Idioms Wayne Magnuson: English Idioms
Idiom Home Browse Idioms Idiom of the Day Help

Idiom Meaning Example
nada nothing, none, zero, zip "How much for the baseball cap?" "Nada - it was free."
nag complain too much, bug, hassle Poor Erik. His wife nags him about his first marriage.
nag horse, race horse Pat bet on a nag in the sixth race and it came in second!
nail down get a clear answer, find out, pin down I've checked the books, but I can't nail down the reason for the loss. I can't find the error.
nail him hit him, hurt him, stop him They want to nail him because he beat up on Tommy.
nail in your coffin (See another nail in your coffin)
nail it down complete it, finalize it, close a deal Don't spend too long on a sale. Try to nail it down quickly.
nail-biter (See a nail-biter)
naked as a jay bird no clothes on, bare naked, in the nude A boy had taken my clothes, so there I stood, naked as a jay bird!
naked eye (See the naked eye)


Be interactive:
Contribute an idiom or an expression
Make us aware of a technical problem with this site

The small print:
Copyright ©1995-2009 Wayne Magnuson
The contents of this page are free for personal and non-commercial use, provided this copyright notice is kept intact. All further rights, including the rights of publication in any form, have to be obtained by written permission from the publisher:

Prairie House Books
Box 84007 Market Mall, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T3A 5C4, Phone +1 403 202-5438, FAX +1 403 202-5437, Email phbooks@telusplanet.net

A printed version of these idioms is available as ISBN 978 1 895012 09 5 (4th printing).

Get the book at Chapters-Indigo.