What does the idiomatic expression locked horns mean?
Become embroiled in conflict
Become embroiled in conflict, as in At the town meeting Kate and Steve locked horns over increasing the property tax. This expression alludes to how stags and bulls use their horns to fight one another. [
What does it mean when animals lock horns?
To get into an argument. Two deer, moose, or members of another antlered species who have a dispute they want to settle will face off, paw the ground, and charge at each other.
What does it mean to Horn on someone?
Intrude, join without being invited. For example, She has a rude way of horning in on our conversations. This expression alludes to an ox or bull pushing in with its horns. [ c. 1900]
What means hammer out?
transitive verb. : to produce or bring about as if by repeated blows hammered out an agreement.
What is the meaning of idiom early bird?
someone who gets up early in the morning or who does something before other people.
What does the expression lock stock and barrel mean?
The entirety; all of something
lock, stock, and barrel. The entirety; all of something. For example, Jean moved out of the house, lock, stock, and barrel. This expression alludes to the three elements of a firearm—the lock or firing mechanism, the stock or handle, and the barrel or tube. [ Early 1800s]
Why do deer lock horns?
Antlers in whitetails most likely evolved to be used for fighting other bucks. Unlike bighorn sheep that “ram” heads or bears that stand and fight, whitetails lock heads and push each other around to establish dominance.
What happens when deer lock antlers?
What frequently happens is the force with which bucks fight causes a tine to flex slightly, locking the antlers when tension is released. Unless humans intervene by cutting antlers to free the deer, locked antlers invariably spell death for both bucks.
What does it mean to horn a man?
Of a woman, to be sexually unfaithful to her male partner; to cuckold one. Said of a man. (The imagery of horns is traditionally associated with the cuckold.)
Where did the phrase horn in come from?
Horn in means to intrude on a situation, or to interfere in a situation where one is not wanted or invited. The term horn in comes from American cowboy slang, originally used around 1850 to describe a cow, steer or bull that pushes the way forward by using its horns.
What does swept over mean?
swept over. DEFINITIONS1. (sweep over someone) to suddenly affect someone very strongly. A wave of tiredness swept over her.
What does inextricably mean?
Definition of inextricable
1 : forming a maze or tangle from which it is impossible to get free. 2a : incapable of being disentangled or untied an inextricable knot. b : not capable of being solved.
What is the meaning of the idiom to break the ice?
To remove the tension at a first meeting, at the opening of a party, etc.: “That joke really broke the ice at the conference; we all relaxed afterward.”
What is the idiom night owl?
‘Night owl’ is a term used to refer to someone who prefers to be active at night rather than during the day. That is the idiomatic or metaphorical use of the term.
What does the phrase in the pink mean?
the peak of health
What Is in the Pink? In the pink is an informal expression meaning the peak of health or an optimal state. It is often used to describe a situation in which an investor or an economy is in a good financial position.
What does it mean to be locked and loaded?
“Locked and loaded” means “locking the magazine or cartridge into the gun and loading the ammunition into the gun’s chamber.” “Lock and load” means “lock your safety and load a magazine into your weapon.” “Lock and load” is “a military command to open the bolt of a machine gun (Lock Open) and load it.”
What is it called when deer fight?
Rut is defined by the dramatic fights that bucks engage in to win females. Bucks use their antlers for matches against other males to win the territory with the best does for mating.
Do female deer have horns?
Antlers are often exclusively found on male deer as female deer with antlers are rare. Female deer have been observed to have antlers when the hormone testosterone is not properly regulated, which seldom happens. Female caribou (reindeer) is the only related deer species that routinely grow antlers amongst both males …
Why do deers fight with antlers?
Defend against predators, Display dominance to other bucks. Display genetic quality to does.
What’s another word for horn in?
In this page you can discover 14 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for horn in, like: butt in, interrupt, intrude, muscle-in, cut in, obtrude, interfere, interlope, meddle, enter and participate.
Why is a horn called a horn?
The word for “horn” in German is “horn,” in French “cor,” and in Italian “corno.” The terms “cor” and “corno” originally meant an animal’s horn, directly expressing the animal origins of the horn. It is most likely that people from ancient times turned the horns of their prey into musical instruments.
What does sweep the floor mean?
to clean something, especially a floor by using a brush to collect the dirt into one place from which it can be removed: sweep the floor.
What is the meaning of sweep across?
intransitive/transitive to move or spread quickly through an area. Youngsters are risking their lives in a dangerous craze which is sweeping the country. sweep across: The hurricane swept across the Gulf of California.
What is the meaning of nullification?
Definition of nullification
1 : the act of nullifying : the state of being nullified. 2 : the action of a state impeding or attempting to prevent the operation and enforcement within its territory of a law of the U.S.
What does being intrinsically mean?
Something that is intrinsic is an essential part of a whole, so intrinsically describes something closely connected to or inseparable from something. For example, if you believe people are intrinsically good, you think goodness is a part of being human.