A nail in someone or something's coffin is a problem or event that is a clear step towards an inevitable failure.
If a game, election, contest, etc, is a nail-biter, it is exciting because the competitors are so close that it is impossible to predict the result.
This idiom is used to express the idea that empty or unfilled spaces are unnatural as they go against the laws of nature and physics.
The basic characteristics of something is the nature of the beast; often used when there's an aspect of something that cannot be changed or that is unpleasant or difficult.
If something is near the knuckle, it is bit explicit or too close to the truth for comfort
Necessity is the mother of invention
Difficult situations make people inventive.
If two competitors or candidates, etc, are neck and neck, then they are very close and neither is clearly winning.
If someone talks about their neck of the woods, they mean the area where they live.
Someone who is very famous and known to everyone needs no introduction.
If trying to find something is like looking for a needle in a haystack, it means that it is very difficult, if not impossible to find among everything around it.
Something or someone that is neither fish nor fowl doesn't really fit into any one group.
If something is neither here nor there, it is of very little importance.
Something that serves no purpose and is not aesthetically pleasing is neither use nor ornament.
If someone has nerves of steel, they don't get frightened when other people do.
Someone excessively worried or apprehensive is a nervous Nellie (or Nelly).
If you have some money saved for the future, it is a nest egg.
Never a rose without the prick
This means that good things always have something bad as well; like the thorns on the stem of a rose.
This is a way of telling someone never to visit you again.
When someone says "Never Say Die", it means that you shouldn't give up hope.
If something needs new blood, it has become stale and needs new ideas or people to invigorate it.
'A new brush sweeps clean' means that someone with a new perspective can make great changes. However, the full version is 'a new brush sweeps clean, but an old brush knows the corners', which warns that experience is also a valuable thing. Sometimes 'broom' is used instead of 'brush'.
A new kid on the block is a person who has recently joined a company, organisation, team, etc, and does not know how things work yet.
If someone finds new enthusiasm and energy for something, they have a new lease of life.
(UK) A New man is a man who believes in complete equality of the sexes and shares domestic work equally.
This is used when a new authority figure takes charge.
(USA) If something happens in a New York minute, it happens very fast.
People who don't like new methods, technologies, etc, describe them as newfangled, which means new but not as good or nice as the old ones.
If a person is nice as pie, they are surprisingly very kind and friendly. "After our argument, she was nice as pie!"
If you do something in the nick of time, you do it at the very last minute or second.
(USA) If someone gives you a nickel tour, they show you around a place. ('Fifty-cent tour' is also used.)
A night owl is someone who goes to bed very late.
In Dante's Inferno, the ninth circle of hell is the centre where the worst punishments are found, so it is used idiomatically for something that couldn't get worse.
A close contest where neither opponent seems to be gaining the advantage.
If someone is nipping at the bit, they are anxious to get something done and don't want to wait.
If you nip something in the bud, you deal with a problem when it is still small, before it can grow into something serious.
If people get down to the nitty gritty, they concentrate on the most important and serious issues.
If something isn't a bed of roses, it is difficult.
No can do means that the speaker can't do whatever it is that has been asked of him or her.
No dice is a way of refusing to accept or agree to something.
If you have no dog in a fight, you are not concerned and will not be affected either way by the outcome of something.
Something that will not work. 'A square peg in a round hole is a no go.'
This means that life is unfair and people can do or try to do good things and still end up in a lot of trouble.
If someone is no great shakes at something, they are not very good at it.
There's no problem when no harm or damage is done, such as the time my sister-in-law stole the name we'd chosen for a boy and we both ended up having girls.
If there are no holds barred, there are no rules of conduct; you can do anything.
Ifs and Buts is a term used to describe the reasons people give for not wanting to do something. To show that you don't wish to accept any excuses, you can tell somebody that you wish to hear no ifs or buts Here IF & BUT have become nouns
Something that is no laughing matter is very serious.
If there is no love lost between two people they have a strong enmity towards or hate for the other and make no effort to conceal it.
Achievements require some sort of sacrifice.
Bad people will not be at ease or will be tormented.('No rest for the wicked' is also used.)
This means without mercy. We can say no quarter given or asked.
This idiom means that something is certain or definite.
If something is to be done and no questions asked, then it doesn't matter what methods are used or what rules are broken to ensure that it gets done.
No rest for the weary means that you must keep on working even though you're exhausted or tired.
Bad people will not be at ease or will be tormented.('No peace for the wicked' is also used.)
If something's no skin off your nose, it doesn't affect or bother you at all.
This idiom means that when people suspect something, there is normally a good reason for the suspicion, even if there is no concrete evidence. ('Where's there's smoke, there's fire' is also used.)
If someone has no spine, they lack courage or are cowardly.
If someone is no spring chicken, they are not young.
If something has no strings attached, there are no obligations or requirements involved.
No Sweat means something is easy. For example, "This contest is just no sweat." meaning "This contest is just easy."
If you have no time for an activity, you have absolutely no desire to spend or waste any time doing it. You can have no time for people, too.
If people say that there's no time like the present , they believe that it is far better to do something now than to leave it for later, in which case it might never get done.
If there's no time to lose, then it's time to get started otherwise it won't be finished on time.
If there are no two ways about something, there is no other possible interpretation.
If something or someone is no use to man or beast, they it or they are utterly useless.
(UK) 'A nod's as good as a wink' is a way of saying you have understood something that someone has said, even though it was not said directly. The full phrase (sometimes used in the UK ) is 'a nod's as good as a wink to a blind horse'.
(UK) Unimportant or very simple tasks are noddy work.
None so blind as those who will not see
This idiom is used when people refuse to accept facts presented to them. ('None so deaf as those who will not hear' is an alternative.)
If someone has their nose in the air, they behave in a way that is meant to show that they are superior to others.
(UK) A nosy parker is someone who is excessively interested in other people's lives. ('Nosey parker' is an alternative spelling.)
Not a snowball's chance in hell
There is absolutely no possibility of something hapening if there's not a snowball's chance in hell.
If someone isn't all there, they are a little bit stupid or crazy.
If someone doesn't bat an eye, they do not react when other people normally would.
When someone says that they weren't born yesterday, they mean that they are not naive or easily fooled.
(UK) If something is not cricket, it is unfair.
Not enough room to swing a cat
If a room is very small, you can say that there isn't enough room to swing a cat in it.
If you don't give a fig about something, you don't care about it at all, especially used to express how little one cares about another's opinions or actions.
(UK) If you couldn't give a monkey's about something, you don't care at all about it.
If you wouldn't give the time of day to someone, you dislike them so much that you would not even use common courtesy.
If you don't have the heart to do something, you don't have the strength or courage to do something. (Usually used in the negative)
Not have two nickels to rub together
(USA) If a person doesn't have two nickels to rub together, they are very poor.
Not have two pennies to rub together
If someone hasn't got two pennies to rub together, they are very poor indeed.
Somebody who would not hurt a fly is not aggressive.
(USA) If someone doesn't know beans about something, they know nothing about it.
Not know enough to come in out of the rain
Someone who doesn't know enough to come in out of the rain is particularly stupid.
This indicates that the person described is unaware of his or her good fortune or is unaware of how difficult day to day life was before he/she was born. Typical usage: 'Kids today don't know they are born'.
Describing a film or something as not much cop is a way of saying that you didn't think much of it.
If you say that you are not your brother's keeper, it means that you are not responsible for someone or what happens to them as a consequence of their actions.
If something is not your cup of tea, you don't like it very much.
If something is not your bag, it is not really suitable for your needs or you don't like it much.
Not the only pebble on the beach
If something is not the only pebble on the beach, there are other possibilities or alternatives.
If something is not to be sneezed at, it should be taken seriously.
If a story or explanation will not wash, it is not credible.
To end on a muted note - most likely in a situation where one would have expected a more spectacular finish. This expression was coined by T.S. Elliot in his 1925 poem, The Hollow Men, which ends: This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper.
(USA) If something is not worth a red cent, it has no value.
This means that something is worthless and dates back to when someone would travel around the countryside repairing things such as a kitchen pot with a hole in it. He was called a 'tinker'. His dam was used to stop the flow of soldering material being used to close the hole. Of course his 'trade' is passé, thus his dam is worth nothing.
A success or achievement that might help you in the future is a notch on your belt.
If something's nothing to crow about, it's not particularly good or special.
Something that is not special or good is nothing to write home about.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained
You can't win if you don't join in the game; if you don't participate in something, you will not achieve anything.
This idiom means 'occasionally'.
Used at the end of a story to express disbelief, or in answer to a question to express a mild indignation.
If something's null and void, it is invalid or is no longer applicable.
A number cruncher is an accountant or someone who is very good at dealing with numbers and calculations.
The nuts and bolts are the most essential components of something.
Someone who's nutty as a fruitcake is irrational or crazy. (This can be shortened to 'a fruitcake'.)
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