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Definition:
A package for carrying uneaten, leftover food; unfinished food
that is taken home from a restaurant.
Example:
1) Do you want a doggie bag for that
sandwich?
Etymology:
It is assumed that food taken home after
a meal at a restaurant will be fed to a dog or other pet. But people
use doggie bags even if they don't have a dog!
)
Definition:
To get ideas from someone, usually an expert.
Example:
1) I'd like to pick your brain about
where the economy is headed in the next few years.
Etymology:
'Pick' means 'to choose' or 'to grab',
and your 'brain' is where you think. So when you 'pick someone's brain',
you grab some of their ideas.
)
Definition:
To begin again; to repeat a process, often after a major setback.
Example:
1) Professor Hoopeldinger had to go back
to the drawing board after his experiment blew up.
2) Our sales plan isn't working, so I guess it's
back to the drawing board!
Etymology:
If the initial design for a building
or aircraft fails, the designer has to go back to his or her work table
and begin again.
Synonyms:
back to square one
)
Definition:
Excessive rules and regulations; bureaucratic details and delays.
Example:
1)
With all the red tape, it took me weeks to get a license for my
new business.
2)
The red tape at my job
is driving me crazy! I can't do anything without filling out a ton of
paperwork.
Etymology:
In 18th century England, the official
documents of the royal government were tied together with red ribbon
or tape.
)
Definition:
To throw something away; to dispose of something.
Example:
1) That sandwich is covered with mold!
You should chuck it.
2) After I graduated, I chucked all of my old
class notes.
Etymology:
'Chuck' can also mean 'to throw'. As
slang, the word has come to mean 'throw away' or 'treat like trash'.
)
Definition:
Loud advertising and promotion.
Example:
1)
The new movie by Steven Spielberg is getting a lot of hype.
2)
Don't believe the hype!
Etymology:
In the early 1800s, a 'hype' was a scam
or swindle. A scam is a false story or trick through which someone tries
to get money from other people. Modern advertising has the same objective
as old-time scams: to separate people from their money, while using
as much 'hype' as possible.
)
Definition:
Anger toward other drivers experienced while driving a car in heavy
traffic; arguments or violence between motorists.
Example:
1) That lady tried to run me off the
road! She must have a bad case of road rage.
2) The police blamed road rage for the shooting.
Etymology:
'Road' means 'street', and 'rage' means
extreme anger, so 'road rage' is extreme anger felt while driving a
car. This term has become popular in the last few years as more and
more people spend many hours each day just driving to work and home
again.