VOCABULARY - IDIOMS

Waiting in the Wings

Meaning: Ready to assume responsibilities but not yet active, ready to become a successor

Waka-Jumping

Meaning: Change political parties (said of politicians themselves)

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

Meaning: Stop deluding yourself

Wake Up on the Wrong Side of the Bed

Meaning: Be grumpy or ill-humored. Generally used in past tense

Walk on Eggshells

Meaning: To have to act very sensitively in order to avoid offending someone

Walk the Plank

Meaning: Be forced to resign a position

Wandering Eye

Meaning: A tendency to look at and desire women or men other than one’s committed romantic partner

Wandering Eye

Meaning: A tendency to look at and desire women or men other than one’s committed romantic partner

Wash Your Hands of Something

Meaning: Decline to take further responsibility; refuse to be involved with something anymore

Water Under the Bridge

Meaning: Something in the past that’s no longer worth worrying about

Watering Hole

Meaning: A place where alcoholic beverages are served, a bar

Weekend Warrior

Meaning: Someone who has an office job but enjoys contact sports on weekends; a member of a military reserve force (whose exercises are typically on weekends)

We’ll Cross That Bridge

Meaning: When We Come to It We’ll deal with that problem if and when it comes up

Welsh (Welch) on a Deal

Meaning: Not observe the terms of an agreement

Wet Behind the Ears

Meaning: inexperienced, immature, new to something

Wet Behind the Ears

Meaning: Inexperienced, immature, new to something

Wet Blanket

Meaning: Someone who dampens a festive occasion

Wet Your Whistle

Meaning: Drink something

What Do You Make of (Him)?

Meaning: What is your evaluation of this person?

What Goes Around Comes Around

Meaning: The kind of treatment you give to others will eventually return to you; things go in cycles

What’s Good for the Goose Is Good for the Gander

Meaning: What’s OK for a man is OK for a woman, too

When Hell Freezes Over

Meaning: Never

When In Doubt, Leave It Out

Meaning: When unsure about something, omit it.

When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do

Meaning: When you visit a new place, follow the customs of the people there

When It Rains, It Pours

Meaning: Problems tend to come in groups.

When Pigs Fly

Meaning: Never; something will never happen

When the Chips Are Down

Meaning: When a situation becomes urgent or difficult

Where (When) the Rubber

Meaning: Meets the Road In reality; where an idea meets a real-world test

Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way

Meaning: If you have a strong desire to accomplish something, you will achieve it even in the face of considerable odds.

Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire

Meaning: If there is typical evidence of something, the most likely explanation is that it is actually occurring.

Whisper Sweet Nothings (in Someone’s Ear)

Meaning: Speak meaningless romantic utterances

Whistle in the Dark

Meaning: To be unrealistically confident or brave; to talk about something of which one has little knowledge

Whistle Past the Graveyard

Meaning: Remain optimistic despite dangers; be clueless

Whistling Dixie

Meaning: Being unrealistically optimistic

White Elephant

Meaning: An unwanted item that is difficult to sell or dispose of

Who’s She, the Cat’s Mother?

Meaning: Why does she have such a high opinion of herself?

Wild Goose Chase

Meaning: An impossible or futile search or task

Window Dressing

Meaning: A misleading disguise intended to present a favorable impression

Window Shop

Meaning: To look at merchandise in a store without intending to buy it

Witch Hunt

Meaning: An organized attempt to persecute an unpopular group of people and blame them for a problem.

With Bells On

Meaning: Eagerly, willingly, and on time.

Work One’s Fingers to the Bone

Meaning: Work very hard over an extended period

Worn to a Frazzle

Meaning: Exhausted, completely worn out

Wouldn’t Be Caught Dead

Meaning: Would absolutely not allow myself to do this

Writing (Handwriting) on the Wall

Meaning: Hints of coming disaster