English idioms - Alphabetical list M

	Idiom	Meaning
M	Make an ass of yourself	If you behave so stupidly that you appear ridiculous, you make an ass of yourself. "Tom made an ass of himself by singing a love song outside Julie's door!"
	Make a beeline for something	If you make a beeline for something, you hurry directly towards something. "They were so hot and thirsty they made a beeline for the cool drinks section."
	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 your blood boil	If something makes your blood boil, it makes you really angry. "His condescending attitude made my blood boil!"
	Make your blood run cold	If something makes your blood run cold, it shocks or scares you a lot. "The look in the prisoner's eyes made my blood run cold."
	Make cold calls	If you make cold calls, you telephone potential customers from a list of people you do not know. "In my first job I had to make cold calls using the telephone directory."
	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 the right noises	If you make the right noises, you behave as if you support or agree with something by making suitable or conventional remarks. "Jack seems to approve of the idea; he certainly made all the right noises."
	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 someone see reason	If you make someone see reason, you persuade them to stop acting foolishly and behave more sensibly. "He wanted to drop out of medical school in his fourth year. His uncle managed to make him see reason."
	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!"
	Money for old rope	This expression refers to money earned from a task that requires very little effort. "Getting paid for watering the garden is money for old rope!"
	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.
	A moot point	A subject which gives rise to argument or debate is called a moot point. "Whether Bach composed it himself or not is a moot point among musicians."
	More heat than light	If a discussion or debate generates more heat than light, it causes anger or intense reaction but doesn't clarify anything. "The meeting that was held to discuss the problem generated more heat than light."
	More money than sense	If you have more money than sense, you have a lot of money which you waste by spending it in a foolish manner. "He celebrated the birth of the baby by buying a sports car. He's got more money than sense!"
	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!"
	Mouse potato	This term refers to a person who spends a lot of time in front of the computer. "My son and his friends are all mouse potatoes - constantly glued to the computer!"
	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.
	Move the goalposts	During a course of action, if someone moves the goalposts, they change the rules or conditions. "We've decided on a sales campaign. Let's hope the boss doesn't move the goalposts halfway through! "
	Move up in the world	A person who moves up in the world becomes more important in society or more successful in their career. "Rachel Jones has moved up in the world since we were kids."
	Movers and shakers	The term movers and shakers refers to people in power who take an active part in making things happen. "Movers and shakers are assembling in Brussels for the summit."
	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. "Some parents let their kids get away with murder!"
	Music to your ears.	To say that something is music to your ears, means that the information you receive makes you feel very happy.