Browse by first letter

The G drawer

86 phrases beginning with G.

Galore In large numbers or amounts; abundantly, plentifully. It is nearly always postpositive, following the noun it modifies ('opportunities galore', 'food…
Gargantuan Enormous, tremendous in size, volume, or degree; gigantic. Often used with humorous hyperbole, as of an appetite, a task, or a bill, the word keeps a…
Gaslighting Psychological manipulation in which a person persistently denies or distorts another's experiences until the victim doubts their own memory…
Gerrymander To manipulate the boundaries of an electoral constituency so as to give one party or group an unfair advantage; also a noun for such a district or the…
Gestalt An organised whole perceived or conceived as more than the sum of its parts: a unified configuration, pattern, or overall impression whose character…
Get a leg up To gain an advantage or boost, stepping ahead.
Get a wiggle on Hurry up, begin moving, or work faster, usually as an informal and lightly humorous prompt rather than a severe command. Informal and often…
Get down to brass tacks To stop dealing in generalities and turn to the basic facts, practical details, or real substance of a matter, especially in a negotiation or business…
Get off on the wrong foot To begin a relationship, project or undertaking badly, most often with an unfortunate first impression between two people. The standard opposite is…
Get someone's goat To annoy, irritate or exasperate someone, whether through a single incident or a steady drip of small provocations. Informal in register; American in…
Get the bit between your teeth To seize control of a situation and push ahead with determination, often brushing aside restraint or opposition. It can carry a second shade: throwing…
Get the hook To be removed, dismissed or rejected abruptly, especially for performing badly; aimed at someone else it means to fire, eject or cut them off…
Get the sack To be dismissed from a job, usually unceremoniously. The phrase is informal and common in British and Australian English; in American English 'get…
Get wind of To hear about something secret or not yet public, usually indirectly and before it is announced. Typically said of rumors, plans or news that someone…
Get your ducks in a row Become thoroughly organised and prepared by arranging the necessary details before acting.
Get your goat To annoy or provoke someone intensely, hitting a nerve that throws them off balance.
Get your hands dirty To do the hard, practical, or unpleasant parts of a job yourself rather than supervising or delegating them; said with approval of a willingness to…
Get your money's worth To receive full value, benefit, or enjoyment in return for what you paid or the effort you put in. Used of purchases, outings, subscriptions, and…
Ghosting Abruptly ending a relationship or communication with someone by cutting off all contact and ignoring their attempts to reach out, without any…
Gig economy A labour market built on short-term, freelance, and on-demand jobs arranged through digital platforms, where workers are paid per task rather than…
Girl dinner A low-effort meal eaten alone and assembled from whatever is on hand, typically a snack plate of things like bread, cheese, fruit, and pickles rather…
Girl math A self-mocking internet formula for justifying purchases through playful, deliberately unsound logic: cash does not really count, anything bought on…
Girlboss Originally a celebratory label for an ambitious woman who runs her own business or, in the populariser's words, is in charge of her own life; now…
Give a man enough rope and he'll hang himself If you leave someone free to act, their own conduct will eventually expose or ruin them. Usually said of a wrongdoer deliberately given slack so that…
Give a wide berth To steer clear or avoid, keeping distance.
Give as good as you get To match blow for blow, holding your own.
Give it a whirl To try something out, giving it a spin.
Give no quarter Show no mercy, leniency or concession; historically, refuse to spare a defeated enemy. The historical literal sense can imply killing captives and is…
Give short shrift To deal with a person, request or idea with minimal, unsympathetic attention, dismissing it briskly rather than considering it properly; often used of…
Give someone a hand Two senses. To help someone with a task, as in asking for assistance with something heavy or complicated. Also, to applaud someone, that is, to clap…
Give someone an inch and they'll take a mile Someone who is granted a small concession will presume upon it and try to seize a far bigger advantage. Typically a warning against leniency toward…
Give someone the boot To dismiss someone from a job, expel them from a place or group, or end a relationship with them abruptly. Blunt informal usage that makes the…
Give someone the cold shoulder Deliberately ignore someone or treat them with conspicuous unfriendliness or lack of interest.
Give someone the runaround To dodge or mislead with vague excuses, sending them in circles.
Give someone the shirt off your back To be prepared to give away anything you own, even the clothes you are actually wearing, in order to help someone. It is said of people of extreme…
Give someone the third degree Question someone intensely, aggressively, or at exhausting length. Current; now often hyperbolic rather than literal Regional use: United States…
Give the devil his due Credit even a foe what's fair, nod them.
Give the game away Reveal a secret, hidden intention, plan, or surprise, often inadvertently, so that a deception is exposed or the intended surprise is spoiled. The…
Give the green light To okay or let go, all clear.
Give the slip To escape or dodge someone slyly, slipping away unnoticed.
Give up the ghost To die or cease functioning, letting go of life or effort.
Give'r Put in maximum effort, go hard, or proceed with full enthusiasm. Current, informal, and energetic Regional use: Canada, especially Western Canada and…
Glass ceiling The invisible barrier that keeps qualified women - and by extension minorities - from rising beyond a certain level in an organization, however good…
Glass cliff A situation in which a member of an underrepresented group, especially a woman, is promoted to a leadership position only when the organisation is…
Go bananas To become wildly excited, enthusiastic, or frenzied, as a crowd at a game; or, of a person, to be driven crazy with irritation or distraction. The…
Go belly up To fail completely, collapse, or cease to exist; said especially of businesses, projects, plans, or schemes that go bankrupt or come to nothing, and…
Go bung To fail, collapse, become bankrupt or stop functioning; in older use, also to die. Informal and broad: context must show whether the subject failed…
Go for broke Risk everything in an all-out attempt to succeed. Current informal idiom Regional use: Hawaii, then the wider United States.
Go for the big skate Coast or wait for a conspicuous scoring chance instead of contributing steadily to team play. Highly obscure and domain-specific Regional use…
Go out on a limb To take a bold risk or stand alone, venturing into uncertainty.
Go overboard To do or say too much; to act with excessive enthusiasm or to an unreasonable extreme. Informal, and usually a mild criticism or friendly warning…
Go pound sand Go away; a dismissive refusal to cooperate or take someone seriously. Current, blunt, and mildly rude Regional use: United States.
Go the extra mile To make an exceptional effort beyond what's required or expected, showing dedication, generosity, or excellence in pursuit of a goal. It suggests…
Go the whole hog Do something completely or as fully as possible, without holding back or stopping at a partial measure.
Go to Jericho A dismissive command to go away, get out of sight and leave the speaker alone. Dated euphemistic dismissal, roughly 'go away' or a softened 'go to…
Go to pot To deteriorate, fall into decline or be ruined, especially through neglect. Said of a person's health or fortunes, a business, a building or a skill…
Go to your head Said of alcohol that quickly makes you dizzy or unlike yourself, and of praise, success, or power that makes you conceited. Both senses share the idea…
Go with the flow To accept a situation as it develops instead of resisting it or insisting on a plan; to be easygoing and adapt to whatever others are doing or to…
Golden age An idyllic earlier period of peace, prosperity, happiness and achievement, whether real or imagined, usually identified in hindsight; 'the golden age…
Golden calf Any idol of wealth or power worshipped in place of what actually matters - money as an end in itself, or a symbol mistaken for the thing it…
Golden handshake A generous payment made to an executive on leaving a company - whether dismissed, retired out, or eased aside by restructuring - typically written…
Golden parachute A large payout guaranteed to a senior executive who loses their job - severance, cash bonuses, stock options - typically triggered when a merger or…
Gone for a Burton Lost, ruined, broken or, in its original wartime use, killed. The death sense carries wartime associations; modern use more often concerns objects or…
Gone pear-shaped Gone badly wrong or developed in an unintended and unsuccessful way. Informal. Usually applied to a situation, plan or performance rather than a…
Gone to the dogs Said of a person, institution, place, or state of affairs that has deteriorated badly, declined into ruin, or fallen into moral decay. Usually 'go to…
Good riddance An expression of relief or satisfaction that an unwanted person or thing has gone. Blunt and often insulting when directed at a person. The extended…
Good Samaritan Someone who helps a stranger in distress, at cost or risk to themselves, with no expectation of reward - the passer-by who stops. The phrase carries…
Gordon Bennett An exclamation of surprise, disbelief or exasperation. A mild, non-obscene exclamation. Capitalise it because it retains the form of a personal name…
Grasp the nettle To tackle a difficult, unpleasant, or risky problem boldly and directly instead of hedging, delaying, or working around it. Chiefly British English…
Grassroots The ordinary people at the base of a party, movement, or campaign, as opposed to its leadership, machine, or donors - and, by extension, organizing…
Grease someone's palm To bribe someone by slipping money discreetly into their hand; to pay for a favour, access or special treatment under the table. The image is…
Great minds think alike A humorous or ironic remark made when two people come up with the same idea at the same time. The compliment is usually tongue-in-cheek, since the two…
Green fingers A natural talent for growing plants successfully, making them thrive where others fail. Chiefly British, and usually found in the phrases 'have green…
Green flag A positive sign that a person or situation is likely healthy, safe, or worthwhile, especially a trait that makes a potential partner or friend seem…
Green light Official permission or authorization to go ahead with a plan; the signal that clears the way forward, applied to business, government and personal…
Green with envy Extremely envious: someone turns or is green with envy when they keenly want what another person has. Usually light or exaggerated in tone, and most…
Greenwashing Misleading marketing or public relations that makes a company, product, or policy seem more environmentally friendly than it really is, typically…
Grey area A situation, question or field of activity that resists clear classification, where the rules are unclear or the boundary between right and wrong…
Grey matter Literally, the brownish-grey nervous tissue, rich in nerve-cell bodies, of the brain and spinal cord, as distinct from white matter. Figuratively and…
Grin and bear it To accept something unpleasant, painful, or unwelcome with forced good humour and without complaining, because there is no realistic way to avoid it…
Grin like a Cheshire cat To smile or grin very broadly, showing the teeth, usually with unshakeable or unexplained good humour. Often suggests a smile that is fixed…
Grit your teeth To press your teeth together firmly, or figuratively to summon resolve and force yourself to face something painful, difficult, or unpleasant. It…
Groggy Weak, dazed, and unsteady, typically because of interrupted sleep, illness, medication, or fatigue; very common in 'feeling groggy'. The word once…
Guinea pig A person or thing used as the subject of an experiment, test, or trial, especially one facing an untested procedure, product, or policy whose effects…
Gung ho Informal adjective, American in flavour, meaning extremely enthusiastic, eager, or zealous, sometimes so much so that it sounds excessive or naive. It…
Guru Originally a personal religious teacher and spiritual guide in Hinduism, and by extension Sikhism and Buddhism; in general English now any influential…