Indian Idiom, Proverb

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Indian giver

a person who gives a gift expecting to get it back, change your mind """Can I have the CD I gave you for Christmas?"" he asked. ""Indian giver,"" she replied."

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too many chiefs and not enough Indians

too many directors and not enough workers, too many cooks... Everybody tried to be the boss. We had too many chiefs and not enough Indians.

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Indian file

If people walk in Indian file, they walk in a line one behind the other.

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Indian summer

If there is a period of warmer weather in late autumn, it is an Indian summer.

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Indian giver|Indian|giver

n. phr. A person who gives one something, but later asks for it back. An ethnic slur; avoidable. John gave me a beautiful fountain pen, but a week later, like an Indian giver, he wanted it back.

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Indian sign|Indian|sign

n., informal A magic spell that is thought to bring bad luck; curse; jinx; hoo-doo. Used with "the", usually after "have" or "with"; and often used in a joking way. Bill is a good player, but Ted has the Indian sign on him and always beats him. Father says that he always wins our checker games because he has put the Indian sign on me, but I think he is joking.
Compare: GET ONE'S NUMBER.

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Indian summer|Indian|summer

n. phr. A dry and warm period of time late in the fall, usually in October. After the cold and foggy weather, we had a brief Indian summer, during which the temperature was up in the high seventies.

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cigar-store Indian|Indian|cigar|store

n. phr. A wooden statue of an Indian which in the past was placed in front of a cigar store. A cigar store Indian used to mean a cigar store in the same way a barber pole still means a barber shop.