Idioms title

The Idiom Attic - a collection of hundreds of English idioms, each one explained.

"reduplication" idioms...

" Brum brum "
Meaning:
Child's play idiom expressing the sound of a vehicle.
Example:
Mummy, my toy train goes chuff, chuff, chuff and my car goes brum, brum.
Where is it used?:
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More idioms about:   childhood  
" Easy-peasy "
Meaning:
Something that is extremely easy. Often used by children. Sometimes used by adults to demote an achievement that was accomplished with little apparent effort.
Example:
Jenny must have loosened the jar lid. She couldn't get it off but when she gave it to me it just screwed right off. Easy-peasy.
Where did it originate?:
Britain, mid-20th century.
Where is it used?:
Worldwide, but most common in Britain.
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More idioms about:   success  
" Fuddy-duddy "
Meaning:
An old-fashioned and foolish type of person.
Example:
He irons his socks. He's a real fuddy-duddy.
Where did it originate?:
USA, 19th century.
Where is it used?:
More idioms about:   stupidity   america  
" Gee gee "
Meaning:
Childish term for a horse.
Example:
Now Jimmy, whats that picture? Is it a bar lamb or is it a gee-gee?
Where did it originate?:
Where is it used?:
Widely used, but more in the UK than elsewhere and mainly in conversation with small children.
Hear the idiom spoken:
More idioms about:   animals   childhood  
" Gender bender "
Meaning:
A person who adopts a deliberately androgynous appearance, by use of uni-sex make-up, hair-style and clothing. Probably influenced by 'bender' being an earlier slang term for homosexual.
Example:
With his eye-liner and lurex catsuits, David Bowie was the archetype gender bender.
Where did it originate?:
USA, 1970s.
Where is it used?:
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More idioms about:   sex   slang   america  
" Hocus pocus "
Meaning:
A term used to denote magic or trickery.
Example:
He claimed to have evidence of the Loch Ness Monster, but it turned out to be a lot of hocus pocus.
Where did it originate?:
Britain, 17th century.
Where is it used?:
Hear the idiom spoken:
More idioms about:   theatre   trickery  
" Jelly belly "
Meaning:
An overweight person.
Example:
I wish I could cut down on the cakes and get some more exercise - I'm turning into a real jelly belly.
Where did it originate?:
Britain, late 19th century.
Where is it used?:
Worldwide, but not common everywhere. Most used in Britain and Australia.
Hear the idiom spoken:
More idioms about:   the_human_body   food  
" Mellow yellow "
Meaning:
Dried banana peel, used as an intoxicant.
Example:
He's tried everything else - grass, acid, speed, magic mushrooms. Now he's started on mellow yellow.
Where did it originate?:
USA, 1960s. Referred to in the Donovan song of the same name, as 'electrical banana'.
Where is it used?:
Worldwide, as the song title although few are aware of the drug connection.
Hear the idiom spoken:
More idioms about:   colour   euphemism   america  
" Mumbo jumbo "
Meaning:
Nonsense or meaningless speech.
Example:
His speech about magical phenomenology seemed to make sense at the time but now I realise it was just mumbo-jumbo.
Where did it originate?:
Britain, 18th century. Deriving from an African source.
Where is it used?:
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More idioms about:   trickery   nonsense  
" Nip slip "
Meaning:
The inadvertent exposure of a womans nipple.
Example:
Wearing a low cut dress like that, a nip slip was almost inevitable.
Where did it originate?:
USA, late 20th century.
Where is it used?:
Mostly USA and UK and not amongst the older generations.
Hear the idiom spoken:
More idioms about:   sex   clothes   body   slang   america  
" Nitty-gritty "
Meaning:
The important aspects of a situation; the heart of the matter.
Example:
The solicitor spent ages listing the business details of Grandad's will. We were all waiting for him to get to the nitty-gritty when we found out how much money we would inherit.
Where did it originate?:
USA, mid 20th century.
Where is it used?:
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More idioms about:   slang   america  
" The heebie-jeebies "
Meaning:
A state of nervous anxiety or fear.
Example:
I didn't like staying in that old house overnight. The creaks and bumps gave me the heebie-jeebies.
Where did it originate?:
USA, 20th century. The origin isn't known but heebie-jeebie was formerly the name of a dance.
Where is it used?:
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More idioms about:   medical   dance   america  
" Toy-boy "
Meaning:
A woman's much younger male lover.
Example:
Julia took us all by surprise after the kids left home. She left too and set up house with a 19-year old toy-boy.
Where did it originate?:
Britain, 1980s.
Where is it used?:
Hear the idiom spoken:
More idioms about:   sex  
" Whipper snapper "
Meaning:
A child or impertinent youth.
Example:
The fourth form have challenged the teachers to a tug of war. We can't lose against a bunch of kids - let's show those whipper snappers how it's done.
Where did it originate?:
Where is it used?:
Widely used but a little old fashioned.
Hear the idiom spoken:
More idioms about:   childhood  

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