Фразеологизмы

 1. A babe magnet. A very good-looking young man who is able to attract lots of women to him [DPEI 143]

2. A bachelor girl. An unmarried girl [DPEI 143]

3. A bachelor wife. The perfect wife in the mind of the unmarried man [DPEI 144]

4. A bad-hair day. The effect of bad-looking hair of woman’s emotions and actions [DPEI 31]

5. A battle-axe. A domineering, aggressive woman, one who likes to take the charge of any activity. A battle-axe with its long handle was used as a weapon in the Middle Ages. It is not clear why the term should be applied only to women [PDEI 248].

6. A bit of all right. A pleasing person or thing, especially a woman regarded sexually. Brit. Informal [ODI 30].

7. A broken marriage. Where the husband and wife have divorced or separated [PDEI 140].

8. A broth of a boy. A lively boy. Informal. Chiefly Anglo-Irish, used as a term of approval [ODI 49].

 9. A cat fight. A fight between two women [PDEI 55].

10. A child wife. A wife who is too young to carry out her duties [PDEI 142].

11. A Don Juan. A man who is always falling in and out of love, one who has an insatiable love for women [PDEI 227].

12. A drag queen. A man dressing up as a woman, often appearing on the stage for entertainment. In the US, drag queens often appear on television chat shows [PDEI 234].

13. A (love) eternal triangle. A sexual relationship between two men and a woman, or two women and one man [PDEI 267].

14. A fancy man. A male lover of a mature woman, who may or may not be married [PDEI 141].

15. A fat cat. Any wealthy and powerful businessman or woman, especially a boss of a privatized utility who is receiving a high salary and bonuses out of all proportion to his or her ability [PDEI 56].

16. A father figure. A man who takes place of the father [PDEI 140].

17. A fish wife. A woman who is vulgar and uses bad language [PDEI 141].

A 18. A golden girl (boy). A young woman or man idealized for an outstanding skill, usually in sport, or for her or his good looks [PDEI 10].

19. A golf widow. A woman whose husband spends much of his time on the golf course, so that she is alone for most of the day [PDEI 144].

20. A good-time girl. A girl who lives for pleasure, a loose woman [PDEI 271].

21. A grass widow. A woman whose husband is away temporarily; originally, an unmarried woman who has lived with one or more men. The phrase suggests illicit relations out of doors rather than in the marriage bed [PDEI 144].

22. A green widow. A wife who has to spend all the day by herself in her home in the country while her husband goes to work in the town [PDEI 144].

23. A grey-beard. [Of a male] An old man. Often used in a derogatory sense [PDEI 8].

24. A half-baked boy (girl). Slang. A foolish, stupid boy or girl [PDEI 256].

25. A head of the family. Usually the father or, in his absence, the eldest son [PDEI 140].

26. A hen-pecked husband. A man who is domineered over by his nagging wife [RDEI 68; Fow. 97].

27. A knight in [shining] armour. An idealized or heroic person, especially a man who comes to rescue of a woman in distress or in a difficult situation. Often used ironically of someone who presents himself in this guise but is inadequate to the role [ODI 198; PDEI 235].

28. A ladies' (lady's) man. A man who enjoys being in the company of women [PDEI 235].

29. A lady killer. A handsome man who believes that women cannot resist him and want him desperately. He will break many women's hearts [PDEI 235].

30. A lady of the town. A woman of loose morals [PDEI 145].

31. A little madam. A woman who treats others as if they were inferior (a girl with precocious airs) [Fow. 119].

32. A loose woman. A woman who does not value her morals highly [PDEI 282].

33. A love rat. A highly promiscuous and unfaithful boyfriend or husband [PDEI 60].

34. A male chauvinist pig. A term of abuse coined by the Women's Liberation movement for any man who is domineering or aggressive in his attitude to women [PDEI 59].

35. A man (woman) after my own heart. The kind of man/woman whom I most admire [PDEI 114].

36. A man (woman) of letters. A male (or female) scholar or writer [ODI 208].

37. A man about the town. A fashionable male socialite. A sociable man who attends many fashionable parties and has a wide circle of wealthy friends [ODI 221; PDEI 145].

38. A man in the street. The ordinary, typical man or woman [PDEI 145].

39. A man of the world. [Of a male] A man with good understanding of men and women, and experienced the ways of the world [PDEI 207].

40. A man's man. A man whose personality is such that he is more popular and at ease with other man than women [ODI 222; OALD 712].

41. A media queen. A beautiful woman who is the favorite subject of journalists and television reporters [PDEI 234].

42. A merry widow. [Widow] Merry because she is now free to make new friends and have a merry time. The reference is to Franz Lehár's operetta The Merry Widow [PDEI 144].

43. A mother's boy (darling). A boy who is indulged or spoilt by his mother [PDEI 141].

44. A mutton dressed as a lamb. A middle-aged or old woman dressed in a style suitable for a much younger woman. Brit. Informal [ODI 238; PDEI 180].

45. A nancy boy. An effeminate young man, a homosexual [PDEI 223].

46. A natural son (daughter). An illegitimate son/daughter [DPEI 143].

47. A peach of a girl. She's a peach. Slang. An outstandingly beautiful girl, stunningly attractive [PDEI 184].

48. A peeping Tom. A voyeur, a man who takes pleasure in looking secretly at nude women. The peeping Tom' of Coventry was a tailor from the 11th century who peeped at Lady Godiva, riding naked through the town [PDEI 222].

49. A piece of skirt. Slang. Any young woman [PDEI 191].

50. A power partnership (couple). A young couple in which the man and the woman are both

executives and have the same status in business [PDEI 233]

51. A scarecrow. The name given to a woman who wears shabby, torn or dowdy clothes [PDEI 68

52. A sex bomb. Someone very sexy, usually a female film star (like Marilyn Monroe) [PDEI 247].

53. A shot-gun marriage. One that couple are forced into by circumstances beyond their control (e.g.

the pregnancy of the bride). It has come to mean any partnership that is forced on the parties [PDEI

139].

54. A sugar daddy. A rich old man who keeps a girl young enough to be his daughter [PDEI 141].

55. A tomboy. A young girl, below the age of adolescence, who behaves like a boy, preferring the

company of boys and their games [PDEI 222].

56. A toy boy. A handsome young man who is chosen as a lover by a much older but wealthy woman

[PDEI 143].

57. A tug love. The struggle between the mother and the father over the custody of a child [PDEI 138].

58. A wolf-whistle. The whistle of a man at the sight of an attractive girl or woman in the street, made

for the purpose of catching her attention [PDEI 61].

59. An angry young man. [of a male] A young man who disagrees openly and strongly with the

existing moral, social and political attitudes and tries to change them [ODI 7; OALD 40].

60. An old bag. A derogatory reference to an older woman for whom one (usually) has little respect or

liking [PDEI 199].

61. An old flame. Former girl-friend (less commonly, former boy-friend) [Fow. 72; PDEI 15].

62. As limp as a rag doll. Like a rag doll. To be lacking energy and vitality; often used to describe a

child/young girl lying unconscious, even dead [PDEI 312].

63. Be expecting. Be pregnant. Informal. More fully, be expecting a baby. Both expressions are

somewhat euphemistic and dated [ODI 121].

64. Be with child. Be pregnant [Fow. 36].

65. Beauty and the Beast. A beautiful woman accompanied by a repulsively ugly man [PDEI 52].

66. Belle of the ball. The most admired and successful woman on some occasion. Originally a girl or woman regarded as the most beautiful and popular at a dance [ODI 24].

67. Best bib and tucker. Best clothes, Informal. Originally used of items of women's dress: a bib is a garment worn over the upper front part of the body (e.g. the bib of an apron), and a tucker was a piece of lace formerly used to adorn a woman's bodice [ODI 27].

68. Best Man. The bridegroom's chief [male] friend and assistant at a wedding [Phyt, 12].

 69. Big Daddy. A father who is very protective of his daughter [PDEI 141].

70. Bit of fluff (skirt, stuff). A woman regarded in sexual terms. Informal. Now generally considered offensive [ODI 30].

71. Bit of rough. A (usually male) sexual partner whose toughness or lack of sophistication is a source of attraction. Informal [ODI 301].

72. Blood brothers. Two men who have sworn to behave like brothers towards each other [PDEI 143].

 73. Blue-eyed boy. A boy/young man who has been singled out for special favours by someone in authority. Derogatory, since it implies that he has won favour by flattery and tale-bearing [PDEI 4].

 74. Boys will be boys. Irresponsible, mischievous, or childish behavior is typical of boys and young men [ODI 45; OALD 131].

 75. Calf-love. Adolescent love; a young man's [boy's] first love affair, usually not very serious [Phyt. 113].

76. Cradle-snatcher. Derogatory. A woman who has a boyfriend much younger than herself [PDEI 164].

77. Darby and Joan. An aged and devoted husband and wife. (Or. From an eighteen-century ballad called "The Happy Old Couple") [Phyt. 47; PDEI 227].

78. Dirty old man. An older man who is excessively interested in sex [AID 81].

79. Doe-eyed [image]. A pretty, young woman, with the large (usually brown) eyes, who is vulnerable, self-pitying, and in need of protection and sympathy [PDEI 61].

80. Dressed to kill. (Of a woman) Dressed in a way likely to attract attention [Fow. 56].

81. Every Jack and Jill. Every man can find the appropriate woman if he looks for her. From the nursery rhyme 'Jack and Jill went up the hill…' [PDEI 221].

82. Favorite son. A famous man [male] who is particularly popular and praised for his achievements in his native area [ODI 128].

83. Firing blanks. (Of a man) Infertile. Informal. [Of a male] [ODI 33].

84. Five o'clock shadow. A man showing signs of needing a shave again by the afternoon or evening [PDEI 34].

85. Get (all) dolled up. To dress (oneself) up. (Informal. Usually used for females) [AID 121].

86. Girl Friday. A young woman with a wide range of duties in a office [OALD 499].  

87. Girl Power. The influence that young women feel they can wield over social and economic issues [PDEI 233].

88. Give one's hand to. Old f. Marry (used of females only) [Phyt. 84].

89.Give the bride away. [For a bride's father] to accompany the bride to the groom in a wedding ceremony [AID 145].

90. Go steady (with). Have as a regular boy, girl-friend (used of adolescents) [Fow. 175].

91. Gold digger. Person who digs gold, but commonly a woman aiming to gain security for herself by marrying a rich man |Fow. 50].

92. Gymslip pregnancy. Said of a school girl when she becomes pregnant, sometimes as young as 12. A gymslip was a pinafore dress which was, and in some schools still is, the uniform for schoolgirls. It has no sleeves and no collar [PDEI 192].

93. Hen party. Party to which only women are invited (particularly bride just before wedding and her girl-friends) [Fow. 97; PDEI 68].

94. Her indoors. A humorous reference to one's wife of housewife. Brit. Informal [ODI 176].

95. His nibs. A self-important man, especially one in authority. Informal [ODI 243].

96. Husband one's resources. To "husband" is to take care of, to use economically. 'Resources" are all the means one has [Phyt. 97].

97. In the [pudding] club. Pregnant. Brit. Informal [ODI 70].

98. In the family way. Pregnant [a woman]. Informal [ODI 126; PDEI 140].

99. In-laws. The relations of one's husband or wife - mother-in-law, sister-in-law, etc. [Phyt. 98].

100. Jack Sprat. A small, undersized boy or man, The sprat is a very small fish (from the nursery rhyme Jack Sprat could eat no fat…') [PDEI 221].

101. Ladies who lunch. Wealthy women who don't have to work and have much time on their hands for socializing, gossiping and dining at exclusive restaurants [PDEI 187].

102. Ladies' man. One who makes special efforts to charm and please women [Phyt. 103].

103. Lady Bountiful. A generous and kindly woman; now often applied derogatorily to a person who is

too prominent in works of charity [Phyt. 103; PDEI 223].

104. Let one's hair down. (Usually of a woman) Behave informally [Fow. 89].

105. Like a (little) doll. As pretty as a doll. To be very cute and pretty (usually describing a beautiful

baby or a girl) [PDEI 312].

A106. Like father, like son. Resemblance of the son to the father from the intellectual or emotional point of view [PDEI 140-141; ODI 127; OALD 424].

107. Maiden name. The surname of a woman before she was married (Fr. née) [Phyt. 114; PDEI 220].

108. Make a dead set at. Make a determined direct attack on (sometimes used of a girl trying to attract

a man by getting close to him and making her intentions plain) [Fow. 163].

109. Make a man of somebody. [Of a male] To turn a young man into an adult one [OALD 712].

110. Make a pass at. (Of a woman) Try to kiss her, make love to her (used when she has no reason to

expect it) [Fow. 140].

111. Make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Change the real character of a person; make a gentleman of

one who is not one, create something good out of poor materials |Phyt. 168].

112. Make an honest woman of somebody. To marry somebody after having had a sexual relationship

with her (especially a pregnant woman). 'Honest' here originally meant 'respectable', but was

probably associated with the archaic sense 'chaste, virtuous'. Now dated and used humorously

[OALD 517; ODI 182].

113. Man to man. In a direct and frank way between two men; openly and honestly [ODI 222; OALD

712].

114. Men's room. A public toilet for men [OALD 712].

115. Name the day. Literally, the day which a girl nominates as her wedding day. (But frequently used

in the sense of consent to marry', no exact date being specified.) [Phyt. 48].

116. Near her time. Approaching the moment, when her baby is born [PDEI 28].

117. No better than one should (ought to) be perceived as sexually promiscuous or of doubtful moral

character, First recorded in E17 [early 17th century], the phrase was used euphemistically of a

woman, but is now somewhat dated [ODI 27].

118. Not out of the top drawer. (Almost always used negatively.) Not a lady or not a gentleman [PDEI

167].

119. Old enough to be someone's father (mother). As old as someone’s parents (usually a way of

saving that a person is too old) [AID 258].

120. Old trout. An old woman, especially unattractive or bad tempered one. Informal. Derogatory [ODI

367].

121. One of the boys. Accepted by a group of men [males] [ODI 45].

122. One's better half. A humorous reference to one's husband or wife [PDEI 256].

123. Pay (one's) attention to (a woman), Be kind and polite (to her) in the hope of gaining (her)

attention or liking [Fow. 8].

124. Pillow talk. Confidences exchanged between husbands and wives or between lovers when they

stay in bed [PDEI 164].

125. Powder one's nose. Of a woman, to go to the lavatory [ODI 275].

126. Prince (princess) of the blood. A man (or woman) who is a prince (or princess) by his (or her)

royal descent JODI 277].

127. Put hair(s) on one's chest.(Of alcoholic drink or food) Revive one's strength. Informal. With the

idea of man's masculinity being indicated by his chest hair [ODI 164].

128. Red-blooded. Of passionate young men [of males] [PDEI 2].

129. See through hair. Thinning hair, especially of a woman, usually due to hormonal problems, lack of

iron, zinc, vitamins and iodine, or to stress [PDEI 84].

130. Set one's cap at. Attemp. Old F. Also applied to a woman who is making a determined effort to

persuade a man to marry her. (Or. The idea that she put on her most attractive cap to catch his

attention.) [Phyt. 27].

131. She's no [spring] chicken. She's no longer young [woman] [PDEI 69].

132. Shotgun wedding. A forced wedding. (Informal. From imagery of the bride's father having

threatened the bridegroom with a shotgun to force him to marry) [AID 322].

133. Sisters under the skin. Two women with the same tastes, or abilities, friends, regardless of race

[PDEI 143].

134. Stag party. Party which only men may attend (particularly party held for bridegroom just before

marriage) [Fow. 174].

135. The age of consent. The age when a girl or homosexual boy lawfully consent to have a sexual

intercourse. The age of consent in Britain is currently 16 for a girl and 18 for a homosexual boy.

Below this age, her or his consent, even if freely given, is deemed to be unreal, and the man is

guilty of a crime of rape [PDEI 33].

136. The grey pound. A reference to elderly men and women spending money on themselves after their

children have left home [PDEI 9].

137. The old-boy network. An association of ex-public school boys, i.e. old boys, who obtain

jobs one

for another on the basis of their common background, rather than merit [PDEI 271].

138. The opposite sex. (From the point of view of a female) males; (from the point of view of a male)

females [AID 361].

139. The wicked step-mother. Step-mothers are often regarded as wicked by the step-children who

look upon them as intruders [PDEI 141].

140. Tied to one's mother's apron strings. Dominated by one's mother, dependent on one's mother

[AID 368].

141. Tits and ass. A public display of |the human female] breasts and buttocks (Referring to TV, film,

etc., where these body parts are emphasized) [AID 369].

142. To be a Peter Pan. To be male adult who mentally remains fixated on his childhood. Peter Pan

was the boy from the Barrie's play of the same name who never wanted to grow up [PDEI 222].

143. To be an old made. To be a spinster long past marriageable age [PDEI 280].

144. To be old-maidish. To be like an old spinster in character: fussy, prudish, gossipy [PDEI 280].

145. To be on the shelf. To have reached the age when a women is unlikely to receive a proposal of

143. To be an old made. To be a spinster long past marriageable age [PDEI 280].

144. To be old-maidish. To be like an old spinster in character: fussy, prudish, gossipy [PDEI 280].

145. To be on the shelf. To have reached the age when a women is unlikely to receive a proposal of

marriage [PDEI 166].

146. To be tired to a woman's apron strings. To be emotionally dependent on a woman, often used in

reference to boys and young men [PDEI 192; Fow. 7].

147. To be under petticoat government. To be ruled by a woman domestically, socially, economically

or politically [PDEI 192].

148. To come of age. To attain the legal age of manhood/womanhood [PDEI 33].

149. To come out [of the closet]. Homosexual men and women who declare their sexual preference.

having previously kept it a secret [PDEI 166].

150. To hide behind a woman's skirt. Try to avoid to consequences of one's actions by putting the blame on a woman [PDEI 191].

151. To laugh like hyena. A hyena-like laugh. To have a loud, high pitched laugh, only of a woman

[PDEI 61].

152. To lead a cat and dog life. Used to describe a husband and wife who quarrel furiously with each

other most of the time [PDEI 55].

153. To like a bot of skirt. To enjoy the companionship of women. The phrase has a sexual significance

and not in good taste [PDEI 191].

154. To run after anyone in skirts. To chase women, to womanize. The phrase is not in good taste

[PDEI 191].

155. To set one's cap at. To flirt with man with the object of friendship or marriage [PDEI 196].

156. To stand godfather. To pay bills, godfathers being people from whom one expects generous gifts

[PDEI 141].

157. To take by storm. To exert an irresistible fascination over something (a woman, city, country, etc.)

[PDEI 23].

158. To wear the trousers. To be the dominant party in the marriage, to command or rule. The idiom is

more often used when the wife dominates her husband [PDEI 192].

159. Twist someone round one's little finger. Persuade him to do whatever one wants (most often used

of wives, children, etc., capable obtaining whatever they want from husbands, fathers) [Fow. 70].

160. Two-timing. To date two lovers or girl-/boyfriends at the same time [PDEI 257].

161. Up the spot. 3. (of a woman) Pregnant. Brit. Informal [ODI 334].