Idioms R	Back to Vocabulary..
Rack and ruin If something or someone goes to rack and ruin, they are utterly destroyed or wrecked
Rack your brain If you rack your brain, you think very hard when trying to remember something
Rags to riches Someone who starts life very poor and becomes rich goes from rags to riches
Rain on your parade If someone rains on your parade, they ruin your pleasure or your plans
Raining cats and dogs When it is raining cats and dogs, it is raining very heavily
Rainy day If you save something, especially money, for a rainy day, you save it for some possible problem or trouble in the future
Raise Cain If someone raises Cain, they make a big fuss publicly, causing a disturbance
Raise eyebrows If something raises eyebrows, it shocks or surprises people
Rake over old coals If you go back to old problems and try to bring them back, making trouble for someone, you are raking over old coals
Rank and file The rank and file are the ordinary members of a company, organisation, etc, excluding the managers and directors
Rat race The rat race is the ruthless, competitive struggle for success in work, etc
Raw deal A raw deal is when you are treated unfairly
Read between the lines If you read between the lines, you find the real message in what you're reading or hearing, a meaning that is not available from a literal interpretation of the words
Read someone the riot act If you read someone the riot act, you give them a clear warning that if they don't stop doing something, they will be in serious trouble
Real McCoy Something that's the real McCoy is the genuine article, not a fake
Recharge your batteries If you recharge your batteries, you do something to regain your energy after working hard for a long time
Recipe for disaster A recipe for disaster is a mixture of people and events that could only possibly result in trouble
Red carpet treatment If you give someone the red-carpet treatment, you give them a special welcome to show that you think they are important
Red herring If something is a distraction from the real issues, it is a red herring
Red letter day A red letter day is a one of good luck, when something special happens to you
Red light district The red light district is the area of a town or city where there is prostitution, sex shops, etc
Red rag to a bull If something is a red rag to a bull, it is something that will inevitably make somebody angry or cross
Red tape This is a negative term for the official paperwork and bureaucracy that we have to deal with
Re invent the wheel If someone reinvents the wheel, they waste their time doing something that has already been done by other people
Rest on their laurels If someone rests on their laurels, they rely on their past achievements, rather than trying to achieve things now
Revenge is sweet When you are happy to be proved right or you get your own back for something someone has done, then you know that revenge is sweet
Rhyme nor reason If something is without rhyme nor reason, it is unreasonable
Riding high If someone is riding high, they are very successful at the moment
Ride roughshod If someone rides roughshod over other people, they impose their will without caring at all for other people's feelings
Ride shotgun If you ride shotgun, you protect or guard something when it is being transported
Right as rain If things are right as rain, then everything is going well in your life
Right up my street If something is right up your street, it suits you perfectly
Ring a bell If something rings a bell, it reminds you of something you have heard before, though you may not be able to remember it very well
Ringside seat If you have a ringside seat, you can observe something from a very close and clear position
Rise and shine If you wake up full of energy, you rise and shine
Rob Peter to pay Paul If you rob Peter to pay Paul, you try to solve one problem, but create another in doing so, often through short-term planning
Rock the boat If you rock the boat, you destabilise a situation by making trouble. It is often used as advice; 'Don't rock the boat'
Rocket science If something is not rocket science, it is not very complicated or difficult to understand
Roll out the red carpet If you roll out the red carpet, you treat someone in a special way, especially when welcoming them
Rome was not built in a day This idiom means that many things cannot be done instantly, and require time and patience
Rose tinted glasses If people see things through rose tinted glasses, they see them in a more positive light than they really are
Rough and ready If a person is rough and ready, they are not very refined or good mannered
Rough diamond A rough diamond is a person who might be a bit rude but who is good underneath it all
Rough end of the stick To get the rough end of the stick is to be treated unfairly or to come off worse than the other party in a transaction, situation or relationship
Round the bend If someone has gone round the bend, they have stopped being rational about something
Round the houses If you go round the houses, you do something in an inefficient way when there is a quicker, more convenient way
Rub shoulders If you rub shoulders with people, you meet and spend time with them, especially when they are powerful or famous
Rub someone up the wrong way If you annoy or irritate someone when you didn't mean to, you rub them up the wrong way
Rue the day This means that the person will one day bitterly regret what they have done
Ruffle a few feathers If you ruffle a few feathers, you annoy some people when making changes or improvements
Rule of thumb Rule of thumb means approximately
Rule the roost If someone rules the roost they are the boss. Example:There's no doubt who rules the roost in this house
Run a mile If someone "Runs a mile", they do everything they can to avoid a situation
Run amock When things or people are running amok, they are wild and out of control
Run before you can walk If someone tries to run before they can walk, they try to do something requiring a high level of knowledge before they have learned the basics
Run circles around someone If you can run circles around someone, you are smarter and intellectually quicker than they are
Run off your feet If you are run off your feet, you are extremely busy and don't have enough time to do everything
Run the gauntlet If somebody is being criticised harshly by a lot of people, they are said to run the gauntlet
Run your mouth off If someone runs their mouth off, they talk too much
Run of the mill If something is run-of-the-mill, there is nothing exceptional about it- it is ordinary or average
Runs in the family If a characteristic runs in the family, it can clearly be seen in members of different generations i.e a large nose or temperament