usingenglish.co m http://www.usingenglish.com/members/idioms/index.php?show=IdiomsEnglish Idioms: R
Ho me > Me mb e rs > Id io ms & Slang
English Idio ms: 120 ent ries beginning wit h 'R'
Rack and ruin
If so me thing o r so me o ne g o e s to rack and ruin, the y are utte rly d e stro ye d o r wre cke d .
Rack yo ur b rain
If yo u rack yo ur b rain, yo u think ve ry hard whe n trying to re me mb e r so me thing o r think hard to so lve a p ro b le m, find f and answe r,
e tc. ('Rack yo ur b rains' is an alte rnative .)
Rag g e d b lue line
(USA) This te rm was use d to sig nify the Unio n fo rce s (who wo re b lue unifo rms) in the Ame rican Civil war .
Rag s to riche s
So me o ne who starts life ve ry p o o r and b e co me s rich g o e s fro m rag s to riche s.
Rain o n yo ur p arad e
If so me o ne rains o n yo ur p arad e , the y ruin yo ur p le asure o r yo ur p lans.
Raining cats and d o g s
Whe n it is raining cats and d o g s, it is raining ve ry he avily.
Rainy d ay
If yo u save so me thing , e sp e cially mo ne y, fo r a rainy d ay, yo u save it fo r so me p o ssib le p ro b le m o r tro ub le in the future .
Raise Cain
(USA) If so me o ne raise s Cain, the y make a b ig fuss p ub licly, causing a d isturb ance .
Raise e ye b ro ws
If so me thing raise s e ye b ro ws, it sho cks o r surp rise s p e o p le .
Rake o ve r o ld co als
(UK) If yo u g o b ack to o ld p ro b le ms and try to b ring the m b ack, making tro ub le fo r so me o ne , yo u are raking o ve r o ld co als.
Rake so me o ne o ve r the co als
(USA) If yo u rake so me o ne o ve r the co als, yo u criticize o r sco ld the m se ve re ly.
Rank and file
The rank and file are the o rd inary me mb e rs o f a co mp any, o rg anisatio n, e tc, e xclud ing the manag e rs and d ire cto rs.
Rat race
The rat race is the ruthle ss, co mp e titive strug g le fo r succe ss in wo rk, e tc.
Rathe r yo u than me
Rathe r yo u than me is an e xp re ssio n use d whe n so me o ne has so me thing unp le asant o r ard uo us to d o . It is me ant in a g o o d
nature d way o f e xp re ssing b o th symp athy and having a b it o f a laug h at the ir e xp e nse .
Raw d e al
If yo u g e t a raw d e al, yo u are tre ate d unfairly.
Re ad b e twe e n the line s
If yo u re ad b e twe e n the line s, yo u find the re al me ssag e in what yo u're re ad ing o r he aring , a me aning that is no t availab le fro m a
lite ral inte rp re tatio n o f the wo rd s.
Re ad fro m the same p ag e
Whe n p e o p le are re ad ing fro m the same p ag e , the y say the same thing s in p ub lic ab o ut an issue .
Re ad so me o ne the rio t act
If yo u re ad so me o ne the rio t act, yo u g ive the m a cle ar warning that if the y d o n't sto p d o ing so me thing , the y will b e in se rio us
tro ub le .
Re al d e al
If so me thing is the re al d e al, it is g e nuine and g o o d .
Re al McCo y
So me thing that's the re al McCo y is the g e nuine article , no t a fake .
Re al p lum
A re al p lum is a g o o d o p p o rtunity.
Re al tro up e r
A re al tro up e r is so me o ne who will fig ht fo r what the y b e lie ve in and d o e sn't g ive up e asily. (Pe o p le o fte n use 'Re al tro o p e r' as
the two wo rd s so und the same .)
Re arrang e the d e ckchairs o n the Titanic
(UK) If p e o p le are re arrang ing the d e ckchairs o n the Titanic, the y are making small chang e s that will have no e ffe ct as the
p ro je ct, co mp any, e tc, is in ve ry se rio us tro ub le .
Re charg e yo ur b atte rie s
If yo u re charg e yo ur b atte rie s, yo u d o so me thing to re g ain yo ur e ne rg y afte r wo rking hard fo r a lo ng time .
Re cip e fo r d isaste r
A re cip e fo r d isaste r is a mixture o f p e o p le and e ve nts that co uld o nly p o ssib ly re sult in tro ub le .
Re d carp e t
If yo u g ive so me o ne the re d -carp e t tre atme nt, yo u g ive the m a sp e cial we lco me to sho w that yo u think the y are imp o rtant. Yo u can
ro ll o ut the re d carp e t, to o .
Re d he rring
If so me thing is a d istractio n fro m the re al issue s, it is a re d he rring .
Re d le tte r d ay
A re d le tte r d ay is a o ne o f g o o d luck, whe n so me thing sp e cial hap p e ns to yo u.
Re d lig ht d istrict
The re d lig ht d istrict is the are a o f a to wn o r city whe re the re is p ro stitutio n, se x sho p s, e tc.
Re d mist
If so me o ne se e s re d o r the re d mist, the y lo se the ir te mp e r and se lf-co ntro l co mp le te ly.
Re d rag to a b ull
If so me thing is a re d rag to a b ull, it is so me thing that will ine vitab ly make so me b o d y ang ry o r cro ss.
Re d tap e
This is a ne g ative te rm fo r the o fficial p ap e rwo rk and b ure aucracy that we have to d e al with.
Re d s und e r the b e d
An iro nic allusio n to the o b se ssio n so me p e o p le have that the re are re d s (co mmunists) e ve rywhe re p lo tting vio le nt re vo lutio n.
Re d uce to ashe s
If so me thing is re d uce d to ashe s, it is d e stro ye d o r mad e use le ss. His infid e litie s re d uce d the ir re latio nship to ashe s.
Re inve nt the whe e l
If so me o ne re inve nts the whe e l, the y waste the ir time d o ing so me thing that has alre ad y b e e n d o ne b y o the r p e o p le , whe n the y
co uld b e d o ing so me thing mo re wo rthwhile .
Re naissance man
A Re naissance man is a p e rso n who is tale nte d in a numb e r o f d iffe re nt are as, e sp e cially whe n the ir tale nts includ e b o th the
scie nce s and the arts.
Re st is g ravy
(USA) If the re st is g ravy, it is e asy and straig htfo rward o nce yo u have re ache d that stag e .
Re st o n yo ur laure ls
If so me o ne re sts o n the ir laure ls, the y re ly o n the ir p ast achie ve me nts, rathe r than trying to achie ve thing s no w.
Re ve ng e is swe e t
Whe n yo u are hap p y to b e p ro ve d rig ht, the n yo u kno w that re ve ng e is swe e t.
Re write histo ry
If yo u re write histo ry, yo u chang e yo ur ve rsio n o f p ast e ve nts so as to make yo urse lf lo o k b e tte r than yo u wo uld if the truth was
to ld .
Rhyme o r re aso n
If so me thing is witho ut rhyme o r re aso n, it is unre aso nab le . ('Be yo nd rhyme o r re aso n' is an alte rnative .)
Rib tickle r
A rib tickle r is a sto ry o r jo ke that will make yo u laug h a lo t. Alte rnate ly, a jo ke mig ht " tickle yo ur rib s" .
Rice missio nary
A rice missio nary g ive s fo o d to hung ry p e o p le as a way o f co nve rting the m to Christianity.
Rich as Cro e sus
So me o ne who is as rich as Cro e sus is ve ry we althy ind e e d .
Rich man's family
A rich man's family co nsists o f o ne so n and o ne d aug hte r.
Rid e fo r a fall
If sxo me o ne is rid ing fo r a fall, the y are taking g re at risks that are like ly to e nd in a d isaste r.
Rid e hig h
If so me o ne is rid ing hig h, the y are ve ry succe ssful at the mo me nt.
Rid e ro ug hsho d
If so me o ne rid e s ro ug hsho d o ve r o the r p e o p le , the y imp o se the ir will witho ut caring at all fo r o the r p e o p le 's fe e ling s.
Rid e sho tg un
If yo u rid e sho tg un, yo u p ro te ct o r g uard so me thing whe n it is b e ing transp o rte d .
Rid e with the tid e
If yo u rid e with the tid e , yo u acce p t the majo rity d e cisio n.
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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 .
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