whip someone or something into shape
Meaning: To mold or assemble something into its proper shape quickly.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Category: Daily Life
Origin: This expression comes from the very old belief that bear cubs were born misshapen and had to literally be licked into shape by their mothers and fathers. By the late 1600s, this phrase was being used with the figurative meaning it has now.
More idioms — Daily Life
- white-collar worker — An office worker.
- white lie — A minor, polite, or harmless lie.
- whitewash — To conceal something bad; to make something look better than it really is.
- the whole kit and caboodle — The entire amount; the whole lot.
- go the whole nine yards — The entire amount; (to go) all out.
- wing it — To improvise; to do something without planning or preparation.
More English idioms
- wipe the slate clean — To set a situation right or erase something bad.
- yellow — Cowardly.
- yellow journalism — Journalism that is exaggerated or unnecessarily sensational.
- with flying colors — Triumphantly; victoriously.
- come from the wrong side of the tracks — The poor part of town.
- The last straw that broke the camel's back — The final small burden that causes a total collapse.
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