usingenglish.co m http://www.usingenglish.com/members/idioms/index.php?show=IdiomsEnglish Idioms: L Ho me > Me mb e rs > Id io ms & Slang English Idio ms: 158 ent ries beginning wit h 'L' Le t the g rass g ro w ro und yo ur fe e t If yo u le t the g rass g ro w ro und yo ur fe e t, yo u d e lay d o ing thing s inste ad o f taking actio n. Le t yo ur g uard d o wn If yo u le t yo ur g uard d o wn, yo u re lax and sto p lo o king o ut fo r d ang e r. Le t yo ur hair d o wn If so me o ne le ts the ir hair d o wn, the y re lax and sto p fe e ling inhib ite d o r shy. Le t's call it a d ay This is use d as a way o f sug g e sting that it is time to sto p wo rking o n so me thing . Le tte r o f the law If p e o p le inte rp re t laws and re g ulatio ns strictly, ig no ring the id e as b e hind the m, the y fo llo w the le tte r o f the law. Le ve l b e st If yo u d o yo ur le ve l b e st, yo u make e ve ry p o ssib le e ffo rrt to d o so me thing as we ll as yo u can. Le ve l p laying fie ld If the re 's a le ve l p laying fie ld e ve ryb o d y is tre ate d e q ually. Lice nse to p rint mo ne y A lice nse to p rint mo ne y is so me thing that g e ne rate s a larg e inco me witho ut much e ffo rt. Lick so me o ne 's b o o ts If yo u lick so me o ne 's b o o ts, yo u b e have in a ve ry se rvile manne r and try to p le ase so me o ne . Lie like a rug If so me o ne lie s like a rug , the y lie to the p o int whe re it b e co me s o b vio us that the y're lying . Lie lo w If so me o ne lie s lo w, the y try no t to b e fo und o r caug ht. Lie thro ug h yo ur te e th So me o ne who is always lying , re g ard le ss o f what p e o p le kno w, lie s thro ug h the ir te e th. Life and limb Whe n p e o p le risk life and limb , the y co uld b e kille d o r suffe r se rio us injurie s. Life is just a b o wl o f che rrie s This id io m me ans that life is simp le and p le asant. Lig ht a fire und e r If yo u lig ht a fire und e r so me b o d y, yo u stro ng ly mo tivate the m to wo rk faste r. Lig ht at the e nd o f the tunne l If yo u can se e lig ht at the e nd o f the tunne l, the n yo u can se e so me sig ns o f ho p e in the future , tho ug h thing s are d ifficult at the mo me nt. Lig ht b ulb mo me nt A lig ht b ulb mo me nt is whe n yo u have a sud d e n re alisatio n ab o ut so me thing , like the lig ht b ulb s use d to ind icate an id e a in carto o ns. Lig ht o n yo ur fe e t If so me o ne is lig ht o n the ir fe e t, the y can mo ve q uickly and are ag ile . Lig ht ye ars ahe ad If yo u are lig ht ye ars ahe ad o f o the rs, yo u are a lo ng way in fro nt o f the m in te rms o f d e ve lo p me nt, succe ss, e tc. Lig htning fast So me thing that is lig htning fast is ve ry fast ind e e d . Lig htning ro d So me o ne o r so me thing that attracts a lo t o f ne g ative co mme nt, o fte n d ive rting atte ntio n fro m o the r p ro b le ms, is a lig htning ro d . Like a b at o ut o f he ll This e xp re ssio n me ans e xtre me ly q uickly. Like a b e ache d whale Once a whale is o n a b e ach, it canno t g e t b ack into the e asily, so if yo u are co mp le te ly stuck so me whe re and can't g e t away, yo u are strand e d like a b e ache d whale . Like a b e ar with a so re he ad (UK) If so me o ne 's like a b e ar with a so re he ad , the y co mp lain a lo t and are unhap p y ab o ut so me thing . Like a b ull at a g ate If yo u tackle a jo b ve ry q uickly, witho ut any re al tho ug ht ab o ut what yo u are d o ing , yo u are g o ing at it like a b ull at a g ate . Like a cat o n ho t b ricks If so me o ne is like a cat o n ho t b ricks, the y are ve ry ne rvo us o r e xcite d . Like a cat that g o t the cre am If so me o ne lo o ks ve ry p le ase d with the mse lve s and hap p y, the y lo o k like a cat that g o t the cre am. Like a d uck to wate r If so me o ne has a natural tale nt fo r so me thing and e njo ys it, the y take to it like a d uck to wate r. Like a fish ne e d s a b icycle If so me o ne ne e d s so me thing like a Fish Ne e d s a Bicycle , the y d o no t ne e d it at all, o rig inally a fe minist slo g an: A wo man ne e d s a man like a fish ne e d s a b icycle . Like a fish o ut o f wate r If so me o ne fe e ls like a fish o ut o f wate r, the y are ve ry unco mfo rtab le in the situatio n the y are in. Like a hawk If yo u watch so me thing o r so me o ne like a hawk, yo u o b se rve ve ry clo se ly and care fully. Like a he ad le ss chicke n If so me o ne rushe s ab o ut like a he ad le ss chicke n, the y mo ve ve ry fast all o ve r the p lace , usually witho ut thinking . Like a kid in a cand y sto re If so me o ne is like a kid in a cand y sto re , the y are ve ry e xcite d ab o ut so me thing . Like a mo th to a flame So me thing that is like a mo th to a flame is attracte d to so me thing that is d e ad ly o r d ang e ro us. Like a rat d e se rting a sinking ship If p e o p le le ave a co mp any b e cause the y kno w that it's ab o ut to have se rio us p ro b le ms, o r turn the ir b ack o n a p e rso n ab o ut to b e in a similar situatio n, the y are said to b e like rats d e se rting a sinking ship . Like Chine se arithme tic If so me thing is co mp licate d and hard to und e rstand , it's like Chine se arithme tic. Like clo ckwo rk If so me thing hap p e ns like clo ckwo rk, it hap p e ns at ve ry re g ular time s o r inte rvals. Like co lle cting fro g s in a b ucke t So me thing like co le cting fro g s in a b ucke t d e scrib e s a task that is d ifficult to co ntro l o r co o rd inate Like fathe r, like so n This id io m is use d whe n d iffe re nt g e ne ratio ns o f a family b e have in the same way o r have the same tale nts o f d e fe cts. Like g iving a d o nke y strawb e rrie s (UK) If so me thing is like g iving a d o nke y strawb e rrie s, p e o p le fail to ap p re ciate its value . Like g re e n co rn thro ug h the ne w maid (USA) If so me thing is ve ry fast, it is like g re e n co rn thro ug h the ne w maid . Like it o r lump it Whe n p e o p le say this, the y me an that the p e rso n will have to acce p t the situatio n b e cause it isn't g o ing to chang e . Like lamb s to the slaug hte r If so me b o d y d o e s so me thing unp le asant witho ut any re sistance , the y g o like lamb s to the slaug hte r. Like nailing je llo to the wall (USA) De scrib e s a task that is ve ry d ifficult b e cause the p arame te rs ke e p chang ing o r b e cause so me o ne is b e ing e vasive . Like no o ne 's b usine ss If I say my child re n are g ro wing like no o ne 's b usine ss, it me ans the y're g ro wing ve ry q uickly. Se e also 'Like the clap p e rs' and 'Like the re 's no to mo rro w'. Like p e as in a p o d If p e o p le o r thing s are like p e as in a p o d , the y lo o k id e ntical. Like p ulling te e th If so me thing if like p ulling te e th, it is ve ry d ifficult, e sp e cially if trying to e xtract info rmatio n o r to g e t a straig ht answe r fro m so me o ne . Like taking cand y fro m a b ab y (USA) If so me thing is like taking cand y fro m a b ab y, it is ve ry e asy to d o . Like the b ack o f yo ur hand If yo u kno w so me thing like the b ack o f yo ur hand , yo u kno w it ve ry we ll ind e e d . Like the clap p e rs If so me thing is g o ing like the clap p e rs, it is g o ing ve ry fast. 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