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Nail in the coffin
A nail in someone or something’s coffin is a problem or event that is a clear step towards an inevitable failure.
Nature abhors a vacuum
This idiom is used to express the idea that empty or unfilled spaces are unnatural as they go against the laws of nature and physics.
Neck and neck
If two competitors or candidates, etc, are neck and neck, then they are very close and neither is clearly winning.
Neck of the woods
If someone talks about their neck of the woods, they mean the area where they live.
Needle in a haystack
If trying to find something is like looking for a needle in a haystack, it means that it is very difficult, if not impossible to find among everything around it.
Neither fish nor fowl
Something or someone that is neither fish nor fowl doesn’t really fit into any one group.
Nest egg
If you have some money saved for the future, it is a nest egg.
Never a rose without the prick
This means that good things always have something bad as well; like the thorns on the stem of a rose.
New blood
If something needs new blood, it has become stale and needs new ideas or people to invigorate it.
New brush sweeps clean
‘A new brush sweeps clean’ means that someone with a new perspective can make great changes. However, the full version is ‘a new brush sweeps clean, but an old brush knows the corners’, which warns that experience is also a valuable thing.
New lease of life
If someone finds new enthusiasm and energy for something, they have a new lease of life.
New man
A New man is a man who believes in complete equality of the sexes and shares domestic work equally.
New York minute
If something happens in a New York minute, it happens very fast.
Newfangled
People who don’t like new methods, technologies, etc, describe them as newfangled, which means new but not as good or nice as the old ones.
Nick of time
If you do something in the nick of time, you do it at the very last minute or moment.
Ninth circle of hell
In Dante’s Inferno, the ninth circle of hell is the centre where the worst punishments are found, so it is used idiomatically for something that couldn’t get worse.
Nip it in the bud
If you nip something in the bud, you deal with a problem when it is still small, before it can grow into something serious.
Nitty gritty
If people get down to the nitty gritty, they concentrate on the most important and serious issues.
No bed of roses
If something isn’t a bed of roses, it is difficult.
No can do
No can do means that the speaker can’t do whatever it is that has been asked of him or her.
No great shakes
If someone is no great shakes at something, they are not very good at it.
No holds barred
If there are no holds barred, there are no rules of conduct; you can do anything.
No ifs or buts
Ifs and Buts is a term used to describe the reasons people give for not wanting to do something. To show that you don’t wish to accept any excuses, you can tell somebody that you wish to hear no ifs or buts.
No love lost
If there is no love lost between two people they have a strong enmity towards or hate for the other and make no effort to conceal it.
No quarter
This means without mercy. We can say no quarter given or asked.
No question
This idiom means that something is certain or definite.
No questions asked
If something is to be done and no questions asked, then it doesn’t matter what methods are used or what rules are broken to ensure that it gets done.
No spring chicken
If someone is no spring chicken, they aren’t very young.
No time for
If you have no time for an activity, you have absolutely no desire to spend or waste any time doing it. You can have no time for people, too.
No time like the present
If people say that there’s no time like the present , they believe that it is far better to do something now than to leave it for later, in which case it might never get done.
No time to lose
If there’s no time to lose, then it’s time to get started otherwise it won’t be finished on time.
Not all there
If someone isn’t all there, they are a little bit stupid or crazy.
Not cricket
If something is not cricket, it is unfair.
Not enough room to swing a cat
If a room is very small, you can say that there isn’t enough room to swing a cat in it.
Not much cop
Describing a film or something as not much cop is a way of saying that you didn’t think much of it.
Not my cup of tea
If something is not your cup of tea, you don’t like it very much.
Not to be sneezed at
If something is not to be sneezed at, it should be taken seriously.
Notch on your belt
A success or achievement that might help you in the future is a notch on your belt.
Number cruncher
A number cruncher is an accountant or someone who is very good at dealing with numbers and calculations.
Nuts and bolts
The nuts and bolts are the most essential components of something.