E
Idioms beginning with "E"
Part of speech, explanation, example sentences, pronunciation
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Contents of E:
[each and every] {adj. phr.}
Every. — Used for emphasis.
The captain wants each and every man to be here at eight o'clock.
The teacher must learn the name of each and every pupil.
Syn.: [EVERY SINGLE].
[each other] or [one another] {pron.}
Each one the other; one the other.
That man and his wife love each other.
Bill and Mary gave one another Christmas presents last year.
* /All the children at the party were looking at one another trying […]
[eager beaver] {n. phr.}, {slang}
A person who is always eager to work or do anything extra, perhaps to win the favor of his leader or boss.
Jack likes his teacher and works hard for her, but his classmates call him an eager beaver.
* /The man who […]
[eagle eye] {n.}
Sharp vision like that of an eagle; the ability to notice even the tiniest details.
The new boss keeps an eagle eye on all aspects of our operation.
[ear]
See:
[ABOUT ONE'S EARS] or [AROUND ONE'S EARS],
[BELIEVE ONE'S EARS],
[DRY BEHIND THE EARS],
[FLEA IN ONE'S EAR],
[GIVE AN EAR TO] or [LEND AN EAR TO],
[GO IN ONE EAR AND OUT THE OTHER],
[JUG-EARED],
[LITTLE PITCHERS HAVE BIG EARS],
[MUSIC […]
[ear to the ground] {n. phr.}, {informal}
Attention directed to the way things are going, or seem likely to go, or to the way people feel and think.
* /The city manager kept an ear to the ground for a while before deciding to raise the city employees' […]
[early bird] {n}
An early riser from bed.
Jane and Tom are real early birds; they get up at 6 A.M. every morning.
[early bird catches the worm] or [early bird gets the worm]
A person who gets up early in the morning has the best chance of succeeding; if you arrive early or are quicker, you get ahead of others. — A proverb.
* /When Billy's father woke him up for […]
[earn one's keep] {v. phr.}
To merit one's salary or keep by performing the labor or chores that are expected of one.
John earned his keep at the music conservatory by dusting off all the musical instruments every day.
[ears burn] {informal}
To feel embarrassment or shame at hearing others talk about you.
Joan overheard the girls criticizing her and it made her ears burn.
Joe's ears burned when he heard his classmates praising him to each other.
[earth]
See:
[COME BACK TO EARTH] or [COME DOWN TO EARTH],
[DOWN-TO-EARTH],
[IN THE WORLD] or [ON EARTH],
[MOVE HEAVEN AND EARTH].
[ease off] or [ease up] {v.}
To make or become less nervous; relax; work easier.
When the boss realized that John had been overworking, he eased off his load.
With success and prosperity, Mr. Smith was able to ease off.
Compare: [LET UP] (3).
[easy]
See:
[FREE AND EASY],
[GET OFF EASY],
[ON EASY STREET],
[TAKE IT EASY] or [GO EASY] or [TAKE THINGS EASY].
[easy come, easy go] {truncated sent.}, {informal}
Something you get quickly and easily may be lost or spent just as easily.
Grandfather thought Billy should have to work for the money Father gave him, saying "Easy come, easy go."
[easy does it] {informal}
Let's do it carefully, without sudden movements and without forcing too hard or too fast; let's try to just hard enough but not too hard.
"Easy does it," said the boss as they moved the piano through the narrow doorway.
[…]
[easy mark] {n.}
A foolishly generous person; one from whom it is easy to get money.
Bill is known to all the neighborhood beggars as an easy mark.
See: [SOFT TOUCH].
[easy money] {n.}, {informal}
Money gained without hard work; money that requires little or no effort.
The movie rights to a successful play mean easy money to the writer of the play.
* /Young people who look for easy money are usually […]
[easygoing] {adj.}
Amiable in manner; relaxed; not excited.
Because Al has an easygoing personality, everybody loves him.
[eat]
See:
[DOG-EAT-DOG],
[LIVE HIGH OFF THE HOG] or [EAT HIGH ON THE HOG],
[LOOK LIKE THE CAT THAT ATE THE CANARY].
[eat (live) high on the hog] or [eat (live) high off the hog] {v. phr.}
To eat or live well or elegantly.
For the first few days after the check arrived, they ate high on the hog.
Compare: [IN CLOVER] or [IN THE CLOVER], [ON EASY STREET].
[eat away] {v.}
1. To rot, rust, or destroy.
Rust was eating away the pipe.
Cancer ate away the healthy flesh.
See: [EAT OUT] (2).
2. To gradually consume.
* /The ocean waves were gradually eating the volcanic rocks until they turned into […]
[eat away at] {v. phr.}
To psychologically gnaw at; to worry someone.
Fear of the comprehensive examination was eating away at Sam.
[eat crow] {v. phr.}
To admit you are mistaken or defeated; take back a mistaken statement.
John had boasted that he would play on the first team; but when the coach did not choose him, he had to eat crow.
* /Fred said he could beat the new man in […]
[eat dirt] {v. phr.}, {informal}
To act humble; accept another's insult or bad treatment.
Mr. Johnson was so much afraid of losing his job that he would eat dirt whenever the boss got mean.
[eat humble pie] {v. phr.}
To be humbled; to accept insult or shame; admit your error and apologize.
Tow told a lie about George, and when he was found out, he had to eat humble pie.
* /In some old stories a boy with a stepfather has to eat humble […]
[eat like a bird] {v. phr.}
To eat very little; have little appetite.
Mrs. Benson is on a diet and she eats like a bird.
Alice's mother is worried about her; she eats like a bird and is very thin.
Contrast: [EAT LIKE A HORSE].
[eat like a horse] {v. phr.}
To eat a lot; eat hungrily.
The harvesters worked into the evening, and then came in and ate like horses.
Contrast: [EAT LIKE A BIRD].
[eat one out of house and home] {v. phr.}
1. To eat so much as to cause economic hardship.
Our teenaged sons are so hungry all the time that they may soon eat us out of house and home.
2. To overstay one's welcome.
* /We love Bob and Jane very […]
[eat one's cake and have it too] {v. phr.}
To use or spend something and still keep it; have both when you must choose one of two things. Often used in negative sentences.
* /Roger can't make up his mind whether to go to college or get a job. You can't […]
[eat one's heart out] {v. phr.}
To grieve long and hopelessly; to become thin and weak from sorrow.
For months after her husband's death, Joanne simply ate her heart out.
We sometimes hear of a dog eating its heart out for a dead owner.
[eat one's words] also [swallow one's words] {v. phr.}
To take back something you have said; admit something is not true.
John had called Harry a coward, but the boys made him eat his words after Harry bravely fought a big bully.
Compare: [EAT […]
[eat out] {v.}
1. To eat in a restaurant; eat away from home.
Fred ate out often even when he wasn't out of town.
2. To rust, rot, or be destroyed in time.
Rust had eaten out the gun barrel.
See: [EAT AWAY].
[eat out of one's hand] {v. phr.}, {informal}
To trust someone fully; believe or obey someone without question.
The governor has the reporters eating out of his hand.
Helen is so pretty and popular that all the boys eat out of her hand.
[eat up] {v.}
1. To eat all of.
After hiking all afternoon, they quickly ate up all of the dinner.
2. To use all of.
Idle talk had eaten up the hour before they knew it.
3. {slang}
To accept eagerly; welcome.
* /The girls told John he was […]
[eating one] {v. phr.}
To cause someone to be angry or ill-humored.
We can't figure out what's eating Burt, but he hasn't spoken one pleasant word all day.
[edge]
See: [HAVE AN EDGE ON], ON EDGE, [SET ONE'S TEETH ON EDGE], [TAKE THE EDGE OFF], THE EDGE.
[edge away] {v. phr.}
To withdraw or retreat gradually.
Frightened by the growling tiger guarding its catch, the hunter carefully edged away.
[edge in] {v.}
To move slowly; get in quietly, especially with some difficulty, by force or without a big enough opening.
People had crowded around the senator, but Don succeeded in edging in.
Harry edged the book in on the shelf.
[edge in (on)] {v. phr.}
1. To gradually approach an individual or a group with the intent of taking over or wielding power.
Jack was edging in on the firm of Smith and Brown and after half a year actually became its vice president.
2. To approach […]
[edge out] {v.}
To defeat in competition or rivalry; take the place of; force out.
Harry edged out Tom for a place in Mary's affections.
Signal lights on cars have gradually edged out hand signals.
[edgeways]
See:
[GET A WORD IN] or [GET A WORD IN EDGEWISE], also [GET A WORD IN EDGEWAYS].
[effect]
See:
[IN EFFECT],
[INTO EFFECT],
[SOUND EFFECTS],
[TAKE EFFECT],
[TO THAT EFFECT],
[TO THE EFFECT THAT]
[egg]
See:
[BAD EGG],
[GOOD EGG],
[KILL THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGG],
[LAY AN EGG],
[PUT ALL ONE'S EGGS IN ONE BASKET],
[ROTTEN EGG].
[egg on] {v.}
To urge on; excite; lead to action.
Joe's wife egged him on to spend money to show off.
The big boys egged on the two little boys to fight.
Compare: [PUT UP] (6).
[eke out] {v.}
1. To fill out or add a little to; increase a little.
Mr. Jones eked out a country teacher's small salary by hunting and trapping in the winter.
The modest meal was eked out with bread and milk.
2. To get (little) by hard work; […]
[elbow]
See:
[AT ONE'S ELBOW],
[ELBOW ROOM],
[RUB ELBOWS],
[UP TO THE CHIN IN] or [UP TO THE ELBOWS IN].
[elbow grease] {n.}
Exertion; effort; energy.
"You'll have to use a little more elbow grease to get these windows clean," Mother said to Ed.
[elbow one's way into] or [out of] {v. phr.}
To force entry into a place by using one's elbows.
The bus was so crowded that, in order to get off in time, we had to elbow our way to the exit door.
[elbow room] {n.}
Adequate space to move around or to work in.
He doesn't require a huge office, but we must at least give him elbow room.
[eleventh hour] {adj. phr.}
Pertaining to the last minutes; the last opportunity to accomplish a task.
The editors made several eleventh hour changes in the headlines of the morning paper.
[en masse] {adv. phr.}
As a group; in one big mass or group. — Used after the word it modifies.
The school turned out en masse to cheer the returning astronaut.
[end]
See:
[AT LOOSE ENDS],
[AT ONE'S WITS' END],
[BURN THE CANDLE AT BOTH ENDS],
[GO OFF THE DEEP END],
[HAIR STAND ON END],
[HOLD ONE'S END UP] or [HOLD UP ONE'S END] or [KEEP ONE'S END UP] or [KEEP UP ONE'S END],
[LIVING END],
[LOOSE ENDS],
[…]
[end for end] {adv. phr.}
In a reversed or opposite position (as upside down or backwards); the other way around; over.
The box turned end for end as it fell, and everything spilled out.
The wind caught the canoe and turned it end for end.
[end in itself] {n. phr.}
Something wanted for its own sake; a purpose, aim, or goal we want for itself alone and not as a way to something else.
The miser never spent his gold because for him it was an end in itself.
[end of one's rope] or [end of one's tether] {n. phr.}, {informal}
The end of your trying or imagining; the last of your ability, or ideas of how to do more.
Frank was out of work and broke, and he was at the end of his rope.
* /The doctor saw […]
[end of the road] or [end of the line] {n. phr.}
The final result or end (as of a way of action or behavior); the condition that comes when you can do no more.
* /He had left a trail of forgery and dishonesty across seven states; he had got out of each […]
[end run] {n.}
A football play in which a back tries to run around one end of the opponent's line.
Smith's end run scored the winning touchdown.
[end up] {v.}
1. To come to an end; be ended or finished; stop.
How does the story end up?
2. To finally reach or arrive; land.
I hope you don't end up in jail.
3. {informal}
To die, be killed.
* /The gangster ended up in the electric […]
[end zone] {n.}
Either of the marked areas behind the goal line.
He caught a pass in the end zone for a touchdown.
[engage in small talk] {v. phr.}
To converse with a stranger or casual acquaintance about matters of no great importance in order to make the time go faster.
* /The patients in the doctor's waiting room engaged in small talk complaining about the hot […]
[enjoy oneself] {v. phr.}
To have a good time; be happy; feel pleasure.
Mary enjoyed herself at the party.
"Enjoy yourselves, children," Mother urged the guests at our party.
[enlarge on] or [enlarge upon] or [expand on] or [expand upon] {v.}
To talk or write more about; say or explain more completely or at greater length.
The teacher enlarged on the uses of atomic power.
[enough]
See:
[GIVE ONE ENOUGH ROPE, AND HE WILL HANG HIMSELF],
[KNOW ENOUGH TO COME IN OUT OF THE RAIN],
[LET WELL ENOUGH ALONE],
[SURE ENOUGH].
[enough is enough]
That's enough, let's not have any more; that will do, let's cut it short; that's the limit, let's stop there.
"I don't mind good clean fun, but enough is enough," the principal said.
[equal to] {adj. phr.}
Able to meet, do, or control; able to do something about.
The situation took quick thinking, but John was equal to it.
* /When a guest upset the coffee pot, Mrs. Smith's tact and quickness of mind were equal to the […]
[equal to the occasion] {adj. phr.}
Capable of handling the situation.
Although he had never before assisted in childbirth, the taxi driver proved equal to the occasion and helped deliver the baby in his cab.
[even so] {adv.}
Although that is true; nevertheless; still.
The fire was out, but even so, the smell of smoke was strong.
[event]
See:
[IN ANY CASE] or [AT ALL EVENTS],
[IN ANY CASE] also [IN ANY EVENT] or [AT ALL EVENTS],
[IN CASE] or [IN THE EVENT],
[IN CASE OF] also [IN THE EVENT OF].
[ever so much] {adv.}
Very much; truly.
I am ever so much in your debt for your kind assistance when I needed it most.
[every cloud has a silver lining]
Every trouble has something hopeful that you can see in it, like the bright edge around a dark cloud. — A proverb.
The doctor told Tommy to cheer up when he had measles. "Every cloud has a silver lining," he said.
[…]
[every dog has his day]
Everyone will have his chance or turn; everyone is lucky or popular at some time. — A proverb.
Mary will be able to go to dances like her sister when she grows up. Every dog has his day.
[every inch] {adv. phr.}
To the last part, in every way; completely.
He was every inch a man.
Henry looked every inch a soldier.
[every last man] also [every man jack] {n. phr.}
Every single man; each man without exception.
I want every last man to be here on time tomorrow morning.
Every man jack of you must do his duty.
[every now and then] or [every now and again] or [every so often] or [every once in a while] {adv. phr.}
At fairly regular intervals; fairly often; repeatedly.
John comes to visit me every now and then.
* /It was hot work, but every so often Susan […]
[every other] {adj. phr.}
Every second; every alternate.
The milkman comes every other day.
On St. Patrick's Day, it seems as if every other man you meet is wearing a shamrock.
[every single] or [every last] {adj. phr.}
Every. — Used for emphasis.
She dropped the box, and when she opened it, every single glass was broken.
When she got home she found every last tomato in the box was rotten.
Syn.: [EACH AND EVERY].
[every time one turns around] {adv. phr.}, {informal}
Very often.
Mr. Winston must be rich. He buys a new suit every time he turns around.
No, Charles — I can't drive you to the park every time I turn around.
[every which way] also [any which way]
In all directions.
Bricks and boards were scattered in confusion on the ground every which way, just as they had fallen after the tornado.
Compare: [HELTER-SKELTER].
[except for] or {formal} [but for] {prep.}
1. With the exception of; if (a certain person or thing) were left out; omitting.
Except for John, the whole class passed the test.
2. Without.
I'd have been lost but for you.
[exception proves the rule]
Something unusual that does not follow a rule tests that rule to see if it is true; if there are too many exceptions, the rule is no good. — A proverb.
* /Frank is very short but is a good basketball player. He is the […]
[excuse oneself] {v. phr.}
1. To think of reasons for not being to blame; think yourself not at fault.
John excused himself for his low grades on the ground that the teacher didn't like him.
2. To ask to be excused after doing something impolite.
[…]
[exert oneself] {v. phr.}
To make an effort; try hard; work hard.
Susan exerted herself all year to earn good marks.
Jerry exerted himself to please the new girl.
[explain away] {v.}
To explain (something) so that it does not seem true or important.
John explained away his unfinished homework by showing the teacher his broken arm in a cast.
* /It is hard to explain away Abraham Lincoln's dream about being […]
[explain oneself] {v. phr.}
1. To make your meaning plainer; make your first statement clear.
When we didn't understand Fritz, he went on to explain himself.
2. To give a good reason for something you did or failed to do which seems wrong.
* […]
[explode a bombshell] or [drop a bombshell] {v. phr.}, {informal}
To say something startling; suggest or show something astonishing or shocking.
* /The police exploded a bombshell when they arrested the kindly old banker for stealing money from the […]
[express oneself] {v. phr.}
To say what you think or feel; put your thoughts or feelings into words by speaking or writing.
The boy expressed himself well in debate.
The mayor expressed himself as opposed to any borrowing.
[extend one's sympathy to] {v. phr.}
To offer one's condolences on the occasion of a death or similarly tragic event.
All of Tom's colleagues extended their sympathy to him when his wife and daughter were killed in a car accident.
[eye]
See:
[APPLE OF ONE'S EYE],
[BAT AN EYE] or [BAT AN EYELASH],
[BELIEVE ONE'S EYES],
[CATCH ONE'S EYE],
[CLEAR-EYED],
[CLOSE ONE'S EYES] or [SHUT ONE'S EYES],
[EYES OPEN],
[EYE OUT],
[EYE TO],
[FEAST ONE'S EYES ON],
[FOUR-EYES],
[GET THE […]
[eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth]
A blow or injury should be given back as hard as each one that is received; every crime or injury should be punished or paid back.
* /In ancient times if a man's eye was put out by his enemy, he might get […]
[eye out]
Careful watch or attention; guard. — Used after "keep", "have" or "with".
Keep an eye out. We're close to Joe's house.
- Usually used with "for".
Mary has her eye out for bargains.
* /They went through the woods very quietly, with […]
[eye shadow] {n. phr.}
A cream used to darken the eyelids in order to make the eyes more noticeable.
Jane's mother told her that girls in the ninth grade shouldn't be using eye shadow.
[eye to]
1. Attention to. — Usually used with "have" or "with".
Have an eye to spelling in these test papers.
2. Plan for, purpose of. — Usually used with "have" or "with".
Save your money now with an eye to the future.
* /John is going to […]
[eye-catcher] {n.}
Something that strongly attracts the eye.
See: [CATCH ONE'S EYE].
That new girl in our class is a real eye-catcher.
[eye-filling] {adj.}, {literary}
Attractive to the eye; beautiful; especially grand; splendid; majestic.
The mountains in the distance were an eye-filling sight.
[eyes are bigger than one's stomach] {informal}
You want more food than you can eat.
Annie took a second big helping of pudding, but her eyes were bigger than her stomach.
* /"Your eyes are bigger than your stomach," mother told little Tommy when […]
[eyes in the back of one's head] {n. phr.}, {informal}
Ability to know what happens when your back is turned.
Mother must have eyes in the back of her head, because she always knows when I do something wrong.
[eyes open] {adj. phr.}
1. Careful watch or attention; readiness to see. — Usually used with "for".
Keep your eyes open for a boy in a red cap and sweater.
The hunter had his eyes open for rabbits.
* /They drove on with their eyes open for a […]
[eyes pop out] {informal} (You) are very much surprised. — Used with a possessive noun or pronoun.
Mary's eyes popped out when her mother entered her classroom.
When Joan found a clock radio under the Christmas tree, her eyes popped out.