"fruit" idioms...
See also, a list of phrases that relate in some way to the word fruit
" Apples and pears "
Meaning:
Cockney rhyming slang for stairs.
Example:
Time for bed Jimmy - get yourself up the apples and pears.
Where did it originate?:
Where is it used?:
Mostly Britain.
Hear the idiom spoken:
" Blow a raspberry "
Meaning:
Cockney rhyming slang for fart.
Example:
Not good timing - we were sitting at the table when Granny said grace and he let go a raspberry.
Where did it originate?:
Hear the idiom spoken:
" Buy a lemon "
Meaning:
Waste money by purchasing a car that is frequently faulty.
Example:
I thought that my new VW was top of the range but it's never out of the repair garage - a real lemon.
Where did it originate?:
Where is it used?:
Hear the idiom spoken:
" Hear it on the grapevine "
Meaning:
Hear rumors about something from an anonymous informal contact.
Example:
The girls in the dorm were talking and I heard it on the grapevine that Judy is pregnant.
Where did it originate?:
USA
Where is it used?:
Hear the idiom spoken:
" Peachy keen "
Meaning:
Excellent; wonderful.
Example:
Wow, that 20-year old whiskey is peachy keen..
Where did it originate?:
Where is it used?:
Mostly USA.
Hear the idiom spoken:
" The apple of my eye "
Meaning:
Someone who is cherished above all others.
Example:
She's my only child - the apple of my eye.
Where did it originate?:
Britain, 9th century - making it one of the oldest phrases in the language that is still in regular use in its original form.
Where is it used?:
Hear the idiom spoken:
" Top banana "
Meaning:
The leading, most important, person in a group or organisation.
Example:
Russia is supposed to be a democracy but everyone knows Putin is top banana and what he says goes.
Where did it originate?:
USA. Derived from burlesque shows where the top comic was given a banana.
Where is it used?:
Mostly USA.
Hear the idiom spoken:
