Showing 31-50 of 59
Off the beaten path
Off the beaten path means a place that is quiet, unusual, or not visited by many people. It often describes locations that are away from busy roads, popular attractions, or crowded tourist areas.The phrase comes from the idea of a path that becomes worn or "beaten" by many people walking on it. A place off that path is somewhere fewer people have traveled.
We found a small café off the beaten path that served the best food on our trip.
Off the rails
To go off the rails means that something has gone badly wrong or out of control. This idiom is used when a plan, situation, or a person's behavior stops following the expected path.The expression comes from railway accidents. If a train's wheels leave the metal rails that guide it, the train can no longer move safely along the track and the journey quickly becomes dangerous to anyone on or near the train.
The meeting went off the rails once everyone started arguing.
On the home stretch
To be on the home stretch means being close to finishing something after a long effort.The phrase comes from horse racing. The home stretch is the final straight section of the track leading to the finish line.
After months of work on the renovation, they were finally on the home stretch.
Once in a blue moon
The idiom once in a blue moon means something happens very rarely.The phrase refers to a blue moon, a name for an extra full moon that appears in a calendar cycle. Because it does not occur often, the image became a way to describe rare events.
We only see each other once in a blue moon.
One born every minute
The idiom there's one born every minute or there's a sucker born every minute is a way of saying there is a never-ending supply of fools or victims, constantly being born.It is something you say when you see someone being tricked or scammed.
You really fell for that? There's one born every minute!
One foot in the grave
One foot in the grave describes someone who is very old, but is most often used in a joking way.The expression appeared in English several centuries ago. It uses the image of a person already partly in the grave to represent the idea of being near death.
He joked that after climbing the steep hill he felt like he had one foot in the grave.
Pot of gold at the end of the rainbow
The phrase pot of gold at the end of the rainbow comes from Irish folklore, where leprechauns hid their treasure where a rainbow touches the ground. It is used to mean a desire that is elusive and is always out of reach.Rainbows do not have a real end, if you try and get the end of a rainbow it keeps moving away from you.
A work from home job where I can sit on a beach all day, that's the pot of gold at the end of my rainbow!
Rabbit warren
A place is like a rabbit warren if it has many small rooms, passages, or paths that are confusing to move through. This idiom is used when a building or area is easy to get lost in.The expression comes from the underground burrows where rabbits live. A real rabbit warren is made of many twisting tunnels and chambers, which makes it easy to get lost inside.
The older part of the hospital is a rabbit warren of narrow corridors and small rooms.
Rome wasn't built in a day
Rome wasn't built in a day means that large projects take a lot of time, effort, and patience to achieve and you shouldn't expect quick results.This idiom relates to how the city of Rome gradually developed over centuries.
Don't worry that this is taking so long, Rome wasn't built in a day.
Run like clockwork
To run like clockwork means that something happens very regularly.The phrase comes from mechanical clocks, which were designed to keep steady, precise time using gears and springs. Because a well made clock runs in a predictable way, this idiom became a way to describe anything that happens on a predictable timeframe.
Every morning at exactly six o'clock, the rooster started crowing like clockwork.