The Idioms Thread...[]

Wiktionary wrote:
Adverb

when it's/he/she's at home (not comparable)

(idiomatic, UK) (of a person) in reality; in fact; when it comes down to it. (of a topic) plainly; in plain English; at its most basic level.

Who is Nelson Mandela when he's at home?
Feng Shui? What on earth is that when it's at home?

Usage notes

This phrase is an intensifier used to communicate the fact that one knows nothing about a particular person or subject, (Haemoglobin? What in blazes is that when it's at home?), effecting a self-conscious cutesy ignorance that sometimes also carries a humorous irony, depending on context. It often implies derision for the subject, or some erudite, esoteric, overly-technical, or overly-political word used in the company of the speaker.

Gorgro wrote:I've heard a similar expression used here before, but it's not very common. There's also no version for 'it'. If used, it's always with he or she.

This also seems like the thread to ask what's up with phrases like "it's anything but [adjective]". Logically, this should mean "that thing is completely not [adjective]", but I keep seeing it used as "that thing is very much [adjective] indeed". It confuses me a lot.

Tuomey wrote:Is "irregardless" an idiom or am I still allowed to yell at people and tell them it's not a real word when they use it?

semicolon wrote:HEY I YELL WEHYN I WANTS

Cracked wrote:The ads were originally meant to run as giant billboards, but after they tested poorly in focus groups (because apparently public awareness campaigns meant to defend children against sexual abuse are beholden to the exact same set of standards as a Hot Pocket commercial), they were all but entirely canceled.