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The N drawer

56 phrases beginning with N.

Nail your colours to the mast To declare your allegiance to a person, party or position openly and irrevocably, committing yourself to it whatever the consequences. It implies…
Namby-pamby Weak, childish and insipid; said of writing, policies, attitudes or people that seem sentimental, feeble or lacking backbone. Also used as a noun for…
Ne plus ultra The utmost point of excellence or development; the acme or ultimate example of a quality, as when a tasting menu is called the last word in…
Necessity is the mother of invention Difficult or pressing circumstances stimulate ingenuity, forcing people to devise solutions they would never have sought in easier times. It is said…
Neck and crop Completely and often with abrupt or forceful dispatch, especially when someone is thrown out or falls headlong. Dated and chiefly British. It most…
Neck and neck Exactly level in a race or contest, with neither side able to pull ahead; used for elections, polls, markets, teams and any close-run competition…
Neck of the woods The district, neighbourhood or general area where one lives or happens to be, as in 'not much happens in my neck of the woods'. Originally and still…
Neither a borrower nor a lender be Do not borrow money and do not lend it: a warning that mixing loans with relationships tends to destroy both the cash and the goodwill. Quoted as…
Neither use nor ornament Completely useless, being neither practical nor even decorative. When applied to a person it is blunt and potentially insulting. Regional use: United…
Nest egg A sum of money saved and set aside, especially for retirement, an emergency, or some future purpose. The term often implies a growing reserve that is…
Netflix and chill Literally, relaxing at home while watching Netflix; now overwhelmingly a tongue-in-cheek euphemism for inviting someone over for sex, with streaming…
Night owl A person who habitually stays up late and feels most alert or active at night, typically at the cost of early mornings. The term is neutral and often…
Nip in the bud To stop or suppress something at an early stage, before it can develop or do harm, the way a gardener pinches off a bud to stop it flowering. Applied…
Nip it in the bud To stop something early before it grows or worsens, cutting off trouble at its source with swift, decisive action.
No dice A flat refusal or failure, no chance or luck.
No man is an island No person is wholly self-sufficient; human lives depend on and affect one another. Man is generic in the historical wording; no one is an inclusive…
No man's land A strip of ground that is unowned, disputed, or abandoned by the parties on either side of it; historically, the deadly open ground between opposing…
No room to swing a cat Said of a place far too cramped for comfort, with barely space to move about - a ship's berth, a bedsit, a packed office. A humorous hyperbole about…
No rose without a thorn Even the most attractive opportunity or pleasant circumstance has some drawback, difficulty, or pain. More literary than every rose has its thorn. It…
No skin off my nose No harm, inconvenience, or important loss to me; therefore not something I mind. Informal and sometimes dismissive. It expresses personal indifference…
No spring chicken Someone no longer young or inexperienced, often past their prime, with a hint of weariness or lost agility implied. It's a gentle jab at age or…
Non sequitur A statement or conclusion that does not follow from what preceded it: in logic, an inference its premises do not support; in everyday speech, a remark…
None of your beeswax None of your concern or business. Informal, playful, and mildly dismissive Regional use: United States, later wider English.
Nose out of joint Offended, resentful, or sulky because someone has displaced you in another person's favour, affection, or esteem. Usually said of a rival who has been…
Nosh To eat a snack or nibble between meals, or the snack itself; in British English the noun has broadened to mean food in general ('grab some nosh'). The…
Not a leg to stand on No basis or support, flimsy as air.
Not a patch on Way below or less than, no match.
Not a snowball's chance in hell No possibility at all, doomed to fail.
Not all there Not thinking clearly, not fully aware, or, as an insult, supposedly lacking intelligence or sound judgment. Informal and sometimes offensive. It may…
Not born yesterday Not naive and not easily deceived; used to deflect a suspicious claim, offer, or excuse. It appears almost always in the first person ('I wasn't born…
Not cricket Unfair, dishonourable or contrary to accepted standards of conduct. Usually a mild moral rebuke rather than a literal reference to sport. Regional…
Not for Joe Certainly not for me; an emphatic refusal of an offer, proposal or course of action. Dated and jocular. Joe or Joseph stands for the speaker, not…
Not give a hoot To care very little or not at all.
Not give a monkey's To not care a bit, zero fuss.
Not give a tinker's cuss Not care at all about someone or something; have no interest in or concern for it.
Not just whistling Dixie Speaking seriously or accurately rather than idly boasting, with emphasis that a claim has real substance behind it. Often best avoided in neutral…
Not know someone from Adam To have no idea who someone is; to be completely unable to identify or recognize a person. It usually emphasizes that the person is a total stranger…
Not lift a finger To make no effort at all to help, or to do nothing whatsoever towards a task. Used almost exclusively in negative frames such as 'never lift a…
Not my cup of tea Not to your liking or style, unappealing.
Not my pigeon Not my responsibility, concern or area of expertise. The positive form 'your pigeon' means your responsibility or special subject. Regional use…
Not playing with a full deck Supposedly not thinking rationally or intelligently; used as a dismissive judgment about someone's ideas or behaviour. Informal and derogatory. It…
Not the full quid Not very intelligent, sensible or fully aware of what is happening. Derogatory and potentially ableist when applied to a person. The variants are…
Not within cooee A long way away, or not remotely close to a target, standard or result. Regional and informal. The source call is part of Aboriginal Australian…
Not worth a brass farthing Worth next to nothing, cheap junk.
Not worth a hill of beans Practically worthless, amounting to little.
Not worth a plugged nickel Worth very little or nothing.
Not worth a red cent Used to say that something is completely worthless, or that someone has or will pay not even the smallest amount of money. The red cent is the…
Not worth a tinker's damn Worth absolutely nothing, or so unimportant that it merits no concern.
Not worth the candle Not worth the effort or cost, a dim gain.
Not worth the paper it's written on So low in value that it is effectively worthless.
Not worth your salt Said of someone who fails to justify their wages - incompetent, lazy, or not delivering value for what they cost. Almost always used in the negative…
Nothing new under the sun Human events and ideas repeat; what seems novel usually has a precedent. Often wry or resigned rather than literally denying all innovation. Regional…
Nothing to sneeze at Used of something that deserves respect or serious attention because it is genuinely considerable - especially an amount of money, an achievement, or…
Nothing ventured, nothing gained A proverb stating that success requires taking risks: if you never attempt anything uncertain, you will never achieve anything worthwhile. It is used…
Now-now Very soon or a short time ago, with the direction in time supplied by context. Context matters: it can point shortly forward or shortly backward. Just…
Null and void Having no legal force, binding effect or validity, and therefore incapable of being enforced. Common in contracts and judgments, but also used…