mile Idiom, Proverb

by a country mile

by a long distance, by a wide margin Black Beauty won the race by a country mile. She was far ahead.

flash a smile

smile at someone for only a second Andy flashed a smile at me when the teacher asked to see his work.

give him an inch and he'll take a mile

give him a little freedom and he will take a lot He lacks self-discipline. Give him an inch and he'll take a mile.

give someone an inch and they will take a mile

if you give someone a little they will want more and more, some people are never satisfied If you give him an inch he will take a mile so you shouldn

go the extra mile

work longer or harder than expected, give 110% If you are willing to go the extra mile, you can be the top student.

talk a mile a minute

talk fast, talk quickly Mimi talks a mile a minute. It's hard to understand her.

wipe that smile off your face

stop smiling, do not smile, cut it out Reg, tell Peter you're sorry and give him a big kiss. Gail, wipe that smile off your face.

curry-mile

the name given to an area in Manchester called Rusholme, which has a high density of asian restaurants and food takeaways positioned along its main street

smile now, cry later

popular tatoo of a smiling face and frowning face; depicts gangster life

miss by a mile

1．be very wrong； be far from right极不正确
He tried to guess on the examination，but his answers missed by a mile．他在考试中试图猜题，可他的答案离题万里。
2．fail badly；not succeed at all彻底失败
Temple stood for election， but in the final counting he missed by a mile．坦普尔参加了竞选，但最后计票时遭到了惨败。

smile at

1．direct a smile towards对…微笑
It often prevents an argument if you smile at people who are rude to you．朝那些对你无礼的人微笑，就可以避免争吵。
She is smiling at me．她在向我微笑。
2．be amused by对…觉得好笑；被…逗笑
The teacher smiled at my answer．老师对我的回答笑了笑。
Mary smiled at John's menace．玛丽对约翰的威胁一笑置之。

smile on

1．favor对…有利
Fate smiled on him．他运气好。
May fortune smile on you in your new life together！祝你们新婚幸福！
2． smile at对…微笑
He smiled on the happy scene．看到这令人高兴的情景他笑了。

smile through one's tears

smile while weeping破涕为笑
Hearing of his arrival，she smiled through her tears．听说他来了，她破涕为笑。

miss sth by a mile

Idiom(s): miss (sth) by a mile

Theme: FAILURE

to fail to hit something by a great distance; to land wide of the mark.
• Ann shot the arrow and missed the target by a mile.
• "Good grief you missed by a mile," shouted Sally.

milestone in one's life

Idiom(s): milestone in one's life

Theme: IMPORTANCE

a very important event or point in one's life. (From the stone at the side of a road showing the distance to or from a place.)
• Joan's wedding was a milestone in her mother's life.
• The birth of a child is a milestone in every parent's life.

crack a smile

Idiom(s): crack a smile

Theme: HAPPINESS

to smile a little, perhaps reluctantly. (Informal.)
• She cracked a smile, so I knew she was kidding.
• The soldier cracked a smile at the wrong time and had to march for an hour as punishment.

by a mile

Idiom(s): by a mile

Theme: AMOUNT - LARGE

by a great distance. (An exaggeration in this case.)
• You missed the target by a mile.
• Your estimate of the budget deficit was off by a mile.

Give someone an inch and they will take a mile.

Give someone a little and they will want more - some people are never satisfied.

Country mile

(USA) A country mile is used to describe a long distance.

Miss is as good as a mile

A miss is as good as a mile means that if you fail, even by the smallest margin, it is still a failure.

Plastic smile

When someone is wearing a plastic smile, they are appear to be happier with a situation or events than they actually are. This is actually a description of the forced smile you might see in many photographs.

Run a mile

If someone "Runs a mile", they do everything they can to avoid a situation. Example "I was worried that he'd take one look at me and run a mile."

Square Mile

(UK) The Square Mile is the City, the financial area of London.

Walk a mile in my shoes

This idiom means that you should try to understand someone before criticising them.

Walk the green mile

Someone or something that is walking the green mile is heading towards the inevitable.

Wipe the smile of someone's face

If you wipe the smile of someone's face, you do something to make someone feel less pleased with themselves.

crack a smile|crack|smile

v. phr., informal To let a smile show on one's face; permit a smile to appear. Bob told the whole silly story without even cracking a smile. Scrooge was a gloomy man, who never cracked a smile. When we gave the shy little boy an ice cream cone, he finally cracked a smile.

give one an inch, and he will take a mile|give|inc

If you give some people a little or yield anything, they will want more and more; some people are never satisfied. I gave Billy a bite of candy and he wanted more and more. If you give him an inch, he'll take a mile. The counselor said to Jack, "No, I can't let you get a haircut until Saturday. It's against the rules, and if I give an inch, someone will take a mile."

jaw drop|drop|jaw|jaw drop a mile|mile

informal Mouth fall wide open with surprise.

Used with a possessive. Tom's jaw dropped a mile when he won the prize.

mile markers|markers|mile

n., slang, citizen's band radio jargon Small signs along interstate highways usually bearing a number. The Smokey is located at 131 mile marker.

miles away|miles

adj. phr. Inattentive; not concentrating. When Betty said, "We have theater tickets for tonight," Ken didn't react as his mind was miles away.

miss by a mile|mile|miss

v. phr., informal 1. To shoot at something and be far from hitting it; not hit near. Jack's first shot missed the target by a mile. 2. To be very wrong; be far from right. Lee tried to guess on the examination, but his answers missed by a mile. 3. To fail badly; not succeed at all. John Brown wanted to be governor but in the election he missed by a mile.

miss is as good as a mile|mile|miss

It is the same if one fails or misses something by much or by little.

A proverb. We thought Tom had a home run but the ball went foul by inches. A miss is as good as a mile.

get mileage out of

get mileage out of
Make use of, obtain service from, as in The chorus got a lot of mileage out of that publicity, or You won't get much mileage out of that old TV set. This expression alludes to the number of miles of travel yielded by a given amount of fuel, a tire, or other auto equipment. [Colloquial; mid-1900s]

give an inch and they'll take a mile

give an inch and they'll take a mile
Make a small concession and they'll take advantage of you. For example, I told her she could borrow the car for one day and she's been gone a week—give an inch! This expression, in slightly different form, was already a proverb in John Heywood's 1546 collection, “Give him an inch and he'll take an ell,” and is so well known it is often shortened (as in the example). The use of mile dates from about 1900.

mile

mile
In addition to the idioms beginning with mile, also see miss by a mile; miss is as good as a mile, a; stick out.
* * *
- mile a minute, a
- miles and miles

mile a minute, a

mile a minute, a
Very rapidly, as in She was talking a mile a minute about the accident. This expression, alluding to the literal speed of 60 miles per hour, dates from the mid-1900s, when that speed was considered very fast, but it has survived into times of much greater velocity.

miles and miles

miles and miles
A considerable distance; also, a large interval, by far. For example, We drove for miles and miles before we saw a gas station, or She was miles and miles a better pianist than her brother: This usage was first recorded in 1889.

miss is as good as a mile, a

miss is as good as a mile, a
Coming close to success but failing is no better than failing by a lot, as in He was beaten by just one vote, but a miss is as good as a mile. This proverbial expression, first recorded in 1614, is a shortening of the older form, “An inch of a miss is as good [or bad] as a mile of a miss.”

smile

smile
In addition to the idiom beginning with smile, also see crack a smile.

More Idioms/Phrases

smash smear campaign smell smell fishy smell to high heaven smell up smile smooth smooth as silk