English Idioms Dictionary

All languages have phrases or sentences that cannot be under- stood literally. Even if you know all the words in a phrase and understand all the grammar of the phrase completely, the mean- ing may still not be apparent. Many proverbs, informal phrases, and common sayings offer this kind of problem.

A phrase or sen- tence of this type is said to be idiomatic. This dictionary is a col- lection of the idiomatic phrases and sentences that occur frequently in the varieties of English that follow the British stan- dard. The dictionary is designed for easy use by lifelong speakers of English, as well as by the new-to-English speaker or learner. Readers who are native speakers of American, Australian, Cana- dian, or other varieties of English will find the entries fascinat- ing and entertaining. Special features, such as numerous full-sentence examples and a Phrase-Finder Index, make this dic- tionary uniquely effective for language learners. v To the User