Idioms from A to Z with Example sentences (n)

N..................................

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.

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.