I
to calm a disturbance
-EX- If those two are arguing again, send Mom in to talk to them—she's great at pouring oil on troubled waters.
pour oil on troubled waters
creditors who cruelly demand the repayment of a debt or money owed no matter how much suffering it will cause the debtor.
-EX- He wants revenge. He won't be satisfied until he takes his pound of flesh.
pound of flesh
a life of ease and pleasure
-EX- After winning the lottery, Jake found himself surrounded by people trying to lead him down the primrose path for their own benefit.
primrose path
temporarily
-EX- For the time being he is the president pro tempore.
pro tempore
a vain and overly-sensitive person who is temperamental and difficult to work with
-EX- Kathleen is such a prima donna—there's just no pleasing her.
prima donna
to make an embarrassing or tactless blunder when speaking
-EX- He really put his foot in it when he mentioned the party to her. She hadn't been invited.
put your foot in your mouth
to tease or fool someone
-EX- 'You came first! You've won the prize!' 'Really? Or are you just pulling my leg?
pull somebody's leg
to make a show of wealth or elegance
-EX- My wife always feels like she has to put on the dog whenever my parents come to visit.
put on the dog
to use personal connections to obtain a position
-EX- I hear that the only reason Johnny got into college was because his dad pulled some strings with the president of the university.
pull strings
raining very heavily
-EX- We were so disappointed that it rained cats and dogs for our whole vacation in Hawaii.
raining cats and dogs
to create a disturbance
-EX- The customer has been raising Cain about the service charge we included on his bill.
raise Cain
the people who form the major portion of any group or organization, excluding the leaders
-EX- The deal was rejected by a large majority of the rank and file within the union.
rank and file
to pay attention to what is implied in writing or speech
-EX- Reading between the lines, it was obvious that he was feeling lonely.
read between the lines
the best of its kind, the real thing
-EX- Of course it's authentic. It's the real McCoy.
the real McCoy
to chastise loudly or to issue a severe warning
-EX- I was read the riot act by my boss last week for messing up the accounting software.
read the riot act
in argument, something designed to take away an opponent's attention from the central issue
-EX- The detectives were following a red herring, but they're on the right track now.
red herring
Bureaucratic procedures that delay progress
-EX- There's so much red tape involved in opening up a restaurant that we decided to ditch the plan altogether.
red tape
a special or memorial day
-EX- My college graduation was a real red-letter day for my whole family.
red-letter day