idioms Archives - Diana Derringer

Wouldn’t be Caught Dead in It

December 16, 2024 Diana Derringer Comments 4 comments

When we see an ugly Christmas sweater, we might say we wouldn’t be caught dead in it. However, cute puppies can wear whatever they want, including ugly sweaters, and still look cute.

Wouldn’t be caught dead in it refers to at least two possibilities.

Clothing
Places

We don’t always agree on clothing choices.

Styles come and go. However, some of us choose to wear what we like regardless of the latest trend. That includes our favorite Christmas sweaters, shirts, or jackets.

Likewise, we may love places other people would never go.

That holds true for:

Expensive versus inexpensive stores
Gourmet versus fast food restaurants
Resorts versus camping trips
High priced versus third world countries

Many of us wouldn’t be caught dead in Jesus’ circumstances on earth.

The creator of the world:

Was born to a poor family
Slept in a feeding trough
Received little respect from the high and mighty
Died on a criminal’s cross
Was buried in a borrowed tomb

Yet, Jesus offers the world an eternal home in heaven.

Jesus walked out of that borrowed tomb, victorious over sin and death. If we follow Jesus, we share that victory. Because of His humble life on earth, we can look forward to the glory of heaven

“She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them” (Luke 2:7 NIV).

Thanks to Joy S. Taylor for the suggestion. Image by Christiana from Pixabay.

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In the Wings

December 9, 2024 Diana Derringer Comments 4 comments

Before little angels appear in Christmas performances, they wait in the wings. They stay off stage, ready to make their entrance.

In the wings means ready to do something.

Resources, people or other, remain available to help. They prepare to act at a moment’s notice. However, they linger in the background until needed.

The expression has an acting origin.

According to The Free Dictionary, “In a theatre, the wings are the hidden areas to the left and right of a stage, where the actors wait before going on to the stage.”

People may remain in the wings for several reasons.

In addition to general help, they may wait to:

Replace someone.
Make information public.
Offer special services.

At Christmas, we remember that Jesus waited in the wings before coming to earth.

He remained ready to appear, God’s light to the world. Yet, He waited for the right:

Time
Place
Plan

May we follow Jesus’ example by responding:

When God calls
Where God leads
According to God’s purpose

Whether we wait in the wings or step out to follow, we receive what we need under God’s wings,

“When the set time had fully come, God sent his Son” (Galatians 4:4 NIV).

Thanks to Cathy Chinn for the suggestion Photo by Ksenia Chernaya with Pexels.

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Have Something Up Your Sleeve

December 2, 2024 Diana Derringer Comments 4 comments

Have you ever had someone say you have something up your sleeve? Or maybe that you always have something up your sleeve?

To have something up your sleeve means you have a secret plan.

That hidden goal will work to your advantage. It remains ready for use at the right time.

This phrase often relates to cheating while playing cards.

You hide a card, often an ace, up your sleeve. When you need it, you play it.

According to The Free Dictionary, this expression “dates at least from the sixteenth century, when clothes generally had no pockets, and sleeves were a usual storage place.”

You may have something up your sleeve other than cards.

Secret plans often exist in:

Business schemes
Legal tactics
Military maneuvers

You keep people in the dark. Most relationships hold potential for such secret moves.

Rather than have something up your sleeve, why not stay honest and open?

When you plot against one another, everyone loses. Instead, roll up your sleeves and work together. If you must keep secrets, be sure they help rather than hurt.

“You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence” (Psalm 90:8 NIV).

Thanks to Brad Leverett for the suggestion.

Do you have an expression you want explained or a thought about this one? If so, please comment below.

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Tipping Point

November 25, 2024 Diana Derringer Comments 6 comments

This turtle has reached a tipping point. Small movements will pop him out of the water pan and onto the ground.

Tipping point means a critical moment when small actions cause great change.

That change may be in:

Ideas
Behavior
Words

It may affect one person or thing, or it may affect many.

Tipping points occur in all areas of life.

Businesses
Governments
Homes
Churches

The change may be gradual at first.

This turtle inched his way to the edge of the pan. Little happened when he started. However, he has now reached a decisive moment. What happens next is up in the air. Will he continue forward or go back?

Some tipping points result from the choices of others.

They may or may not seek input from those they affect.

Other tipping points result from personal choices.

Everyone has influence, whether small or great. Everyone also lives with the results of their choices.

Stay on the right track. Choose well the direction your life will take.

“Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve … But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15 NIV).

Thanks to Tracy Crump for the suggestion and the photo.

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Throw the Baby Out with the Bath Water

November 18, 2024 Diana Derringer Comments 6 comments

You never want to throw the baby out with the bath water. When you toss or drain the dirty water, you want to keep your bathed baby safe.

To throw the baby out with the bath water means to throw away something good while you get rid of the bad.

Although the bad needs to go, the good should remain.

Dispose of the undesirable.

That includes the:

Worthless
Outdated
Unnecessary
Harmful
Unimportant

Protect the desirable.

That includes the:

Valuable
Timely
Useful
Helpful
Important

Throw the baby out with the bath water applies to ideas as well as things.

When you reject worthless ideas, keep the worthwhile. If you discard every part of a suggestion or idea, you may miss opportunities for improvement.

Throwing the baby out with the bath water can be unintentional.

How often have you realized too late that you tossed more than you planned. Sometimes you can retrieve them. Other times, they are gone forever.

Clean carefully.

Use file 13 for what needs to go. Hang on to what needs to remain.

“Get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you” (James 1:21 NIV).

Thanks to Gail Gosser for the suggestion and to Megan Wollmann for the photo.

Do you have an expression you want explained or a thought about this one? If so, please comment below.

Subscribe to receive Diana’s weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.” On 11-23-24, one name will be randomly selected from Diana’s mailing list to also receive a free copy of J.J. LeVan’s book, “He Meant You to Be You.” If your name is already on the mailing list, you are automatically entered. Please encourage your friends to subscribe.

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In the Thick of It

November 11, 2024 Diana Derringer Comments 4 comments

Please welcome my friend J.J. LeVan as today’s guest writer. J.J. is an award-winning author with a heart for autism and its caregiver community. She released a children’s picture book entitled, “He Meant You to Be You,” which shares God’s love for these uniquely and wonderfully made children. Inspired by her oldest son’s diagnosis in 1998, she has become an advocate and an encourager to Children’s Ministry leaders working with neurodiverse kids. J.J. is also a certified independent provider for the State of Ohio.

Are you in the thick of it?

Merriam-Webster defines in the thick of it as “in the most active or intense part of a situation or activity.” This idiom means you are:

Surrounded
Highly active
Engaged
Engulfed

Hear from real people in the thick of it.

I reached out to friends in our autism community about how I could best pray for them. Their honesty was gripping.

One mom spoke of her desperate need to find a caregiver for her 25-year-old profoundly autistic son.
A grandmother shared that her daughter felt discouraged caring for her 4-year-old autistic son. She was a young mom raising a child in a big city that “could be so cruel.”
Another mom had just received her late autism diagnosis just as she was learning how to help her young son on his own spectrum journey.

Each one of these women is in the thick of it.

Paul pressed on in the thick of it.

“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4: 8-9

Even if you find yourself in the thick of it today, take heart. You are not forgotten.

Press on! You are not alone.

Do you have an expression you want explained or a thought about this one? If so, please comment below.

Subscribe to receive Diana’s weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.” On 11-23-24, one name will be randomly selected from Diana’s mailing list to also receive a free copy of J.J.’s book, “He Meant You to Be You.” If your name is already on the mailing list, you are automatically entered. Please encourage your friends to subscribe.

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Thanks to Phyllis Arnold for the blog photo.

High Water Pants Poor

November 4, 2024 Diana Derringer Comments 10 comments

All my life, I heard people talk about high water pants. They meant pants that were too short. Sometimes they bought them without trying them on for a proper fit. In most cases, they had either outgrown them or washed them until they shrank

When children outgrew their pants and families could not afford more, they were high water pants poor.

They had to make do until they could do better.

High water pant legs stop above the ankle.

I never considered that a fashion statement. However, many people desire high water pants. In fact, I have worn them without realizing they fit the definition. Various names include:

Capris
Cropped pants
Flood pants
Ankle pants
Kick flares
Clam diggers
Pedal Pushers

Like ripped jeans, what was once a sign of poverty became a fashion trend.

The high water pants poor are often richer than they think.

Like the dirt poor, they enjoy wealth beyond measure if they have:

Safe housing
Food for every day
Access to medical care
More than one change of clothes, fashionable or not
Family and friends who love them

Money cannot buy the greatest riches.

Peace, love, hope, and joy do not depend on stylish clothes or financial gain. Those signs of success never last. Rather, true riches come from following Jesus and finding new life and purpose in Him.

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9 NIV).

Thanks to Ona Buckner Sidebottom for the suggestion and to Karen Atwood for the photo.

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Air Your Dirty Laundry in Public

October 28, 2024 Diana Derringer Comments 4 comments

Please don’t air your dirty laundry in public. Unfortunately, that has become a common practice. All too often, people share more information than necessary or desired.

If you air your dirty laundry in public, you discuss personal information that should remain private.

Similar expressions include:

Wash your dirty laundry in public.
Wash your dirty linen in public.

When you air your dirty laundry in public, you risk embarrassing yourself and others.

People remember such information, and it can cause problems for years.

Social media makes airing dirty laundry easy and widespread.

Even if you delete a post, the information remains out there. People copy, save, and share it. If you don’t want it spread, don’t say or write it. Keep private information private.

A wise teacher suggested asking yourself three questions before saying anything.

Although often applied to busybodies who spread gossip about others, they also pertain to personal information.

Is it true?
Is it kind?
Will it glorify God?

If you can’t give a positive answer to all those questions, leave it unsaid. Don’t discuss it or argue about it in public. Too much negative information already exists. When you blow off steam around others, you simply add to the damage.

“Your daily lives should not embarrass God but bring joy to him who invited you into his Kingdom to share his glory” ( 1 Thessalonians 2:12 TLB).

Thanks to Jeri Stone for the suggestion.

Do you have an expression you want explained or a thought about this one? If so, please comment below.

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On the Mend

October 21, 2024 Diana Derringer Comments 8 comments

Several family members recently suffered significant health problems. Most are now on the mend.

On the mend refers to healing.

Surgeries are over.
Health has improved.
They feel better.

Some continue treatments or therapy. Although still in recovery, they look forward to further healing.

Improved health does not equal perfect health.

However, they can enjoy:

Mended bones
Cured diseases
Restored strength and energy

They are alive and kicking (only not too high), and they keep on keeping on.

On the mend describes more than physical healing.

It also means repairs to:

Torn clothing
Ruined relationships
Damaged roads
Faulty morals
Shattered emotions

Although broken, all can mend.

Jesus offers to mend broken lives.

Just as He called fishermen mending their nets to follow Him, Jesus also calls people today. A positive answer results in:

Forgiveness for sins
A personal relationship with God
Peace, hope, joy, and love regardless of life’s circumstances
A perfect, eternal home in heaven

“Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him (Matthew 4:21-22 NKJV).

Thanks to Melissa Bright for the suggestion.

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File 13

October 14, 2024 Diana Derringer Comments 13 comments

Our mail, whether in a physical box or an online inbox, usually includes junk. Because we don’t want junk, we get rid of it. It goes in file 13.

File 13 means the trash can or wastebasket.

Unwanted paper and other trash land there. We want it gone, so we throw it away. We wish we would never have to see physical trash or online junk or spam again.

File 13 content sometimes threatens us.

People or organizations send information for:

Financial scams
Identity theft
Revenge

Shredding all mail with identifying information adds extra protection.

Other times, File 13 content simply frustrates us.

Frequently unwanted material includes:

Political flyers
Advertisements
Requests for money

Let’s keep junk out of our minds as well as our mailboxes.

What goes down in the well comes up in the bucket. Likewise, what goes in our minds comes out in our actions. May we wisely filter all we receive, think, say, and do. As one friend says, let’s use our heads for more than a hat rack.

Get rid of the trash. Keep the treasures.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away” (Ecclesiastes 3:1,6 NIV).

Thanks to Ann Klotz for the suggestion.

Do you have an expression you want explained or a thought about this one? If so, please comment below.

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