Browsing
Idioms starting with U
113 expressions
ugly American
An American government representative, tourist, or businessperson who, in dealing with peo…
ugly customer
Someone or something unwelcome or unpleasant.
ugly duckling
A young person who is ugly, but who is expected to become beautiful or handsome as they ma…
under a cloud
Of an uncertain future due to an anticipated threat or change in circumstance.
under a spell
Bewitched; held (as if) by the power of a magical spell.
under control
Being taken care of or being addressed.
under erasure
Of a piece of text, written and struck through; hence, figuratively in some sense both pre…
under glass
In jail.
under lock and key
Imprisoned with little or no chance of escape; locked up.
under no circumstances
Never ever, not for any reason.
under one roof
at the same location
under one's hat
Concealed; confidential; secret.
under one's own steam
Using one's own resources; independently, unaided.
under one's thumb
Completely controlled by someone; at someone's command.
under one's very eyes
in plain sight; while someone is watching
under one's wing
Under one's protection, sponsorship, or tutelage.
under sail
With sails unfurled; powered by the wind.
under someone's nose
directly in front of one; clearly visible
under the carpet
So as to be hidden from plain view (and thus easily ignored or overlooked).
under the covers
In secret.
under the gun
Under great pressure to perform.
under the hammer
For sale by auction.
under the illusion
Having a mistaken belief about something.
under the impression
Believing or making assumptions, often incorrectly.
under the influence
Intoxicated or inebriated, in any degree from mildly impaired to stupefied, by a mind-alte…
under the mahogany
Drunk, intoxicated.
under the microscope
Under close scrutiny or examination.
under the radar
Without attracting notice; in an undetected or secretive manner.
under the rose
In secret; secretly, privately.
under the rug
Synonym of under the carpet.
under the sheets
In a state of rest or sleep.
under the sun
In existence.
under the surface
Inwardly; inside; deep down.
under the weather
ill or gloomy, especially from a cold or flu.
under the wire
At the last minute; before the deadline; barely on time; nearly late.
under way
In operation, in progress, commenced.
understand the assignment
To excel at something; to demonstrate one's skill or talent.
undress with one's eyes
To gaze at someone lasciviously.
unicorn barf
Synonym of unicorn vomit.
unicorn puke
Synonym of unicorn vomit.
unicorn vomit
Something extremely colorful, sweet, or cloying.
university of life
The real world as a source of instruction, as opposed to a formal education.
university of the streets
Synonym of school of hard knocks.
unknown quantity
A person or thing whose nature or value is a mystery.
unmask one's batteries
To begin a decisive action, especially one that reveals one’s true strength or character.
uno ab alto
One over all.
unring a bell
To reverse the irreversible; to perform the impossible.
unsung hero
One who accomplishes great deeds but receives little or no recognition for them.
until hell freezes over
forever; without success, no matter how long one perseveres.
until one is blue in the face
For a hopelessly long time; used especially in respect to discussing, explaining, insistin…
until the cows come home
For a very long period of time.
until the cows freeze over
For a very long period of time.
until the last dog is hung
until the last moment.
unto the ages of ages
For all time, forever.
unused to
not accustomed to, tolerant or accepting of; not used to.
up a gum tree
In a difficult situation; in a predicament.
up a height
High up.
up a tree
In or into a disadvantaged or difficult situation; at a loss; cornered.
up against
Facing; challenging, or opposing.
up against it
In a very difficult position.
up and at 'em
Vigorously launched or launching into an activity.
up and away
Moving quickly and continuously upwards, often with a sense of joy or excitement.
up and coming
Alternative form of up-and-coming.
up and down
alternately forwards and backwards along a path
up and running
operational, in operation
up for
Willing to participate in; interested in.
up for grabs
Available for anyone to obtain, claim, decide, or win.
up front
At the beginning; before anything begins.
up hill and down dale
Here and there; everywhere.
up in the air
Not yet resolved, finished, answered, decided or certain.
up on
Well-informed concerning.
up on one's ear
Annoyed, angry.
up one's own ass
Having an excessively high opinion of oneself, excessively preoccupied with one's own affa…
up one's sleeve
Hidden and ready to be produced as needed; in reserve.
up poo creek
Alternative form of up shit creek.
up shit creek without a paddle
Alternative form of up shit creek.
up shit's creek
Alternative form of up shit creek.
up shit's creek without a paddle
Alternative form of up shit creek.
up someone's street
Perfectly suitable to someone; matching someone's interests and abilities.
up the ante
Of a dispute, to take an action that raises the stakes, i.e. that increases the chances of…
up the boohai
Utterly and completely lost; lost in a remote location.
up the creek
In trouble; in a difficult situation.
up the river
To prison.
up the wall
crazy, mad
up the walls
Very busy, swamped.
up the yin-yang
Synonym of out the wazoo.
up to eleven
Up to or beyond the maximum possible threshold; to an extremely high or strong degree.
up to here
Overwhelmed, busy, buried or swamped.
up to no good
Misbehaving, being mischievous.
up to one's ears
up to here
up to one's neck in alligators
Extremely busy; having many pressing obligations, distractions, etc., consuming one's time…
up to scratch
sufficient; adequate; of acceptable or satisfactory quality
up to something
Doing something mischievous or scheming.
up to speed
Fully informed; current.
up to the hub
As far as possible in embarrassment or difficulty, or in business; deeply involved.
up with the chickens
Awake and out of bed early in the morning.
up with the lark
Awake and out of bed early in the morning.
up with the larks
Alternative form of up with the lark.
uphill battle
A highly difficult task or problem that requires a great amount of effort and determinatio…
upon the instant
Immediately, right away.
upon the tapis
Under discussion or consideration.
upper crust
The social elite, the highest social class.
upper hand
Advantage or control.
upper storey
A person's brain.
ups and downs
Periods of positive and negative events, moods, or interactions; highs and lows.
upset the applecart
To disorganize or spoil something, especially an established arrangement or plan.
urban fabric
The physical aspect of urbanism, emphasizing building types, thoroughfares, open space, fr…
use a sledgehammer to crack a nut
To use disproportionate or significantly excessive force to carry out an action; to do som…
use in anger
Used for its intended purpose, as opposed to e.g. practice or testing
use one's head
To think carefully, especially as an alternative to being guided by one's emotions.
use one's noggin
To think, especially in a careful or clever manner.
used to
Accustomed to, tolerant or accepting of.
useless as tits on a boar hog
Ineffectual, pointless.