Showing 24 of 3,697 lessons.
dawn on someone
To suddenly realize something
“IT DAWNED ON ME that I was wrong.”
day in the sun
A period of success or recognition
“He had HIS DAY IN THE SUN in the eighties.”
day late and a dollar short
Too delayed and insignificant to have much effect
“You're A DAY LATE AND A DOLLAR SHORT”
dead as a doornail
Completely lifeless; unusable
“It's DEAD AS A DOORNAIL”
dead heat
A tie in a race
“The race ended in A DEAD HEAT”
dead ringer
Very similar in appearance
“She's A DEAD RINGER for her sister”
dead set against
Strongly opposed to something
“I'M DEAD SET AGAINST this plan”
dead to the world
Fast asleep
“He was DEAD TO THE WORLD”
dead wood
Useless people or things in an organization
“We need to clear out THE DEAD WOOD.”
deafening silence
A meaningful lack of response
“Her question was met with DEAFENING SILENCE”
devil's advocate
To present a counter argument; to argue against a view for the sake of testing it
“Let me play DEVIL'S ADVOCATE for a moment”
diamond in the rough
Someone or something that is good but not yet refined or developed
“He's A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH”
die is cast
A decision has been made and it cannot be changed
“THE DIE IS CAST, I'm afraid.”
dig your heels in
To refuse to change your position
“She DUG HER HEELS IN and refused to compromise.”
dig your own grave
To cause your own failure or ruin
“You're DIGGING YOUR OWN GRAVE”
dinosaur
An old person or thing that is no longer important or useful
“He's A DINOSAUR”
dip your toes in
To try something cautiously
“I'm just DIPPING MY TOES IN”
dirty dog
A contemptible or untrustworthy person
“That DIRTY DOG betrayed me”
dirty look
A facial manner that signifies disapproval
“She gave me A DIRTY LOOK”
dish it out
To give criticism, punishment, or comments
“He can DISH IT OUT but can't take it”
ditch someone
To leave or abandon someone
“He DITCHED ME at the party.”
do a double take
To look twice because you're surprised
“I DID A DOUBLE TAKE when I saw the price.”
do a number on someone
To hurt or damage someone emotionally
“The redundancy process DID A NUMBER ON him.”
do a runner
To leave quickly, often to avoid paying
“He DID A RUNNER from the restaurant”