DJ
- Disc Jockey
eg. My cousin worked in the summer as a disc jockey while he was going to university.
DNA
- Deoxyribonucleic Acid - main constituent of the chromosomes of all organisms
eg. The large university project has spent a lot of money in the study of DNA.
DUI
- Driving Under the Influence
eg. The man was sent to jail for several months on a charge of DUI.
Drop dead!
- go away and be quiet, stop bothering someone
eg. I told him to drop dead when he came into my room and now he is angry at me.
Dutch treat
- meal/movie etc. where each person pays their own way, contribute equally to something
eg. When he goes out with his girlfriend it is always a Dutch treat as he doesn`t have much money.
dance to a different tune
- talk or act differently (usually better) because things have changed
eg. He has begun dancing to a different tune now that he knows that his head salesman is thinking of quitting.
dark horse
- a candidate little known to the general public
eg. At first he was a dark horse candidate but he later won the election.
dash off
- do or finish quickly, leave quickly
eg. I will dash off a letter now but then I must go to work.
dawn on
- become clear
eg. It finally dawned on me as to why he was angry.
day and night
- continually
eg. We worked day and night to finish the project before the end of the month.
day in and day out
- regularly, all the time
eg. He goes to that restaurant day in and day out and never gets tired of it.
dead ahead
- exactly in front, before
eg. There was a truck dead ahead so we put on the car brakes suddenly.
dead as a doornail
- very dead
eg. The man was dead as a doornail as we could see after the accident.
dead center
- exact middle
eg. He was able to hit the target dead center.
dead duck
- person or thing in a hopeless situation or condition
eg. He is a dead duck and has no hope of recovering his former position.
dead end
- the closed end of a road or an impasse
eg. The negotiations between the team and the owners have come to a dead end.
dead set against something
- determined not to do something
eg. They are dead set against their son going to Europe for a year.
dead tired
- very tired, exhausted
eg. I was dead tired so I went to bed as soon as I got home.
dead to the world
- fast asleep
eg. The little boy was dead to the world when his father took him out of the car.
dead duck
- someone in a hopeless situation or condition
eg. He is a dead duck. When the police find him he will have to go to jail.
deadbeat
- a person who never pays his debts
eg. There is a policy to penalize deadbeat fathers by the local government.
deadpan
- with an expressionless or emotionless face
eg. He had a deadpan expression when he told us the story.
decked out
- dressed in fancy clothes
eg. She was all decked out in her best clothes for the party.
deep water
- serious trouble or difficulty
eg. He will be in deep water if he doesn`t tell us where he spent the money.
deep-six
- throw away, dispose of
eg. I decided to deep-six the videos as I didn`t want them any longer.
deliver the goods
- succeed in doing what is expected well
eg. He is the best manager that we have ever had. He knows how to deliver the goods.
devil-may-care
- unworried, not caring what happens
eg. He has a devil-may-care attitude to his job and nothing ever bothers him.
die down
- come slowly to an end, grow weaker
eg. When the sound of the music finally died down we were able to get to sleep.
die off
- die one after another until the number is small
eg. The house plants began to die off as soon as he moved to a new apartment.
die out
- die or disappear slowly until all gone
eg. Dinosaurs died out millions of years ago.
die with one`s boots on
- die while still active in one`s work
eg. He worked hard all his life and died with his boots on when he had a heart attack and died in the factory.
dig in
- begin eating
eg. Let`s dig in and eat before everything is cold!
dime a dozen
- common, easy to get and of little value
eg. Used books are a dime a dozen so don`t worry if you can`t sell them.
dirty look
- a look that shows dislike or disapproval
eg. His mother gave him a dirty look when he smoked the cigarette.
dirty one`s hands
- hurt one's character or good name, do a bad or shameful thing
eg. The politician dirtied his hands when he became involved in the questionable land deals.
do a double take
- look again in surprise at someone or something
eg. She did a double take when she saw her old boyfriend with another woman.
do a job on
- do harm to, make ugly or useless
eg. He really did a job on the plans for the new house that he was working on.
do away with
- put an end to, stop, get rid of
eg. The company has decided to do away with having fixed holidays every year.
do in
- to ruin, destroy
eg. He quickly did in the new shoes that he received for his birthday.
do one`s best
- try to do something as well as you can
eg. I tried to do my best on the exam.
do one`s bit (part)
- share in a group project by contributing one`s time and effort
eg. He did his bit for the planning of the party.
do one`s thing
- do what one wants to do and enjoys
eg. He is an individualist and enjoys doing his thing when and where he chooses.
do out of
- cause to lose by trickery or cheating
eg. He was worried that the company would do him out of the large bonus that he was expecting.
do someone good
- be good or beneficial for someone
eg. It will do you good to go on a holiday.
do something rash
- take drastic action (usually without thinking)
eg. She is extremely angry so I hope that she doesn`t do anything rash.
do the honors
- perform the duty of a host (when serving a drink etc.)
eg. Would you like to do the honors and pour everyone a glass of wine?
do the trick
- work well, achieve a good result
eg. I think the new piece of equipment should do the trick and solve the problem.
do time
- spend time in prison
eg. He was doing time when I first heard about him.
do with
- benefit from
eg. I have been working hard all day so now I could do with a cold drink.
do without
- manage without something
eg. If there is no sugar, we`ll have to do without.
do wonders
- produce excellent results
eg. If you begin to do some exercise it will do wonders for your health.
dog-eat-dog
- ready or willing to fight and hurt others to get what you want
eg. It is a dog-eat-dog world out in the world of advertising and public relations.
doll up
- dress in fancy clothes
eg. She was all dolled up for the party at the downtown hotel.
done for
- ruined, defeated, dying
eg. I think that the team is done for as far as this season is concerned.
done with
- be finished using something
eg. He was finally done with the computer and so he let his sister use it.
donkey's years
- a very long time
eg. I talked to my friend for a long time because I hadn't seen her in donkey's years.
dose/taste of one's own medicine
- being treated in the same way as one treats others (usually a negative meaning)
eg. Our boss got a taste of his own medicine when people began to ignore him as he had always done to them.
double back
- turn back from where you are going or have been
eg. We decided to double back from the arena to get some money to go to a movie.
double-check
- check again to be sure something is correct
eg. He double-checked the price of the airplane ticket.
double-cross
- deceive, promise one thing and do another
eg. He tried to double-cross his partner but was caught and sent to jail.
double-talk
- talk that appears to have meaning but does not
eg. He gave the audience a lot of double-talk so nobody knew what he wanted to say.
double up
- share a room or home with someone
eg. The passengers had to double up in hotel rooms when the plane was delayed because of the weather.
double-check
- check something again to confirm
eg. We were unable to double-check the costs of the new products before the price list was printed.
down and out
- have no money
eg. He has been down and out before but he has always been able to find a job eventually.
down in the dumps
- unhappy
eg. She has been really down in the dumps since her boyfriend moved away.
down on (someone)
- be critical of someone, angry at
eg. She is really down on her friend but I don`t really know the reason.
down one`s alley
- suited to one`s tastes and abilities
eg. Computers are down his alley so I am sure that he will be interested in taking the job.
down the line
- straight ahead, in future
eg. There will be many changes at this company down the line but for now your job is safe.
down the drain
- wasted or lost
eg. He is just throwing money down the drain when he goes to the horse races.
down to the wire
- nearing a deadline, running out of time
eg. We went right down to the wire but we were able to finish the job on time.
down and out
- have no money
eg. My friend was down and out for several years before he got a job and started making money.
down-to-earth
- sensible and practical
eg. Her mother is a very down-to-earth person.
do-or-die
- make a great effort while disregarding danger
eg. He was in a position of do-or-die when he finally found another job.
drag in
- insist on bringing another subject into a discussion
eg. He always drags in his personal problems when we are talking about his performance on the job.
drag on
- pass very slowly, make longer
eg. The speech seemed to drag on and on so finally we decided to leave early.
drag one`s feet/heels
- act slowly or reluctantly
eg. He has been dragging his feet about whether or not to take the job.
draw a blank
- obtain nothing in return for an effort made, get a negative result
eg. He drew a blank when he went to the head office to try and receive some information about the merger.
draw fire
- receive criticism or argument
eg. He has been drawing a lot of fire since he announced that he would not play basketball another year.
draw in one`s horns
- spend less money
eg. Their company is not doing well so they will have to draw in their horns for awhile.
draw (someone) out
- make a person talk or tell something
eg. She was very quiet but we finally were able to draw her out so that she would join the party.
draw the line
- set a limit
eg. We have to draw the line somewhere in regards to the costs of the party.
draw up
- put in writing
eg. They were able to draw up the new contract while we were waiting.
draw blood
- make someone bleed, get blood from someone
eg. The doctor decided to draw some blood from the patient to check up on his blood sugar level.
dressed to kill
- wear one`s finest clothes
eg. She was dressed to kill when I saw her at the concert last week.
dressed to the nines (teeth)
- dressed elegantly
eg. The stars were all dressed to the nines during the Academy Awards ceremony.
dress up
- put on one`s best clothes
eg. He decided to dress up for dinner at the restaurant.
dressed to kill
- wear one`s finest clothes
eg. She was dressed to kill when I saw her at the sales convention.
dressed to the nines (teeth)
- dressed elegantly
eg. They were dressed to the nines when they went to the opening of the new theater production.
dress up
- put on one`s best clothes
eg. I decided to dress up to go to dinner on Saturday night.
dressed to the nines
- dressed in one's best clothes
eg. The woman who we saw at the concert was dressed to the nines.
drive a hard bargain
- conclude a bargain without making any concessions
eg. Although he drives a hard bargain I like doing business with him.
drive at
- try or want to say something
eg. I don`t know what he was driving at in his speech.
drive someone up a wall
- irritate or annoy someone greatly
eg. His constant complaining is driving me up a wall.
drop a hint
- casually utter a hint or suggestion
eg. He dropped a hint that he wanted to transfer to a new department.
drop (someone) a line
- write or mail a note or letter to someone
eg. She promised that she would drop me a line when she gets to Singapore.
drop back
- move or step backwards, retreat
eg. During the hike his foot began to get sore so he decided to drop back and rest for awhile.
drop by
- to visit someone or somewhere
eg. He dropped by after work for a drink.
drop by the wayside
- give up or fail before the finish
eg. Many runners dropped by the wayside as the marathon continued.
drop in
- make a short or unplanned visit
eg. I decided to drop in and visit my friend after I finished work for the day.
drop in the bucket
- small amount
eg. The money he paid back was only a drop in the bucket compared to what he owes.
drop out (of school)
- quit school or a course of some kind
eg. She dropped out of the class after three months.
drown one`s sorrows
- drink alcohol to forget one`s problems
eg. He`s in the bar drowning his sorrows with a beer.
drown out
- make so much noise that it is impossible to hear
eg. The team captain was drowned out by the cheering fans.
drum up
- invent, encourage by making an effort
eg. They were able to drum up a lot of business during the summer.
duck soup
- easy, effortless
eg. How was the test last week? It was duck soup - no problem at all.
dumb bunny
- a stupid gullible person
eg. He is a dumb bunny and you never know what he will do next.
dwell on
- think about or talk about something all the time
eg. I wish he wouldn`t always dwell on his personal problems.
Last Update: 2005/12/18