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The L drawer

72 phrases beginning with L.

Laconic Using as few words as possible - terse to the point of eloquence. Where taciturn reads as a character flaw, laconic reads as a discipline: the reply…
Lame duck An officeholder, especially in the United States, whose term is ending, who cannot or will not stand again, and whose influence is therefore fading…
Lang may your lum reek May your household remain warm, inhabited and prosperous for a long time. Warm, celebratory and strongly Scottish. Often heard around Hogmanay, but…
Last-ditch Describing a final, desperate attempt or stand made after everything else has failed and nothing remains in reserve. Nearly always attributive…
Latchkey kid A child who comes home from school to an empty house, letting themselves in with the key hung round their neck - the everyday badge of two working…
Laugh like a drain Laugh very loudly, freely and often unattractively. Informal. It emphasizes volume and abandon rather than elegance. Regional use: Chiefly British and…
Laugh up your sleeve To be secretly amused, especially at someone else's expense, while keeping a straight or even solemn face. The laughter is concealed rather than…
Laughing all the way to the bank Making money easily or unexpectedly, reveling in profit with smug glee.
Lead-pipe cinch An outcome regarded as absolutely certain or very easy. Dated and emphatic Regional use: United States, initially horse-racing slang.
Learn the ropes To learn how a job, task or organization actually works, including its routines, methods and unwritten rules. It describes the settling-in period of…
Leave much to be desired To be noticeably inadequate, disappointing, or below the standard expected, often expressed as restrained criticism rather than a blunt condemnation…
Leave no stone unturned To exhaust every possibility or effort in pursuit of a goal, searching thoroughly without overlooking anything, driven by determination or…
Left holding the baby To be left with an unwelcome responsibility that others have abandoned or passed on; to end up solely responsible for a problem or task while everyone…
Left holding the bag To be abandoned by partners or accomplices and left to bear all the loss, cost, responsibility, or blame for what was supposed to be a shared…
Left out in the cold Excluded from a group, activity, benefit or piece of news, and made to feel ignored or forgotten; the omission is done to the person, typically by a…
Legerdemain Sleight of hand: the quick, deceiving manual skill a magician uses to make objects appear, vanish, or transform. By extension it names any adroit…
Leitmotif A recurring musical, visual, or thematic element attached to a particular character, idea, or mood; by extension, any dominant recurring theme in art…
Let her rip Allow a person or machine to proceed at full speed or force, or begin speaking and acting without restraint. Informal and energetic. The referent need…
Let sleeping dogs lie To avoid stirring up trouble or revisiting a settled issue, choosing peace over provocation even if it means leaving things unresolved. It suggests…
Let the cat out of the bag Reveal a secret, usually unintentionally or before the intended time.
Let your hair down To relax and behave freely and naturally, casting off formality, restraint, or self-consciousness, especially after a period of being on one's best…
Lickety-split At once and at very high speed, with an energetic or comic suggestion of racing away without delay. Informal, vivid, and often comic. It describes…
Lie through your teeth To tell a blatant, deliberate falsehood with no attempt at subtlety and no apparent shame. It conveys more than ordinary dishonesty: a barefaced lie…
Lightning never strikes twice Said to reassure someone that a very unusual misfortune, or a fluke piece of luck, is unlikely to happen again in the same place or to the same…
Like a bat out of hell Moving with wild, reckless speed, tearing off.
Like a bear with a sore head Grumpy or cross, out of sorts.
Like a bolt from the blue A sudden, shocking surprise, out of nowhere.
Like a broken record Said of someone who repeats the same point, complaint, or request over and over until listeners are worn down. The comparison is to a vinyl record so…
Like a bull at a gate Charging hard and fast, no pause.
Like a bull in a china shop Acting clumsily or recklessly in a delicate situation, smashing through finesse.
Like a cat with nine lives Surviving tough scrapes, always up.
Like a deer in the headlights Frozen stiff or shocked.
Like a dog with two tails Over-the-top happy or thrilled, all wag.
Like a kid in a candy store Thrilled or wild with glee, all eyes.
Like a lamb to the slaughter Without resistance or awareness, into danger, defeat, or an unpleasant situation. Usually ominous and sometimes melodramatic. Lambs to the slaughter…
Like a moth to a flame Drawn irresistibly to something risky, pulled in.
Like a red rag to a bull Sure to provoke or enrage, sparking a charge.
Like all get-out To an extreme or remarkable degree. Regional, informal, and somewhat old-fashioned Regional use: United States, now especially associated with…
Like billy-o Very hard, fast, loudly or intensely. Can intensify many verbs, not only movement: rain, work, shout and hurt are natural combinations. Regional use…
Like herding cats A task so chaotic or impossible it's like corralling free-roaming cats-wild, scattered, and defiant of order.
Like Hogan's goat Obnoxious, faulty, badly behaved, or forever interfering. Obscure and dated Regional use: United States.
Like pulling teeth Said of a task that is extremely difficult, tedious and frustrating to accomplish - classically getting information, agreement or payment out of a…
Like rats deserting a sinking ship Used disparagingly of people abandoning a failing organization, activity, or cause in large numbers as soon as its decline becomes visible, rather…
Like shooting fish in a barrel Extremely easy because the target or task offers almost no challenge. It can imply that the advantage is excessive or unfair.
Like the clappers Extremely fast or with great energy. Informal and lively. The verb changes with the action being intensified. Regional use: Chiefly British English.
Like turkeys voting for Christmas Doing something foolishly against your own interests.
Little pitchers have big ears A warning that children are listening - spoken over their heads, or muttered afterwards in the kitchen. The proverb reminds adults that the small…
Live from hand to mouth To live with only enough money or food for immediate needs, so that whatever comes in is spent or eaten at once and nothing can be saved for…
Living rent-free Occupying someone's thoughts constantly, especially when they cannot stop talking about the person or thing despite claiming indifference. It appears…
Load the dice To rig a situation in advance so that a particular outcome is assured, usually against someone: Farlex defines it as arranging matters so the outcome…
Lock, stock and barrel Entirely, completely, and in every part; the whole thing without exception. Typically adverbial after a verb, as in 'they bought the company lock…
Logrolling The exchange of favours between legislators - you vote for my project and I will vote for yours - so each passes measures that could not succeed on…
Lollygag Dawdle, loiter, or waste time when something should be done. Current, informal, and often humorous Regional use: United States.
London to a brick Almost certain, or at extremely short odds compared with the alternative. Informal. On indicates that the favourite is at very short odds; context can…
Long in the tooth Old or getting old, especially of a person, and often said with mild humor or bluntness. It is also applied jokingly to things that are past their…
Long may your big jib draw May you enjoy good luck and favourable conditions for a long time. Traditional toast or farewell; now also used ceremonially Regional use…
Long time no see An informal greeting used when meeting or contacting someone after a noticeably long period without seeing one another. Generally neutral and common…
Look before you leap A proverb advising you to examine the risks and likely consequences of an action before committing to it, especially where a decision cannot easily be…
Look what the cat dragged in A teasing or mocking way of acknowledging someone's arrival, implying that they look untidy, exhausted or rough, or that their appearance is an…
Loophole An ambiguity or gap in a set of rules - a law, contract, or tax code - that lets someone evade its intent while staying technically inside it. The…
Loose cannon An unpredictable or reckless person, liable to cause havoc.
Lose face To suffer public humiliation or a visible loss of reputation and standing, especially before people whose good opinion matters to you. Slightly formal…
Lose your head To panic and abandon self-control, acting irrationally in a crisis, or to become so carried away by excitement or infatuation that judgement fails. It…
Lot's wife Someone who cannot resist looking back at a past they should be fleeing - whose backward glance at a destructive old life threatens to fix them there…
Loud budgeting Being openly and unapologetically honest about spending limits, for example telling friends you are skipping dinner out because you are saving for a…
Love at first sight Instant romantic attraction on a single glance - the thunderbolt that needs no introduction, no conversation, and no second look. The phrase describes…
Love bombing Flooding someone with affection, attention, gifts, and flattery far beyond normal warmth, originally as a recruitment tool of high-control groups and…
Love is blind Love makes people overlook faults or judge the person they love uncritically. Often affectionate or teasing, but it can sound dismissive of a person's…
Love nest A snug home or hideaway where a couple, especially newlyweds or new lovers, enjoy each other's company; by extension any place where lovers meet…
Love triangle A romantic entanglement of three - two rivals in pursuit of one person, or one person entangled with two. The geometry is borrowed, but everyone…
Lovebirds An openly affectionate couple - inseparable, cosying in public, and entirely unembarrassed about any of it. The plural noun is nearly always bestowed…
Low-hanging fruit Something (or, more rarely, someone) that can be won, obtained, or accomplished with little effort, such as the easiest customers to sign or the most…