English Idioms - Alphabetical list M-N

	Idiom	Meaning
M	Make an educated guess	This expression refers to an estimate or opinion based on facts, experience and knowledge. "I can't give you the exact results but I can make an educated guess."
	Make ends meet	To make ends meet means to have enough money to live on.
	Make one's flesh crawl	Something that makes your flesh crawl fills you with disgust or makes you feel very nervous. "Just talking about snakes makes my flesh crawl."
	Cannot make head or tail of something	If you can't make head or tail of something, you can't understand it at all. "Julie's message was so confusing, I couldn't make head or tail of it! "
	Make headway	If you make headway, you make progress in what you are trying to achieve. "Investigators have made little headway in their search for the causes of the catastrophe."
	Make light work of something	If a person makes light work of something, they do it very easily or with little effort. "After the party, the boys made light work of the cleaning up. The house was spotless when they left."
	Make one's hackles rise	If someone makes your hackles rise, they make you angry. "Her constant criticism really makes my hackles rise!"
	Make a mountain out of a molehill	If someone makes a mountain out of a molehill, they make a small, unimportant problem seem much more serious than it is. "Stop making mountains out of molehills! It's not a major problem."
	Make your mouth water	Food can make your mouth water when it looks and smells extremely good. "That delicious smell from the kitchen is making my mouth water."
	Make short work of something	If you make short work of something, you do or finish something quickly. "The players were so hungry after the match that they made short work of the food provided."
	Make the best of things	If you make the best of things, you accept the situation and do what you can in spite of the difficulties or disadvantages. "The apartment was badly located, but the rent was low, so they decided to make the best of things."
	Make up for lost time	If you make up for lost time, you increase your efforts or work harder to complete something or meet a deadline. "Progress has stopped because of bad weather, but we are determined to make up for lost time."
	Make yourself scarce	If you make yourself scarce, you leave a place in order to avoid an embarrassing situation. "When Mark and Sally started to argue, I decided to make myself scarce."
	To be off the mark.	If something is off the mark, it is incorrect or inaccurate.
	Means business	If someone means business, they are serious about what they announce. "The boss says that in future any missing material will be reported to the police, and he looks as though he means business."
	Method in one's madness	This expression means that someone's behaviour is not as irrational as it seems. "He's efficient despite his strange way of working, so there's method in his madness!"
	Burn the midnight oil	A person who burns the midnight oil stays up very late at night in order to finish a piece of work.
	A chance in a million	A chance in a million is a very small chance, or no chance at all, that something will happen.
	Feel/look like a million dollars	If you look/feel like a million dollars, you look/feel extremely good. "With a tan and a new hairstyle, she looked like a million dollars."
	Never in a million years	This expression means "absolutely never" "I will never in a million years understand why Anne married Bob."
	A millstone around your neck	Something described as a millstone around your neck refers to a problem or responsibility that becomes a burden and a source of worry. "The money he borrowed became a millstone around his neck"
	Cross your mind.	If an idea "crosses your mind", you suddenly think of it.
	The mind boggles.	The expression "the mind boggles" is used as a reaction to something you find amazing or difficult to understand.
	Mind your P's and Q's	If you tell someone to mind their P's and Q's, you are advising them to be careful about how they behave and what they say. "Politeness is very important to my grandparents, so mind your P's and Q's when we go to visit them."
	Not miss a trick	If a person never misses a trick, they are very aware or alert. "The old lady next door will know if Bill is there or not - she never misses a trick!"
	Miss the boat	If you miss the boat, you fail to take advantage of an opportunity because you don't act quickly enough. "I managed to get my order through before the end of the special offer - but I nearly missed the boat!"
	Money burns a hole in your pocket	To say that money burns a hole in somebody's pocket means that they are eager to spend it quickly or extravagantly. "As soon as she's paid she goes shopping. Money burns a hole in her pocket!"
	Money to burn	People who have money to burn have so much money that they can spend it on anything they want.
	Money doesn't grow on trees!	To say that money doesn't grow on trees means that it is not plentiful or easily obtained. "Be careful how you spend your money David. It doesn't grow on trees you know!"
	Put money where your mouth is	If you put money where your mouth is, you give financial support to activities and causes that you believe are right.
	Money talks	Money talks means that people with a lot of money have power and influence.
	Rake in the money	If you rake in the money, you make money in large quantities. "Bob's business is so successful, he's raking in the money."
	Once in a blue moon	Something that happens once in a blue moon is something that happens rarely or hardly ever.
	More power to your elbow!	This is said to express praise or encouragement to someone for doing something. "I've left my job and I'm going to work free-lance from now on." "Well, more power to your elbow!"
	All mouth and no trousers	This is said of someone who talks a lot about doing something but never actually does it. "He keeps saying he's going to resign and travel around the world, but he's all mouth and no trousers!"
	Butter wouldn't melt in your mouth	If you say that somebody looks as if butter wouldn't melt in their mouth, you are saying that they look completely innocent, but that they are capable of doing unpleasant things.
	Muddy the waters	If you muddy the waters, you make something less clear by giving confusing information "I had difficulty understanding, but Alan's explanation just muddied the waters!"
	Mum's the word	To say "Mum's the word" means that the subject or plan is a secret and must not be revealed. "We're organizing a surprise event on New Year's Eve, so Mum's the word - OK?"
	Get away with murder	To say that someone gets away with murder means that you think they can do something unacceptable without being punished or criticized.
	Music to your ears.	To say that something is music to your ears, means that the information you receive makes you feel very happy.
N	Nailing jelly to the wall	To say that something is like nailing jelly to the wall, you mean that it is extremely difficult to do, if not impossible. "Keeping track of his movements is like nailing jelly to the wall."
	A pain in the neck	If you refer to a person as a pain in the neck, you think they are very irritating or annoying.
	A needle in a haystack	To refer to something as a needle in a haystack means that it is very difficult or impossible to find. "Finding a pub in Dublin without knowing its name is like looking for a needle in a haystack!"
	Neither here nor there	Something which is neither here nor there is unimportant or irrelevant. "Why the problem wasn't discovered earlier is neither here nor there. What's important now is to find a solution."
	Never looked back	If you say that you have never looked back, you mean that after an event which changed your life for the better, you continue to be happy with the situation. "Since the day she decided to work from home, she has never looked back."
	Next to nothing	The term next to nothing means a very small amount or almost nothing. "My boots were a real bargain. I bought them for next to nothing in the sales."
	Nice as pie	If a person is nice as pie, they are surprisingly very kind and friendly "After our argument, she was nice as pie!"
	In the nick of time	If something happens in the nick of time, it happens at the last minute, when it is nearly too late. "The child was standing in front of the open window. His mother arrived in the nick of time."
	Nine-day wonder	An event which is a nine-day wonder causes interest, surprise or excitement for a short time, but it doesn't last. "His sudden departure was a nine-day wonder but he was soon forgotten."
	No fixed abode	A person of no fixed abode has nowhere permanent to live. "A 30-year-old man, of no fixed abode, was charged with the burglary."
	A no-go area	A no-go area is an area, particularly in a city, where it is dangerous to go. "Tourists have been advised to avoid parts of the city which have become no-go areas."
	No great shakes	To say that something or someone is no great shakes means that they are useless, ineffective or not very good. "He's a good actor but his last film was no great shakes."
	No hard feelings	If you have no hard feelings, you feel no resentment or bitterness about something. When Jack was promoted instead of Steve, he said to Steve : "No hard feelings I hope."
	No smoke without fire	If it is said by many people that something bad is happening, there must be some truth in it. "Although no proof was ever found, people say there's no smoke without fire."
	Not all there	Someone who is not all there behaves strangely at times, or seems a bit odd. "Our new neighbour wears a hat and coat even in summer; I don't think he's quite all there!"
	Not by a long chalk/a long shot	This expression means 'not at all' and is used to emphasise a statement, especially a negative one "The matter hasn't been settled yet, not by a long chalk!"
	Nose out of joint	If a person's nose is out of joint, they have been upset, embarrassed or offended by somebody or something. "When he discovered that he wasn't on the invitation list, that really put his nose out of joint.'
	Keep your nose clean	A person who keeps their nose clean behaves well and avoids trouble.
	Keep your nose to the grindstone	A person who keeps their nose to the grindstone is someone who concentrates on working hard at his job.
	Look down your nose	To look down your nose at a thing or person, means that you treat that thing or person with contempt, or consider them inferior.
	Turn up your nose at something.	If you "turn up your nose" at something, you reject it because it is not good enough for you.
	Nurse/bear/hold a grudge	If you nurse a grudge against someone or something, you have a feeling of resentment or ill-will towards them. "Ever since I got a promotion, he's been nursing a grudge against me. "
	Go nuts	To say that a person has gone nuts means that they have become completely foolish, eccentric or mad.
	Nuts and bolts	The nuts and bolts of something are the detailed facts and the practical aspects. "We need to discuss the nuts and bolts of the proposal before going any further."
	In a nutshell.	You say in a nutshell when you give a brief summary of something. "In a nutshell, we disagreed and I left the company."