Significato:
a blatant lie 
una vistosa bugia, una falsità bell'e buona
li Idioma
a bare-faced lie
a deliberate lie, a planned lie His statement to the police was false - a bare-faced lie.
a bawling out
a scolding, a lecture, an earful, catch it When I forgot to do my chores Dad gave me a bawling out.
a cliff-hanger
a game that is close until the end, a barnburner Every election in this town is a real cliff-hanger - a close race.
a dog's life
a poor life, hard times Without a job, it's a dog's life.
a falling out
a disagreement, a break in friendship Guy and Jean had a falling out. They argued about religion.
a fat lip
a hit on the lip, an injured lip Stop bothering her or I'll give you a fat lip. I'll hit you.
a fine line
a close relationship, not much difference Sometimes there is a fine line between love and lust.
a howling blizzard
a very bad snowstorm, a winter storm A howling blizzard delayed us. It was snowing and blowing.
a lick and a promise
a hasty plan, a promise made without much thought If you get married on a lick and a a promise, you may need a lot of good luck.
a lift
energy, a positive feeling, a shot in the arm When I need a lift, I watch Oprah. She makes me feel good.
a little bird told me
someone told me, one of your friends told me """How did you know that I play chess?"" ""Oh, a little bird told me."""
a little hair off the dog
(See hair off the dog)
a little off
not quite sane, a bit crazy, one brick short... When Clem started eating grass, we knew he was a little off.
a little steep
a little high in price, too much money to pay I'd like to buy that leather coat but the price is a little steep.
a new lease on life
a feeling that life will be better, a fresh start The promotion gave him a new lease on life.
a pack of lies
many lies, no truth to it What Gail is saying about Julie is a pack of lies. It's not true.
a slim chance
very little chance, not likely to happen """Is it going to rain today?"" ""Maybe. There's a slim chance."""
a slip of the tongue
a spoken error or mistake, a word that slips out I said brew instead of blue. It was a slip of the tongue.
a slippery slope
a path that leads to problems, a risky plan Nationalism is a slippery slope. It often leads to racism.
a stiff upper lip
(See keep a stiff upper lip)
all the livelong day
all day, lasting the whole day Our canary sings all the livelong day - from dawn to dusk.
all walks of life
all occupations and lifestyles As a salesperson, you will meet people from all walks of life.
along those lines
similar, on the same topic, in that vein He wants a job in health care or nursing, along those lines.
any way you slice it
(See no matter how you slice it)
as the crow flies
the shortest distance between two places The farm is about ten miles northeast of town, as the crow flies.
at a good clip
fast, at a high speed When you passed us you were going at a pretty good clip.
at first light
just before the sun rises, at the crack of dawn At first light, the ducks would fly to the grainfields to feed.
at liberty
free to speak or act, allowed to speak Are you at liberty to tell us who won? Can you tell us?
away out of line
(See way out of line)
ballistic
(See go ballistic)
bare-faced lie
(See a bare-faced lie)
beeline
(See make a beeline)
believe my ears
(See can't believe my ears)
believe my eyes
(See can't believe my eyes)
believe one
believe what one hears, become sure of (something) I couldnbelieve what one sees, become sure of seeing something We couldn
below the poverty line
not earning enough to survive, very poor, as poor as a church mouse If husband and wife are earning minimum wage, they're living below the poverty line.
bigger than life
"heroic: stronger, wiser, uglier; larger than life" The characters in most novels seem to be bigger than life.
biter (curling)
a rock that is touching the twelve-foot circle The Heidt rink is lying four - one is a biter.
black-listed
excluded, not be invited, not allowed to join Gore was black-listed because he led the demonstration.
blind date
going out with a boy or girl you have not met Kate met Jeff on a blind date. They got married a year later.
blind leading the blind
someone who doesn
blow the lid off
reveal a story, tell some news, break a story When the defendant confessed, it blew the lid off the murder trial.
blow your lid/stack/top
become very angry, shout, lose your cool Don't blow your stack in front of the kids. It's a bad example.
boiling mad
very angry, very upset, hopping mad By the time the car started, Emil was boiling mad.
bottom line
the total, the final figure on a balance sheet When they examined the bottom line of the company they decided not to invest in it.
breathe a sigh of relief
feel relieved after a time of worry When we saw the children were safe, we breathed a sigh of relief.
bring some new facts to light
discover some new facts, make some new facts known The lawyers were able to bring some new facts to light in the trial of the killer.
bring someone into line
persuade someone to agree with you He was finally able to bring the other members of the committee into line.
broad daylight
(See in broad daylight)
built like a brick shithouse
have a strong body, have a sturdy build Tyronne plays football. He's built like a brick shithouse.