Arti: bailsman

penjamin

ails Idiom

can't make heads or tails of something

" can't understand something at all;"

hard as nails

physically very fit and strong, rough, stern He is as hard as nails and is not a good person to have an argument with.

heads or tails

choose one or the other, which side of the coin? """Heads or tails?"" the gambler asked as he flipped the coin."

it never fails

it always happens, time and again It never fails - when I get in the shower, the phone rings.

knock the wind out of his sails

cause him to slow down, cause him to quit, knock him down a peg (see knock you down a peg) If you tell him his letter is full of errors, you'll knock the wind out of his sails.

on the rails

operating smoothly, on track Troy helped me get back on the rails when I was depressed.

ride his coattails

depend on his success, use his success My dad was a great doctor, but I don't want to ride his coattails.

spitting nails

very angry, very mad, hot, pissed Art was spitting nails when my dog scratched the paint on his car.

bangtails

racehorses

take the wind out of one's sails

Idiom(s): take the wind out of one's sails

Theme: CHALLENGE

to challenge someone's boasting or arrogance. (Informal.)
• John was bragging about how much money he earned until he learned that most of us make more. That took the wind out of his sails,
• Learning that one has been totally wrong about something can really take the wind out of one's sails.

ride on one's coattails

Idiom(s): ride on someone's coattails AND hang on someone's coattails

Theme: FOLLOWING

to make one's good fortune or success depend on another person. (Also with else, as in the examples.)
• Bill isn't very creative, so he rides on John's coattails.
• Some people just have to hang on somebody else's coattails.

go into a tailspin

Idiom(s): go into a tailspin

Theme: WORSEN

[for someone] to become disoriented or panicked; [for someone's life] to fall apart. (Informal.)
• Although John was a great success, his life went into a tailspin.
• After her father died, Mary's world fell apart, and she went into a tailspin.

can't make heads or tails of

Idiom(s): can't make heads or tails (out) of sb or sth

Theme: UNDERSTANDING

[to be] unable to understand someone or something. (Also with cannot.)
• John is so strange. I can't make heads or tails of him.
• Do this report again. I can't make heads or tails out of it.

bite one's nails

Idiom(s): bite one's nails

Theme: ANXIETY

to be nervous or anxious; to bite one's fingernails from nervousness or anxiety. (Used both literally and figuratively.)
• I spent all afternoon biting my nails, worrying about you.
• We've all been biting our nails from worry.

hang on one's coattails

Off the rails

If someone has gone off the rails, they have lost track of reality.

as hard as nails|hard|nail|nails

adj. phr. Very unfeeling; cruel, and unsympathetic. Uncle Joe is as hard as nails; although he is a millionaire, he doesn't help his less fortunate relatives.

bed of nails|bed|nail|nails

n. phr. A difficult or unhappy situation or set of circumstances. "There are days when my job is a regular bed of nails," Jim groaned.
Antonym: BED OF ROSES.

cows tail|cow|cows|tail|tails

n., dialect A person who is behind others. John was the cow's tail at the exam. Fred was always the old cow's tail for football practice.

go into a tailspin|go|go into a nose dive|nose div

v. phr., informal To fall or go down badly; collapse; give up trying. The team went into a tailspin after their captain was hurt, and they were badly beaten. 2. informal To become very anxious, confused, or mentally sick; give up hope. The man went into a tailspin after his wife died and he never got over it.

hard as nails|hard|nail|nails

adj. phr., informal 1. Not flabby or soft; physically very fit; tough and strong. After a summer of work in the country, Jack was as hard as nails, without a pound of extra weight. 2. Not gentle or mild; rough; stern. Johnny works for a boss who is as hard as nails and scolds Johnny roughly whenever he does something wrong.

heads or tails|head|heads|tail|tails

n. phr. The two sides of a coin, especially when the coin is tossed in the air in order to decide which of two alternatives are to be followed. Tom tossed a quarter in the air and said, "Tails, I win; heads you win."

on one's coattails|coattails|on

adv. phr. Because of another's merits, success, or popularity. Bob and Jim are best friends. When Jim was invited to join a fraternity, Bob rode in on his coattails. Many people vote straight for all the candidates in the same political party. Most people voted for President K., so Governor B. rode in on K.'s coattails.

ride on one's coattails|coattails|ride

v. phr. To succeed in a certain endeavor by attaching oneself to the greater weight of another person or corporate body. "We will never get our Ph.D. program approved on our own," said the head of the modern dance department, "but we might succeed if we stay in the Division of Fine Arts, riding on their coattails, as it were."

take the wind out of one's sails|sail|sails|take|w

v. phr. To surprise someone by doing better or by catching him in an error. John came home boasting about the fish he had caught; it took the wind out of his sails when he found his little sister had caught a bigger one. Dick took the wind out of Bob's sails by showing him where he was wrong.
Compare: TAKE THE STARCH OUT OF².

coattails

coattails
see on someone's coattails.

on someone's coattails

on someone's coattails
Also, on the coattails of. Owing to another person's popularity or merits. For example, He won the cabinet post by hanging on the senator's coattails, or He was elected to office on the coattails of the governor. This expression, with its graphic image, dates from the mid-1800s, when coats with tails were in fashion.

tailspin

tailspin
see go into a tailspin.

trim one's sails

trim one's sails
Modify one's stand, adapt to circumstances, as in His advisers told him to trim his sails before he alienated voters and bungled the election completely. This metaphoric expression alludes to adjusting a ship's sails to take full advantage of prevailing winds. [Late 1700s]