[beat the --- out of] or [lick the --- out of] or [whale the --- out of] {v. phr.}, {informal} To beat hard; give a bad beating to. - Used […] A Dictionary of American Idioms

whale the --- out of

[whale the --- out of] See: [BEAT THE --- OUT OF]. A Dictionary of American Idioms

pound away at

[pound away at] {v. phr.} 1. To attack; criticize. * /In his campaign speeches the candidate kept pounding away at the administration's foreign policy./ 2. To work industriously. * /Mike […] A Dictionary of American Idioms

strike the hour

[strike the hour] {v. phr.} To mark or toll the hour (said of clocks or bells). * /We heard the church clock strike the hour of two./ A Dictionary of American Idioms

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break-even

[break-even] {n.} The point of equilibrium in a business venture when one has made as much money as one had invested, but not […]

passed ball

[passed ball] {n.} A pitched baseball missed by the catcher when he should have been able to catch it. * /The batter singled […]

Leo Rosten

(1908-1997) U.S. writer Words must surely be counted among the most powerful drugs man ever invented.

Quizzes on idioms starting with U

Umfriend

[Umfriend] One with whom one has a sexual relationship; as in: * /"...this is Dale, my umfriend."/

into effect

[into effect] {adv. phr.} Into use or operation. * /The new rule was put into effect at once./ * /The judge ordered the old […]

skin and bones

[skin and bones] {n.} A person or animal that is very thin; someone very skinny. * /The puppy is healthy now, but when we […]

Irish curse

May she marry a ghost and bear him a kitten, and may the high king of glory permit it to get mange.