"building" idioms...
See also, a list of phrases that relate in some way to the word building
" Country house hotel "
Meaning:
An upmarket hotel located in a revamped rural mansion.
Example:
We wanted to go somewhere special for our anniversary and Jim booked us into a lovely country house hotel in the Cotswolds.
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" Elvis has left the building "
Meaning:
The primary performer has left. There's no point waiting around.
Example:
Go away. We're closed. It's all over. Nothing to see here. Elvis has left the building. Do I need to go on?
Where did it originate?:
Where is it used?:
Worldwide , but more common in the USA than elsewhere.
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" Flea market "
Meaning:
A market used to buy and sell inexpensive goods. The kind of place that might sell carpets infested with fleas.
Example:
I need some cheap costume jewelry for the school play. Maybe the flea market would be the place.
Where did it originate?:
Where is it used?:
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" Funny farm "
Meaning:
A mental hospital.
Example:
Sadly, Jack was so psychotic they had to take him to the funny farm.
Where is it used?:
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" Glass ceiling "
Meaning:
An unacknowledged or unseen discriminatory barrier that prevents women and minorities from rising to positions of power.
Example:
I've more experience, better qualifications and work harder than my male co-workers, yet I still don't get promoted and no one tells me why. I guess that's what they call the glass ceiling.
Where did it originate?:
America, 20th century.
Where is it used?:
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" Man cave "
Meaning:
A shed or some other retreat that men decorate in the way they choose (with or without their male friends) and use to relax in traditional male pursuits.
Example:
After I retired Sheila was getting so fed up with me being around the house that she made me turn the outhouse into a man cave. Now the guys come round each afternoon to play cards and watch tv and I've made a sculpture out of beer cans.
Where did it originate?:
Where is it used?:
Worldwide . A fairly recent coinage but spreading rapidly around the world.
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" No room to swing a cat "
Meaning:
An awkward or confined space.
Example:
This hotels room is supposed to be for two people! Hardly, there's not room to swing a cat in here.
Where did it originate?:
Britain , 17th century. Not, as is often believed, derived from the use of the cat o' nine tails.
Where is it used?:
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" Shovel ready "
Meaning:
A building project in which all the preliminaries have been arranged.
Example:
Planning consent is done. The site is cleared. The project is shovel ready.
Where did it originate?:
Where is it used?:
Mostly USA and Britain.
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