daily grind
- the everyday work routine
My father is tired of the daily grind of working and will retire soon.dance to a different tune
- to change one's behavior or attitude
Our boss began dancing to a different tune when his head salesman decided to quit.dance with death
- to do something that is very risky
The teenagers were dancing with death when they began to race their cars.dare (someone) to do (something)
- to challenge someone to do something
The little boy dared his friend to throw a rock at the window.dark horse
- a political candidate who is little known to the general public
The woman candidate was a dark horse but she won the election easily.darken (someone's) door
- to visit someone or somewhere
The man has never darkened the door of the library in his town.dash off
- to leave quickly
We dashed off as soon as the concert ended.dash (something) off
- to write or finish something quickly
I plan to dash off a letter before I go to work.date back to (a previous time)
- to go back to a previous time
The old building dates back to 1850.Davy Jone's locker
- the bottom of the sea (as a grave)
When the boat sank all of the crew members went to Davy Jone's locker.dawn on (someone)
- to become clear or occur to someone
It finally dawned on me why my friend was angry.day after day
- everyday
Day after day the woman goes to the school to meet her child.day and night
- all of the time
We worked day and night to finish the project before the end of the month.day in and day out
- regularly, all of the time
My father goes to that restaurant for lunch day in and day out and he never gets tired of it.day-to-day
- daily, everyday
The president was not involved in the day-to-day running of the university.daylight robbery
- the extreme overcharging of money for something
The amount of money which they charged for the gasoline was daylight robbery.days running
- several days in a row
There were concerts at the auditorium for six days running.dead ahead
- to be directly ahead
There was a truck dead ahead so we put on the car brakes suddenly.dead as a doornail
- to be very dead
The man was as dead as a doornail after the car accident.dead center
- the exact middle
I easily hit the target dead center.dead duck
- a person or a thing in a hopeless situation
The man is a dead duck and he has no hope of recovering his former position.dead end
- the end of a road, an impasse
The negotiations between the players and the owners have come to a dead end.dead in one's/its tracks
- to be stopped exactly where someone or something is at the moment
The police stopped the robber dead in his tracks.dead letter
- a piece of mail that cannot be delivered or returned to the sender
The letter with no return address went back to the post office as a dead letter.dead loss
- a total loss
The money that I gave to my friend is a dead loss and none of it will be returned.dead on one's feet
- to be exhausted
I was dead on my feet after working all day in my garden.dead set against (something)
- to be determined not to do something
The parents are dead set against their son going to Europe for a year.dead tired
- to be very tired, to be exhausted
I was dead tired so I went to bed when I got home.dead to the world
- to be sleeping soundly
The little boy was dead to the world when his father took him out of the car.dead wrong
- to be totally wrong
I was dead wrong in my calculations to build the table.deadbeat
- a person who never pays his debts
There is a new government policy to penalize deadbeat fathers.deadpan
- an expressionless or emotionless face
My friend had a deadpan expression when he told us the story..
deaf and dumb
- to be unable to hear or speak
The man was deaf and dumb and could not communicate with the woman on the train.deal in (something)
- to buy and sell something
The man has been dealing in antiques for many years.deal with (someone)
- to act in a specific way toward someone, to do business with someone
The company is planning to deal with the late employee soon.deal with (something)
- to be concerned with something, to take action about something
We will deal with the boxes tomorrow.decide in favor of (someone or something)
- to determine the winner of something, to decide who is right
The city decided in favor of building a new bridge over the river.decked out
- to be dressed in fancy clothes
My sister was decked out in her best clothes for the party.deem it to be necessary
- to believe that something is necessary
The judge deemed it to be necessary to postpone the trial for a week.deep-six (something)
- to throw away something, to dispose of something
I decided to deep-six the videos as I did not want them any longer.deep water
- serious trouble or difficulty
The boy will be in deep water if he does not tell us where he spent the money.deliver the goods
- to do a good or successful job of something
He is the best manager that we have had. He knows how to deliver the goods.desert a sinking ship
- to leave a situation or place when things become difficult or unpleasant
Many employees decided to desert a sinking ship when their company began to have problems.devil of a job
- a very difficult job
Everybody thought that unloading the truck was a devil of a job.devil-may-care attitude
- an unworried attitude, an attitude where one does not care what happens
The man has a devil-may-care attitude to his job and nothing bothers him.diamond in the rough
- a good person or thing that is hidden by a rough exterior
The man is a diamond in the rough and a very gentle person under his harsh exterior.die down
- to come slowly to an end, to grow weaker
When the sound of the music died down we were able to go to sleep.die in one's boots
- to die fighting
The soldiers died in their boots after fighting very hard.the die is cast
- something has been decided and you cannot change the decision
The die is cast and now that we have sold our house we must move.die laughing
- to laugh very loud and hard
We almost died laughing when we saw the comedy at the theater.die off
- to die one after another until the number is small
The house plants began to die off as soon as we moved to a new apartment.die out
- to die or disappear slowly until gone
The campfire slowly died out and we went to bed.dig in
- to begin eating
"Let`s dig in and eat before the food gets cold!"dig one's heels in
- to refuse to change one's course of action or opinions
Our boss dug his heels in and refused to give us time off.dig one's own grave
- to be responsible for one's own problems
My sister dug her own grave when she fought with her boss. Now she is having many problems at work.dig some dirt up on (someone)
- to find out something bad about someone
The newspaper worked hard to dig some dirt up on the politician.dig (someone or something) up
- to make an effort to find someone or something
I tried to dig up some blankets for my friend when he stayed at our house.dig (something) out
- to locate something
I dug out last year's income tax forms to look at.a dime a dozen
- common, easy to get and of little value
Used books are a dime a dozen and it is dificult to sell them.dip into (something)
- to borrow from a supply of something
We had to dip into our savings to get enough money for a holiday.dirt cheap
- to be extremely cheap
The denim jackets were dirt cheap so I decided to buy two of them.a dirty look
- a look that shows dislike or disapproval
The boy's mother gave the boy a dirty look when he began to run in the kitchen.dirty work
- unpleasant or uninteresting work
I refused to do the dirty work which my friend wanted me to do.dish out (food)
- to serve food from a large bowl or plate
I began to dish out the food when the guests arrived.dish out (criticism)
- to criticize someone roughly, to treat someone roughly
Our supervisor likes to dish out criticism to others but he does not like to hear criticism about himself.dispose of (something)
- to discard something, to destroy something, to get rid of something
We must dispose of our old sofa before we buy a new one.divide and conquer
- to split an opposing side into two groups so that you can win against them
The government was trying to divide and conquer the opposition parties.divide (something) fifty-fifty
- to divide something into two equal parts
We divided the money that we won fifty-fifty.do a double take
- to look again in surprise at someone or something
The girl did a double take when she saw her old boyfriend with another woman.do a job on (someone or something)
- to harm or damage someone or something
We really did a job on the bookcase that we were trying to move.do a land-office business
- to do much business in a short time
The children are doing a land-office business by selling the cold drinks next to the stadium.do a number on (someone or something)
- to hurt or damage someone or something
The students did a number on the spectator stands during the soccer game.do a snow job on (someone)
- to deceive or confuse someone
The salesman tried to do a snow job on me but I did not believe him.do an about-face
- to suddenly reverse one's opinion
We had to do an about-face on our decision to permit drinking coffee in the library.do away with (something)
- to stop something, to get rid of something
The company decided to do away with their policy of working one weekend a month.do credit to (someone)
- to add to someone's reputation
The woman's graduation thesis did credit to her hard work and patience.do in (someone)
- to make someone tired, to exhaust someone
I was done in by the time that I finished the marathon.do in (something)
- to ruin/destroy something
The boy quickly did in the new shoes that he had received for his birthday.do justice to (something)
- to do something well, to represent something accurately
The painting of my grandfather does not do justice to his extremely good looks.do one`s best
- to try to do something as well as one can
I tried to do my best on the exam.do one`s bit/part
- to share in a group project by contributing one`s time and effort
Our teacher did his bit to help plan for the party.do one's duty
- to do one's job or what is expected of one
The guard was only doing his duty when he began to ask the customer questions.do one`s thing
- to do what one wants to do and enjoys doing
My friend enjoys doing his thing when and where he chooses.do or die
- to make a great effort
It was do or die for the man when he started his new job.do (someone) good
- to be good or beneficial for someone
It will do me good to go on a holiday.do (someone) out of (something)
- to cheat someone out of something
The man was worried that the company would do him out of the large bonus that he was expecting.do (someone's) bidding
- to do what someone else wants
The principal was able to get the head teacher to do his bidding with the other teachers.do something rash
- to take drastic action (usually without thinking)
My friend is extremely angry and she may do something rash.do the dishes
- to wash and dry some dishes
We did the dishes soon after eating dinner.do the honors
- to perform the duty of a host (when serving a drink etc.)
"Would you like to do the honors and pour everybody a drink?"do the trick
- to work well, to achieve a good or desired result
I think that the new piece of equipment should do the trick and solve our problem.do time
- to spend time in prison
The man was doing time when we first heard about him.do with (someone or something)
- to be acquainted/involved/associated with someone or something
I did not have anything to do with the meeting this year.do with (something)
- to benefit from (something)
I have been working hard all day so now I could do with a cold drink.do without (something)
- to manage without something
We will have to do without sugar if there is none.do wonders
- to produce excellent results
If you begin to do some exercise it will do wonders for your health..
dog and pony show
- a display or demonstration of something
The politicians put on a dog and pony show to make everyone forget about the scandal.dog-eat-dog
- to be ready or willing to fight and hurt others to get what you want
It is a dog-eat-dog world in the advertising and public relations business.dog in the manger
- someone who prevents others from doing what he does not want them to do (from Aesops Fables)
The girl was a dog in the manger when she cancelled the dinner because she could not attend.doll (oneself) up
- to dress in fancy clothes
She was all dolled up for the party at the downtown hotel.dollar for dollar
- considering the cost
Dollar for dollar, going to the mountains for a holiday is a good deal.done for
- to be ruined/defeated/dying
I think that our team is done for this season.done in
- to be tired, to be exhausted
I was done in so I went to bed early.done to a T
- to be cooked just right
The steaks were done to a T and everybody was very happy with them.done with (something)
- to be finished using something
I was done with the computer so I let my sister use it.doomed to failure
- to be certain to fail
The policy of the school was doomed to failure because nobody would support it.a dose of one's own medicine
- the same kind of treatment that one gives to other people
The man got a dose of his own medicine when his boss began to treat him the same way that he treated others.double back
- to turn back from where you are going or where you have been
We decided to double back from the arena and return home for a few minutes.double-check (something)
- to check again to be sure that something is correct
I double-checked the price of the airplane ticket.double-cross (someone)
- to deceive someone, to promise one thing and then do another
The man tried to double-cross his partner but was caught and sent to jail.double-talk
- talk or words that appear to mean something but do not
The speaker gave the audience much double-talk and nobody knew what he wanted to say.double up
- to share a room with someone
The passengers had to double up in hotel rooms when the plane landed because of the weather.a doubting Thomas
- someone who needs strong proof to believe something
My friend is a doubting Thomas and you must tell him many times before he will believe something.down and dirty
- unfair/nasty/sneaky
The team decided to get down and dirty in order to try and win the tournament.down and out
- to have no money
My friend has been down and out before but usually he can find a job.down at the heels
- to be shabby, to be poorly dressed
The man looked down at the heels after he was fired from his job.down for the count
- to be finished for now
The boxer was down for the count but everybody expected him to get up and fight again.down in the dumps
- to be unhappy
The girl has been down in the dumps since her boyfriend moved away.down on one's luck
- to be unlucky, to have no money
The man was down on his luck and did not even have a place to live.down on (someone)
- to be critical of someone, to be angry at someone
The girl is down on her friend but I do not know the reason.down one`s alley
- to be suited to one`s tastes and abilities
Computers are down my alley so I am sure that I will be interested in the job.down the drain
- to be wasted or lost
My uncle is throwing money down the drain when he goes to the horse races.down the hatch
- to swallow a drink or eat something
The captain says down the hatch whenever he gives the sailors a drink.down the line
- straight ahead, in the future
There will be many changes in our company down the line.down the tubes
- to be ruined/wasted
All of our plans went down the tubes after my friend refused to join us.down to earth
- to be sensible and practical
My mother is very down to earth.down to the last detail
- considering all of the details
We fixed up everything on the boat, right down to the last detail.down to the wire
- to be nearing a deadline, to be running out of time
We went down to the wire but we were able to finish the job on time.down with (an illness)
- to be ill, to be sick at home
My sister was down with a cold so she could not go out for a few days..
drag in (someone or something)
- to insist on bringing someone or something into a discussion
Th employee always drags in his personal problems when we talk about his job performance.drag on
- to pass very slowly, to make something longer
The speech was dragging on so we decided to leave early.a drag on (someone)
- a burden to someone
The problems at work were a drag on my friend and he became sick because of them.drag one`s feet/heels
- to act slowly or reluctantly
The man has been dragging his feet about whether or not to take the job.draw a blank
- to get no response to something, to get a negative result
The manager drew a blank when he went to the head office to get information about the merger.draw a line betwen two things
- to separate two things
We must draw a line between using the internet for work and using it for personal use.draw blood
- to make a wound that bleeds, to anger someone
The politician was very careful not to draw blood during the debate.draw fire
- to receive criticism for something
The government began to draw fire when they announced changes in the health care system.draw fire
- to be a target, to attract or provoke shooting
The soldiers drew fire when they entered the small village.draw in one`s horns
- to spend less money
The company is not doing well so everybody must draw in their horns.draw interest
- to appear interesting and attract someone's attention
The singers drew much interest when they performed at the festival.draw interest
- to earn interest when money is deposited in a bank
The money that we put in the bank draws interest every month.draw lots/straws
- to choose from a group of things to decide who will do something
We decided to draw lots to see who would wash the dishes.draw (someone) out
- to make a person talk or tell something
The girl was very quiet but we were able to draw her out and she began talking.draw the line (at something)
- to set a limit for something
We have to draw the line somewhere to limit the costs of the party.draw to a close
- to end
The tournament was drawing to a close and everybody was going back to their homes.draw up (something)
- to put something in writing
They were able to draw up the contract while we were waiting..
dredge (something) up
- to uncover something unpleasant and remind people about it
The newspaper is always trying to dredge bad things up about the government.dress (someone) down
- to scold someone
The supervisor took the clerk into her office to dress her down.dressed to kill
- to wear one`s finest clothes
The woman was dressed to kill when I saw her at the concert last week.dressed to the nines/teeth
- to be dressed elegantly
The movie stars were dressed to the nines during the awards ceremony.dress up
- to put on one`s best clothes
I decided to dress up for dinner at the restaurant.drive a hard bargain
- to conclude a bargain without making any concessions
Although the man drives a hard bargain, I like doing business with him.drive at (something)
- to try/want to say something
I do not know what the man was driving at in his speech.drive (someone) up a wall
- to irritate or annoy someone greatly
My neighbor's constant complaining is driving me up a wall.drive (something) home
- to make something clearly understood
The high price of gasoline drove home to us the necessity of driving less.the driving force behind (someone or something)
- the motivating force behind someone or something
The potato farmers were the driving force behind the efforts to get people to eat more potatoes.drop a bombshell
- to announce some shocking news
The government dropped a bombshell when they announced that they were going to close the hospital.drop a hint
- to casually make a hint or suggestion about something
The clerk dropped a hint that he wanted to transfer to the new department.drop around
- to come for a visit
My friend plans to drop around for a visit tomorrow.drop back
- to move or step backwards, to retreat
During the hike my foot began to get sore so I decided to drop back and rest for awhile.drop by
- to visit someone
My uncle dropped by after work for a visit.drop by the wayside
- to give up or fail before the finish of something
Many runners dropped by the wayside during the marathon.drop dead
- to die suddenly
The bus driver dropped dead while driving the bus.Drop dead!
- Go away!, to stop bothering someone
I told my brother to drop dead when he came into my room and now he is angry at me.drop everything
- to stop doing what you are doing
When the fire alarm rang we dropped everything and went outside.drop in (on someone)
- to make a short or unplanned visit to someone
I decided to drop in on my friend after I finished work for the day.drop in one's tracks
- to collapse from exhaustion
The runner dropped in his tracks during the last part of the race.drop in the bucket
- a small amount
The money that my friend repaid me was a drop in the bucket compared to what he owes.drop names
- to mention the names of famous people as if they were your friends
Nobody likes the girl because she is always dropping names when she meets her friends.drop out of (something)
- to quit school or a course of some kind
I dropped out of the class after three months.drop (someone) a line
- to write or mail a note or letter to someone
My friend promised that she would drop me a line when she gets to Singapore.drop the subject
- to stop talking about something
My friend was getting angry while we were talking about money so I decided to drop the subject..
drown one`s sorrows
- to drink alcohol or do something to forget one`s problems
The man is in the bar drowning his sorrows with a drink.drown (someone) out
- to make so much noise that it is impossible to hear someone
The team captain was drowned out by the cheering fans.drum up (something)
- to encourage something by making an effort
The company was able to drum up a lot of business during the summer.drum (something) into (someone's) head
- to make someone learn something by force
The teacher worked hard to drum the formulas into the heads of the students.dry run
- an attempt or rehearsal for something
The marriage ceremony was on Saturday so we had a dry run on Thursday night.dry up
- to become dry
The river began to dry up early in the summer.duck soup
- easy, effortless
"How was the test last week?"dumb bunny
- a stupid gullible person
He is a dumb bunny and you never know what he will do next.Dutch auction
- an auction where you start off with a high price and then reduce it
They always sell the flowers at a Dutch auction at the downtown market.Dutch courage
- unusual or artificial courage (often because of alcohol)
The man was full of Dutch courage when he began to criticize his boss.Dutch treat
- a meal/movie etc. where each person pays his or her own way, to contribute equally to something
When he goes out with his girlfriend it is always a Dutch treat as he does not have much money.Dutch uncle
- someone who gives you advice like a parent or relative would
My friend is like a Dutch uncle and he is always giving me advice about how I should act.duty bound (to do something)
- to be forced by duty or honor to do something
I was duty bound to talk to my friend about the money that I had lost.dwell on (something)
- to think or talk about something all the time
I wish that my friend would not dwell on his personal problems.dyed-in-the-wool
- permanent, stubborn
My father is a dyed-in-the-wool conservative and will never change.dying to (do something or go somewhere)
- to be very anxious to do something or go somewhere
I am dying to go and visit my friend in the country.