Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook (19 page)
Read Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook Online
Authors: Gail Brenner
get engaged
(v)
to promise to marry someone ♦
She wants to
get engaged,
but I’m not ready.
♦
My daughter and her boyfriend just
got engaged.
Note:
Getting engaged
often includes giving a ring. So, “He gave me a ring” is sometimes used to mean “we
got engaged.
”
set a date
(v)
to decide on a wedding date, usually after an engagement; can also mean to get engaged ♦
Well, have you
set a date,
yet?
♦
We’re talking about marriage, but we’re not
setting any dates
yet
(
in other words, not getting officially engaged yet
).
settle down
(v)
to stop being single; to get married or live together as a permanent couple ♦
I’m not ready to
settle down
with anyone yet.
♦
Well mom, looks like I’m finally going to
settle down.
Tim and I are getting married.
The Proposal
“Will you marry me?” is the classic question for a marriage proposal. To propose marriage, someone might say “I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Someone else might ask “Will you be my wife?” or “Will you be my husband?” People refer to these important questions as
the proposal.
To
propose
means to ask the marriage question, as in these examples:
- The time has come. I’m going to
propose
to her this weekend. - He
proposed
last night, and I said, “Yes!”
Here are some other expressions that mean to propose marriage:
pop the question
(v)
to ask the question “Will you marry me?” ♦
He
popped the question
while we were watching the sunset on the beach.
♦
If he doesn’t
pop the question
soon, I’m going to do it.
ask for one’s hand (in marriage)
(v)
to ask someone to be one’s marriage or life partner ♦
Her father is old-fashioned and wants me to
ask him for her hand. ♦
You two have been together for a long time. When are you going to
ask for her hand?
Note:
This idiom alludes to an old custom that required a man to ask a woman’s father if he could marry her. Some people still do this today as a formality.
Saying
I Do
It’s customary to call a newly married couple
newlyweds
for the first year after their marriage. Most newlyweds take a vacation,
the honeymoon,
right after the wedding ceremony. While they’re
on their honeymoon,
and for a short time after, they might be called
honeymooners
or
lovebirds.
Getting married is often described with one of the following idioms. All of these verbs allude either to an old marriage ritual or a part of modern marriage ceremonies:
get hitched
♦
Adam and Sue are
getting hitched
next Sunday
.
say
I do
♦
When I finally decide to say
I do,
it will be forever
.
Note:
“I do” is the customary response during the marriage ceremony.
take one’s vows
♦
They
took their vows
in a little chapel by the ocean.
tie the knot
♦
I don’t think I’m ready to
tie the knot.
make it legal
or
make it official
♦
We decided that it was time to
make it legal.
Note:
This idiom is often used when people have been living together for some time before getting married.
walk down the aisle (together)
♦
They’ll be
walking down the aisle
in a few weeks
.
Note:
Refers to the aisle of a church where people often get married; the ceremony begins as the bride walks down the aisle to the altar and ends as the newly married couple walks back down the aisle and out of the church.
Married Life
Married couples who enjoy a happy relationship are called a
happily married couple.
One could say that they are living in
marital bliss.
After years of a good marriage, a couple might call themselves
an old married couple
, implying that they have achieved that comfortable — and comforting — familiarity with each other. People may use the following idioms to refer to their spouses or married people:
hubby
(short for husband) ♦
You’re the best
hubby
a woman could have.
other half
♦
Where’s your
other half
?
I though he was coming with you.
better half
♦
Let me introduce you to my
better half.
This is my wife, Jane
.
the (little) Missus
♦
Nice to see you, Joe. And how’s
the Missus
?
Note:
This idiom is an older term, considered today to be slightly demeaning or old-fashioned.
Getting
Lovey-Dovey
When people are being affectionate, kissing, and hugging, you can say that they are being
lovey-dovey
(cuddling and nuzzling like doves). As in, “My parents were always
lovey-dovey
with each other.” Add intimate touching, and it’s called
getting physical,
as in “When they started
getting physical,
they shut the door.”
Getting to First Base
References to baseball, “America’s favorite pastime,” are found in many American idioms, including ones for kissing, necking, and sex. The following expressions are often used among close friends to talk about their romantic and sexual adventures (or achievements, as some see it).
Getting to first base
means getting to kiss someone;
getting to second base
means sexual touching; and so on around the bases until
hitting a home run, getting to home,
or
scoring,
which mean having sex or sexual intercourse.
Two other slangy and somewhat vulgar expressions that imply sexual achievement or conquest are
getting some
(
some
meaning sex) and
getting laid
(having sex with someone).
A Kiss
A kiss might be called
a peck
(a little quick kiss) or
a smooch
(a longer, possibly romantic, kiss on the cheek or lips).
Here are some different kinds of kisses:
French kiss:
kiss that uses the tongue as well as lips
wet kiss:
sloppy or very wet kiss, often on the cheek
air kiss:
kissing the air on either side of one’s cheek; a greeting in some cultures and among some Americans
butterfly kiss:
fluttering one’s eyelashes on someone’s cheek or elsewhere
A few (slightly rude) slang words for kissing sometimes used by young people are
sucking face
(sucking on each other’s faces) or
swapping spit
(exchanging saliva).
Necking
Necking
means kissing passionately and possibly touching or
petting
. The following expressions are similar to
necking,
but can imply that there is even more sexual activity:
fooling around
(v)
kissing, touching, possibly having sex ♦
I was furious when I caught my daughter and her boyfriend
fooling around. ♦
My daughter said, “Everybody
fools around.
” But I certainly don’t want her to do it!
hanky-panky
(n)
kissing, touching, possibly having sex; an older expression that is indirect and lighthearted ♦
Hey, you two, no
hanky-panky
allowed in my house!
♦
There was a lot of
hanky-panky
going on in that movie, but no real sex scenes.
getting frisky
(n)
kissing, touching, possibly having sex; an older expression that is indirect and lighthearted ♦
He tried to
get frisky
with me on the first date, but I said, “Forget it!”
♦
My grandma jokes and says, “Your grandfather is always trying to
get frisky
with me!”
Going All the Way
Commonly, in American English, more idioms exist for situations that are personal (like using the bathroom), difficult to deal with (like death), or seem very important (like money). So, as you might imagine, loads of idioms exist for that most personal of activities, sex.
make love
♦
Old movies never show people actually
making love
like modern movies do
.
sleep with
♦
Some young people have vowed not to
sleep with
anyone until they’re married.
sleep together
♦
It’s getting serious, but we haven’t
slept together.
go to bed with
♦
He stopped dating her because she refused to
go to bed with him.
go to bed together
♦
He really felt betrayed when he found out that his girlfriend and his best friend
went to bed together.
The following slang expressions are even more indirect, using the word
it
for sex:
do it
♦
According to reports, some healthy senior citizens are still
doing it
at age 80 and even 90.
get it on
♦
Every time my husband and I try to
get it on,
the baby wakes up.
make it
♦
They were
making it
in the back seat of the car.
make out
♦
They didn’t want anyone to know that they had been
making out.
Some old-fashioned expressions like to
make whoopee
and
a roll in the hay
are used today to refer to sexual activity in a playful way.
Sexy People
Of course there are plenty of idioms to describe sexy people or any person who someone else finds attractive. Most terms can be used for a woman or a man, like
a hottie, a 10,
and
a looker.
A gorgeous or sexy woman might be called a
bombshell
or a
fox,
while a sexy man might be called
a hunk
or
a stud.
Relationship Trouble
When the relationship
isn’t working
(isn’t happy and harmonious) or the couple is fighting (arguing) and having other troubles, they might describe their situation with one of these expressions:
not getting along:
arguing and unhappy
not doing well:
having marital problems
on shaky ground:
the relationship is not stable or solid
on the rocks:
almost ready to end the relationship
True or False
Trust and loyalty are qualities most people want their partners to have. A
faithful
partner, meaning one who is sexually intimate only with a sweetheart or spouse, might be called one of these idioms:
true
♦
I want a woman who will
be true
to me
.
a one-woman man
♦
I’m
a one-woman man.
I don’t want other women.
a one-man woman
♦
She’s
a one-man woman,
and luckily, that man is me!
A person who is not faithful or who has romantic affairs with someone other than a partner might be called many things that are unfit to print in this book, but some of the more mild ones are:
untrue
♦
She broke their engagement when she found out he
was untrue.
a cheat
♦
Nobody wants
a cheat
for a partner.
a two-timer
(to two-time) ♦
She was
a two-timer,
and he didn’t want to believe it.
In addition, a man who is sexually involved with or seeks sexual attention from a number of women may be called
a womanizer.
The verb form,
womanize,
is also used, typically in the form of the gerund,
womanizing
: “She finally got tired of her husband’s
womanizing,
and she divorced him.”
There are plenty of expressions to describe a cheating person’s unfaithful activities. All of the following verbs mean to have a romantic or sexual involvement with someone other than one’s partner or spouse:
cheat on
♦
I told him if he
cheats on
me once, we’re finished
.
have an affair
♦
I would never ruin my marriage by
having an affair.
play around
♦
Just remember, if you’re going to
play around,
I will too!
break one’s (marriage) vows
♦
She never forgave him for
breaking their marriage vows.
Grammar Note:
The expression
behind someone’s back
(secretly) is often added to some expressions, such as
to cheat behind someone’s back
or
to play around behind someone’s back.
The idioms to
cheat
and to
play around
already imply secrecy and hidden activity, so the expression
behind someone’s back
isn’t truly needed, but it’s common.