To bite the bullet is a verb phrase that means “to do something painful or accept a painful experience, in order to get the benefit.” For example: Last year, I finally bit the bullet and decided to return to school. You should just bite the bullet and buy a bigger house. The idea of this phrase comes from a […]

We say the phrase, break a leg, in order to wish people luck in a performance or audition in the theater or music. Technically, it is a command (an imperative)—but we do not want people to actually break their legs! It is a tradition and means “I wish you a successful performance.” Nobody knows for […]

The English idiom, don’t poke the bear, means “don’t annoy a person who has the ability to hurt you.” Bears are known as dangerous creatures (although also beautiful and gentle creatures when not provoked). We also know that bears normally sleep through the winter, so we can imagine finding a bear asleep in the forest. […]

An Achilles heel is a weakness in a person or organization that is otherwise very strong: Tony is usually very healthy but sugar is his Achilles’ heel. This phrase is a reference to the story of the ancient Greek hero Achilles, who is most famous for his role in the Trojan War. When Achilles was born, […]

The phrase, a diamond in the rough, refers to a person who has great potential value which cannot yet be seen clearly—like a young person with talent who still needs to practice their abilities further or clean up their appearance in order for people to recognize their value: She’s a diamond in the rough; with […]