| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| date |
boy and girl go to a movie etc., go out with, see
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Tong has been dating May since they met at Christmas.
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| dates you |
tells your age; when you were born
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Knowing that song dates you. It was popular in the 1950s.
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| dawn on me |
cause me to think of, occur to me, hit me
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It didn't dawn on me that they're twins until I saw them together.
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| day in, day out |
every day, daily
|
Day in, day out, she walked to work. I saw her every morning.
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| day of the family farm |
(See the day of the family farm)
|
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| day one |
(See from day one)
|
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| dead as a doornail |
dead, showing no signs of life, stone dead
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It's only a stuffed bear. It's dead as a doornail.
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| dead-cat bounce |
very little recovery after a loss, not coming up again
|
The broker said, "It was a dead-cat bounce. Stocks remain low."
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| dead certain |
very certain, very sure, positive
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He's dead certain that Ming is the man who talked to him.
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| dead duck |
not competitive, not viable, dead in the water, kaput
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I don't care how much skill he has. If he can't play under pressure
he's a dead duck.
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