N Idioms
Idioms Index | A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
nail down
- make certain, make sure
I am trying to nail down the exact time that he will be able to meet with us.name is mud
- a person's reputation becomes bad, one is in trouble
His name is mud now that he has been charged by the police with stealing money from his company.name of the game
- the main part of a matter
The name of the game is for the salesmen to sell cars and not to worry about other things.name someone after
- give someone another's name
He was named after his mother's grandfather.narrow escape
- an escape with no chance of error
He had a narrow escape when he almost fell from his bicycle.neck and neck
- 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 down to my neck of the woods since he was a child.needle in a haystack
- something that is very hard to find
Looking for the lost receipt among the thousands of other receipts is like looking for a needle in a haystack.neither fish nor fowl
- something that does not belong to a definite group
I don't know where we should put those books in the library. They are neither fish nor fowl.neither here nor there
- not relevant to the thing being discussed, off the subject
What you are saying is neither here nor there. We are talking about our plans to move this year - not 5 years in the future.nervous Nellie
- a timid person who lacks determination and courage
He is a nervous Nellie and is afraid of most of the other students in the school.nest egg
- money someone has saved up
He has a nice nest egg in the bank so he will have no financial problems if he leaves his company.never mind
- don't worry, don't bother
If you don't have time to pick up my laundry, never mind I will get it tomorrow.new blood
- fresh energy or power, something or someone that gives new life or vigor to something
She a great employee and helped us to inject new blood into our organization.new broom sweeps clean
- a new person makes many changes
We discovered the truth to the expression "a new broom sweeps clean" when our new boss changed everything in our organization.new deal
- a complete change, a fresh start, another chance
He was given a new deal by the team although the previous year he was not very good.new person
- a person who has become very much better
He is a new person now that he has quit smoking and quit drinking.nick of time
- at the very last moment
He was able to board the airplane just in the nick of time.nip and tuck
- evenly matched, hard fought to the finish
They were going along nip and tuck but he finally won the race in the end.nip in the bud
- prevent at the start
They found out about the computer problem but were able to nip the problem in the bud.no bed of roses
- difficult or bad situation
It is no bed of roses to have no job and a large family to support.nobody's home
- one's attention is somewhere else, having a simple mind
It looks like nobody's home, I thought as I tried to have a conversation with the strange man.nobody's fool
- a smart person, a person who can take care of himself
She is nobody's fool. You will not have to worry about her at all when she goes to New York.no cigar
- not agreed to, refused or useless, no, certainly not
I almost got the job but in the end it was no cigar.no deal
- not agreed to, refused or useless, no, certainly not
It was no deal I realized as I left the meeting and the other members had all said no to my plan.No dice.
- No. Certainly not.
No dice. I will never lend you that much money.no doubt
- without doubt, surely, certainly
No doubt he will be the one to win the contest again this year.no end
- almost without stopping, continually
The little girl cried no end when she couldn't find her favorite doll.no end to (of)
- so many or so much of, to seem almost endless, very many or very much
He had no end of problems when he lived overseas for a year.no go
- not agreed to, refused or useless, no, certainly not
It's no go for our plan to have three games this weekend. We can only have two of them.no great shakes
- mediocre, unimportant
The hotel was no great shakes and I wouldn't recommend that you stay there if you go to Hawaii.no love lost
- bad feelings, ill will
There is no love lost between my father and our next door neighbor.no matter
- regardless of
No matter how hard that I try my tutor is never satisfied.no picnic
- not pleasant, difficult
It was no picnic trying to drive to the lake during the storm.nose around (about)
- look for something kept private or secret, pry
The secretary was nosing around in her boss's desk trying to discover what was going on.nose down
- head down, bring down the nose of
The pilot began to nose down the plane as it neared the airport.(have one's) nose in something
- unwelcome interest in something, impolite curiosity
He always has his nose in other people's private business where it doesn't belong.nose out of joint
- upset about something
He was only joking; don't get your nose out of joint.no-show
- a person who makes a reservation for something and then neither comes nor cancels it
There were several no-shows at the concert last night.no sweat
- easily accomplished, uncomplicated
The work was no sweat. I finished it in about two hours.no sweat
- no problem
No sweat. I will help you all day tomorrow if you need me.not a leg to stand on
- no good proof or excuse, no good evidence or defence to offer someone
The company doesn't have a leg to stand on if they try to refuse to pay you the money that they owe you.not for the world
- not at any price, not for anything
I wouldn't go out on a date with that woman for the world.not give someone the time of day
- dislike someone so strongly that you totally ignore them
I hate her and would never even give her the time of day.nothing doing
- I will not do it, certainly not, no indeed
Nothing doing. I am not going to stay and work late again this evening.nothing if not
- without doubt, certainly
He is nothing if not punctual. He has never been late in his seven years with this company.not much of
- rather bad
It's not much of a hotel but I guess it will be okay for one night.Not on your life.
- definitely not.
"May I borrow your car"? "Not on your life".not so hot
- not very good
I have been feeling not so hot lately as I had a cold last week.nothing to sneeze at
- something you should take seriously
His new salary is nothing to sneeze at.not touch something with a ten-foot pole
- consider something completely undesirable or uninteresting
That class may be alright but because I hate the professor I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole.no wonder
- not surprising
No wonder he is so tired after staying up all night.now and then
- occasionally
He likes to go to that restaurant now and then.number one
- oneself, one's own interests
He is always looking out for number one and will never do anything for anyone else.nurse a grudge
- keep a feeling of dislike toward some person
My old girlfriend is still nursing a grudge toward me even after three years.nuts about
- enthusiastic about something
He has been nuts about cars ever since he was a little boy.nutty as a fruitcake
- very crazy
The woman who lives next door to us is as nutty as a fruitcake.
