PHRASES

Phrases, Expressions & Sayings
http://joe-ks.com/phrases/phrases.htm

This is the difference between an idiom and a phrase:

A phrase is “a small group of words standing together as a conceptual unit”, while an idiom is “a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words”. So, the difference is that an idiom as an established meaning not directly linked to the individual words. Any idiom is a phrase.
As an example, “raining cats and dogs” is both an idiom and a phrase. “A herd of cats” is a phrase but not an idiom.

Expression has about the same meaning as phrase, except it is usually used of a phrase which is in common use.
So an idiom is a certain sort of expression, which in turn is a subset of phrase: idiom > expression > phrase.


An idiom can be a single word, if it's used in a way that isn't its literal or dictionary meaning. For example, "moonlighting" to mean having a second job is an idiom. A phrase is any clump of words ( "that dog over there", "my cousin's wife's sister", "because it was hot", "as fast as I can"), and an expression is a phrase that is an idiom.
So: all expressions are phrases, and all expressions are idioms. But some phrases are not expressions, and some idioms are not phrases or expressions.
Further, "just because you say it doesn't make it a saying": opinions may vary on whether a particular phrase is an expression or not.

Here today, gone tomorrow
 

Meaning:	Fleeting; lacking premanence.
Example:	His novel attracted a great deal of attention but quickly went out of print - here today and gone tomorrow.
Origin:	This phrase originally alluded to the briefness of the human lifespan, and was first recorded in John Calvin's 'Life and Conversion of a Christian Man' (1549): "This proverb that man is here today and gone tomorrow."

Hat trick  

Meaning:	The accomplishment of three successes or wins.
Example:	Wayne Gretzky scored an NHL record fifty hat trick during his 1979-99 career.
Origin:	"Hat trick" originated from the English game of Cricket. The term originally referred to a bowler retiring three consecutive batsman with three consecutive balls. This is roughly equivalent to a pitcher in baseball striking out three consecutive batters using only three pitches to each! This was considered quite an accomplishment and was traditionally rewarded with a hat. The term is now used for other sports, always referring to an accomplishment of three. A popular use today is three goals by a single player in one game of hockey or soccer. Alternative: Comes from the days when it was common for men (and women for that manner) to wear hats to social events, and in Canada a hockey game is a social event. If a player scored three goals in one game, appreciative fans would throw their hats onto the ice.

Hit the books  

Meaning:	Study school assignments carefully; prepare for classes by reading and doing homework.
Example:	'How many times have I told you, Johnny! Make sure you spend @ least 2 hours @ joe-ks.com before you hit the books!
Origin:	This idiom says that when you really study hard, you "hit" the books. Why hit? Hit has many meanings. Among them are to come into contact with something forcefully ("The bomb hit its target") and to achieve something you desire ("He hit upon the right formula").

Hit the nail on the head  

Meaning:	To do or say the most fitting thing; to cut through extraneous details and come right to the point.
Example:	When the interviewer asked him what two plus two was, Jared hit the nail right on the head by answering, "What do you want it to be?"
Origin:	This 16th century expression relates to hitting a nail properly (squarely on the head), and alludes to communicating effectively, or being to the point. On the other hand, a bad hit (which bends the nail) is like rambling which fails to get to the crux of the matter at hand.

Hit the sack  

Meaning:	To go to bed, to retire for the evening to sleep.
Example:	Man, am I bushed, I'm going to hit the sack. (exhausted)
Origin:	Although fallen out of common usage, one definition of a sack is a bed. Early mattresses were often made from a cloth sack stuffed with hay, hair, or some other form of padding. In fact "sack out" is defined as "to go to bed, to go to sleep".

Get one's goat
 

Meaning:	Invoke an angry and emotional response; to aggravate, irritate or annoy.
Example:	People in cars often provide hand signals to communicate their dissatisfaction with your driving. They are trying to get your goat, so just smile and wave.
Origin:	This may be a mispronunciation of "get your goad". A goad is a pointed rod used to urge on livestock. A modern equivalent of a goad is the cattle prod. To goad is to stimulate into action. The phrase "goad you on" comes to mind. To "get your goat (goad)" then is to be successful in stimulating a response. Alternative: The word 'gut' down through the years was altered to goat. When something gets your gut, it upsets you and ties your stomach in knots.

Get the gist
 

Meaning:	To understand its basics, its fundamentals.
Example:
Origin:	This phrase comes from the old French Gsir meaning to lie, itself having the meaning of something lying within something and being its basis.

Get your sea legs
 

Meaning:	To adjust to a new situation.
Example:	Moving from hot, humid Toronto to Beautiful B,C,, Ken started to get his sea legs by joining the Vancouver Yacht Club.
Origin:	This phrase dates back to the days when sailing ships ruled the high seas. A new sailor was said to have "gotten his sea legs" when he could walk steadily across the deck of a ship in stormy weather.

Horse sense
 

Meaning:	Common sense, able to stand the test of reasonableness.
Example:	If you're going to spend your time working anyway, it only makes horse sense to get a high paying job.
Origin:	Horses are intelligent animals. They demonstrate the ability act sensibly and to avoid situations that might cause them harm such as taking a fall, hence good common sense.

Horse of a different colour
 

Meaning:	Unlike the subject at hand.
Example:	Bush and Blaire are both credible, but Bush is a horse of a different colour.
Origin:	Horses are registered at birth and the registration includes a record of their colour. When a horse trades hands due to sale, the registration is also transferred. Sometimes the colour recorded on the registration may not match the actual colour of the horse leading one to suspect the horse is not the one in the registration. Horses sometimes change colour as they age, just as some people's hair changes colour. More likely the horse is not the one represented on the registration but is actually an entirely different horse.

Rub it in  

Meaning:	Do or say something intended to make one feel worse.
Example:	I know I paid too much for the car, you don't have to rub it in.
Origin:	Short version of "Rub salt in the wound". Salt in an open wound causes it to sting.

Rings a bell
 

Meaning:	To sound familiar; to call something to mind; to stir a vague memory.
Example:	I don't remember meeting him, but the name Joe-kster rings a bell.
Origin:	Bells were used to signal people of the start of events such as a church session, the start of school, or a celebration. The bells acted as a reminder of the start of the event for people who had an out of synch timepiece or no timepiece. Someone would literally ring a bell as a reminder.

Red letter day
 

Meaning:	A holiday, cause for celebration.
Example:	When world hunger is solved it will be a red letter day.
Origin:	Calendars typically have holidays marked in red ink. All other days are in black ink. Hence "red letter days" are cause for celebration.

Red herring  

Meaning:	A false trail; something that provides a false or misleading clue.
Example:	The hounds followed the scent of the red herring rather than that of the fox.
Origin:	This phrase refers to smoked herring. In many parts of 19th century Britain, such fish have a very strong smell and were usually known, not as kippers, but as red herrings. Because of their smell, they were good at masking other smells. As a result, they could easily cover the scent of a fox. A red herring pulled across the trail could divert the hounds onto a false path. Thus, by analogy, the phrase came to be used to describe any false trail.

Naked truth, the
 

Meaning:	The absolute truth.
Example:	Under threat of perjury, she was advised to tell the naked truth on the stand.
Origin:	This phrase comes from an old fable: "Truth and Falsehood went swimming. Falsehood stole the clothes that Truth had left on the river bank, but Truth refused to wear Falsehood's clothes and went naked."