tune make s the imp o rtant d e cisio ns ab o ut so me thing . Call time (UK) If yo u call time o n so me thing , yo u d e cid e it is time to e nd it. Calm b e fo re the sto rm A calm time imme d iate ly b e fo re p e rio d o f vio le nt activity o r arg ume nt is the calm b e fo re the sto rm. Can o f wo rms If an actio n can cre ate se rio us p ro b le ms, it is o p e ning a can o f wo rms. Can't d ance and it's to o we t to p lo w (USA) Whe n yo u can't d ance and it's to o we t to p lo w, yo u may as we ll d o so me thing b e cause yo u can't o r d o n't have the o p p o rtunity to d o anything e lse . Can't d o it fo r to ffe e If yo u can't so so me thing fo r to ffe e , yo u are incap ab le o f d o ing so me thing p ro p e rly o r to any so rt o f stand ard . Can't g e t a wo rd in e d g e ways If yo u can't g e t a wo rd in e d g e ways, yo u d o n't have the chance to say anything b e cause the p e rso n yo u are with is is talking all the time . Can't g e t to 1st b ase If yo u can't g e t to first b ase , yo u're having d ifficultie s starting so me thing . Can't hack it Unab le to p e rfo rm an act, d uty, jo b e tc. (e xamp le : I have to q uit my jo b as a co mp ute r te chnician; I just can't hack it.) Can't ho ld a cand le If so me thing can't ho ld a cand le to so me thing e lse , it is much wo rse . Can't se e the fo re st fo r its tre e s If so me o ne can't se e the fo re st fo r its tre e s, the y are to o fo cuse d o n sp e cific d e tails to se e the p icture as a who le . Canary in a co al mine (UK) A canary in a co al mine is an e arly warning o f d ang e r. Card up yo ur sle e ve If yo u have a card up yo ur sle e ve , yo u have a surp rise p lan o r id e a that yo u are ke e p ing b ack until the time is rig ht. Carp e tb ag g e r A carp e tb ag g e r is an o p p o rtunist witho ut any scrup le s o r e thics, o r a p o litican who wants to re p re se nt a p lace the y have no co nne ctio n with. Carro t and stick If so me o ne o ffe rs a carro t and stick, the y o ffe r an ince ntive to d o so me thing co mb ine d with the thre at o f p unishme nt. Carry the can If yo u carry the can, yo u take the b lame fo r so me thing , e ve n tho ug h yo u d id n't d o it o r are o nly p artly at fault. Carry the d ay If so me thing carrie s the d ay, it wins a b attle (the se nse is that the b attle has b e e n lo ng and co uld have g o ne e ithe r way) o r co mp e titio n fo r sup re macy. Case b y case If thing s are d o ne case b y case , e ach situatio n o r issue is hand le d se p arate ly o n its o wn me rits and d e me rits. Case in p o int Me aning an instance o f so me thing has just o ccurre d that was p re vio usly d iscusse d . Fo r instance , a p e rso n may have to ld ano the r that so me thing always hap p e ns. Late r that d ay, the y se e it hap p e ning , and the info rme r mig ht say, 'case in p o int'. Cash co w A p ro d uct, b usine ss, e tc, that g e ne rate s a co ntinuo us flo w o f mo ne y o r a hig h p ro p o rtio n o f o ve rall p ro fits is a cash co w. Cash in yo ur chip s If yo u cash in yo ur chip s, yo u se ll so me thing to g e t what p ro fit yo u can b e cause yo u think its value is g o ing to fall. It can also me an 'to d ie '. Cast a lo ng shad o w So me thing o r so me o ne that casts a lo ng shad o w has co nsid e rab le influe nce o n o the r p e o p le o r e ve nts. Cast asp e rsio n If yo u cast asp e rsio n, yo u try to b lacke n so me o ne 's name and make p e o p le think b ad ly o f the m. Cast d o ub t o n If yo u make o the r p e o p le no t sure ab o ut a matte r, the n yo u have cast d o ub t o n it. Cast iro n sto mach A p e rso n with a cast iro n sto mach can e at o r d rink anything witho ut any ill e ffe cts. Cast p e arls b e fo re swine If yo u cast p e arls b e fo re swine , yo u o ffe r so me thing o f value to so me o ne who d o e sn't ap p re ciate it- 'swine ' are 'p ig s'. Cast she e p 's e ye s at If yo u cast she e p 's e ye s at at so me o ne , yo u lo o k lo ving ly o r with lo ng ing at the m. Cast yo ur e ye o ve r If yo u cast yo ur e ye o ve r so me thing , yo u lo o k at it o r che ck it q uickly, witho ut lo o king care fully at the d e tails. Cast yo ur mind b ack If so me b o d y te lls yo u to cast yo ur mind b ack o n so me thing , the y want yo u to think ab o ut so me thing that hap p e ne d in the p ast, b ut which yo u mig ht no t re me mb e r ve ry we ll, and to try to re me mb e r as much as p o ssib le . Cast yo ur ne t wid e ly If yo u cast yo ur ne t wid e ly, yo u use a wid e rang e o f so urce s whe n trying to find so me thing . Casting vo te The casting vo te is a vo te g ive n to a chairman o r p re sid e nt that is use d whe n the re is a d e ad lo ck. Castle s in the air Plans that are imp ractical and will ne ve r wo rk o ut are castle s in the air. Cat amo ng the p ig e o ns If so me thing o r so me o ne p uts, o r se ts o r le ts, the cat amo ng the p ig e o ns, the y cre ate a d isturb ance and cause tro ub le . Cat and d o g life If p e o p le le ad a cat and d o g life , the y are always arg uing . Cat b urg lar A cat b urg lar is a skillful thie f who b re aks into p lace s witho ut d isturb ing p e o p le o r se tting o ff alarms. Cat fur and kitty b ritche s (USA) Whe n I use d to ask my g rand ma what was fo r d inne r, she wo uld say 'cat fur and kitty b ritche s'. This was he r Ozark way o f te lling me that I wo uld g e t what she co o ke d . (Ozark is a re g io n in the ce nte r o f the Unite d State s) Cat g o t yo ur to ng ue ? If so me o ne asks if the cat has g o t yo ur to ng ue , the y want to kno w why yo u are no t sp e aking whe n the y think yo u sho uld . Cat nap If yo u have a sho rt sle e p d uring the d ay, yo u are cat nap p ing . Cat's arse and cab b ag e (UK) The id io m " cat fur and kitty b ritche s" re mind e d me o f this saying that my g ranny use d whe n aske d what was fo r d inne r, and was he r way to o o f saying yo u g e t what yo u're g ive n! This was in Glo uce ste rshire , UK and in the first p art o f the 20th ce ntury. Cat's lick (Sco t) A cat's lick is a ve ry q uick wash. Cat's p ajamas (USA) So me thing that is the cat's p ajamas is e xce lle nt. Cat's whiske rs So me thing e xce lle nt is the cat's whiske rs. Catch as catch can This me ans that p e o p le sho uld try to g e t so me thing any way the y can. 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 0.013 se co nd s