What does the idiom coming down to the wire mean?

: full of suspense especially : unsettled until the very end.

What does get down to the brass tacks mean?

informal. : to start to discuss or consider the most important details or facts about something We finally got down to brass tacks and decided to work out a schedule for the project.

What does can’t cut the mustard mean?

To cut the mustard is “to reach or surpass the desired standard or performance” or more generally “to succeed, to have the ability to do something.” For instance, Beyoncé really cut the mustard in her new song.

What is a slap on the wrist mean?

A slap on the wrist is a warning or a punishment that is not very severe. The fine they gave her is just more or less a slap on the wrist. Synonyms: reprimand, row, rebuke, ticking-off [informal] More Synonyms of a slap on the wrist.

Why do we say 40 winks?

As a blink lasts for a fraction of a second, forty winks take a few seconds. Hence the phrase ”forty winks” has come to mean a few moments of sleep, or a very short nap, especially taken during the daytime, while not in a sleeping position.

When you get too old to cut the mustard lick the jar?

The modern sense of the idiom is ‘to succeed; to have the ability to do something; to come up to expectations’, but the phrase is most often used in the negative form, as “can’t cut the mustard,” meaning ‘not able to handle the job’. Evidence for the phrase can be found in a Galveston, Texas newspaper in 1891–92.

Why do they say 40 winks?

What does it mean to slap a girls wrist?

slap (one) on the wrist To issue one with a very mild, inconsequential punishment or warning.

Why do they say scott free?

“SKOT” was an early Icelandic and Old Norse word for “payment” or “tax”. Thus “scot-free” literally means “exempt from tax”; it has since been broadened to indicate “exempt from punishment” – as in “the prisoner got off scot-free”.

Where did the phrase can’t cut the mustard come from?

The first recorded use of the phrase is by O Henry in 1907, in a story called The Heart of the West: “I looked around and found a proposition that exactly cut the mustard”. The modern sense of the idiom is “to succeed; to have the ability to do something; to come up to expectations”.

Where did when it comes down to the wire originate?

down to the wire used to denote a situation whose outcome is not decided until the very last minute. informal This expression comes from horse racing and originated in North America, where a wire is stretched across and above the finishing line on a racecourse. See also: down, wire

What are the origins of the phrase down to the wire?

Interesting fact. The origin of the idiom “Down to the Wire” is in Horse-Racing. In the late 19th century, a small wire was strung across the track, above the finish line, to help the judges determine which horse crossed the finish line first.

What is the meaning of getting down to the wire?

The expression “down to the wire” means the outcome of something is not decided until the very last moment. An example of this idiomatic expression in a sentence would be: “The basketball game was very exciting because it went down to the wire.”. This means one team did not have a distinct advantage over the other team during play.