pick

packet

packet {n.}

1. A large sum of money (earn a packet).

2. A nasty surprise (catch a packet).

Categories:

Source: British slang (Wikipedia)

'packet' on video

Subscribe to: British Slang

✉

Get site updates @:

See as well

catch one's breath

[catch one's breath] {v. phr.} 1. To breathe in suddenly with fear or surprise. * /The beauty of the scene made him catch his breath./ Compare: [TAKE ONE'S BREATH AWAY]. […] A Dictionary of American Idioms

nasty-nice

[nasty-nice] {adj.} Unkind in a polite way; disagreeable while pretending to be gracious. * /The bus driver has a nasty-nice way of showing his dislike./ A Dictionary of American Idioms

catch-as-catch-can

[catch-as-catch-can] {adj. phr.} Using any means or method; unplanned; free. * /Rip van Winkle seems to have led a catch-as-catch-can life./ * /Politics is rather a catch-as-catch-can business./ Compare: [HIT-OR-MISS]. […] A Dictionary of American Idioms

make a killing

[make a killing] {v. phr.} To earn or suddenly win a very large sum of money. * /Herb bought a lot of soybean stock when the price was low and […] A Dictionary of American Idioms

Slang is

"very informal usage in vocabulary and idiom that is characteristically more metaphorical, playful, elliptical, vivid and ephemeral than ordinary language" (Random House Unabridged Dictionary) - learn ~600 slang expressions

An idiom is

an expression "whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements… or from the general grammatical rules of a language"

Recent updates

Paul Beatty

(1962--) U.S. poet If all the world's a stage, I want to operate the trap door.

Percussive Maintenance

[Percussive Maintenance] The fine art of whacking the crap out of an electronic device to get it to work again.

Idioms to Learn Today

Learn/refresh your knowledge against this set!Then check yourself by running flashcard test by definitions or by descriptions.

book

[book] See: [CLOSED BOOK], [CLOSE THE BOOKS], [HIT THE BOOKS], [KEEP BOOKS], [NOSE IN A BOOK], [ONE FOR THE BOOKS], […]

take root

[take root] {v. phr.} 1. To form roots so as to be able to live and grow. * /We hope the transplanted apple trees will take […]

bite the dust

[bite the dust] {v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To be killed in battle. * /Captain Jones discharged his gun and another guerrilla […]

huh-uh

[huh-uh] or [hum-um] or [uh-uh] {adv.}, {informal} No. - Used only in speech or to record dialogue. * /Did Mary come? […]

wash and wear

[wash and wear] {adj.} Not needing to be ironed. - Refers especially to synthetic and synthetic blend fabrics. * /Dick […]