usingenglish.co m http://www.usingenglish.com/members/idioms/index.php?show=IdiomsEnglish Idioms: M Ho me > Me mb e rs > Id io ms & Slang English Idio ms: 160 ent ries beginning wit h 'M' Mind yo ur P's and Q's This is use d as a way o f te lling so me o ne to b e p o lite and b e have we ll. Mint co nd itio n If so me thing is in mint co nd itio n, it is in p e rfe ct co nd itio n. Mise ry g uts A mise ry g uts is a p e rso n who 's always unhap p y and trie s to make o the rs fe e l ne g ative . Miss is as g o o d as a mile A miss is as g o o d as a mile me ans that if yo u fail, e ve n b y the smalle st marg in, it is still a failure . Miss the b o at If yo u miss the b o at, yo u are to o late to take ad vantag e o f an o p p o rtunity. Mo m and p o p (USA) A mo m and p o p b usine ss is a small b usine ss, e sp e cially if it is run b y me mb e rs o f a family. It can use d in a wid e r se nse to me an that so me thing is small scale . Mo nd ay mo rning q uarte rb ack (USA) A Mo nd ay mo rning q uarte rb ack is so me o ne who , with the b e ne fit o f hind sig ht, kno ws what sho uld have b e e n d o ne in a situatio n. Mo ne y b urns a ho le in yo ur p o cke t If so me o ne has mo ne y b urning a ho le in the ir p o cke t, the y are e ag e r to sp e nd it, no rmally in a waste ful manne r. Mo ne y d o e sn`t g ro w o n tre e s This me ans that yo u have to wo rk to e arn mo ne y; it d o e sn't co me e asily o r witho ut e ffo rt. Mo ne y fo r jam If so me thing 's mo ne y fo r jam, it's a ve ry e asy way o f making mo ne y. Mo ne y fo r o ld ro p e (UK) If so me thing 's mo ne y fo r o ld ro p e , it's a ve ry e asy way o f making mo ne y. Mo ne y laund e ring If p e o p le laund e r mo ne y, the y g e t mo ne y mad e ille g ally into the mainstre am so that it is b e lie ve d to b e le g itimate and cle an. Mo ne y make s many thing s This me ans that mo ne y is imp o rtant. Mo ne y p it A b usine ss o r ve nture that co sts a lo t o f mo ne y, e sp e cially whe n it co sts mo re than e xp e cte d , is a mo ne y p it. Mo ne y talks This me ans that p e o p le can co nve y many me ssag e s with mo ne y, and many thing s can b e d isco ve re d ab o ut p e o p le b y o b se rving the way the y use the ir mo ne y. Mo ne y to b urn If so me o ne is ve ry rich, the y have mo ne y to b urn. Mo nke y b usine ss If child re n g e t up to mo nke y b usine ss, the y are b e having naug htily o r mischie vo usly. This is the same as 'mo nke ying aro und '. Mo nke y se e , mo nke y d o This id io m me ans that child re n will le arn the ir b e havio ur b y co p ying what the y se e hap p e ning aro und the m. Mo o t p o int If so me thing 's a mo o t p o int, the re 's so me d isag re e me nt ab o ut it: a d e b atab le p o int. In the U.S., this e xp re ssio n usually me ans that the re is no p o int in d e b ating so me thing , b e cause it just d o e sn't matte r. An e xamp le : If yo u are arg uing o ve r whe the r to g o the b e ach o r to the p ark, b ut yo u find o ut the car wo n't start and yo u can't g o anywhe re , the n the d e stinatio n is said to b e a mo o t p o int. Mo ral fib re Mo ral fib re is the inne r stre ng th to d o what yo u b e lie ve to b e rig ht in d ifficult situatio ns Examp le : He lacke d the mo ral fib re to b e le ad e r (In Ame rican Eng lish the co rre ct sp e lling is 'fib e r'.) Mo ral hig h g ro und If p e o p le have /take /claim/se ize , e tc, the mo ral hig h g ro und , the y claim that the ir arg ume nts, b e lie fs, e tc, are mo rally sup e rio r to tho se b e ing p ut fo rward b y o the r p e o p le . Mo re b ang fo r yo ur b uck (USA) So me thing that will g ive yo u mo re b ang fo r yo ur b uck will d e live r mo re value than any o the r o p tio n. Mo re fro nt than Brig hto n (UK) If yo u have mo re fro nt than Brig hto n, yo u are ve ry se lf-co nfid e nt, p o ssib ly e xce ssive ly so . Mo re haste , le ss sp e e d The faste r yo u try to d o so me thing , the mo re like ly yo u are to make mistake s that make yo u take lo ng e r than it wo uld had yo u p lanne d it. Mo re he at than lig ht If a d iscussio n g e ne rate s mo re he at than lig ht, it d o e sn't p ro vid e answe rs, b ut d o e s make p e o p le ang ry. Mo re ho le s than Swiss che e se If so me thing has mo re ho le s than a Swiss che e se , it is inco mp le te ,and lacks many p arts. Mo re than me e ts the e ye If the re is mo re than me e ts the e ye to so me thing , it is mo re co mp le x o r d ifficult than it ap p e ars. Mo re than o ne string to the ir b o w A p e rso n who has mo re than o ne string to the ir b o w has d iffe re nt tale nts o r skills to fall b ack o n. Mo re than o ne way to skin a cat Whe n p e o p le say that the re is mo re than o ne way to skin a cat, the y me an that the re are d iffe re nt ways o f achie ving the same thing . Mo re than yo u can shake a stick at If yo u have mo re o f so me thing than yo u can shake a stick at, the n yo u have a lo t. Mo the r wit Native inte llig e nce ; co mmo n se nse Mo untain to climb If yo u have a mo untain to climb , yo u have to wo rk hard o r make a lo t o f p ro g re ss to achie ve so me thing . Mo ve he ave n and e arth This e xp re ssio n ind icate s a p e rso n's d e te rmine d inte ntio n o f g e tting a wo rk d o ne in sp ite o f all o d d s he may face . He will use all and e ve ry me ans to acco mp lish the targ e t. Examp le : He mo ve d he ave n and e arth to g e t his lite rary wo rk re co g nise d b y the co mmitte e o f e xp e rts. Mo ve mo untains If yo u wo uld mo ve mo untains to d o so me thing , yo u wo uld make any e ffo rt to achie ve yo ur aim. Whe n p e o p le say that faith can mo ve mo untains, the y me an that it can achie ve a lo t. Mo ve the chains (USA) De rive d fro m the act o f mo ving the chains in an Ame rican fo o tb all g ame whe n a te am g e ts a first d o wn, this e xp re ssio n d e scrib e s taking a p ro je ct to the ne xt ste p , e sp e cially o ne that has lo st its mo me ntum fo r o ne re aso n o r ano the r. Examp le : Frustrate d with o ur lack o f p ro g re ss, o ur b o ss finally sho ute d , " Make a d e cisio n to d ay ab o ut which o ne to use , and le t's mo ve the chains o n this." Mo ve the g o alp o sts Whe n p e o p le mo ve the g o alp o sts, the y chang e the stand ard s re q uire d fo r so me thing to the ir ad vantag e . Mo ve up a g e ar If yo u mo ve up a g e ar, yo u start to p e rfo rm in a cle arly b e tte r way, e sp e cially in sp o rt. Mo ve r and shake r A p e rso n who is a mo ve r and shake r is a hig hly re sp e cte d , ke y fig ure in the ir p articular are a with a lo t o f influe nce and imp o rtance . Mo ve rs and shake rs Dynamic, imp o rtant p e o p le who can g e t thing s d o ne q uickly and are influe ntial are the mo ve rs and shake rs. Much ad o ab o ut no thing If the re 's a lo t o f fuss ab o ut so me thing trivial, the re 's much ad o ab o ut no thing . Much o f a muchne ss Thing s are much o f a muchne ss whe n the re is ve ry little d iffe re nce b e twe e n the m. Muck o r ne ttle s 'Muck o r ne ttle s' me ans 'all o r no thing '. Mud in the fire The thing s that canno t b e chang e d in the p ast that we usually fo rg e t ab o ut are mud in the fire . Mud in yo ur e ye This is a way o f saying 'che e rs' whe n yo u are ab o ut to d rink so me thing , no rmally alco ho l. Mud -sling ing If so me o ne is mud -sling ing , the y are insulting so me o ne and trying to d amag e that p e rso n's re p utatio n. Mud d y the wate rs If so me b o d y mud d ie s the wate rs, he o r she make s the situatio n mo re co mp le x o r le ss cle ar. Mum's the wo rd Whe n p e o p le use this id io m, the y me an that yo u sho uld ke e p q uie t ab o ut so me thing and no t te ll o the r p e o p le . Mummy's b o y A man who is still ve ry d e p e nd e nt o n his mo the r is a mummy's b o y. Murd e r will o ut This id io m me ans that b ad d e e d s can't b e ke p t se cre t fo re ve r. Murky wate rs Whe re p e o p le are b e having in mo rally and e thically q ue stio nab le ways, the y are in murky wate rs. 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