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The G drawer
44 phrases beginning with G.
- Gaslighting Psychological manipulation in which a person persistently denies or distorts another's experiences until the victim doubts their own memory…
- 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 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 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 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.
- 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 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 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 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 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 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 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…
- 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…
- 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…
- 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…
- Greenwashing Misleading marketing or public relations that makes a company, product, or policy seem more environmentally friendly than it really is, typically…
- 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…