Strange Phrases and Their Variants

A

49 phrases

B

39 phrases

C

39 phrases

D

27 phrases

Damp squib
- A bit of a damp squib
- Prove a damp squib
Davy Jones's locker
- Go to Davy Jones's locker
- Send to Davy Jones's locker
Dead as a doornail
- As a doornail
Devil a bit
- Deil a bit
- Devil the bit
- Divil a bit
Dine with Duke Humphrey
- Dine with Humphrey
Dinna fash yourself
- Dinna fash
- Do not fash yourself
Do the needful
- Do the needful at the earliest
- Kindly do the needful
- Please do the needful
Dog days of summer
- Dog days
- The dog days
Dog eat dog
- Dog-eat-dog
- Eat dog
Dollars to doughnuts
- a dollar to a doughnut
- bet dollars to doughnuts
- dollars to donuts
Don't bite the hand that feeds you
- Don't bite hand
Don't count your chickens before they hatch
- Don't count your chickens
Don't give up the day job
- Day job
- Don't give job
Don't hold your breath
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth
- Don't look the horse
- Gift horse
Don't put all your eggs in one basket
- All eggs one basket
- Eggs in one basket
Don't rest on your laurels
Don't rock the boat
Don't shoot the messenger
- Don't shoot
Don't take any wooden nickels
- Do not take any wooden nickels
- Don't accept any wooden nickels
Don't teach your grandmother to suck eggs
- Don't teach
- Suck eggs
Don't throw stones in glass houses
- Glass houses
Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater
- Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater
- Empty the baby out with the bathwater
- Throw the baby out with the bathwater
Don't upset the apple cart
- Apple cart
Donkey's years
- Donkey's
- Donkey's ears
- Donkeys' years
Double-double
- double double
Drugstore cowboy
- Drugstore cowpuncher

E

18 phrases

F

33 phrases

Face like thunder
- Like thunder
Face the music
Facts are chiels that winna ding
- Facts are chiels that winna ding and downa be disputed
Fair and square
- Beat someone fair and square
- Win fair and square
Fair crack of the whip
- A fair crack
- A fair go
- Get a fair crack of the whip
- Give someone a fair crack of the whip
Fair to middling
- Fair-to-middling
- Middling to fair
Fall between two stools
- Two stools
Fall off the wagon
- Off the wagon
Familiarity breeds contempt
- Too much familiarity breeds contempt
Fast and loose
- Play fast and loose
- Playing fast and loose
Feel your oats
- feel one's oats
- feeling her oats
- feeling his oats
Fight the good fight
- Fight the good fight of faith
- Keep fighting the good fight
Fine and dandy
- All fine and dandy
- Just fine and dandy
Fine as frog hair
- fine as frog hair and twice as hard to split
- fine as frog hair split four ways
- fine as frog's hair
- finer than frog hair
Fine words butter no parsnips
- Fair words butter no parsnips
- Fine words butter no fish
- Soft words butter no parsnips
First come, first served
- First to the mill, first to grind
Fish or cut bait
- Cut bait
Fish out of water
- Fish out
Fit as a butcher's dog
- Butcher's dog
Fit as a fiddle
- As fit as a fiddle
Fit to be tied
Five by five
- 5 by 5
- five-by-five
Flat as a pancake
- As a pancake
Flat out like a lizard drinking
- Flat out like a lizard drinkin'
- Going flat out like a lizard drinking
Flesh and blood
- One's own flesh and blood
Fly by the seat of your pants
- Fly by pants
- Seat of pants
Fly off the handle
- Fly off his handle
- Off the handle
Fool's gold
For love or money
- For love nor money
- Not for love nor money
- Not for love or money
Foul play
- No foul play
- Play foul
- Suspect foul play
From pillar to post
- From post to pillar
Full of beans
Full of hot air

G

29 phrases

Get a leg up
- Get a leg
- Leg up
Get a wiggle on
- Get a wiggle on you
- Get a wriggle on
Get your ducks in a row
- Have your ducks in a row
- Put your ducks in a row
Get your goat
- Get the goat
Give a wide berth
- Wide berth
Give as good as you get
- Good as get
Give it a whirl
- Give a whirl
Give no quarter
- Ask no quarter
- No quarter
- No quarter given
Give someone the cold shoulder
- Cold-shoulder someone
- Give the cold shoulder
- Show someone the cold shoulder
Give someone the runaround
Give someone the third degree
- get the third degree
- put someone through the third degree
- third-degree someone
Give the devil his due
Give the game away
- Give the show away
- Give the whole game away
- Give the whole show away
Give the green light
- Green light
Give the slip
- Give a slip
Give up the ghost
- Give the ghost
- Up the ghost
Give'r
- giv 'er
- giv'er
- give 'er
Go bung
- Gone bung
Go for broke
- go-for-broke
- going for broke
- let's go for broke
Go for the big skate
- going for the big skate
Go out on a limb
- Out on a limb
Go pound sand
- have sense enough to pound sand
- pound sand
- pound sand down a rat hole
Go the extra mile
Go the whole hog
- Go whole hog
Go to Jericho
Gone for a Burton
- Go for a Burton
- Went for a Burton
Gone pear-shaped
- Go pear-shaped
- Things went pear-shaped
- Turn pear-shaped
Good riddance
- A good riddance
- Good riddance of bad rubbish
- Good riddance to bad rubbish
Gordon Bennett

H

45 phrases

I

25 phrases

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride
- If wishes were buttercakes, beggars might bite
- If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride
- If wishes were thrushes, beggars would eat birds
Ignorance is bliss
In a New York minute
- a New York minute
- one-fourth of a New York minute
In a nutshell
- Nutshell
In a pickle
In a pig's eye
- Pig's eye
In fine fettle
- In excellent fettle
- In good fettle
- In rare fettle
In for a penny, in for a pound
- If in for a penny, in for a pound
- Once in for a penny, in for a pound
In hot water
- In the hot water
In like a dirty shirt
- all over it like a dirty shirt
- in there like a dirty shirt
- on it like a dirty shirt
In like Flynn
- I'm Flynn
- in like Flint
- your name is Flynn, you're in
In over your head
In the bag
In the black
In the doghouse
- Doghouse
In the doldrums
- Have the doldrums
- The Doldrums
In the driver's seat
- Driver's seat
In the heat of the moment
In the lap of luxury
In the nick of time
- In the nick
- Nick of time
In the pink
In the red
In the same boat
- Same boat
In the soup
In the twinkling of an eye
- In a twinkling of an eye

J

14 phrases

Ja well no fine
- Ja well, no fine
- Ja, well, no, fine
- Jawellnofine
- Yarwellnofine
Jack of all trades
- Jack of trades
Jerusalem cricket
- Child of the earth
- Jerusalem crickets
- Potato bug
- Sand cricket
Jump down someone's throat
- Jump down one's throat
- Jump down your throat
Jump on the bandwagon
- Jump the bandwagon
- On the bandwagon
Jump on the gravy train
- Get on the gravy train
- Gravy train
- Ride the gravy train
Jump out of the frying pan into the fire
- Frying pan fire
Jump out of your skin
- Out of skin
Jump ship
- Jump the ship
Jump the gun
Jump the queue
Jump the shark
- Jumped the shark
- Jumping the shark
Jump through hoops
- Through the hoops
Jumping Jehoshaphat
- Jumpin' Jehoshaphat
- Jumping Geehosofat

K

28 phrases

Katy, bar the door
- Katie, bar the door
- Katie, bar your door
- Katy, bar your door
Keep it under your hat
- Keep under hat
Keep the ball rolling
- Keep things rolling
- Keep this ball rolling
Keep the wolf from the door
- Wolf at door
Keep your eye on the ball
Keep your eyes peeled
- Eyes peeled
Keep your hair on
- Hair on
Keep your nose clean
- Nose clean
Keep your nose to the grindstone
Keep your pants on
- Pants on
Keep your pecker up
- Keep one's pecker up
- Keep up your pecker
Keep your powder dry
- Keep one's powder dry
- Keep the powder dry
Keep your shirt on
- Keep the shirt
- Shirt on
Kick against the pricks
- Kick against the goads
Kick over the traces
Kick the bucket
Kick the can down the road
- Can down the road
- Kick the can
Kick the habit
Kick up a fuss
Kick up your heels
Kill two birds with one stone
- Kill two with one
- Two birds one stone
Kindly revert
- Kindly revert back
- Please revert
- Revert at the earliest
- Revert with the details
Kith and kin
- Neither kith nor kin
Knock down a cheque
- Knock down a pile
- Knock down one's cheque
- Knock one's cheque down
Knock for a loop
- Knock someone for a loop
- Knocked for a loop
- Throw for a loop
Knock on wood
- Knock wood
- Touch wood
Knock yourself out
- don't knock yourself out
- go ahead and knock yourself out
- knock oneself out
Know your onions
- Know one's onions
- Know your onion

L

35 phrases

Lang may your lum reek
- Lang may yer lum reek
Laugh like a drain
- Cackle like a drain
- Laughing like a drain
- Roar like a drain
Laughing all the way to the bank
Lead-pipe cinch
- a lead-pipe cinch
- lead pipe cinch
Leave much to be desired
- Leave a great deal to be desired
- Leave a lot to be desired
- Leave something to be desired
- Leaves much to be desired
- Left much to be desired
Leave no stone unturned
- No stone unturned
Let her rip
- Let 'er rip
- Let the machine rip
Let sleeping dogs lie
- Let dogs lie
Let the cat out of the bag
- The cat is out of the bag
- The cat's out of the bag
Lickety-split
- Lickety-click
- Lickety-cut
Like a bat out of hell
- Out of hell
Like a bear with a sore head
- Bear sore head
- Like bear sore
Like a bolt from the blue
- From the blue
Like a bull at a gate
Like a bull in a china shop
- Bull and china
- Bull in china
Like a cat with nine lives
- Nine lives
Like a deer in the headlights
Like a dog with two tails
- Two tails
Like a kid in a candy store
Like a lamb to the slaughter
- Led like a lamb to the slaughter
Like a moth to a flame
- To a flame
Like a red rag to a bull
- Rag to bull
- Red rag bull
Like all get-out
- all git-out
- as all get-out
- as get-out
- than all get-out
Like billy-o
- Like billio
- Like billy-hoo
- Like billy-oh
Like herding cats
- Herding cats
Like Hogan's goat
- deader than Hogan's goat
- Hogan's goat
- wouldn't know it from Hogan's goat
Like shooting fish in a barrel
- As easy as shooting fish in a barrel
- Shooting fish in a barrel
Like the clappers
- Go like the clappers
- Run like the clappers
- Work like the clappers
Like turkeys voting for Christmas
- Turkeys for Christmas
Lollygag
- lally-gag
- lallygag
- lolly-gag
London to a brick
- It's London to a brick
- London to a brick against
- London to a brick on
Long may your big jib draw
- and long may your big jib draw
- deed I is, me old cock, and long may your big jib draw
Long time no see
- Long time no see you
Loose cannon
Love is blind
- Love sees no faults

M

37 phrases

Mad as a cut snake
- Go off like a cut snake
- Mad as a snake
- Wild as a cut snake
Mad as a hatter
- As mad as a hatter
Madder than a wet hen
- As mad as a wet hen
- Mad as a wet hen
Make a beeline
- Make the beeline
Make a clean breast
- Clean breast
Make a clean sweep
- Clean sweep
Make a hames of
- Make a complete hames of
- Make a hames out of
- Make a right hames of
Make a holy show of yourself
- Be a holy show
- Make a show of yourself
Make a meal of it
Make a mountain out of a molehill
Make a pig of yourself
- Make a pig of oneself
- Make a pig out of yourself
Make a pig's ear
- Pig's ear
Make a rod for your own back
Make a silk purse out of a sow's ear
Make a song and dance
Make a virtue of necessity
- Turn necessity into a virtue
Make ends meet
- Make both ends meet
- Make the two ends meet
- Struggle to make ends meet
Make hay while the sun shines
- Hay while sun shines
- Make hay
Make no bones about it
- Make no bone
- No bones
Make no odds
- No odds
Make the grade
- Made the grade
- Making the grade
Make waves
- Make the waves
Man does not live by bread alone
- Man cannot live by bread alone
Many a little makes a mickle
- Many a mickle makes a muckle
- Many littles make a mickle
Many hands make light work
- Many hands lighten the work
May Two-Four
- May Two Four
- May Two-Four weekend
Method in the madness
- A method to the madness
- Method to your madness
- There's method in your madness
Might and main
- With might and main
Mind like a steel trap
Mind your Ps and Qs
- Mind your p's and q's
- Watch your p's and q's
Monday morning quarterback
- Monday quarterback
- Monday-morning quarterbacking
Money burns a hole in your pocket
- Hole in pocket
Monkey on your back
- A monkey on one's back
- Have a monkey on your back
Monkey's wedding
- A monkey wedding
- Jackal's wedding
- The monkey's wedding
More haste, less speed
- The mair haste, the waur speed
- The more haste, the less speed
Murder will out
- Mordre wol out
My brother's keeper
- Am I my brother's keeper?

N

33 phrases

Neck and crop
- Throw someone out neck and crop
Neither use nor ornament
- Be neither use nor ornament
Nip it in the bud
- In the bud
- Nip the bud
No dice
No man is an island
- No man is an island entire of itself
- No one is an island
- No person is an island
No rose without a thorn
- Every rose has its thorn
No skin off my nose
- No skin off my back
- No skin off one's nose
No spring chicken
None of your beeswax
- It's none of your beeswax
- mind your own beeswax
- that's not your beeswax
Not a leg to stand on
Not a patch on
Not a snowball's chance in hell
Not all there
- Not quite all there
Not cricket
- It isn't cricket
- That's not cricket
Not for Joe
- Not for Joseph
Not give a hoot
Not give a monkey's
Not give a tinker's cuss
- Not care a tinker's cuss
- Not give a tinker's curse
- Not give a tinker's damn
Not just whistling Dixie
- Not merely whistling Dixie
- You ain't just whistling Dixie
- You aren't just whistling Dixie
Not my cup of tea
- Not my tea
Not my pigeon
- Not one's pigeon
- Someone's pigeon
- That's not my pigeon
Not playing with a full deck
- A few cards short of a full deck
Not the full quid
- A few bob short of a quid
- A few roos loose in the top paddock
- A sandwich short of a picnic
- Not the full bottle
Not within cooee
- Not within a cooee
- Nowhere within cooee
Not worth a brass farthing
- Brass farthing
Not worth a hill of beans
- Hill of beans
- Not worth beans
Not worth a plugged nickel
- Plugged nickel
Not worth a tinker's damn
- Not worth a tinker's curse
- Not worth a tinker's cuss
Not worth the candle
Not worth the paper it's written on
Nothing new under the sun
- There is nothing new under the sun
Now-now
- I'll do it now-now
- Just now
- Now now
Null and void
- Null, void and of no effect

O

32 phrases

Off the cuff
Off the hook
Off your high horse
Off your rocker
- Off one's rocker
On a hiding to nothing
- A hiding to nothing
- On a hiding to nowhere
On a wing and a prayer
- On wing prayer
- Wing and prayer
On cloud nine
- Cloud nine
- Up on cloud nine
On tenterhooks
- On tenters
On the back foot
- Back foot
On the ball
On the breadline
- Breadline
On the fritz
- be on the fritz
- go on the fritz
- on the blink
On the horns of a dilemma
On the lam
On the pig's back
- Pig's back
On the Q.T.
- On Q.T.
- Q.T. on
On the razzle
On the ropes
On the skids
On the straight and narrow
- The straight and narrow
- The strait and narrow
On the wagon
- On the water cart
- On the water wagon
On the wallaby track
- Go on the wallaby
- On the wallaby
- Out on the wallaby
On the wrong side of the tracks
- Wrong side
One fell swoop
- At one fell swoop
- In one fell swoop
One over the eight
- Be one over the eight
- Have one over the eight
- One over eight
Out of sight, out of mind
- Once out of sight, soon out of mind
Out of station
- Be out of station
- Currently out of station
- Go out of station
Out of the blue
Out of your depth
- Out of depth
Out to lunch
- be out to lunch
- way out to lunch
Over a barrel
- get someone over a barrel
- have someone over a barrel
- hold someone over a barrel
Over-egg the pudding
- Over-egg it
- Overegg the pudding

P

28 phrases

Paint the town red
- Paint the whole town red
Part and parcel
- Part or parcel
Pass the buck
Pell-mell
- In pell-mell fashion
Penny wise and pound foolish
- Pennie wise and pound foolish
- Penny wise, pound foolish
Piece of cake
- A piece of cake
Pipe down
- Pipe down below
Play hooky
- hooky
- play hookey
- play hookie
Play it by ear
- By ear
- Play by ear
Play second fiddle
- Second fiddle
Pull out all the stops
- Pull the stops
Pull the wool over your eyes
- Draw the wool over someone's eyes
- Spread the wool over someone's eyes
- You can't pull the wool over my eyes
Put a damper on
- Damper on
Put a sock in it
- Put in a sock
Put paid to
- Put paid
Put the cart before the horse
- Don't put the cart before the horse
- Set the cart before the horse
Put the comether on
- Put the come-hither on
- Put the comether on someone
Put the heart crossways in someone
- Have the heart crossways in you
- Put someone's heart crossways
- Put the heart crosswise in someone
Put the kibosh on
- Put the kybosh on
- Put the kyebosh on
Put the screws on
- Screws on
Put the wind up
- Wind up
Put through the wringer
Put up your dukes
- Put up the dukes
- Put up your dooks
Put wood in the hole
- Put t' wood in t' oil
- Put wood in t'hole
Put your best foot forward
- Best foot
- Foot forward
Put your foot in it
- Foot in mouth
- Put one's foot in it
- Put one's foot in one's mouth
- Put your foot in your mouth
- Stick your foot in your mouth
Put your money where your mouth is
Put your oar in
- Oar in

Q

7 phrases

Queen Anne is dead
- Queen Anne's dead
Queer as a three-dollar bill
- Fake as a three-dollar bill
- Phony as a three-dollar bill
Queer fish
- Odd fish
Queer street
- Down Queer Street
- In Queer Street
Quick as a flash
- As a flash
Quick on the draw
Quiet as a mouse
- As a mouse

R

30 phrases

Rack and ruin
- Go to rack and ruin
- Wrack and ruin
Rain on your parade
Raining buckets
Raining cats and dogs
- Rain cats and dogs
- Raining dogs and cats
Raining pitchforks
Raise the roof
Rank and file
- Rank-and-file members
- The rank and file
Rattle your dags
- Better rattle your dags
- Get your dags rattling
- Rattle the dags
Read the Riot Act
- Read someone the Riot Act
Reap the whirlwind
- Reaping the whirlwind
- Sow the wind and reap the whirlwind
- They that sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind
Reap what you sow
- As you sow, so shall you reap
Ride herd on
- Ride herd over
- Riding herd on
Ride roughshod over
- Ride roughshod
- Ride roughshod over someone
- Run roughshod over
- Run roughshod over someone
Ride shotgun
- Sit shotgun
Ride the wave
Root and branch
- Root-and-branch reform
Root, hog, or die
- root hog or die
- root, hog, or - die
Round the bend
- Around the bend
- Drive someone round the bend
- Go round the bend
Ruffle some feathers
Rule of thumb
- As a rule of thumb
- By rule of thumb
Run a mile
Run a tight ship
- Tight ship
Run around like a headless chicken
- Headless chicken
Run like the wind
Run of the mill
- Run of mill
Run off your feet
Run out of steam
Run ragged
- Run rag
Run rings around
- Rings around
- Run rings
Run the gauntlet
- Go through the gauntlet
- Run the gantlet
- Run the gantlope

S

54 phrases

T

56 phrases

U

22 phrases

Under bare poles
- Lie under bare poles
- Scud under bare poles
Under false colours
- Fly false colours
- Sail under false colours
- Under false colors
Under the gun
- Be under the gun
Under the table
Under the weather
Under the wire
Under your thumb
- Under the thumb
Up a blind alley
- Blind alley
Up a gum tree
Up and running
Up in arms
- In arms
Up in the air
- In the air
- Up in air
Up the ante
Up the boohai
- Gone boohai
- Up Boohai
- Up Puhoi
- Up the boohai shooting pukeko
Up the creek
- Up a creek
Up the duff
Up the wall
Up to scratch
- To scratch
- Up the scratch
Up to the mark
Up to your ears
- To your ears
Up to your neck
Up your sleeve

W

27 phrases

Walk on eggshells
- Walk on eggs
Wash your hands of something
- Wash one's hands of it
We're all Jock Tamson's bairns
- We're a' Jock Tamson's bairns
- We're all John Tamson's bairns
Wear and tear
- Normal wear and tear
Wear your heart on your sleeve
Wet behind the ears
- Behind the ears
What in Sam Hill?
- how in Sam Hill
- like Sam Hill
- what the Sam Hill
- who in Sam Hill
What is your good name?
- Could I have your good name?
- May I know your good name?
- Your good name, please?
What's done is done
- What is done cannot be undone
- What is done is done
- What's done cannot be undone
What's the craic?
- Any craic?
- How's the craic?
- What about ye, any craic?
- What's the crack?
When hell freezes over
- Hell freezes
When in Rome
- In Rome
When pigs fly
- Pigs fly
When push comes to shove
- Push to shove
When the cat's away
- Cat's away
When the chips are down
When the cows come home
When the dust settles
- Dust settles
When the fat lady sings
- It ain't over till the fat lady sings
- It isn't over until the fat lady sings
- The opera ain't over till the fat lady sings
When the going gets tough
When your ship comes in
- Ship comes
Where there's muck there's brass
- Where there's muck there's luck
- Where there's muck there's money
Whoop it up
- Whoop things up
- Whooping it up
Wild and woolly
- wild and woolly and hard to curry
- wild and wooly
Willy-nilly
- Will I, nill I
Without let or hindrance
- Without any let or hindrance
Without rhyme or reason
- Neither rhyme nor reason

X

2 phrases

X marks the spot
X-ray vision
- Ray vision

Y

14 phrases

You can lead a horse to water
- Horse to water
- Lead to water
You can't have it both ways
You can't judge a book by its cover
- Book by its cover
You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs
You can't polish a turd
- Can't polish
You can't put the genie back in the bottle
You can't take it with you
- Can't take
- Take it
- With you
You can't teach an old dog new tricks
- Old dog tricks
You can't win them all
- You can't win 'em all
You're pulling my leg
- Pulling my leg
You're the bee's knees
- Bee's knees
- The bee's knees
You've got another think coming
- Another think
- Think coming
You've got rocks in your head
- Have rocks in one's head
- Rocks in your head
You've got your work cut out
- Work cut

Z

2 phrases

Zapped out
- Zapped
Zig when others zag
- Zig and zag

Phrases & variants

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

W

X

Y

Z

No phrase matches that filter