Idioms and Expressions, List 1

By the road it was thirty-two miles away, but as the crow flies, it was only twenty miles. Where the Red Fern Grows

As for the bright, handsome eager beavers who excitedly troop off to a war they believe will end in a matter of weeks, they haven’t an inkling of the fate that awaits them. New York Times (Jun 4, 2015)

If I leave, the whole country will go to the dogs.” New York Times (Feb 9, 2012)

For a moment they appear to be just a group of pals, horsing around and full of jokes. Los Angeles Times (Feb 19, 2017)

My besties guarded my secret feelings with their lives, but it was my little brother who accidentally let the cat out of the bag. Americanized

Psy-Group, one of the company’s former employees later said, was engaged not in “serious intelligence” but in “monkey business.” The New Yorker (Feb 11, 2019)

When it is raining hard on Earth, English speakers say it is raining cats and dogs. Salon (Mar 11, 2020)

That was the whole point of the community—to allow us to escape the money-hungry rat race of modern society. Schooled

With red herrings, plot twists and unexpected surprises, there is enough to keep you turning the pages well into the night. The Guardian (Feb 28, 2013)

Consequently, whenever he's backed into a corner, requiring a scapegoat, he blames his fellow citizens — everyone but himself. Salon (Jun 2, 2020)

“I’m a child of the Depression,” Weissenborn would remark decades later, whenever she would squirrel away money or leftovers. Washington Post (May 20, 2020)

Then she decided to take the bull by the horns, and instead of putting their first encounter off any longer, seek it purposely, and get it over. Page, Gertrude

Alt-livia thanks him by getting all bossy and asserting her place as top dog on the Earth 1 mission. Salon (Oct 1, 2010)

“The underdogs, the kids that the industry didn’t bet on and perhaps some still wouldn’t? We’re still here.” Washington Post (Dec 8, 2020)

He wolfed down bread, butter, and a mushroom omelette. Gregor the Overlander