usingenglish.co m http://www.usingenglish.com/members/idioms/index.php?show=IdiomsEnglish Idioms: U
Ho me > Me mb e rs > Id io ms & Slang
English Idio ms: 49 ent ries beginning wit h 'U'
U-turn
If a g o ve rnme nt chang e s its p o sitio n rad ically o n an issue , e sp e cially whe n the y have p ro mise d no t to d o so , this is a U-turn.
Ug ly as a stick
(USA) If so me o ne is as ug ly as a stick, the y are ve ry ug ly ind e e d .
Ug ly d uckling
An ug ly d uckling is a child who sho ws little p ro mise , b ut who d e ve lo p s late r into a re al tale nt o r b e auty.
Uncalle d fo r
If so me o ne d o e s so me thing b ad and unne ce ssary witho ut co nsid e ratio n fo r ano the rs fe e ling s, what the y d o is uncalle d fo r.
Uncharte d wate rs
If yo u're in uncharte d wate rs, yo u are in a situatio n that is unfamiliar to yo u, that yo u have no e xp e rie nce o f and d o n't kno w what
mig ht hap p e n. ('Uncharte re d wate rs' is an inco rre ct fo rm that is a co mmo n mistake .)
Uncle Sam
(USA) Uncle Sam is the g o ve rnme nt o f the USA.
Und e r a clo ud
If so me o ne is susp e cte d o f having d o ne so me thing wro ng , the y are und e r a clo ud .
Und e r a flag o f co nve nie nce
If a ship sails und e r a flag o f co nve nie nce , it is re g iste re d in a co untry whe re taxe s, e tc, are lo we r than in the co untry it co me s
fro m, so if so me o ne d o e s so me thing und e r a flag o f co nve nie nce , the y atte mp t to avo id re g ulatio ns and taxe s b y a similar
me ans.
Und e r false co lo urs
If so me o ne d o e s so me thing und e r false co lo urs/co lo rs, the y p re te nd to b e so me thing the y are no t in o rd e r to d e ce ive p e o p le
so that the y can succe e d .
Und e r fire
If so me o ne is b e ing attacke d and cricitise d he avily, the y are und e r fire .
Und e r lo ck and ke y
If so me thing is und e r lo ck and ke y, it is sto re d ve ry se cure ly.
Und e r so me o ne 's he e l
If yo u are und e r so me o ne 's he e l, the y have co mp le te co ntro l o ve r yo u.
Und e r the g un
If yo u're und e r the g un, yo u're und e r p re ssure to d o so me thing .
Und e r the rad ar
If so me thing slip s und e r the rad ar, it isn't d e te cte d o r no tice d .
Und e r the tab le
Brib e s o r ille g al p ayme nts are o fte n d e scrib e d as mo ne y und e r the tab le .
Und e r the we athe r
If yo u are fe e ling a b it ill, sad o r lack e ne rg y, yo u are und e r the we athe r.
Und e r the wire
(USA) If a p e rso n d o e s so me thing und e r the wire , the y d o it at the last p o ssib le mo me nt.
Und e r yo ur b e lt
If yo u have so me thing und e r yo ur b e lt, yo u have alre ad y achie ve d o r e xp e rie nce d it and it will p ro b ab ly b e o f b e ne fit to yo u in the
future .
Und e r yo ur b re ath
If yo u say so me thing und e r yo ur b re ath, yo u whisp e r o r say it ve ry q uie tly.
Und e r yo ur no se
If so me thing hap p e ns rig ht in fro nt o f yo u, e sp e cially if it is surp rising o r aud acio us, it hap p e ns und e r yo ur no se .
Und e r yo ur skin
If so me o ne g e ts und e r yo ur skin, the y re ally anno y yo u.
Und e r yo ur thumb
So me o ne who is manip ulate d o r co ntro lle d b y ano the r p e rso n is und e r his o r he r thumb .
Une asy lie s the he ad that we ars the cro wn
This me ans that p e o p le with se rio us re sp o nsib ilitie s have a he avy b urd e n.
Until the last d o g is sho t
(USA) It me ans until the ve ry last p o ssib le mo me nt o r until e ve ry p o ssib ility is e xauste d : Yo u b o ys always stay until the last d o g is
sho t I will stay until the last d o g is sho t to co mp le te this p ro je ct b y d e ad line (Exp re ssio n my mo m who was b o rn in 1917 in
Wisco nso n always use d .)
Unwave ring lo yalty
Unwave ring lo yalty d o e s no t q ue stio n o r d o ub t the p e rso n o r issue and sup p o rts the m co mp le te ly.
Up a g um tre e
(AU) If yo u're up a g um tre e , yo u're in tro ub le o r a b ig me ss.
Up a rive r witho ut a p ad d le
If yo u up a rive r witho ut a p ad d le , yo u are in an unfo rtunate situatio n, unp re p are d and with no ne o f the re so urce s to re me d y the
matte r.
Up fo r g rab s
If so me thing is up fo r g rab s, it is availab le and who e ve r is first o r is succe ssful will g e t it.
Up in the air
If a matte r is up in the air, no d e cisio n has b e e n mad e and the re is unce rtainty ab o ut it.
Up stake s
If yo u up stake s, yo u g e t re ad y to le ave a p lace .
Up sticks
(UK) If yo u up sticks, yo u le ave so me whe re , usually p e rmane ntly and witho ut warning - he up p e d sticks and we nt to wo rk ab ro ad .
Up the ante
If yo u up the ante , yo u incre ase the imp o rtance o r value o f so me thing , e sp e cially whe re the re 's an e le me nt o f risk as the te rm
co me s fro m g amb ling , whe re it me ans to incre ase the stake (the amo unt o f mo ne y b e t).
Up the cre e k
If so me o ne o r so me thing is up the cre e k, the y are in re al tro ub le . 'Up the cre e k witho ut a p ad d le ' is an alte rnative , and 'up shit
cre e k (witho ut a p ad d le )' is a rud e r fo rm.
Up the d uff
(UK) If a wo man is up the d uff, she 's p re g nant.
Up the sp o ut
(UK) If so me thing has g o ne up the sp o ut, it has g o ne wro ng o r b e e n ruine d .
Up the stick
(UK) If a wo man is up the stick, she 's p re g nant.
Up the wall
If so me o ne g o e s up the wall, the y g e t ve ry ang ry.
Up the wo o d e n hill
Whe n yo u g o up the wo o d e n hill, yo u g o up the stairs to b e d .
Up to scratch
If so me thing d o e sn't co me up to scratch, it d o e sn't me e t the stand ard re q uire d o r e xp e cte d .
Up to snuff
If so me thing isn't up to snuff, it d o e sn't me e t the stand ard e xp e cte d .
Up to sp e e d
If yo u b ring so me o ne up to sp e e d , yo u up d ate the m o n so me thing .
Up to the e ye s
Yo u yo u are up to yo ur e ye s in so me thing , yo u are d e e p ly invo lve d o r to have to o much o f so me thing like wo rk. ('Up the ne ck', 'up
to the e ye b alls' and 'up to the e ars' are also use d .)
Up to the ne ck
If so me o ne 's in so me thing up to the ne ck, the y are ve ry invo lve d in it, e sp e cially whe n it's so me thing wro ng .
Up to yo ur e ye s
Whe n yo u've g o t to o much wo rk to d o , yo u're up to yo ur e ye s in it.
Up to yo ur ne ck
If so me o ne is ve ry invo lve d in so me thing , the y are up to the ir ne ck in it, e sp e cially if it is so me thing b ad o r immo ral.
Up with the lark
If yo u g e t up ve ry e arly, yo u're up with the lark.
Up p e r crust
The up p e r crust are the up p e r classe s and the e stab lishme nt.
Up p e r hand
If yo u have the up p e r hand , yo u have the ad vantag e .
Up se t the ap p le cart
If yo u up se t the ap p le cart, yo u cause tro ub le and up se t p e o p le .
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 0.015 se co nd s