Important Idioms and Phrases starting with “D”

Idioms and Phrases

Meaning

Sentence

Donkey’s year 

a very long time

Nowadays one must wait donkey’s years to get justice.

Dog days

hottest days of summer

The dog days of summer are a difficult period for those who must work out in the open.

Dead ringer  

A duplicate of the exact things.

The car that is parked in that garage is a dead ringer of the car that my dad used to own a couple of years back.

Dark horse

One who was previously unknown but is now prominent

You never can tell, some dark horse many come along and win a House of Lord's seat.

Dog's life

a miserable, unhappy existence.

I have to work every day from dawn to sunset and come back home to take care of the children. It's really a dog's life.

Down to earth

simple, decent, realistic; practical and straightforward

She is very down to earth person, not at all attracted by the glamour world

Down at heel 

Out of luck, shabbily dressed

Since Ashok lost his job, he is always down at heel.

Drive up the wall

to make someone angry or irritated

The loud music played by my neighbors is driving me up the wall

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

don’t put all your resources into one thing

It would be better if you applied to several companies instead of just one; don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

Dip your toe in the water

To start very carefully to do or become involved in something that you are not experienced at

I am doing some volunteer work at the new school to try and dip my toe in the water of working in the education field

Devil of a time

If you have a devil of a time, you have a very difficult time.

Before she divorced, Ann had had a devil of a time with her husband.

Devil's Advocate

To present a counterargument Don't count your chickens before the eggs have hatched

He offered to play devil’s advocate and argue against our case so that we could find out any flaws in it.

Don't give up the day job

You are not very good at something. You could not do it professionally.

I watched your performance at the theatre today. My advice is don’t give up your day job.

Down in the dumps

a gloomy, unhappy.

Little Jon is down in the dumps because all her friends are gone away with their parents

Do for 

Fulfil the purpose

This book will do for the IAS Examination.

Drop a line

Send a brief letter

If you’ve got a few minutes to spare you could always drop her a line.

Dot the i’s and cross the t’s

To do something very carefully and in a lot of detail

She writes highly accurate reports – she always dots her I’s and crosses her t’s.

Dig own grave

do something stupid that will seriously harm oneself, cause one’s own ruin or downfall.

If she continues to behave like this to her senior officer, she’ll be digging her own grave.

Dead in the water

Little hope of being successful

A 'no' vote would have left the treaty dead in the water.

Dead and buried

 Cannot happen or exist in future

In the coming years, the coal industry will be dead and buried.