None the worse for wear.
Is said of a beautiful woman ( more rarely a cute guy ) dressed in expansive stylish clothes. It can carry 2 meanings. Approvingly, it indicates that the garb accentuates the elegance of the wearer. Ironically though, as is often the case with top models and haute couture, it implies how good it is that the lady is so beautiful that it still shines through wearing such a ridiculous attire.
A chip on your shoulder.
Used to warn a friend about sloppiness as in : you got a chip on your shoulder … dip around your mouth and beer on your t-shirt?
All bark and no bite.
Pre-school saying to teach young ones that plants are less dangerous than animals.
X marks the spot.
Very confusing expression about which scholars are still divided. Some think it is meant to warn against building systems that are needlessly complicated. For instance, before washing our clothes, my mom marks the spots with a marker to make sure they go away but then we all get laughed at in school because we have indelible Xs all over our shirts? A second school, of thought this time, believes this saying originated with dumb or newbie pirates that forgot to draw maps of where they had buried the treasure, pretty much like squirrels do and had to be told to record their loot’s location.
Baker’s dozen.
This phrase, which means thirteen, has seen its use discontinued since political correctness took over our lands as it was meant to indicate that bakers are morons that can’t count passed 12 and later turned into a saying to point out idiots. Don’t use that saying, kids, please : it ain’t nice!
Van Gogh’s ear for music.
Means that fads are a scourge. Live past 30-odd years old and you will discover that things change needlessly for no other reason than to follow fashion. Thus, the above saying, obviously a joke since Van Gogh was a 19th century painter and not a musician, came to replace the older : Beethoven’s hearing for paintings. Funny story : Beethoven, an 18th century musician, was deaf and Van Gogh mad which led him to cut one of his ears off? Van Gogh’s ear for music was actually being replaced by Ray Charles’ eyes for paintings ( closing the loop from the original ) when the aforementioned political correctness settled in and the latter was lost, leaving the former all but impossible to comprehend for younger generations thus leaving them prey to fads which all older folks can attest to and the need for a new saying to make the matter clear evident?
Third time’s a charm.
Classic baseball expression discreetly uttered/muttered by pitchers on a strike-out. You’ll never hear this saying out loud because umpires feel it to have a hidden discriminatory sense as regards their perceptive abilities to make proper calls.
Dropping like flies.
No one knows precisely where this saying came from nor what it means. It has been surmised to be a way of laughing at one’s ability to express oneself since obviously it only makes sense when inverted and a second plural added. But then, oh, yes they do!
Saved by the Bell.
Again, not a saying but an advertising campaign slogan by a famous brand of helmets that all other headgear makers would really like to see stricken from the common vernacular so they could peddle their wares too, thank you very much?
Dry run.
Another sports expression from the world of long distance running, especially Marathons. Is a joking call to newbies that forget to apply lubricant to their bodies and end up with severe chafing as in : “How was the dry run? *Wink, wink!*”
Flee market.
A dirty cat.
Pull the plug / Rise n’ shine / Ring Fencing / Queer the pitch / Rule of thumb.
All very naughty expressions, NC 17 at the very least and NOT covered in this delicate blog!
Full Monty.
Canadian idiom that derides small town cops. The national law enforcement being the RCMP or Mounted Police ( singular Mounty ), all lesser officers are though to be dumb, useless and unimportant as expressed by : -”EH, don’t worry, he’s no full mounty!”.
New kid on the block.
This expression designates a boys band member not destined to have a full length career.
( Unless they make the switch from music to movies, of course! )
Curiosity killed the cat.
Sounds nifty right? But it’s not a saying. It’s actually a conspiracy theory from last summer surmising that there is not only life but specifically felines on Mars and that the Mars rover by that name ( Curiosity ) ran over one in late July 2013. Of course, the NASA & ESA and the rest are denying it.
Use your loaf.
Very sexist saying that entices women not to let their husbands relax on the coach during the week-end and put them to use on chores and house work instead.
…….
Tay.
Definitive Lapse of Reason 