Meaning: american wistaria

n.
an eastern United States native resembling the cultivated Japanese wisteria having pale purple-lilac flowers

wis Idiom, Proverb

a word to the wise is sufficient

a wise person understands when he hears a key word I can't discuss the plan, but a word to the wise is sufficient: progress.

death wish

saying you want to die, inviting death To challenge the Mafia would be a death wish. It would be suicide.

get a word in edgewise

manage to break into a conversation I couldn

get wise to something/somebody

learn about something kept secret He finally got wise to the fact that they were stealing his money.

penny-wise and pound foolish

wise or careful in small things to the costly neglect of important things My friend is penny-wise and pound foolish and economizes on small things but wastes all of his money on big things.

street wise

wise about street life, been around Let's ask Sal to go downtown with us. He's street wise.

twist my arm

persuade me, convince me I really don't like pie, but if you twist my arm, I'll have a piece.

twist of fate

the way fate works, the way things happen Then, by a twist of fate, a plane flew over and the pilot saw us.

twist one

force someone or threaten someone to make them do something He didn

twist someone around one

have complete control over someone and be able to make them do anything you want She is able to easily twist her supervisor around her little finger and gets whatever she wants at work.

twist/wrap someone around one

have complete control over My sister has her boss wrapped around her little finger and she is able to do anything that she wants.

twist your words

change the meaning of what you say, put a different slant... When she gave her testimony in court, the lawyer tried to twist her words to mean something else.

wise to us

know what we are doing, onto us Your husband knows you're seeing me. He's wise to us.

wishful thinking

believing it is true because you wish it was true Roy says that he is going to marry Dawn, but it's wishful thinking.

wishy washy

not able to decide, saying yes and no I like you because you're decisive, because you're not wishy washy.

word to the wise

(See a word to the wise)

worldly wise

knowing how to survive, having street smarts You've lived on the streets of LA. You're worldly wise. You're hip.

twisted

drunk

get wise to

learn about secret；become alert to得知（秘密）；警觉
We are getting wise to her tricks now，and it's not easy any more for her to put anything over us．我们已渐渐识破了她的花招，她不能再轻易地瞒过我们了。
You are very lazy．If you don't get wise to yourself and start studying，you will fail the course．你很懒惰，如果你对自己不警觉，还不开始学习的话，你的功课就会不及格。

in no wise

by no means；in no manner毫不；绝不
He has in no wise changed his opinion．他丝毫没有改变他的看法。
He'll in no wise lose his reward．他决不会失去他应得的报酬。

wise up

finally understand what is really going on after a period of ignorance；become or make aware恍然大悟；识破；使看透
Joe immediately quit his job when he wised up to what was really going on．乔得知底细后马上辞职不干了。
His mother tried to wise him up about the company he kept，but he wouldn't listen to her．他母亲想提醒他弄清他交的朋友的底细，但他听不进她的话。

wise up (to)

wish for

desire to possess；long for想得到；渴望
The city has everything that one could wish for，except good weather．这个城市具有人们想要得到的一切，就是天气不好。
The weather was everything they could wish for．这天气对他们来说是再好也没有的了。

wish (off) on

get rid of sth．unwanted by passing it on to sb．else把自己不想要的东西推给别人
She did not like to do the dishes and wished the job on to her little sister．她不喜欢洗盘子，就把这差事推给她的小妹妹了。
The young couple wished their naughty son off on his grandparents for the summer holidays．那对年轻夫妇在暑假中把他们玩皮的儿子交给了祖父母看管。

wish on

wish sth off on

Idiom(s): wish sth off on sb

Theme: BURDEN

to pass something off onto someone else. (Informal.)
• I don't want to have to deal with your problems. Don't wish them off on me.
• The storekeeper wished off the defective watch on the very next customer who came in.

wise up to

Idiom(s): wise up (to sb or sth)

Theme: UNDERSTANDING

to begin to understand the truth about someone or something. (Slang.)
• It was almost a week before I began to wise up to John. He's a total phony.
• You had better stay hidden for a while. The police are beginning to wise up.

wise as an owl

Idiom(s): (as) wise as an owl

Theme: WISDOM

very wise.
• Grandfather is as wise as an owl.
• My goal is to be wise as an owl.

twist one's arm

Idiom(s): twist one's arm

Theme: PERSUASION

to force or persuade someone.
• At first she refused, but after I twisted her arm a little, she agreed to help.
• I didn't want to run for mayor, but everyone twisted my arm.

twist sb around one's little finger

Idiom(s): twist sb around one's little finger

Theme: MANIPULATION

to manipulate and control someone.
• Bob really fell for Jane. She can twist him around her little finger.
• Billy's mother has twisted him around her little finger. He's very dependent on her.

sadder but wiser

Idiom(s): sadder but wiser

Theme: EXPERIENCE

unhappy but educated [about someone or something—after an unpleasant event]. (Fixed order.)
• After the accident, I was sadder but wiser, and would never make the same mistake again.
• We left the meeting sadder but wiser, knowing that we could not ever come to an agreement with Becky's aunt.

put sb wise to

Idiom(s): put sb wise to sb or sth

Theme: EXPLANATION

to inform someone about someone or something. (Informal.)
• I put her wise to the way we do things around here.
• I didn't know she was taking money. Mary put me wise to her.

penny-wise and pound-foolish

Idiom(s): penny-wise and pound-foolish

Theme: FOOLISHNESS

A proverb meaning that it is foolish to lose a lot of money to save a little money. (Fixed order.)
• Sally shops very carefully to save a few cents on food, then charges the food to a charge card that costs a lot in annual interest. That's being pennywise and pound-foolish.
• John drives thirty miles to buy gas for three cents a gallon less than it costs here. He's really penny-wise and pound-foolish.

none the wiser

Idiom(s): none the wiser

Theme: KNOWLEDGE - LACKING

not knowing any more.
• I was none the wiser about the project after the lecture. It was a complete waste of time.
• Anne tried to explain the situation tactfully to Jack, but in the end, he was none the wiser.

Experience is the father of wisdom.

Experience and knowledge result in better judgement.

If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride.

Wishing alone is of no use; you must act as well.

Penny wise, pound foolish.

Refers to a person who is careful about spending small amounts of money, but not careful about spending large amounts of money.

The wish is father to the thought.

You think that something is true because you want it to be so.

A still tongue keeps a wise head

Wise people don't talk much.

Be careful what you wish for

If you get things that you desire, there may be unforeseen and unpleasant consequences.('Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true.' and 'Be careful what you wish for; you may receive it.' are also used.)

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride

This means that wishing for something or wanting it is not the same as getting or having it.

Knickers in a twist

When your knickers are in a twist, you are angry and snappish over something trivial. 'Whenever he loses his car keys, he gets his knickers in a twist.'

More holes than Swiss cheese

If something has more holes than a Swiss cheese, it is incomplete,and lacks many parts.

Penny wise, pound foolish

Someone who is penny wise, pound foolish can be very careful or mean with small amounts of money, yet wasteful and extravagant with large sums.

Twist someone's arm

If you twist someone's arm, you put pressure on them to try to make them do what you want them to do.

Twisting in the wind

If you are twisting in the wind, you are without help or support - you are on your own.

Will-o'-the-wisp

Something that deceives by its appearance is a will-o’-the-wisp; it looks good, but turns out to be a disappointment.

Where ignorance is bliss it is folly to be wise.

It is better to be unaware of something that will bring unhappiness.

If wishes were horses beggars would ride.

Life would be very easy if goals could be achieved only by desiring.

get a word in|edgewise|get|get a word|get a word i

also

More Idioms/Phrases

get a grip on get a head start on get a kick out of get a line on get a load of get a move on get a raise get a rise out of get a word in get a word in edgeways get about get across get after get ahead get along in years get an earful get around

English Vocalbulary

american woodcock american wormseed americana americanisation americanise Americanised Americanises Americanising americanism Americanisms americanization americanize Americanized Americanizes Americanizing Americans Americas americium