English Idioms

The opposite of rough sailing, smooth sailing  implies particularly easy progress with little effort required. Smooth sailing would be sa...

Rough sailing is an abbreviation for rough weather sailing  or sailing in rough waters . This gives the impression of very difficult progre...

Unlike a wave, "a blip" is a reference to a signal given off by radar (originally an acronym, now treated as a noun) indicating th...

In idioms, "a wave" is any significant, sustained change. This can be positive, but is often used in a negative manner. Example...

The phrase "jumping the shark" began as the expression of a single person's opinion as to where the once extremely popular Ame...

When something is figuratively heading downhill (that is, going downhill), it is in decline ; it is past its peak and deteriorating. Exam...