Flashcards based on "Random idiom flashcards set to learn" set

[no great shakes]  {adj.},  {informal}

Mediocre; unimportant.

[no longer]  {adv.}

Not any more; not at the present time.

He could no longer be trusted and they had to let him go.

[no matter]

1. Not anything important.

I wanted to see him before he left but it's no matter.

2. It makes no difference; regardless of.

She was going to be a singer no matter what difficulties she met.

He had to get the car fixed no matter how much it cost.

No matter what you try to do, it is important to be able to speak well.

You can't go in no matter who you are.

[keep one's shirt on]  {v. phr.},  {slang}

To calm down; keep from losing your temper or getting impatient or excited.

Bob got very angry when John accidentally bumped into him, but John told him to keep his shirt on.

- Usually used as a command; may be considered impolite.

John said to Bob, "Keep your shirt on."

Contrast: [GET ONE'S DANDER UP].

[knee-deep] or [neck-deep]  {adv.} or  {adj. phr.}

1. Very much; deeply; having a big part in.

Johnny was knee-deep in trouble.

2. Very busy; working hard at.

We were neck-deep in homework before the exams.

3. Getting or having many or much.

The television station was knee-deep in phone calls.

Compare: [UP TO THE CHIN IN].

[knock about] or [knock around]  {v.}

To travel without a plan; go where you please.

After he graduated from college, Joe knocked about for a year seeing the country before he went to work in his father's business.

Compare: [KICK AROUND].

[latch on] or [hitch onto]  {v.},  {informal}

1. To get hold of; grasp or grab; catch.

He looked for something to latch onto and keep from falling.

The football player latched onto a pass.

2.  {slang} To get into your possession.

The banker latched onto a thousand shares of stock.

3.  {slang} To understand.

The teacher explained the idea of jet engines until the students latched onto it.

Syn.: [CATCH ON].

4.  {informal} To keep; to hold.

The poor woman latched onto the little money she had left.

5.  {slang} To stay with; not leave.

[law unto oneself]  {n. phr.},  {literary}

A person who does only what he wishes; a person who ignores or breaks the law when he doesn't like it.

Everybody in Germany feared Hitler because he was a law unto himself.

Mr. Brown told Johnny that he must stop trying to be a law unto himself.

Compare: [TAKE THE LAW INTO ONE'S OWN HANDS].

[of necessity]  {adv. phr.}

Because there is no other way; because it must be; necessarily.

[off the top of one's head]  {adv.} or  {adj. phr.},  {informal}

Without thinking hard; quickly.

Vin answered the teacher's question off the top of his head.