Book of Idioms, Episode 31

GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY: get involved in the difficult, unpleasant, or mundane parts of a job or task. The idiom must be used in this form; if you say that someone has dirty hands, it suggests instead that the person has committed wrongdoing. TechCrunch: <<It was fascinating to spend time with Corddry at Facebook headquarters to get an in-person look at how he works on a day-to-day basis. In keeping with his history, he puts a lot of importance on his team getting their hands dirty and knowing how servers work in data centers, side by side with the technicians who operate them.>>

FROM THE GET-GO means from the beginning. And a LEMON may mean a car that is defective ... from the get-go! Deadline Detroit: <<Chevy Cobalts Were Lemons From the Get-Go.
The public relations nightmare for General Motors, which rose from the dead not all that long ago, continues to escalate.
And it [isn't] pretty.
Danielle Ivory and Rebecca Ruiz of the New York Times write that "long before the Chevrolet Cobalt became known for having a deadly ignition defect, it was already seen as a lemon. Owners complained about power steering failures, locks inexplicably opening and closing, doors jamming shut in the rain — even windows falling out.">>


To be ON ONE'S HIGH HORSE is to be arrogant. You can tell someone to get off of his or her high horse.
To (WAKE UP AND) SMELL THE COFFEE is to be realistic, to become aware of something you've been ignoring. Oman Observer: <<I was laying out my argument as to why I would never consider using [a smartphone camera] for my photographic work when he suddenly thumped his coffee mug down on the table and said loudly, ‘Do you know what your trouble is, Clive? You’re elitist! Smartphones are every bit as good as DSLRs [digital single-lens reflex cameras], so get down off your high horse and smell the coffee.” Then he got up and walked out, leaving me to pay the bill!>>

HANDS DOWN: unquestionably, absolutely. You can also win something hands down, easily or decisively. Bristol Press (Connecticut, USA): <<BRISTOL — L.J. Johnson lit a spark for Bristol Central in Friday night’s Class L boys basketball state tournament quarterfinal just when the team needed it most.

With the Rams holding a slim 40-37 lead after a Farmington 3-pointer with 3:19 to go in the third quarter, Johnson knocked down two straight 3-pointers of his own to give Bristol Central a 46-37 lead. He later closed out the scoring in the period with another 3-pointer as the Rams took a 54-39 lead into the fourth quarter.

“Hands down, that was the best game of his career,” Bristol Central coach Tim Barrette said.>>


PAINT YOURSELF INTO A CORNER: put yourself in a difficult situation by doing something that restricts your options. Indian Express: <<­Having demonised Japan as the country most responsible for China’s historical sufferings, China has painted itself into a corner and has no alternative but to continue a policy that could result in a dangerous military confrontation with Japan (and its ally, the United States).>>


TEST THE WATERS: explore a possibility before making a commitment. Phillippine Star: <<AS 2016 draws nearer, politicians have started to test the waters on the feasibility of pursuing positions in government. On May 9, 2016, the Philippines will elect a new president, vice president, half of the Senate, congressmen and local government officials. >>


STRAIGHT ARROW: an honest, moral person; a conventional person. You can also use it as an adjective, with a hyphen: a straight-arrow cop who is tempted by the offer of a bribe. Sioux City Journal (South Dakota, USA): << He's a straight arrow bending under the pressures of his job, including the isolation it imposes: He has lately fallen into an affair with a beautiful Russian informant as his job keeps him away from home.>>


OUT OF LINE: improper, against the rules. Toronto Star: <<If Toronto District School Board staff felt his behaviour was out of line at a raucous committee meeting last week, Trustee Howard Goodman apologizes.

But he’s not sorry for being “very frustrated” and pressing for an answer as to why the board has resisted paying an outstanding fee to a provincial organization he believes it is contractually obligated to pay.>>

➤ Read more idioms and phrases, English grammar and vocabulary at Basic English Grammar And Vocabulary . You might also like ⏬

➤ Book of Idioms

➤ Idioms about Animals

➤ Idioms of Expression

➤ Idioms on Food

➤ Idiomatic Expressions

➤ Origin of Idioms

➤ Proverbs

➤ Idioms on Situation

➤ Idioms on Temperature