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English Idioms: W
> Id io ms & Slang
English Idio m s: 165 e nt rie s be ginning wit h 'W'
(UK) The p e rso n who we ars the tro use rs in a re latio nship is the d o minant p e rso n who co ntro ls thing s.
'Who will ring the b e ll?' asks who will assume the re sp o nsib ility to he lp us o ut o f a d ifficult situatio n.
(USA) The who le b all o f wax is e ve rything .
(USA) If so me thing is mad e o ut o f who le clo th, it is a fab ricatio n and no t true .
The who le kit and cab o o d le me ans 'e ve rything ' re q uire d o r invo lve d in so me thing . ('Kab o o d le ' is an alte rnative sp e lling .)
If so me thing 's a who le ne w b all g ame , it is co mp le te ly ne w o r d iffe re nt.
The who le nine yard s me ans me ans e ve rything that is ne ce ssary o r re q uire d fo r so me thing .
The who le she b ang includ e s e ve ry asp e ct o f so me thing .
Why b uy the co w whe n yo u can g e t the milk fo r fre e
This id io m is usually use d to re fe r to me n who d o n't want to g e t marrie d , whe n the y can g e t all the b e ne fits o f marriag e witho ut
g e tting marrie d .
Why ke e p a d o g and b ark yo urse lf?
The re 's no ne e d to d o so me thing yo urse lf whe n yo u have so me b o d y to d o it fo r yo u, usually trivial matte rs.
If yo u g ive so me o ne a wid e b e rth, yo u ke e p yo urse lf we ll away fro m the m b e cause the y are d ang e ro us.
If so me thing is wid e o f the mark, it is inaccurate o r inco rre ct.
A wild g o o se chase is a waste o f time - time sp e nt trying to d o so me thing unsucce ssfully.
A wild cat sche me is rash - financially o r e thically - and will p ro b ab ly fail.
If an id e a o r p ro je ct, e tc, will ne ve r fly, it has no chance o f succe e d ing .
So me thing that d e ce ive s b y its ap p e arance is a will-o ’-the -wisp ; it lo o ks g o o d , b ut turns o ut to b e a d isap p o intme nt.
If so me b o d y wins b y a no se , the y o nly just b e at the o the rs.
If so me thing is d o ne to p re te nd to b e d e aling with an issue o r p ro b le m, rathe r than actually d e aling with it, it is wind o w d re ssing .
Eye s are so me time s re fe rre d to as the wind o w to the so ul.
If yo u d o so me thing o n a wing and a p raye r, yo u try to d o so me thing and ho p e yo u'll succe e d e ve n tho ug h yo u have ve ry little
chance o f succe ss.
If e ve rything g o e s to the winne r, as in an e le ctio n, the winne r take s all.
(UK) If yo u wip e the flo o r with so me o ne , yo u d e stro y the arg ume nts o r d e fe at the m e asily.
Wip e the smile o f so me o ne 's face
If yo u wip e the smile o f so me o ne 's face , yo u d o so me thing to make so me o ne fe e l le ss p le ase d with the mse lve s.
If so me o ne d o e s so me thing with a he avy hand , the y d o it in a strict way, e xe rting a lo t o f co ntro l.
(UK) If a wo man's with child , she 's p re g nant.
With flying co lo urs (co lo rs)
If yo u p ass so me thing with flying co lo urs (co lo rs), yo u p ass e asily, with a ve ry hig h mark o r g rad e .
With frie nd s like that, who ne e d s e ne mie s?
This e xp re ssio n is use d whe n p e o p le b e have b ad ly o r tre at so me o ne b ad ly that the y are sup p o se d to b e frie nd s with.
If so me thing withe rs o n the vine , it fails to g e t the inte nd e d re sult, d o e sn't co me to fruitio n.
If yo u co me within a whiske r o f d o ing so me thing , yo u ve ry ne arly manag e to d o it b ut d o n't succe e d .
If so me thing hap p e ns witho ut a hitch, no thing at all g o e s wro ng .
This is use d to wish that b ad thing s will hap p e n to so me o ne , usually b e cause o f the ir b ad b e havio ur.
This me ans that yo u are sad o r in a d ifficult situatio n. It's archaic, b ut still use d .
