Смысл: agnail

agnail[ʹægneıl]
n
<Í> 1. заусеница
2. ногтоеда, панариций

nail Идиома

a nail-biter

"exciting game or movie; having much suspense" Have you seen the movie The Fugitive? It's a nail-biter.

another nail in your coffin

"another cigarette; harmful substance" Every cigarette he smoked was another nail in his coffin.

as slow as a dead snail

unbeatable in slowness He writes as slow as a dead snail, only a word or two per day!

dead as a doornail

dead, showing no signs of life, stone dead It's only a stuffed bear. It's dead as a doornail.

fight tooth and nail

fight fiercely or with all one

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.

hit the nail on the head

make a correct guess or analysis He really hit the nail on the head when he wrote the report about the bank

nail-biter

(See a nail-biter)

nail down

get a clear answer, find out, pin down I've checked the books, but I can't nail down the reason for the loss. I can't find the error.

nail him

hit him, hurt him, stop him They want to nail him because he beat up on Tommy.

nail in your coffin

(See another nail in your coffin)

nail it down

complete it, finalize it, close a deal Don't spend too long on a sale. Try to nail it down quickly.

slow as a dead snail

(See as slow as a dead snail)

snail

a very slow movement forward The cars on the highway moved at a snail

spitting nails

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

tooth and nail

(See fight tooth and nail)

alderman's nail

London cockney rhyming slang for tail

coffin nail

a cigarette

nail sth down

Idiom(s): nail sth down

Theme: DECISION

to get a firm and final decision (from someone) on something. (Informal.)
• Find Bob and nail down an answer.
• Let's get in touch with John and nail down this contract.

nail sb down

Idiom(s): nail sb down

Theme: CERTAINTY

to get a firm and final decision from someone (about something). (Informal.)
• I want you to find Bob and get an answer from him. Nail him down one way or the other.
• Please nail down John on the question of signing the contract.

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.

at a snail's pace

Idiom(s): at a snail's pace

Theme: SPEED

very slowly.
• When you watch a clock, time seems to move at a snail's pace.
• You always eat at a snail's pace. I'm tired of waiting for you.

another nail in one's or sth's coffin

Idiom(s): (another) nail in one's or sth's coffin

Theme: DOOM

something that will harm or destroy someone or something.
• Every word of criticism that Mary said about her boss was a nail in her coffin.
• Losing the export order was the final nail in the company's coffin.

go at it tooth and nail

Idiom(s): fight sb or sth hammer and tongs AND fight sb or sth tooth and nail; go at it hammer and tongs; go at it tooth and nail

Theme: FIGHTING

to fight against someone or something energetically and with great determination. (All have fixed order.)
• They fought against the robber tooth and nail.
• The dogs were fighting each other hammer and tongs.
• The mayor fought the new law hammer and tongs.
• We'll fight this zoning ordinance tooth and nail.

Nail in the coffin

A nail in someone or something's coffin is a problem or event that is a clear step towards an inevitable failure.

Pay on the nail

If you pay on the nail, you pay promptly in cash.

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.

coffin nail|coffin|nail

n., slang A cigarette. "I stopped smoking," Algernon said. "In fact, I haven't had a coffin nail in well over a year."

dead as a doornail|dead|doornail

adj. phr. Completely dead without the slightest hope of resuscitation. This battery is dead as a doornail; no wonder your car won't start.

hammer and tongs|fight|fight tooth and nail|hammer

adv. phr. Violently. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have been at it all day, hammer and tongs.

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.

hit the nail on the head|head|hit|nail

v. phr. To get something exactly right; speak or act in the most fitting or effective way. The mayor's talk on race relations hit the nail on the head.

nail down|nail

v. phr., informal To make certain; make sure; settle. Joe had a hard time selling his car, but he finally nailed the sale down when he got his friend Sam to give him $300. The New York Yankees nailed down the American League Championship when they beat the Red Sox 3 to 0 on September 15.

nail one's colors to the mast|colors|mast|nail

literary To let everyone know what you think is right and refuse to change. During the election campaign the candidate nailed his colors to the mast on the question of civil rights.

snail's pace|pace|snail

n. A very slow movement forward. Time moved at a snail's pace before the holidays. The donkey on which he was riding moved at a snail's pace.

doornail

doornail
see dead as a doornail.

nail

nail
In addition to the idioms beginning with nail, also see bite one's nails; fight tooth and nail; hard as nails; hit the bull's-eye; on the nail.
* * *
- nail down
- nail in one's coffin

nail in one's coffin

nail in one's coffin
Something that might hasten or contribute to one's death, as in Every cigarette you smoke is another nail in your coffin. This expression, alluding to fastening down a coffin lid, is today almost always used for a harmful habit such as tobacco use (giving rise to the slang term coffin nail for a cigar or cigarette). The idea was first expressed in an ode by Pindar (the pseudonym of John Wolcot) in 1792: “Care to our coffin adds a nail, no doubt.”

on the nail

on the nail
1) Immediately, without delay, as in He paid us back on the nail. [c. 1600]
2) Under discussion or consideration, as in The subject of the budget deficit has been on the nail for some time. [Late 1800s] The precise allusion in these expressions has been lost. Neither has any connection to hit the nail on the head (see under hit the bull's-eye).

snail mail

snail mail
Ordinary postal service, as opposed to electronic communications. For example, He hasn't taken to his computer so he's still using snail mail. This slangy idiom, alluding to the alleged slowness of the snail, caught on at least partly for its rhyme. [1980s]

snail's pace

snail's pace
A very slow pace, as in They're making progress with testing the new vaccine, but at a snail's pace. [c. 1400]

thumbnail sketch

thumbnail sketch
A brief outline or cursory description, as in Let me give you a thumbnail sketch of the situation. This idiom alludes to drawing a picture no larger than a thumbnail. [Mid-1800s]

More Idioms/Phrases

throw up one's hands throw up to thumb thumb one's nose thumbnail sketch thumbs up thunder thus far tick tick off ticket tickle

English Vocalbulary

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