wheels Idiom

hell-on-wheels

a short-tempered, nagging or crabby person She is hell-on-wheels in the morning so you should be careful of her.

set of wheels

vehicle, car, truck, wheels The Ford needs a lot of repairs. I need a new set of wheels.

spin your wheels

waste effort, not progress If you don't have a career goal you'll just spin your wheels.

the wheels fall off

it breaks, it fails, fall apart When the coach is away, our team loses. The wheels fall off!

wheels

vehicle (car, truck etc.), set of wheels Jeff, can I borrow your wheels? My sister needs a ride to the mall.

wheels fall off

(See the wheels fall off)

wheels of steel

turntables

spin one's wheels

Idiom(s): spin one's wheels

Theme: WASTE - EFFORT

to be in motion, but get nowhere. (Slang.)
• This is a terrible job. I'm just spinning my wheels and not getting anywhere.
• Get organized and try to accomplish something. Stop spinning your wheels!

Set the wheels in motion

When you set the wheels in motion, you get something started.

grease the wheels|grease|wheel|wheels

v. phr., informal To do something or act to make something go smoothly or happen in the way that is wanted. Mr. Davis asked a friend to grease the wheels so he could borrow money from the bank. William's father tried to grease the wheels for him to get a new job.

hell-on-wheels|hell|wheel|wheels

n., slang A short-tempered, nagging, or crabby person especially one who makes another unhappy by constantly criticizing him even when he has done nothing wrong. Finnegan complains that his wife is hell on wheels; he is considering getting a divorce.

spin one's wheels|spin|wheel|wheels

v. phr. 1. Said of cars stuck in snow or mud whose wheels are turning without the car moving forward. There was so much snow on the driveway that my car's wheels were spinning in it and we couldn't get going. 2. To exert effort in a job without making any progress. I've been working for the firm for two decades, but I feel I am merely spinning my wheels.

grease the wheels

grease the wheels
Also, oil the wheels. Make things run smoothly, as in You can count on Ben to grease the wheels so we'll be waited on promptly. This metaphoric expression transfers literal lubrication to figurative. [Mid-1600s]

hell on wheels

hell on wheels
Tough, aggressive, wild, or mean, as in Watch out for the boss—he's hell on wheels this week. This expression originated with the building of the Union Pacific Railroad in the 1860s, when it denoted the last town on the line, which was carried on freight cars as the track was extended. The town consisted mainly of tents occupied by construction gangs, liquor dealers, gamblers, and other camp followers known for their rough and often vicious ways.

wheels in motion

wheels in motion
see under set in motion.

wheels within wheels

wheels within wheels
Complex interacting processes, agents, or motives, as in It's difficult to find out just which government agency is responsible; there are wheels within wheels. This term, which now evokes the complex interaction of gears, may derive from a scene in the Bible (Ezekiel 1:16): “Their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.” [c. 1600]