Idioms L	Back to Vocabulary..
Loose cannon A person who is very difficult to control and unpredictable is a loose cannon
Labour of love A labour of love is a project or task undertaking for the interest or pleasure in doing it rather than the reward, financial or otherwise
Lame duck someone that is weak or that falls behind in ability or achievement
Land of nod If someone has gone to the land of nod, they have fallen asleep or gone to bed
Landslide victory A landslide victory is a victory in an election by a very large margin
Lap dog A lap dog is a person who is eager to please another at the expense of his or her own needs in order to maintain a position of privilege or favor
Lap of the gods If something is in the lap of the gods, it is beyond our control and fate will decide the outcome
Larger than life If something is excessive or exaggerated, it is larger than life
Last laugh The person who has the last laugh ends up with the advantage in a situation after some setbacks
Last straw The last straw is the final problem that makes someone lose their temper or the problem that finally brought about the collapse of something
Last ditch A last-ditch attempt is a desperate attempt that will probably fail anyway
Laugh a minute Someone who is a laugh a minute is very funny
Laugh up your sleeve If you laugh up your sleeve, you laugh at someone secretly
Laughing stock If someone becomes a laughing stock they do something so stupid or wrong that no one can take them seriously and people scorn and laugh at them
Law unto your self If somebody's a law unto themselves, they do what they believe is right regardless of what is generally accepted as correct
Lay down the law If someone lays down the law, they tell people what to do and are authoritarian
Lead someone up the garden path If someone leads you up the garden path, they deceive you, or give you false information that causes you to waste your time
Lead by the chin If someone leads with their chin, they speak or behave without fear of the consequences
Leave no stone unturned If you look everywhere to find something, or try everything to achieve something, you leave no stone unturned
Left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing If the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, then communication within a company, organisation, group, etc, is so bad that people don't know what the others are doing
Left in the dark If you are left in the dark about something, you aren't given the information that you should have
Left to your own devices If someone is left to their own devices, they are not controlled and can do what they want
Left handed compliment A left-handed compliment is one that sounds like praise but has an insulting meaning
Legend in their own lifetime Somebody who becomes a legend in their own lifetime acquires fame, but often only to a select or specialist audience, while they are still alive
Lend an ear If you lend an ear, you listen to what someone has to say
Leopards can't change their spots Means that people cannot change basic aspects of their character, especially negative ones
Lesser of two evils Something that is the lesser of two evils, is an unpleasant option, but not as bad as the other
Let bygones be bygones If people decide to let bygones be bygones, they decide to forget old problems or grievances they have with each other
Let sleeping dogs lie If someone is told to let sleeping dogs lie, it means that they shouldn't disturb a situation as it would result in trouble or complications
Let the chips fall where they may This means that we shouldn't try to control events, because destiny controls them
Let the devil take the hindmost Means that you should think of yourself and not be concerned about other people; look after yourself and let the devil take the hindmost
Let the genie out of the bottle If people let the genie out of the bottle, they let something bad happen that cannot be put right or controlled
Let the grass grow round your feet If you let the grass grow round your feet, you delay doing things instead of taking action
Let your guard down If you let your guard down, you relax and stop looking out for danger
Let your hair down If you let your hair down, you usually throw inhibitions to the wind and thoroughly enjoy yourself
Lets call it a day This is used as a way of suggesting that it is time to stop working on something
Letter of the law If people interpret laws and regulations strictly, ignoring the ideas behind them, they follow the letter of the law
Level playing field If there's a level playing field everybody is treated equally
Lie low If someone lies low, they try not to be found or caught
Lie through their teeth Someone who is always lying, regardless of what people know, lies through their teeth
Life is just a bowl of cherries This idiom means that life is simple and pleasant
Light at the end of the tunnel If you can see light at the end of the tunnel, then you can see some signs of hope in the future, though things are difficult at the moment
Light on your feet If someone is light on their feet, they can move quickly and are agile
Light years ahead If you are light years ahead of others, you are a long way in front of them in terms of development, success, etc
Like a beached whale If you are completely stuck somewhere and can't get away, you are stranded like a beached whale
Like a bear with a sore head If someone's like a bear with a sore head, they complain a lot and are unhappy about something
Like a bull in a china shop If you tackle a job very quickly, without any real thought about what you are doing, you are going at it like a bull in a china shop
Like a cat on hot bricks If someone is like a cat on hot bricks, they are very nervous or excited
Like a cat that got the cream If someone looks very pleased with themselves and happy, they look like a cat that got the cream
Like a duck to water If someone has a natural talent for something and enjoys it, they take to it like a duck to water
Like a fish needs a bicycle If someone needs something like a Fish Needs a Bicycle, they do not need it at all
Like a fish out of water If someone feels like a fish out of water, they are very uncomfortable in the situation they are in
Like a hawk If you watch something or someone like a hawk, you observe very closely and carefully
Like a headless chicken If someone rushes about like a headless chicken, they move very fast all over the place, usually without thinking
Like a kid in sweet shop If someone is like a kid in a sweet shop, they are very excited about something
Like a moth to a flame Something that is like a moth to a flame is attracted to something that is deadly or dangerous
Like clockwork If something happens like clockwork, it happens at very regular times or intervals
Like giving donkeys strawberries If something is like giving a donkey strawberries, people fail to appreciate its value
Like it or lump it When people say this, they mean that the person will have to accept the situation because it isn't going to change
Like lambs to the slaughter If somebody does something unpleasant without any resistance, they go like lambs to the slaughter
Like two peas in a pod If people or things are like two peas in a pod, they look identical
Like pulling teeth If something if like pulling teeth, it is very difficult, especially if trying to extract information or to get a straight answer from someone
Like taking sweets from a baby If something is like taking sweets from a baby, it is very easy to do
Like the clappers If something is going like the clappers, it is going very fast
Like there's no tomorrow If you do something like there's no tomorrow, you do it fast or energetically
Like wildfire If something happens or spreads like wildfire, it happens very quickly and intensely
Lily livered Someone who is lily-livered is a coward
Lip service if someone's says they'll do something and then doesn't they are giving lip service
Live high off the log If you are living high off the hog, you are living lavishly
Live wire A person who is very active, both mentally and physically, is a live wire
Loan shark A loan shark lends money at very high rates of interest
Lock horns When people lock horns, they argue or fight about something
Lock the stable door after the horse has bolted If someone takes action too late, they do this; there is no reason to lock an empty stable
Lock stock and barrel This is an expressions that means 'everything'; if someone buys a company lock, stock and barrel, they buy absolutely everything to do with the company
Long face Someone with a long face is sad or depressed about something
Long in the tooth If someone is long in the tooth, they are a bit too old to do something
Long shot If something is a long shot, there is only a very small chance of success
Look before you leap This idiom means that you should think carefully about the possible results or consequences before doing something
Look on the bright side If you look on the bright side, you try to see things in an optimistic way, especially when something has gone wrong
Look what the cat's dragged in This idiom is used when someone arrives somewhere looking a mess or flustered and bothered
Loose the plot If someone loses the plot, they have stopped being rational about something
Loose your marbles If someone has lost their marbles, they've gone mad
Loose your shirt If someone loses their shirt, they lose all their money through a bad investment, gambling, etc.
Luck of the draw To have the 'Luck of the draw' is to win something in a competition where the winner is chosen purely by chance