Reader Comments
Helen – (apple of one’s eye) November 12, 2026
“Apple” in the Hebrew in Psalms 17 refers to the ‘little man’. It is no reference to age, rather to the reflection of a little man in our eye; that indicates how close the person is to your eye when they can see their reflection of themselves in another’s eye, indicating their nearness to that person.
Etienne – (back and forth) November 9, 2026
This is not an idiom. It is a binomial pair.
William Knight Raymond – (play fast and loose) October 27, 2026
In “Moby Dick,” Herman Melville used “fast” to refer to a harpooned whale carcass which was tagged as belonging to a particular whaling ship. “Loose” meant a whale that was not yet claimed by anyone.
Setayesh – (come over) October 15, 2026
Come over. A feeling affects somebody in a strong way. A feeling of despair came over me.
Ms Chan – (bring to the table) September 29, 2026
My example is I bring to the table to my past experience how to set up an new office operation such as pantry, reception area and staff room, etc.
Adela Olivares – (bring to the table) September 29, 2026
I thing that i never leasing this phrase its now for me, but sounds very interesting because you can contribute something important in a job or in different situations such as in a job interview the skills you possess and the contributions you can make to the company.
Tony – (till death do us part) September 24, 2026
Great answer. “Til death us do part” was an interim form, or incremental step, between “depart” and “do us part.” As such, it’s not more poetic or accurate, just a half-step. Compare to happiness (pursuit of, happily ever after), which meant fortune (having plenty of food or wealth) and not an emotional state. To live happily until Death departs us.
Vedha Nayagam – (shooting fish in a barrel) September 22, 2026
If the barrel is empty with no water in it, the fish is already dead! On the other hand, if it has water and fish, it’s an invisible moving target. A single shot at the barrel would drain all the water from it, and the fish will die soon!
Easy, sure success!
CKHenderson – (low hanging fruit) September 11, 2026
I was introduced to the term “low hanging fruit” in the past two or three years when I first heard the song about lynchings. I cringe and have a visceral reaction when I hear it. I feel sickened and sad.
I have noticed it’s recently frequently being used in business, news forecasts, sports news, ect as a new trendy descriptive phrase. I was going to protest its use, but in my research I have learned it may have originated in 1600s in agriculture as in “easy pickings.” It’s used in business sometimes positively, sometimes negatively. Its use is on the rise. Trendy.
I will deal with it.
HLH – (fine tooth comb) September 10, 2026
Is there a reliable source for this “New York-based periodical”? As shared, the context of the alleged passage is not an example of the ‘fine tooth comb’ idiom at work but a comparative statement. There are examples of ‘fine tooth comb’ actually and factually being used in the way of today’s popular idiom that predate this erroneous entry.
