Fish or Cut Bait – Furman Library News

This year’s freshman class includes 44 international students, representing 17 foreign countries. Most of these students are already fluent in English. But American idioms and slang can sometimes be confusing. The Reference Collection has several slang and idiom dictionaries which are helpful and interesting to browse.

Here are a few idioms from the Cambridge Idioms Dictionary which you might hear in South Carolina:

go whole hog	to do something as completely as possible	I went whole hog and ordered dessert after my steak dinner.
what’s good for the goose is good for the gander	something you say to suggest that if a particular type of behavior is acceptable for one person, it should also be acceptable for another person	If your roommate uses your shampoo without asking, then surely you can use some of hers. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
have no truck with	to refuse to become involved with something or someone because you do not approve of them	Our fraternity will have no truck with hazing.
mad as a wet hornet	to be very angry	He was as mad as a wet hornet when he learned his grade in the class.
smell/stink to high heaven	to smell very bad	That garbage can stinks to high heaven.
fish or cut bait	something that you say to someone when you want them to make a decision and take action without any more delay	Your relationship is going nowhere. It’s time to fish or cut bait.
make hay while the sun still shines	to do something while the situation or conditions are right	I’ve got a few hours to work on homework before the football game starts so I might as well make hay while the sun still shines.
bigger fish to fry	to have something more important or more interesting to do	I couldn’t waste time trying to argue my way out of a parking ticket; I had bigger fish to fry.
fit to be tied	to be very angry or upset	She was fit to be tied when her boyfriend cancelled their date.
talk the hind legs off a donkey	if you say that someone can talk the hind legs off a donkey, you mean that they talk a lot	His lab partner could talk the hind legs off a donkey.
like blue blazes	if someone or something does something like blue blazes, they do it a lot	This sweater itches like blue blazes.
talk a blue streak	to say a lot very fast	She talked a blue streak and we had to sit there and listen.
go hog wild	to become too excited and eager about something, often so that you do too much	There’s no need to go hog wild planning a birthday party for Sarah. She won’t want such a fuss.
more than you can shake a stick at	a very large number of something	She’s got more shoes than you can shake a stick at.
sticks in my craw	if a situation or someone’s behavior sticks in your craw, it annoys you, usually because you think it is wrong	I’ve worked hard on our group project, but Katie says I’ve been lazy, and that really sticks in my craw.
in two shakes of a dog’s tail	to do something very quickly	I’ll be finished with my lunch in two shakes of a dog’s tail.