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The D drawer
80 phrases beginning with D.
- Damp squib A disappointing event or effort that produces far less effect than expected. Do not list 'damp squid' as a standard variant; it is a common…
- Dance with death To do something so dangerous that death seems a likely partner in the undertaking; to court mortal risk as if death were your dancing companion. The…
- Dark horse A competitor or candidate who is little known but unexpectedly achieves success, or whose abilities are hard to judge because so little is known about…
- David and Goliath A contest between a small, weak underdog and a vastly stronger favourite - used whenever a minnow takes on a giant, in court, in business, in sport…
- Davy Jones's locker The bottom of the sea, especially imagined as the grave of drowned sailors and wrecked ships. Nautical and often macabre. It can refer to the seabed…
- Daylight robbery Blatant, shameless overcharging; extortion so open that those responsible make no attempt to conceal it. Chiefly British and informal, typically an…
- De facto In fact or in reality: describing something that exists and operates in practice whether or not law, title, or official rules recognize it. As an…
- De rigueur Required or expected by the prevailing etiquette, fashion, or convention; obligatory rather than optional. Borrowed from French, it typically modifies…
- Dead as a doornail Completely lifeless or finished, beyond any spark of revival.
- Dead man walking Someone whose doom is already decided - the condemned prisoner on his last walk, or anyone facing a sacking, a rout, or a fate so certain that…
- Dead ringer A person or thing that looks exactly like another; an exact double. Typically 'a dead ringer for someone'. Informal and usually light-hearted; the…
- Dead-end job A job that offers no realistic prospect of promotion, advancement or career progress; employment in which effort leads nowhere. Farlex defines it as…
- Deep dive A thorough, detailed examination or analysis of a subject, also used as a verb meaning to examine something in depth. Common in business, journalism…
- Deepfake A fabricated image, video, or audio clip made with machine-learning tools so convincingly that it appears to show a real person doing or saying…
- Delulu Playfully delusional: so convinced of an unrealistic outcome, especially in dating or celebrity fandom, that the conviction itself becomes the joke…
- Deus ex machina An unexpected person, event or thing that appears suddenly to solve a problem that seemed hopeless; in fiction it is the contrived ending that…
- Devil a bit Not at all or not even the smallest amount, used as an emphatic Irish or dialect denial. Dated or regional and mildly irreverent. It usually precedes…
- Digital detox A planned break from phones, social media, and other screens for a defined period, intended to reduce stress and reset everyday technology habits…
- Dine with Duke Humphrey Go without dinner, especially while pretending or hoping to dine. Archaic. It refers to missing a meal, not to eating grandly with a nobleman…
- Dinna fash yourself Do not worry or trouble yourself, and do not make unnecessary effort over the matter. Regional, friendly and usually reassuring. 'Dinna' is Scots, not…
- Dirt cheap Extremely inexpensive; remarkably cheap. Informal, with 'dirt' supplying the image of the least valuable thing imaginable. Hyphenated as dirt-cheap…
- Do the needful Take whatever action is necessary in the circumstances. Formal and efficient within its regional professional norm. International recipients may…
- Doff your hat To take off your hat, literally as a gesture of respect, greeting or courtesy. In modern use the verb is mostly literary, historical or playful…
- Dog and pony show An elaborate, over-staged presentation, briefing or event put on to impress or persuade an audience, usually with more display than substance. It is…
- Dog days of summer The hottest, most oppressive part of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, often associated with lethargy or a seasonal lull. The exact dates vary by…
- Dog eat dog A ruthless, cutthroat world where everyone fights for themselves.
- Dog in the manger A person who spitefully keeps others from having or enjoying something that they themselves have no use for. It is a criticism of obstructive…
- Dog whistle Political language that seems innocuous to the general audience but carries a targeted secondary message to a particular group, usually one with…
- Dogfooding The practice of a company using its own products internally, under the same conditions as its customers, both to catch faults early and to demonstrate…
- Dollars to doughnuts A wager or assertion made with overwhelming confidence. Somewhat old-fashioned but still transparent Regional use: United States and Canada.
- Domino effect A chain of consequences in which one event triggers the next, each falling like a tile in a set-up row of dominoes - used for collapsing alliances…
- Don't bite the hand that feeds you Don't harm or turn on your benefactor.
- Don't count your chickens before they hatch A warning not to assume success or benefits before they're certain, urging caution against premature optimism that could lead to disappointment. It…
- Don't give up the day job Stick to your main gig, not good enough.
- Don't hold your breath Don't expect it soon or at all, a slim chance.
- Don't look a gift horse in the mouth Don't question or critique a free gift, taking it as is.
- Don't put all your eggs in one basket A caution against risking everything on a single venture, urging diversification to avoid total loss if it fails.
- Don't rest on your laurels Keep pushing, don't coast.
- Don't rock the boat To avoid stirring trouble or change, keeping things steady.
- Don't shoot the messenger Spare the bearer of bad news, not their fault.
- Don't take any wooden nickels A friendly but cautionary farewell meaning: stay alert, avoid being cheated, and do not accept anything worthless or deceptive. Usually humorous and…
- Don't teach your grandmother to suck eggs Don't tell an expert what they know, it's daft.
- Don't throw stones in glass houses Don't judge when you're flawed too, watch it.
- Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater Do not discard something valuable while trying to remove what is unwanted or defective. Improve or reform it selectively rather than rejecting the…
- Don't upset the apple cart Avoid disrupting a good setup or plan, keeping it steady.
- Don't wash your dirty linen in public Do not discuss private quarrels, family secrets or embarrassing internal affairs where outsiders can hear. Usually a rebuke to someone airing a…
- Donkey's years A very long time. Usually appears after 'for' or 'in'. The shortened 'donkey's' is informal British usage. Regional use: United Kingdom, Ireland and…
- Doom spending Spending money on impulse purchases as a way of coping with anxiety about the economy, politics, or the state of the world, instead of saving or…
- Doomscrolling The habit of continuously scrolling through bad news on a phone or computer even though it is distressing, because the content is alarming or…
- Doppelgänger A person's remarkably close look-alike or double. The word arrived in English with a ghostly sense - a spirit-double whose appearance was an omen -…
- Double act A pair of comedians or entertainers who perform as a single act, classically a deadpan straight man opposite an extravagant funny man; by extension…
- Double-double A coffee prepared with two servings of cream and two of sugar. Current informal food-and-drink term Regional use: Canada.
- Doubting Thomas A person who refuses to believe something until they have seen the evidence for themselves - the sceptic who wants to touch the wound. The phrase…
- Down in the dumps Feeling miserable, depressed or low in spirits, usually because of a disappointment, setback or run of bad luck. A mild, everyday expression for a…
- Down in the mouth Looking or feeling dejected, disappointed, or in low spirits. The phrase pictures the physical droop of the corners of the mouth that comes with…
- Down the ballot US political shorthand for races, offices or candidates listed lower on a voting ticket, beneath the marquee contest for president, senator or…
- Down the rabbit hole To fall into a strange, surreal, or bewildering situation that swallows your attention and sense of time. Once associated with psychedelic or…
- Down to earth Practical, realistic and unpretentious; used of people who behave sensibly and without airs, or of advice and explanations that are plain and useful…
- Down to the wire Used of a contest, negotiation, or process whose outcome remains undecided until the very last moment. It typically appears in constructions like 'go…
- Doxxing Publicly revealing private identifying information about someone, such as their home address, workplace, legal name, or phone number, usually online…
- Draconian Excessively harsh - said of laws, rules, penalties, and budget cuts that punish out of all proportion. The word keeps a small compliment in its…
- Drag your feet To act with deliberate slowness because you are unwilling to do something; to stall, procrastinate or hold back progress. Almost always implies…
- Draw a blank To fail to get a result: either to be unable to remember or think of something, or to get nothing from a search, inquiry, or attempt. Common in…
- Draw first blood To inflict the first wound on an opponent in a fight; figuratively, to score the first point, hit, or advantage in any contest, campaign, or dispute…
- Draw the line To set a firm limit on what one is willing to accept, tolerate, or do. It is usually followed by 'at' plus the refused behaviour, as in declining to…
- Draw the short straw To be the person selected for an unpleasant task or fate by a random draw: straws of unequal length are held so the ends are hidden, and whoever pulls…
- Dressed to kill Wearing clothes chosen to make a maximum, devastating impression - stylishly or dramatically dressed so as to overwhelm admirers. Now used of any…
- Dressed to the nines Wearing extremely smart, elaborate, or glamorous clothes. The tone is informal and usually appreciative or amused rather than disapproving; British…
- Dressing down A harsh scolding or formal reprimand, usually delivered by someone in authority to a subordinate who has made a mistake. As a verb phrase, 'to dress…
- Drink like a fish To drink a great deal, usually of alcohol, and habitually rather than on a single occasion. The comparison is to a fish's apparently constant intake…
- Drive someone up the wall To irritate or exasperate someone intensely. The subject is usually a persistent nuisance - a noise, a habit, a delay, a person - and the phrase is…
- Dropout Someone who leaves school, college or university without finishing the course; more broadly, anyone who abandons a programme, group or conventional…
- Drugstore cowboy A person dressed like an experienced cowboy without having the experience, or a fashionable young loafer who lingers in public places. Dated and…
- Drummed out of the corps To expel someone from a group, organization, or profession with deliberate ceremony and public disgrace; the metaphor comes from the old military…
- Duck soup A task that is extremely easy to do; something requiring little or no skill or effort, on a par with 'a piece of cake' or 'a cinch'. An American slang…
- Dunce A person slow at learning - the classroom insult that has outlived the classroom punishment it came with. Calling someone a dunce is now mild, almost…
- Dutch courage Boldness or confidence gained from drinking alcohol rather than from actual bravery, often with the implication that it is fleeting or foolhardy. It…
- Dutch treat An outing or meal at which each participant pays their own share rather than one person treating everyone else; the joke built into the phrase is that…
- Dutch uncle A person who rebukes or lectures frankly, severely and at length, usually with the best of intentions. Nearly always found in the phrase to talk to…
- Déjà vu The uncanny feeling of having already experienced a present situation despite knowing one has not. Beyond that core psychological sense, English has…