Commonly-Used Idioms, Sayings and phrasal verbs - "N" Idioms. What is the meaning of idioms? Words that come together and change the whole meaning of the statement like "it rains cats and dogs", did you ever seen cats and dogs falling off from the sky?! Of course not, but it simply mean "it is raining too hard". | N nail down someone or something - to make certain sure of something I am trying to nail down the exact time that we can meet with our supplier. a nail in someone s coffin - something that will harm someone Fighting with his boss was a nail in my friend s coffin. He will not get a promotion now. naked eye - the human eye with no binoculars etc. It was difficult to see the bird with the naked eye. one s name is mud - a person s reputation is bad His name is mud now that he has been charged by the police with stealing money from his company. the name of the game - the main part of a matter The name of the game is selling cars and not worrying about other things. name someone after someone or something - to give someone the name of another person place thing My cousin was named after his mother s grandfather. 551 Mr_doody2004@ a narrow escape - an escape with little chance of error He had a narrow escape when he almost fell from his bicycle. near at hand - to be close or handy to someone I looked for a pair of scissors that were near at hand. neck and neck - to be equal or nearly equal in a race or contest The two teams were neck and neck in the race to win the national championship. neck of the woods - an area or part of the country He has never been to my neck of the woods since he was a child. need something like one needs a hole in the head - to not need something at all My friend needs a new computer like he needs a hole in the head. need something yesterday - to need something in a very big hurry I need a new computer yesterday. a needle in a haystack - something that is very hard to find Looking for the lost receipt among the thousands of other receipts was like looking for a needle in a haystack. 552 Mr_doody2004@ neither fish nor fowl - something that does not belong to a definite group The man s opinions were neither fish nor fowl and nobody could put them into an identifiable category. neither here nor there - not relevant to the thing .
