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' Co me o n the he e ls o f If so me thing co me s o n the he e ls o f so me thing , it fo llo ws ve ry so o n afte r it. Co me o ut in the wash If so me thing will co me o ut in the wash, it wo n't have any p e rmane nt ne g ative e ffe ct. Co me o ut o f the wo o d wo rk Whe n thing s co me o ut o f the wo o d wo rk, the y ap p e ar une xp e cte d ly. ('Crawl o ut o f the wo o d wo rk' is also use d .) Co me o ut o f yo ur she ll If so me o ne co me s o ut o f the ir she ll, the y sto p b e ing shy and withd rawn and b e co me mo re frie nd ly and so ciab le . Co me rain o r shine If I say I'll b e at a p lace co me rain o r shine , I me an that I can b e re lie d o n to turn up ; no thing , no t e ve n the vag arie s o f British we athe r, will d e te r me o r sto p me fro m b e ing the re . Co me to a he ad If e ve nts re ach a crisis p o int, the y co me to a he ad . Co me to a p re tty p ass If so me thing has co me to a p re tty p ass, the n it is in a d ifficult, unfavo urab le o r ne g ative situatio n. Co me to b e ar If so me thing co me s to b e ar o n yo u, yo u start to fe e l the p re ssure o r e ffe ct o f it. Co me to call If so me o ne co me s to call, the y re sp o nd to an o rd e r o r summo ns d ire ctly. Co me to g rip s If yo u co me to g rip s with a p ro b le m o r issue , yo u face up to it and d e al with it. Co me to he e l If so me o ne co me s to he e l, the y sto p b e having in a way that is anno ying to so me o ne in autho rity and start b e ing o b e d ie nt. Co me up ro se s If thing s co me up ro se s, the y p ro d uce a p o sitive re sult, e sp e cially whe n thing s se e me d to b e g o ing b ad ly at first. Co me up sme lling o f ro se s (UK) If so me o ne co me s up sme lling o f ro se s, the y e me rg e fro m a situatio n with the ir re p utatio n und amag e d . Co me up trump s Whe n so me o ne is said to have 'co me up trump s', the y have co mp le te d an activity succe ssfully o r p ro d uce d a g o o d re sult, e sp e cially whe n the y we re no t e xp e cte d to . Co me what may If yo u're p re p are d to d o so me thing co me what may, it me ans that no thing will sto p o r d istract yo u, no matte r ho w hard o r d ifficult it b e co me s. Co me with the te rrito ry If so me thing co me s with the te rrito ry, it is p art o f a jo b o r re sp o nsib ility and just has to b e acce p te d , e ve n if unp le asant. Co me s with the te rrito ry If so me thing co me s with the te rrito ry, e sp e cially whe n und e sirab le , it is auto matically includ e d with so me thing e lse , like a jo b , re sp o nsib ility, e tc.('Go e s with the te rrito ry' is also use d .) Co mfo rt zo ne It is the te mp e rature rang e in which the b o d y d o e sn't shive r o r swe at, b ut has an id io matic se nse o f a p lace whe re p e o p le fe e l co mfo rtab le , whe re the y can avo id the wo rrie s o f the wo rld . It can b e p hysical o r me ntal. Co nfirme d b ache lo r A co nfirme d b ache lo r is a man who sho ws little o r no inte re st in wo me n. It can b e use d to sug g e st that the y're g ay. Co nne ct the d o ts Whe n yo u co nne ct the d o ts, yo u und e rstand the co nne ctio ns and re latio nship s. Co nstitutio n o f an o x If so me o ne has the co nstitutio n o f an o x, the y are le ss affe cte d than mo st p e o p le b y thing s like tire d ne ss, illne ss, alco ho l, e tc. Co o k so me o ne 's g o o se If yo u co o k so me o ne 's g o o se , yo u ruin the ir p lans. Co o k the b o o ks If p e o p le co o k the b o o ks, the y ke e p false acco unts to make mo ne y ille g ally o r avo id p aying tax. Co o king with g as (USA) If yo u're co o king with g as, yo u're wo rking ve ry e fficie ntly. Co o l as a cat To act fine whe n yo u a actually scare d o r ne rvo us Co o l yo ur he e ls If yo u le ave so me o ne to co o l the ir he e ls, yo u make the m wait until the y have calme d d o wn. Co o n's ag e (USA) A ve ry lo ng time , as in 'I have n't se e n he r in a co o n's ag e !' Co rne r a marke t If a b usine ss is d o minant in an are a and unlike ly to b e challe ng e d b y o the r co mp anie s, it has co rne re d the marke t. Co uch p o tato A co uch p o tato is an e xtre me ly id le o r lazy p e rso n who cho o se s to sp e nd mo st o f the ir le isure time ho rizo ntal in fro nt o f the TV and e ats a d ie t that is mainly junk fo o d . Co uld e at a ho rse If yo u are ve ry hung ry, yo u co uld e at a ho rse . Co uld n't g ive two ho o ts If yo u co uld n't g ive two ho o ts ab o ut so me thing , yo u d o n't care at all ab o ut it. Co unt she e p If p e o p le canno t sle e p , the y are ad vise d to co unt she e p me ntally. Co unt yo ur b le ssing s Whe n p e o p le co unt the ir b le ssing s, the y co nce ntrate o n all the g o o d thing s in the ir live s inste ad o f the ne g ative o ne s. Co untry mile (USA) A co untry mile is use d to d e scrib e a lo ng d istance . Co ve r all the b ase s If yo u co ve r all the b ase s, yo u d e al with all asp e cts o f a situatio n o r issue , o r anticip ate all p o ssib ilitie s. ('Co ve r all b ase s' is also use d .) Crack a nut with a sle d g e hamme r If yo u use a sle d g e hamme r to crack a nut, yo u ap p ly to o much fo rce to achie ve a re sult. ('Jackhamme r' is also use d .) Crack o f d awn The crack o f d awn is ve ry e arly in the mo rning . Crash a p arty If yo u crash a p arty, o r are a g ate crashe r, yo u g o so me whe re yo u have n't b e e n invite d to . Cre am o f the cro p The cre am o f the cro p is the b e st the re is. Cre am rise s to the to p A g o o d p e rso n o r id e a canno t g o unno tice d fo r lo ng , just as cre am p o ure d in co ffe e o r te a e ve ntually rise s to the to p . Cre ature co mfo rts If a p e rso n said " I hate camp ing . I d o n't like g iving up my cre ature co mfo rts." the p e rso n wo uld b e re fe rring , in p articular, to the co mfo rtab le thing s he /she wo uld have at ho me b ut no t whe n camp ing . At ho me , fo r e xamp le , he /she wo uld have co mp le te she lte r fro m the we athe r, a te le visio n, a nice co mfo rtab le warm b e d , the ab ility to take a warm b ath o r sho we r, co mfo rtab le lo ung e chairs to re lax in and so o n. The p e rso n d o e sn't like g iving up the mate rial and p sycho lo g ical b e ne fits o f his/he r no rmal life . CrŁ me d e la crŁ me The crŁ me d e la crŁ me is the ve ry b e st o f so me thing . Cre p e hang e r (USA) One who always lo o ks at the b ad sid e o f thing s and is mo rb id o r g lo o my. In o ld e n d ays cre p e was hung o n the d o o r o f a d e ce ase d p e rso n's ho me . Critical mass The minimum amo unt o f re so urce s o r numb e r o f p e o p le ne e d e d to start and /o r sustain a b usine ss, p ro je ct o r e ve nt. Cro co d ile te ars If so me o ne crie s cro co d ile te ars, the y p re te nd to b e up se t o r affe cte d b y so me thing . Cro o ke d as a d o g 's hind le g So me o ne who is ve ry d isho ne st is as cro o ke d as a d o g 's hind le g . Cro ss my he art and ho p e to d ie Pe o p le say this to sho w ho w since re the ir p ro mise is. Cro ss swo rd s Whe n p e o p le cro ss swo rd s, the y arg ue o r d isp ute . This e xp re ssio n is use d whe n so me g ro up s accuse e ach o the r fo r no n- ad he re nce to no rms. Actually no swo rd is use d b ut the te mp o o f the arg ume nt is hig h e no ug h to cause wo rse ning o f the alre ad y b ad situatio n. It is a tussle (ve he me nt strug g le witho ut use o f arms) b e twe e n the p artie s to e stab lish sup re macy. Cro ss that b rid g e whe n yo u co me to it If yo u will cro ss that b rid g e whe n yo u co me to it, yo u will d e al with a p ro b le m whe n it arise s, b ut no t until that p o int Cro ss to b e ar If so me o ne has a cro ss to b e ar, the y have a he avy b urd e n o f re sp o nsib ility o r a p ro b le m that the y alo ne must co p e with. 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 0.029 se co nd s