Read Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook Online
Authors: Gail Brenner
Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook (31 page)
Here are a few more idioms that mean to miss a chance or an opportunity:
miss out (on something)
to not be aware of an opportunity; to not be physically present when an opportunity arises; to not take advantage of an opportunity ♦
I’m sorry I
missed out
on the party, but I was getting my car repaired.
♦
This sale runs for two days only, so don’t
miss out!
lose out (on something)
to miss an opportunity, often to lose an opportunity to a rival or competitor ♦
If you don’t register for classes on the first day of registration, you’ll
lose out;
all your classes will be taken.
♦
I
lost out on
the chance to be promoted when Bob got the promotion instead.
let something get away
to not take advantage of an opportunity that may never come again ♦
I had the opportunity to travel and work in Egypt, and I
let it get away.
At the time I thought I was too busy to go, but I should have found the time.
♦
Don’t
let this opportunity get away!
Go to graduate school while you have the chance.
[See
slip through one’s fingers
in Chapter 13.]
Creativity
Thinking creatively in order to form ideas and solve problems is often talked about with these interchangeable idioms that use the preposition
up:
think up
♦
Whoever
thought up
the idea of a fast-food restaurant would be surprised to see how internationally popular fast food is today.
come up with
♦
His job is to
come up with
an exciting logo for their business.
A very similar idiom is
dream up,
but
dream up
suggests that the ideas may be unusual or impractical.
When someone thinks of a good idea, he or she might say one of these expressions, all of which have basically the same meaning:
Here’s a thought
♦ Here’s a thought:
We could send some of our camping equipment by mail before we leave so that we’ll have less luggage to carry on the plane.
I’ve hit on an idea
♦ I’ve hit on an idea
for improving the sales of this product.
I have a brainstorm
♦
Last night
I had a brainstorm
about how to work part time and still have enough money for our expenses.
If you’re part of a group that’s trying to come up with ideas or that’s discussing the pros and cons of an idea, you might use one of these expressions (followed by
idea
or
ideas
) to describe what you’re doing:
toss around
♦
We
tossed around
a lot of ideas before deciding on a marketing strategy for the new laptop.
throw around
♦
Let’s get together and
throw around
some ideas for the
new brochure design.
kick around
♦
We
kicked
the idea
around
a bit, but didn’t make a final decision.
Grammar Note:
Toss around,
throw around,
and
kick around
are separable phrasal verbs.
[For information on separable phrasal verbs, see Part V.]
The following idioms also refer to discussing ideas and to creative thinking:
a think tank
a group or center organized to do extensive research and problem solving ♦
Many ideas that eventually affect how the government works come from
think tanks. ♦
When the Senator lost his reelection attempt, he joined a
think tank.
brainstorm
1. (n)
a sudden idea, inspiration, or plan ♦
He had a
brainstorm:
He would ask Marty to be his new secretary.
2. (v)
to spontaneously and quickly come up with thoughts and ideas, typically in a group setting ♦
Why don’t we all
brainstorm
some ideas to find a good title for this book?
♦
When I worked in marketing, we would spend all day
brainstorming
good slogans.
Failure
American English has many idioms meaning to fail, in part because people rarely say “I failed,” unless they are talking about failing (not getting a passing grade in) an academic course. To say “I failed” implies defeat and shame—attitudes that are not encouraged in the American psyche. Instead, people use a variety of idioms that allude to falling down, to losing a game, making a mistake, and other such situations.
Bite the Dust
and Related Idioms
bite the dust
to end; to fail; to be defeated. Alludes to eating dirt or dust when one crashes to the ground, and can mean literally to hit the ground. ♦
Our vacation
bit the dust
when our car broke down; we spent the week waiting for it to be repaired.
♦
The company finally
bit the dust
and sold all its assets.
fall flat (on one’s face)
to fail completely ♦
The deal
fell flat
because the two companies could not agree on the terms of the contract.
♦
It will be hard for you to succeed in the restaurant business with no experience; you might
fall flat on your face.
crash and burn
to fail completely and disastrously ♦
My relationship with Jenny just
crashed and burned.
I hope I never see her again.
♦
His business started out well, but eventually it
crashed and burned
because of his drug habit.
bomb
to fail to attract interest; to fail a test; often used to describe failed movies and plays. ♦
The movie Formula 51
bombed
at the movie theaters. What a disappointment for the producers!
♦
Man, I know I
bombed
that test. I didn’t study at all.
strike out
to fail in an attempt. Alludes to a strikeout in baseball when a batter misses the ball after three tries and loses a turn. ♦
We tried to get the contract for the construction of the new mall, but we
struck out.
Another company won the contract.
♦
I always
strike out
with women; they never want to date me.
The following idioms are used specifically for failed businesses:
fold:
to stop operating a business, typically because of financial troubles
close
or
shut down:
to stop operating a business, not necessarily because of financial reasons
go under:
to stop operating a business, specifically due to financial troubles; typically used in the passive form as in “The steel mill finally
went under.
”
go bust:
to stop operating a business, specifically due to financial troubles; implies that the business was once successful or large. It is typically used in the past tense, as in “Most railroad companies have
gone bust.
”
Getting Nowhere Fast
and Related Idioms
When people say, “We’re
getting nowhere fast,
” they mean “We are not making any progress; we’re not being successful.” Often people simply say
“We’re getting nowhere!”
Here’s an example:
- We’re
getting nowhere fast
on this crime investigation. We just don’t have enough evidence. - I’ve been looking on the Internet for information on this disease, but I’m
getting nowhere.
Maybe I don’t know how to do a search.
Here are some other idioms that also mean to make no progress or to go backward:
lose ground
to fall behind, to fail to hold one’s position, to deteriorate; often followed by the preposition
to
or
on
depending on the context ♦
I think we’re
losing ground
to our competition. Their sales were much higher than ours last year.
♦
If we don’t get more money for this study, our research will
lose ground.
Note:
The opposite is
to gain ground.
Grammar Note:
The idiom
lose ground
is followed by the preposition
to
when the direct object refers to a competitor: “We
lost ground
to the opposing team in the first part of the game.” The preposition
on
is generally used when the direct object is not a competitor: “We’re
losing ground
on this project because of technical problems.”
go downhill
to deteriorate; to fail to hold one’s position ♦
Consumers’ trust in the economy continues to
go downhill. ♦
The deal
went downhill
when both parties refused to compromise.
take a nosedive
to quickly deteriorate or fail to hold one’s position; generally refers to economic situations. Alludes to a plane falling nose first to the ground. ♦
The stock market
took a nosedive
and still hasn’t improved.
♦
Our profits have
taken a nosedive
during this economic crisis.
go bad (
or
sour)
to become negative, unsuccessful, disappointing; usually said of business deals and contracts, also said of relationships ♦
Their relationship
went bad
because he was dating other women.
♦
When the actor’s drinking problem began to interfere with his work, his movie career
went sour.
go to the dogs
to deteriorate, to decrease in quality or value; to fail to progress ♦
There’s no way for our team to win now. We’ve
gone to the dogs
ever since our best player was injured.
♦
That used to be my favorite restaurant, but it’s
gone to the dogs
since new management took over and changed everything.
Come to Nothing
and Related Idioms
The following idioms are often used to describe a situation that never develops or doesn’t materialize as one hopes or expects:
come to nothing
to fail to develop; to have one’s efforts be in vain, to not produce any results ♦
All of our hard work on this project has
come to nothing
because the company has decided not to complete it.
♦
He tried very hard to keep their marriage together, but all his effort
came to nothing
because she still wanted a divorce.
fall through
to not develop as one expected or hoped; to fail to happen; often used for business deals, contracts, and important plans ♦
We were expecting a big contract, but the deal
fell through,
and they hired another company to do their advertising.
♦
All of our vacation plans
fell through
when the school board changed the starting date of the school term to a week earlier.
not work out
to fail to happen in the end; to fail to develop as one hoped; often used for personal plans and situations ♦
We dated for a few years, but in the end the relationship didn’t
work out,
and we separated.
♦
Let’s plan to meet on Monday, but if that doesn’t
work out
for any reason, we can reschedule.
Miss by a Mile
and Related Idioms
When something
misses by a mile,
it fails to come close to the goal; it is inadequate and doesn’t meet expectations. The idioms that follow are similar in meaning, but don’t have quite as strong a tone:
come up short
♦
His qualifications
come up short.
They don’t meet our requirements.
fall short
♦
The conclusions of this research
fall short
of our expectations. Either our hypothesis or our data is wrong.
You can modify either of these idioms by including the word
just,
in which case they mean to barely miss, or to miss by a very small margin: “His proposal almost won the contract, but it
came up just short.
”
Blow It
and Related Idioms
Sometimes people contribute to the failure of an endeavor by making poor decisions, procrastinating, or failing to work hard enough. The following expressions are often used when people cause something to fail:
blow it
♦
This job is a fantastic opportunity for me. I don’t want to
blow it
by demanding too much.
mess up
♦
I really
messed up
by lying to her. She found out that I lied and now she doesn’t trust me at all.
Put Things Off
and Related Idioms
Procrastinating, or
putting things off
until later, means to delay doing something that should be done immediately. A wise saying about avoiding procrastination is the following:
- Don’t
put off
until tomorrow what you can do today.
Sometimes procrastinators (people who procrastinate) jokingly turn this advice around, saying
Don’t do today what you can
put off
until tomorrow!
Grammar Note:
Put off
is a separable phrasal verb (it can be separated by its direct object). When
put off
is followed by a verb, that verb is in the gerund form (verb +-
ing
). Here are some more examples of the expression
put off:
