idioms Archives - Diana Derringer

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 8 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.

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

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File 13

October 14, 2024 Diana Derringer Comments 12 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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Right Off the Bat

October 7, 2024 Diana Derringer Comments 4 comments

When a batter hits a ball, that ball flies right off the bat. While the ball soars through the air, the batter runs toward first base without delay.

Right off the bat means immediately.

We don’t hesitate. Instead, we act:

Instantly
First thing

Rather than sit and ponder the possibilities, we move almost spontaneously.

We value first responders who act right off the bat.

Their speed often makes the difference in life and death.

Fire fighters
Law enforcement
Medical personnel

We don’t want precise workers to act right off the bat.

Their speed results in costly errors or conclusions.

Scientists
Accountants
Builders

For them, haste makes waste. If we demand their work immediately if not sooner, we suffer in the end.

May we always choose wisely between patience and speed.

Much in life is worth the wait. Yet, we never want to postpone decisions that require an immediate response.

Without delay [Jesus] called them, and they … followed him (Mark 1:20 NIV).

Thanks to Darrin Jenkins for the suggestion and to Richard Robards for the photo.

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Foot in the Door

September 30, 2024 Diana Derringer Comments 8 comments

My friend Collin White recently got his foot in the door for a lifelong dream. He performed on stage at the Grand Ole Opry. For anyone, that is quite a feat (pun intended). For a young man still in college, it’s nothing short of amazing.

To get a foot in the door means the first step toward a goal.

Collin wants to sing professionally. He already sings in community, school, church, and multi-state events. He has released two songs. Both fit the Christian country genre. His dream is falling into place, one step at a time.

To get a foot in the door occasionally refers to a pushy person.

Such people use aggressive tactics. Door-to-door salespeople who stick their feet in doors so homeowners can’t close them come to mind. Their behavior often proves self-defeating (another pun intended). Instead of reaching their goals, they turn people against them.

That does not describe Collin. Instead, he puts his best foot forward.

The greatest door of opportunity remains open for all.

Jesus extends an invitation for:

Forgiveness
Salvation
Guidance
A home in heaven.

Never pushy, Jesus waits patiently for our response. It’s up to us to invite Jesus into our lives and to follow Him.

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” (Revelation 3:20 NIV).

Thanks to Tracy Crump and Beckham Wilson for the suggestion and to Jill and Steve Floyd and Collin White for the photos.

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

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Short Leash

September 23, 2024 Diana Derringer Comments 4 comments

A friend recently said, “when we are dog-tired, we can be on that short leash of frustration and bark at others too easily.” How true. Fatigue often leads to frustration and harsh answers.

A short leash means strong control by someone or something.

When dog owners want more control over their dogs, they keep the leash short and the dogs close.

People on short emotional leashes know the feeling well. They enjoy little freedom.

We suffer if we allow emotions to keep us on a short leash.

God gave us emotions, but God also gave us minds. We never want our emotions to cloud good judgement.

Let’s choose a better way.

Rather than bark or yell at someone when upset, why not take time to calm down? We don’t want to say anything we regret. If we give it a rest long enough to get a grip, we don’t have to worry about going haywire.

“Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction” (Proverbs 29:18 NIV).

Thanks to Martha J. Orlando for the suggestion and to Chelsey Stone for the photo.

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Burn Boats

September 16, 2024 Diana Derringer Comments 8 comments

Burn boats is another expression more common among the British. In America, we usually refer to burning bridges or burning our bridges behind us. The two expressions have the same meaning.

Burn boats (or burn the ships) means to destroy all means of retreat.

We leave no way to return to our previous situation. According to U.S. Dictionary, this idiom comes from “the story of Hernán Cortés, who, upon arriving in Mexico in 1519, ordered his men to burn their boats, making it clear that there was no turning back.”

When we burn boats in our lives, our commitment forces us to go forward.

We can only move toward the goal or battle before us. As with Cortez and his men, our decision is both brave and risky.

It is difficult or impossible to reverse.
Yet, we strive harder to achieve our purpose.

The song, “Burn the Ships,” by for King and Country is based on this expression. Learn the reason for their song choice here.

Sometimes we must turn away from our past in order to follow the right road ahead.

Rather than look back, we pursue the good God offers before us.

“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14 NIV).

Thanks to Jonna J. LeVan for the suggestion. Photo by Klub Boks on Pexels.

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

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Hunker Down

September 9, 2024 Diana Derringer Comments 12 comments

During recent storms, many of us had to hunker down in more than one way. We protected ourselves from the storms’ initial danger. Afterwards, we worked hard to recover from any damage.

The Free Dictionary gives four meanings for hunker down.

“Literally to squat.” We bend our knees to lower ourselves.
“To seek refuge.” We find shelter when dangers arise.
“To work or begin to work … in a determined manner.” We clean up after a disaster or we study hard.
“To stubbornly maintain some belief.” We refuse to compromise, change our mind, or admit when we make a mistake.

Although I have heard this expression used all four ways, I usually think of the second one. Similar to a ship’s crew that battens down the hatches, we prepare for a storm.

Storms occur in all areas of life.

Physical—Bad weather, health problems, or accidents
Mental—Illness, educational challenges, or overload
Emotional—Relationship issues, stress, or uncertainty
Spiritual—Persecution, false information, or poor choices

Whatever storm we face, we never have to hunker down alone.

If we turn to God, God remains with us. One of my favorite old gospel songs promises, “No, Never Alone.”

“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV).

Which meaning of hunker down have you heard or used?

Thanks to Judy Glen Corbin for the suggestion. Image by Didier from Pixabay.

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

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