Memory Alpha
Memory Alpha
Multiple realities
(covers information from several alternate timelines)

A list of anatomical idioms by body part.

Arm[]

At arm's length[]

To keep something "at arm's length" is to keep it from influencing oneself or to not allow a relationship to become friendly.

When Chakotay sought advice from Tuvok regarding Captain Janeway's behavior in 2375, he admitted that they'd kept one another "at arm's length." (VOY: "Night")

Sisko kept Kira at arm's length due to his being uncomfortable with her seeing him as a religious icon. (DS9: "Starship Down")

A hallucination of Harry Kim in Gre'thor tells B'Elanna Torres that she's kept the USS Voyager crew "at arm's length." (VOY: "Barge of the Dead")

Run into the arms of[]

Welcome with open arms[]

To welcome someone with open arms was to welcome them in a friendly and hospitable way.

Alixus stated that she and her people welcomed Sisko and O'Brien with open arms. (DS9: "Paradise")

Within (arm's) reach []

For something to be "within arm's reach," or simply to be "within reach," meant for it to be very close or achievable. (ENT: "Terra Nova", "These Are the Voyages..."; VOY: "Spirit Folk") Contrarily, for something to be "(just) out of reach," meant for it to be very close, but unattainable. (TOS: "Balance of Terror"; DS9: "Change of Heart"; VOY: "Non Sequitur", "One Small Step")

Jean-Luc Picard told Gul Macet that he knew that the Cardassian research station, located within arm's reach of three Federation sectors, was indeed a weapons depot, and that while recent events could have made things much worse than they already were, and that they should consider themselves warned. (TNG: "The Wounded")

Following USS Voyager's discovery of the extremely dangerous, but deuterium-rich, Planet Hell, Ensign Harry Kim reminded the senior staff of the meek alternatives to the ship's low deuterium crisis, offering the idiom rich, "What's the alternative? Resume course? Creep along at quarter impulse hoping we find fuel before we end up dead in the water? We've got deuterium within arm's reach. We can't let the opportunity slip away without at least trying." (VOY: "Demon")

Back[]

Back to the wall[]

If one's back was to the wall, one was in a bad position.

Miles O'Brien once warned Captain Picard that if Captain Maxwell felt his back was to the wall, he would strike. (TNG: "The Wounded")

Behind one's back[]

To do something behind one's back is to act without their knowledge.

Kira once stated to an alternate universe's parallel to Quark that her universe's Quark often succeeded at doing things behind the backs of security personnel. (DS9: "Crossover")

Captain Janeway told Tuvok not to act on his logic behind her back. (VOY: "Prime Factors")

Pat on the back[]

A pat on the back referred to praise.

When Janeway praised Paris for seemingly putting Voyager in a planet's orbit, he responded that she was "patting the wrong guy on the back" since the ship had stopped on its own. (VOY: "Blink of an Eye")

Stab in the back[]

Stand on the backs of someone[]

Turn one's back on someone[]

To turn one's back on someone meant to abandon them.

Garak was surprised that Odo saw his homeworld as "home", since he had turned his back on his fellow Changelings. (DS9: "The Die is Cast")

Weyoun referred to some rogue Jem'Hadar as having turned their backs on their oath of allegiance to the Domnion. Later, Worf told Sisko not to turn his back on Omet'iklan. (DS9: "To the Death")

Worf said that after being arrested, the Klingon empire would turn its back on Darvin, and he would become an outcast. (DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations")

The Romulans apparently had a saying, which was not to turn one's back on a Breen. (DS9: "By Inferno's Light")

Watch one's back[]

To watch one's back was to be alert.

When Bashir wanted to know what the dangerous situation Kira was alerting him to was, she replied, "I don't have time to explain. Just watch your back; you're in danger.", which confused him even more. (DS9: "Crossover")

Sisko warned Dax that they both had to watch their backs during a Jem'Hadar attack. (DS9: "The Ship")

Blood[]

Bad blood[]

If two people or groups had bad blood, they had animosity.

When Jake Sisko suggested setting the Cardassians and Jem'Hadar against each other, he said that the two species had bad blood. (DS9: "Behind the Lines")

Blood brother[]

Somebody's blood brother was their very close friend and honorary sibling.

Kor considered Dax his blood brother. (DS9: "The Sword of Kahless")

(Smell) blood in the water[]

Blood in the water was anything that attracted the attention of the enemy.

Jack Crusher surmised that the Shrike was following blood in the water, i.e. a leak of some kind. Seven of Nine suggested it might be verterium, which proved true. (PIC: "Seventeen Seconds")

According to Laira Rillak, the other five primarchs smelled blood in the water after Moll killed Ruhn. (DIS: "Lagrange Point")

Blood is thicker than water[]

Meant that familial bonds outweighed bonds between non-family members.

Janeway defined this idiom to Seven of Nine when explaining why she might have a strong urge to help three former members of her unimatrix. (VOY: "Survival Instinct")

Blood oath[]

A blood oath was a very solemn oath.

A blood oath between Klingons was considered unbreakable. Dax once took a blood oath with Kor to kill the man who had killed Dax's godson, who was also Kor's son. (DS9: "Blood Oath")

Blood on one's hands[]

Blood runs[]

Cold-blooded[]

The term cold-blooded, in addition to its informal scientific meaning, was also applied to an individual who lacked emotion or was deliberately callous.

When Captain Picard sheepishly approached Doctor Beverly Crusher following her arrival onboard the USS Enterprise-D to apologize for his conduct on the bridge when welcoming her aboard, he emphasized that "I didn't want you thinking me harsh. Cold-blooded." When asked why she would ever think that, he explained that, "I didn't welcome you aboard personally, professionally. I made you come to me on the bridge. I yelled at your son. Who, as you pointed out, was quite correct." (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint")

When the USS Enterprise-D struck a quantum filament in 2368, and the ship was under the threat of a containment breach, Ensign Ro Laren suggested that should separate the saucer and get as far as they could from the drive section. Chief Miles O'Brien, however, felt that her suggestion was "damn cold-blooded," leaving all of those people in that section behind. Ro argued that ""there's no evidence that anyone is still alive in the drive section," but O'Brien argued back that, there was "no evidence they're dead, either. If you were trapped down there, would you like us to just cut you loose and leave?" (TNG: "Disaster")

The unnamed albino Klingon rhetorically asked Dax if her blood oath required her to kill him in cold blood. (DS9: "Blood Oath")

O'Brien once noted that it was cold-blooded of the Founders to establish dominance over the Jem'Hadar by forcing an addiction upon them, to which Odo replied that Changelings did not have blood. (DS9: "The Abandoned")

Gul Dukat called Garak a heartless, cold-blooded killer. (DS9: "In Purgatory's Shadow")

During Gul Dukat's questioning of Captain Benjamin Sisko if he was among those that supported the post-Bajoran Occupation vilification, Sisko diplomatically replied, "I wasn't there during the occupation. I didn't see all the things you had to struggle with day after day. I don't think I can pass judgement." However, a hallucination of Kira Nerys told Dukat that, "he's just doesn't want to anger you. He really thinks you're a vicious, cold-blooded killer, Dukat, and so do I." (DS9: "Waltz")

In one's blood[]

Something that was in one's blood was a quality they possessed naturally.

Salia was told she had the ability to lead in her blood. (TNG: "The Dauphin")

Spill blood[]

To spill blood was to kill, or be otherwise violent.

Damar stated that he was willing to spill Klingon blood to "get the job done". (DS9: "Apocalypse Rising")

Bone[]

Bone up[]

Bone of contention[]

Bred in the bone[]

Chilled to the bone[]

Flesh and bone[]

In one's bones[]

Sticks and stones breaking bones[]

Meant that insults were trivial compared to physical injuries.

Quark told Grilka, "Sticks and stones" when she accused Ferengi of being dishonest, larcenous, cowardly, disloyal, and dishonorable. (DS9: "The House of Quark")

Voyager's EMH once riffed on the expression by saying that "sticks and stones won't break my bones, so you can imagine how I feel about being called names." (VOY: "Basics, Part II")

Throw someone a bone[]

Brain[]

Brain someone[]

Meant to hit them on the head.

In 2267, Kirk reported that some Denevans tried to brain him and the landing party with clubs. (TOS: "Operation -- Annihilate!")

Brain teaser[]

Brainwashing[]

Cross brains[]

Meant to match wits or outsmart.

In 2266, after Spock parried Dave Bailey's comments about his adrenaline gland, Hikaru Sulu noted, "You try to cross brains with Spock, he'll cut you to pieces every time." (TOS: "The Corbomite Maneuver")

Fuzz in one's brain[]

Knock one's brains out[]

Pick one's brain[]

Scramble one's brains[]

Start one's brains[]

(The) brains[]

The smart person in the group, as opposed to "brawn" (strong person).

Twisted brain[]

Brow[]

Lowbrow[]

Weigh heavy on one's brow[]

Buttocks[]

Haul one's butt[]

Kick in the/kicking one's butt[]

To kick someone's butt was to defeat them.

When Keiko O'Brien was supporting her husband Miles for his upcoming racquetball match with Julian Bashir, she said to him, "Kick his butt". (DS9: "Rivals")

Harry Kim referenced the idiom when Janeway asked him and Tom Paris if they won a drunken game against some aliens, and Harry responded, "Yes, ma'am; we kicked their... racquets." (VOY: "Survival Instinct")

When Sisko advised Nog to confront the Klingons when they bothered him, since that was what a Klingon would have done and would thus earn him their respect, Jake joked, "Or get your butt kicked. One or the other." (DS9: "Blaze of Glory")

Pain in the backside/ass[]

Save one's butt[]

To save someone's butt was to rescue them.

When Chakotay pointed out that if Paris tried to save him by getting onto some collapsing stairs, that would run the risk of killing them both, Paris responded, "Yeah? But on the other hand, if I save your butt, your life belongs to me." (VOY: "Caretaker")

Sit on one's butt[]

Chest[]

Bosom buddies[]

Mean very close friends.

According to Madeline, the last time Dixon Hill had a new case, Hitler and Stalin were bosom buddies. (TNG: "Manhunt")

Getting something off one's chest[]

Ears[]

All ears[]

To be all ears was to be willing to listen.

In 2374, Nilva stated he was all ears when he wanted to hear Lumba's advertising ideas for Slug-o-Cola. (DS9: "Profit and Lace")

Admiral Paris once stated that he was all ears when offering to hear Reg Barclay out, regarding his newest idea about Voyager. (VOY: "Pathfinder")

An ear for languages[]

Be one's ears[]

To be somebody's ears was to hear things for them that they could not.

Odo described the Obsidian Order as the ears (and eyes) of the Cardassian empire. (DS9: "The Wire")

When a Malon admitted he had been spying on the EMH, he noted that the EMH was meant to be the Malon's eyes and ears. (VOY: "Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy")

Believe one's ears[]

Bend someone's ear[]

To bend someone's ear meant to excessively talk to them.

When Francis Sullivan told Janeway that she hoped Michael Sullivan wasn't bending Janeway's ear, she responded, "My ear, my elbow" since she and Michael had been arm wrestling. (VOY: "Fair Haven")

Bring the room down around one's ears[]

Ears are burning[]

Falling on deaf ears[]

"Falling on deaf ears" meant something that some believe should be heeded was not.

In 2369, Captain Picard told Dr. Crusher that the discovery made from Professor Galen's research would have been more fitting to Galen's legacy if only it "had not fallen on such deaf ears." (TNG: "The Chase")

Weyoun once told Major Kira that her pleas to have Rom not executed for terrorism would fall on deaf ears. (DS9: "Favor the Bold")

In 2372, Neelix believed diplomatic negotiation with the Botha might fall on deaf ears. (VOY: "Persistence of Vision")

In 2374, The Doctor complained that his requests for a larger sickbay were falling on deaf ears. (VOY: "Waking Moments")

From your mouth to someone's ears[]

Get an earful[]

Have ears everywhere[]

To have ears everywhere meant to have a lot of surveillance.

Grimp used this idiom to refer to the FCA. (DS9: "Bar Association")

Having someone's ear[]

Keep one's ears open[]

To keep one's ears open meant to listen out and be alert.

When Odo instructed Quark to keep his ears open, he responded that this was the seventh Rule of Acquisition. (DS9: "In the Hands of the Prophets")

Sisko said that the key to field study was to keep one's eyes and ears open. (DS9: "The Ascent")

Kira told Tekeny Ghemor that she had kept her ears open for news about him. (DS9: "Ties of Blood and Water")

Music to one's ears[]

If a sound or phrase was music to one's ears, the speaker enjoyed hearing it.

Quark once claimed that his bar being loud was music to his ears. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior")

Not for one's ears[]

If something was not for one's ears, they weren't allowed to hear it.

The female Founder told a Jem'Hadar that the conversation she and Odo were about to have were not for his ears. (DS9: "Broken Link")

Open one's ears[]

Play it by ear[]

Sympathetic ear[]

A sympathetic ear was a willingness to listen to people's problems and offer sympathy.

Ambassador Troi once offered Odo a sympathetic ear in relation to his finding out that his species were in charge of the Dominion. (DS9: "Fascination")

Martus Mazur claimed that he enjoyed offering a sympathetic ear to people. (DS9: "Rivals")

Talk one's ears off[]

To talk somebody's ears off meant to talk a lot, to their annoyance.

In an alternate future, Jake Sisko speculated that Morn, who was now running the bar owned by Quark in the prime timeline, was "talking his customers' ears off and drinking himself out of business". (DS9: "The Visitor")

Tin ear[]

Toss someone out on their ear[]

Turn a deaf ear[]

Up to one's ears[]

To be up to one's ears in something meant to have an undesirably high amount of it.

Quark once played with the expression by saying he was up to his lobes in debt. (DS9: "Business as Usual")

Wet behind the ears[]

To be wet behind the ears meant to be young and immature.

According to Bashir, 22 year old Hector Ilario was metaphorically wet behind the ears. (DS9: "Field of Fire")

Whisper poison in one's ear[]

To whisper poison in somebody's ear meant to say harmful things to them.

Gul Dukat once stated that Garak whispered poison into Ziyal's ear. (DS9: "In Purgatory's Shadow")

Elbow[]

Elbow grease[]

Up to one's elbows in something[]

To be up to one's elbows in something meant to be very busy with it.

O'Brien promised to have Jake, who he was making his apprentice, up to his elbows in thorium grease. (DS9: "Paradise"))

Eyes[]

An eye for[]

To have an eye for something meant to be good at noticing it.

Curzon Dax admitted to having an eye for women. (DS9: "Facets")

An eye for an eye[]

An affront to the eye[]

Another set of eyes[]

As far as the eye can see[]

A sight for sore eyes[]

Meaning: Something that was pleasing to look at.

  • In 2376, Harry Kim remarked that he would not want to bunk with the great explorers of the past. Tom Paris remarked that that would be a sight for sore eyes. (VOY: "Memorial")
  • Shortly thereafter, after making contact with Voyager again, Lyndsay Ballard remarked that Captain Janeway was a sight for sore eyes. (VOY: "Ashes to Ashes")
  • Later that year, the con artist Dala used the expression sarcastically upon seeing Tuvok. (VOY: "Live Fast and Prosper")
In a deleted scene from ENT: "The Expanse", Jonathan Archer tells Tommy he's a sight for sore eyes.

Bedroom eyes[]

Bedroom eyes were eyes that either possessed a flirtatious expression, were sexually attractive, or both.

Arissa made a pass at Odo by telling him he had bedroom eyes, which confused him, as nobody had referred to his eyes thusly before. (DS9: "A Simple Investigation")

Before one's eyes[]

Believe one's eyes[]

To believe one's eyes was to accept what one was seeing as true.

Garak once claimed that "Elim" couldn't believe his eyes when he saw him give latinum away to some homeless children. (DS9: "The Wire")

Be one's eyes[]

To be somebody's eyes was to see things on their behalf.

Odo described the Obsidian Order as the eyes (and ears) of the Cardassian empire. (DS9: "The Wire")

The Borg Queen once asked Seven of Nine to be the Borg collective's eyes, i.e. to give them the Human perspective, in assisting the collective in assimilating Humanity. (VOY: "Dark Frontier")

When a Malon admitted that he had been spying on the EMH, he said, "You were supposed to be our eyes and ears on Voyager."

Be unable to take one's eyes off of something[]

Bring a tear to one's eye[]

If something brought a tear to one's eye, it made them cry out of sadness.

Quark once asked if it brought a tear to Miles O'Brien's eye when he said goodbye to his brothers when leaving for Starfleet Academy. (DS9: "Invasive Procedures")

Bring out one's eyes[]

Catch one's eye[]

Evil eye[]

Eye of the storm[]

Eye on the ball[]

Eyes glazing over[]

If someone's eyes glazed over, they became distracted due to lack of interest.

When Nilani would tell Torias about wanting to study theoretical quantum physics, his eyes glazed over. (DS9: "Rejoined")

Eyes in the back of one's head[]

Eyes say[]

If someone's eyes said something, they saw the thing.

When Garak was having a shared comatose hallucination of the past, in which everyone saw him as a Bajoran, he claimed that he could prove he was Cardassian even if the people's eyes said otherwise. (DS9: "Things Past")

Fire in one's eyes[]

For one's eyes alone/only[]

Good eye[]

Have eyes[]

In a pig's eye[]

Meant that the previous statement was not true.

When Spock claimed that his uncharacteristically joyful response to Kirk having survived the fight between them both was logical, in that he was allegedly expressing relief that a skilled captain had not been lost, McCoy replied, "Your reaction was quite logical... in a pig's eye." (TOS: "Amok Time")

In the eyes of someone[]

In the eyes of someone meant in that person's perspective.

Worf claimed to have disgraced himself in the eyes of his people. However, Gowron said that Worf could redeem himself in the eyes of his people. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior")

In the eye of the beholder[]

Keep an eye on[]

To keep an eye on someone or something was to watch them or it carefully.

When Worf, Kor, and Dax were trying to decide who should sleep and who should guard the Sword of Kahless, Kor told Dax to sleep, offering to keep an eye on Worf. (DS9: "The Sword of Kahless")

Worf told Sisko to keep a close eye on Garak during an away mission. (DS9: "In Purgatory's Shadow")

When Quark was flirting with Arissa, she advised him to keep an eye on his business instead. He retorted that he could keep his eyes on more than one thing at once, but then she pointed out a man cheating at the dabo wheel. (DS9: "A Simple Investigation")

Tekeny Ghemor admitted to having kept an eye on Kira Nerys. (DS9: "Ties of Blood and Water")

Keep an eye out[]

To keep an eye out for something meant to search for it.

Sisko told Worf to keep an eye out for Klingon ships. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior")

Keep/have one's eye(s) on[]

Keep one's eyes open[]

Meant that something could keep one awake or alert. Neelix promised that a firenut blend would keep eyes open. (VOY: "Mortal Coil")

Look one in the eye[]

Melting eyes[]

Misty eyed[]

Meant overwhelmed by sentimentality, to the point of being close to tears.

According to Jadzia Dax, Worf sometimes got misty-eyed when discussing Klingon rituals. (DS9: "You Are Cordially Invited")

More than meets the eye[]

My eye[]

Meant the previous statement was far from accurate. Miles O'Brien referred to rival darts player Julian Bashir sarcastically, saying, "Sector Champion, my eye." (DS9: "Rivals")

Herbert Rossoff dismissed stale donuts as "delicious, my eye." (DS9: "Far Beyond the Stars")

Naked eye[]

New eyes[]

Open one's eyes[]

To open one's eyes was to take the time to observe one's surroundings.

In an alternate timeline, Sisko advised his son Jake to take breaks to open his eyes when writing, and then Jake passed that advice onto Melanie. (DS9: "The Visitor")

Eddington referred to abandoning his worldview to one that was unlike Sisko's as opening his eyes, and told Sisko to open his own eyes. (DS9: "For the Cause")

Private eye[]

Pull the wool over one's eyes[]

To pull the wool over someone's eyes was to deceive them by lying.

When Chakotay was worried he was gullible due to Seska having "pulled the wool over [his] eyes", Tuvok assured him that he was not gullible, since Seska had pulled the wool over both of their eyes. (VOY: "State of Flux")

See eye to eye[]

Set eyes on[]

To set eyes on something meant to see it.

Worf recalled the first time he set eyes on the Great Domes of Kronos. (DS9: "The Sword of Kahless")

Sharp eye[]

A sharp eye referred to keen observation skills.

Koloth once stated that a sharp knife was useless without a sharp eye, but Kor retorted that it had been forty years since even Kor's "good" eye was sharp. (DS9: "Blood Oath")

Snake eyes[]

Through the eyes of[]

To see a situation through the eyes of someone else was to see it from their perspective.

When Sisko called Alixus contemptible, she told him to attempt to see the situation through her people's eyes. (DS9: "Paradise")

Trained eye[]

Turn a blind eye[]

Undressing someone with one's eyes[]

When one was a gleam in another's eye[]

Wink/blink of an eye[]

The wink of an eye or blink of an eye referred to a very short period of time.

When Voyager was trapped in the atmosphere of a planet for whom time moved very fast, Janeway suggested that they find a way to escape "unless we want to live our lives in the blink of an eye". (VOY: "Blink of an Eye")

With one's eyes closed/open[]

To do something with one's eyes closed was to do it without much knowledge of it. Conversely, to do it with one's eyes open was to do it with plenty of knowledge.

Nilani married Torias with her eyes wide open, since she knew the risks of marrying a pilot. (DS9: "Rejoined")

Face[]

Face-to-face[]

Meant in person.

Eddington was surprised that, after an eight-month pursuit, all Sisko had to say to him now that the two were face-to-face was that Eddington knew a lot about betrayal. (DS9: "For the Uniform")

Save face[]

Meant to keep from embarrassing oneself.

(TNG: "The High Ground")

Feet[]

A foot in two worlds[]

At one's feet[]

Cold feet[]

Cold feet was an idiom for jitters, i.e. anxiety associated with an impending event that was considered greatly important.

When Keiko decided to call off the wedding between her and Miles O'Brien, Geordi posited that she did not really want to end their relationship; she just did it due to cold feet. Data defined the term "cold feet" and asked if that meant the cancellation was temporary, and Geordi affirmed. (TNG: "Data's Day")

When Kasidy Yates-Sisko was explaining that she wasn't going to turn down a job for the sole reason of Benjamin Sisko's nervousness at the prospect of her moving closer to him, she said, "Do you think I'd give up a great opportunity just because you got cold feet?" (DS9: "Indiscretion")

When Worf brought up his and Dax's wedding, she asked if he was getting cold feet. (DS9: "A Time to Stand")

When Chakotay in an alternate timeline was afraid of changing the timeline for fear of losing his girlfriend Tessa, he wasn't sure what to call the feeling, suggesting the terms "last minute jitters" and "cold feet". (VOY: "Timeless")

Find one's footing[]

Flat-footed[]

Flat-footed meant to be in an awkward situation.

Bashir once did a lot of medical research, noting that he did not want Elizabeth Lense to catch him flat-footed. (DS9: "Explorers")

Follow in someone's footsteps[]

To "follow in someone's footsteps" meant to emulate them.

When Noonien Soong admitted to Data that he would have preferred it if Data had become a scientist instead of a Starfleet officer, Data responded, "To follow in your footsteps, as it were." (TNG: "Brothers")

When Julian Bashir, Odo, and Benjamin Sisko discovered that Ibudan had murdered his clone, and that another clone of his had just been created, Odo hoped the second clone would not "follow in his donor's footsteps." (DS9: "A Man Alone")

Foot in the door[]

Get off on the wrong foot[]

My foot[]

Off/(back) on one's feet[]

On foot[]

One foot in the grave[]

To have one foot in the grave meant to be close to death.

In a comatose hallucination experienced by Dr. Bashir, Miles O'Brien told an artificially-aged Bashir that he appeared to have one foot in the grave. (DS9: "Distant Voices")

Quick on one's feet[]

Put one's best foot forward[]

To put one's best foot forward was to behave to the best of one's ability.

The EMH once said that he would be representing Voyager to put the crew's best foot forward, then joked that hexapods would be likely to recognise a best foot. (VOY: "Flesh and Blood")

Put one's feet where they don't belong[]

Set/step foot on[]

To set foot or step foot in or on a place meant to go there.

O'Brien once claimed Worf barely set foot in Quark's Bar. (DS9: "Bar Association")

Wait on someone hand and foot[]

Stand on one's own two feet[]

To stand on one's own two feet was to be independent.

Initially, Kira did not want Bajor to join the Federation so soon after the Occupation, since she wanted the planet to stand on its own two feet. (DS9: "Rapture")

Sweep someone off their feet[]

To sweep someone off their feet was to impress them romantically.

Odo once observed that Bashir had swept a holographic woman off her feet. (DS9: "A Simple Investigation")

Thinking on one's feet[]

Fingers/thumbs[]

All thumbs[]

To be all thumbs was to be clumsy.

Enrique Muniz once teasingly referred to Miles O'Brien as being all thumbs. (DS9: "The Ship")

Black thumb[]

To have a black thumb meant to be bad at gardening.

O'Brien once stated that he was known as "the Black Thumb" due to his lack of gardening skills. (DS9: "Paradise")

Cross your fingers[]

Finger off/on the trigger[]

Green thumb[]

Lift a finger[]

Pointing fingers[]

Put your finger on something[]

Slip through one's fingers[]

Stick one's fingers in something[]

String around one's finger[]

Under one's thumb[]

Gut[]

Gut feeling[]

A gut feeling was an idiom for an intuition.

When Data was debating whether to trust T'Pel, he concluded that he probably should, since Vulcans were honest, but that he wished he was capable of intuition, since he felt having a "gut feeling" to back his insight up would be useful. (TNG: "Data's Day")

Captain Janeway once noted that, while she did not speak the language of an alien species, she had a gut feeling that they wanted to avoid an armed conflict as much as the Voyager crew did. (VOY: "Nothing Human")

Ripping the guts out of something[]

Hair[]

Curl one's hair[]

Harm a hair on one's head[]

In/out of one's hair[]

To be out of someone's hair meant to be no longer bothering them.

When O'Brien was preparing for his vacation and briefing the rest of the crew on the maintenance jobs, Kira said, "Would you please go on vacation and get out of our hair?" (DS9: "Tribunal")

BC told Webb to keep the hostages out of his hair. (DS9: "Past Tense, part 1")

Bashir promised Worf that he and Leeta would keep out of his hair on a vacation to Risa. (DS9: "Let He Who is Without Sin")

The EMH once told a holographic Reg Barclay to keep out of his hair and vice versa. (VOY: "Inside Man")

Let one's hair down[]

Make one's hair stand on end[]

Splitting hairs[]

Hand[]

Empty-handed[]

To be empty-handed was to not possess the person or thing that one wanted to possess.

Jeyal, wanting to take Ambassador Troi back so that he could get custody of their unborn son, said that he would not be leaving empty-handed. (DS9: "The Muse")

Get one's hands on[]

To get one's hands on something meant to acquire it.

Bashir once stated that he was reading just about everything he could get his hands on. (DS9: "Explorers")

Razka Karn told Kira Nerys that the Maquis would have paid handsomely to get their hands on Gul Dukat, to which Dukat responded that his own government would have paid handsomely to get their hands on Razka. (DS9: "Indiscretion")

During a heated argument with Dr. Mora, Odo accused him of wanting to get his hands on the infant Changeling. (DS9: "The Begotten")

Garak, due to not liking Earl Gray tea, wanted to get his hands on the original Earl Gray and tell him about tea leaves. (DS9: "In Purgatory's Shadow")

Hagath was bemused by the idea that Quark could not get his hands on a mutagenic virus. (DS9: "Business as Usual")

Kira told Tekeny Ghemor that she would not let Dukat get his hands on him. (DS9: "Ties of Blood and Water")

Getting out of hand[]

Out of hand meant out of control.

When an argument between Worf, Miles O'Brien, and Julian Bashir escalated to violence, it was described as having gotten out of hand. (Template:DS0)

When Sisko told off a traumatised O'Brien for being violent, O'Brien stated that he may have let things get out of hand, but that it would not happen again. (DS9: "Hard Time")

Hand-picked[]

Hand-picked meant chosen specifically by the speaker.

Gaila referred to Quark as his hand-picked successor. (DS9: "Business as Usual")

Hands full[]

Having one's hands full meant being unavailable due to being busy.

A changeling impersonating Dr. Bashir told O'Brien that the reason he was doing repairs O'Brien was meant to be doing was because O'Brien had his hands full. (DS9: "The Adversary")

When Kira was not allowed to leave Deep Space Nine due to needing to protect Yoshi O'Brien, with whom she was pregnant, she said, "I guess I have my hands full." (DS9: "The Darkness and the Light")

When Sisko noted that the Cardassians, Romulans, and Starfleet were in no condition to fend off a Dominion invasion of the Alpha Quadrant, Kira said that they would have their hands full. (DS9: "In Purgatory's Shadow")

When Sisko was too busy playing with a baby to help Dax, she commented, "It sounds like you have your hands full." (DS9: "Children of Time")

In a story told by Neelix, he noted that the EMH had his hands full. (VOY: "The Haunting of Deck Twelve")

Hands-on[]

Hands-on meant involving direct involvement.

Gul Dukat preferred being a Gul to a Legate, since the former was more hands-on. (DS9: "Ties of Blood and Water")

In good hands[]

If somebody or something was in good hands, it or they were being well cared for.

When Data left Reg Barclay in charge of a pregnant Spot, he noted that she was in good hands.(TNG: "Genesis")

Tekeny Ghemor claimed to know things about the Cardassian government that would be good in the right hands. (DS9: "Ties of Blood and Water")

In hand[]

If something was in hand, it was in control.

When Sisko offered O'Brien shore leave due to the latter's baby son Yoshi being in a fussy phase, O'Brien countered that he had the situation in hand. (DS9: "Business as Usual")

In the hands of[]

To be in the hands of someone was to be in their grasp.

Odo stated that he would rather see Quark in jail than in the hands of the Dominion. (DS9: "The Jem'Hadar")

Gul Dukat did not like the idea of one of the quadrant's most heavily-armed warships being in the hands of Maquis terrorists. (DS9: "Defiant")

Dukat later stated that he would leave the details of a mission in Kira Nerys's hands. (DS9: "Indiscretion")

Jaresh-Inyo told the Siskos that Earth was in their hands regarding the Changeling invasion. (DS9: "Homefront")

An alternate version of Miles O'Brien described Terok Nor as being in rebel hands. (DS9: "Shattered Mirror")

Sisko told Kilana that if she believed he would deliver his people into her hands without a fight, then the mission was clearly her first. (DS9: "The Ship")

In the palm of one's hand[]

Lend a hand[]

To lend a hand was to offer assistance.

Bashir jokingly offered Worf to lend a hand in delivering Keiko's second baby upon hearing he delivered Molly. (DS9: "Accession")

Like the back of one's hand[]

On someone's hands[]

If a situation was on someone's hands, they had to deal with it.

Sisko and Dukat once feared that there would be a war on their hands if the situation with the Maquis escalated. (DS9: "Defiant")

Garak once claimed to have a lot of time on his hands, which Bashir reiterated. When there was an explosion at Garak's shop, Odo said that Garak would have a lot of time on his hands now that his shop was out of business. Later, Tain declared that Central Command would have a war on its hands. (DS9: "Improbable Cause")

Leyton said that while Jaresh-Inyo would have made a good president in peacetime, they currently had a war on their hands. (DS9: "Homefront")

On the other hand[]

Used when presenting an opposing point.

When Keiko seemed unhappy at the prospect of attending the Gratitude Festival, Miles said, "On the other hand, we could spend the rest of the day locked away in our quarters." (DS9: "Fascination")

Quark stated that Zek liked him, so Quark could not afford to get on his bad side, but on the other hand, Zek barely noticed Rom. Later, he said that if the Prophets brainwashed him, that would make the other Ferengi visit them, but on the other hand, if they left Quark alone and reversed their brainwashing on Zek, they would never have to deal with another Ferengi again. (DS9: "Prophet Motive")

When Tain told Garak to kill Odo, Garak responded, "On the other hand, he is a member of the Bajoran militia and an officer on Deep Space Nine. We may not wish to provoke the Federation by killing him." (DS9: "The Die is Cast")

Short-handed[]

To be short-handed meant to be undermanned.

When two Bajorans did not show up to work at ops, claiming to be unwell, Sisko commented that he and his coworkers were short-handed. (DS9: "In the Hands of the Prophets")

Alixus described her and her people as short-handed. (DS9: "Paradise")

Upper hand[]

To have the upper hand was to have the advantage.

Quark advised never to let a woman in a romantic relationship have the upper hand. (DS9: "Indiscretion")

Wash my hands of it[]

Meaning: to avert a wrong decision, claiming that the person could not be held responsible for it.

  • In 2266, Doctor Simon Van Gelder accused Captain Kirk of escaping responsibility by taking him back to the Tantalus Colony, and told him, "You smart, button-pushing brass hat. Wash your hands of it. Is that your system? You're both quite sure of yourselves, aren't you?" (TOS: "Dagger of the Mind")
  • When the crew of the Enterprise-D accidentally killed a pregnant alien lifeform, Jean-luc Picard noted that it was their moral obligation to help deliver the infant lifeform, since they were responsible for its mother's death (albeit unintentionally) and it would be immoral for them to "wash their hands" of that fact. (TNG: "Galaxy's Child")

Head[]

Clear-headed[]

To be clear-headed meant to be able to think clearly.

When Bashir told Garak that he was experiencing side effects of the deactivation of a brain implant, Garak countered that he had never felt more clear-headed in the past two years. (DS9: "The Wire")

When Jeyal thought that Ambassador Troi's pregnancy had made her hormonal and confused, Odo countered that she was remarkably clear-headed. (DS9: "The Muse")

Come to a head[]

If a situation came to a head, it approached a crisis.

An alternate version of Jake Sisko commented that a conflict with the Klingons came to a head. (DS9: "The Visitor")

Go to one's head[]

If something went to someone's head, it made them arrogant.

When Nog was promoted to ensign, O'Brien told him, "Don't let that uniform go to your head." (DS9: "Favor the Bold")

When Worf and Dax called off their wedding, Sisko convinced Dax to change her mind by noting that the wedding had gone to Worf's head, but he was "just a kid" compared to her (DS9: "You Are Cordially Invited").

When a holographic Leonardo Da Vinci was euphoric over his and Janeway's flight on a gliding apparatus, she commented that the ride had gone to his head. He responded, "And my heart." (VOY: "Concerning Flight")

Have one's head[]

To have someone's head meant to punish them severely.

An alternate universe's version of Sisko told Kira that if he helped her, then alternate Kira would have his head. (DS9: "Crossover")

A head for[]

To have a head for something meant to understand it.

Gilora Rejal once claimed that men did not have a head for engineering. (DS9: "Destiny")

In over one's head[]

To be in over one's head meant to be involved in a situation that was too difficult to deal with.

Joran Dax believed Jadzia was in over her head by being joined. (DS9: "Facets")

The EMH was in over his head when he had to deceive the Malon into thinking his daydreams were reality. (VOY: "Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy")

Keep one's head[]

To keep one's head was to avoid letting emotions cloud one's judgment.

Chakotay once advised Paris and Neelix to keep their heads when the three of them were stranded on a Borg cube. (VOY: "Collective")

Make heads or tails of[]

To make heads or tails of meant to understand something.

On October 23 2032, John Kelly couldn't make heads or tails of a spacecraft he encountered within a graviton ellipse. (VOY: "One Small Step")

In 2151, Trip Tucker couldn't make heads or tails of most of a transmission that had been intercepted aboard Enterprise. (ENT: "Cold Front")

In November that year, Malcolm Reed couldn't see head nor tails of Enterprise in an asteroid field the ship was supposed to be mapping. (ENT: "Shuttlepod One")

In March 2153, Reed had trouble making heads or tails of biometric data gathered by the A-6 excavation team. (ENT: "Regeneration")

While back in 2268, Miles O'Brien couldn't make heads nor tails of the USS Enterprise's systems. (DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations")

O'Brien said that he could not make head or tail of the power relay systems on a bird of prey. (DS9: "By Inferno's Light")

In 2364, Picard asked Geordi La Forge how he could make head or tail of the jumble of images picked up by his VISOR. (TNG: "Heart of Glory")

In 2369, the USS Enterprise-D crew couldn't make heads or tails of Professor Galen's data. (TNG: "The Chase")

Later that year, Thomas Riker believed as a result of reconfiguring the computer on Nervala IV several times, the Enterprise crew wouldn't be able to make heads or tails of it. (TNG: "Second Chances")

In 2371, the computer aboard Deep Space 9 couldn't make heads or tails of a ketracel-white repository. (DS9: "The Abandoned")

Also that year, The Doctor couldn't make heads or tails of an injured Kazon's injuries. (VOY: "State of Flux")

In 2373, O'Brien couldn't make head nor tail of the power relay systems on Japar's Bird-of-Prey. (DS9: "By Inferno's Light")

In 2375, a medical tricorder couldn't make heads or tails of a cytoplasmic lifeform's unusual physiology. (VOY: "Nothing Human")

Later that year, Harry Kim couldn't make heads or tails of raw data from chaotic space due to the shifting readings. (VOY: "The Fight")

Also that year, B'Elanna Torres couldn't make heads or tails of the USS Equinox's injector manifold. (VOY: "Equinox")

Put heads together[]

If multiple people put their heads together, they collaborated.

Intendant Kira tried to flirt with a guard by commenting that they were both bored, but that if they put their heads together, they could think of something to do. (DS9: "Shattered Mirror")

Two heads are better than one[]

Meant that multiple people collaborating was more productive than a single person working alone.

Julian Bashir stated this expression as a joke after Miles O'Brien jokingly said that if Bashir did not remove his cyst, O'Brien would have to pretend it was a second head. (DS9: "Bar Association")

When Seven of Nine was working on how to prevent the Voyager crew from being digested by a noncorporeal life form, Naomi Wildman wanted to assist her. When Seven turned Naomi down, the latter countered that Samantha Wildman had told her that two heads were better than one, and that this appeared to be the Borg's philosophy as well. (VOY: "Bliss")

Two-faced[]

To be two-faced meant to be deceptive.

Arjin once referred to Dax as two-faced when she thought he might be unsuited for being joined. (DS9: "Playing God")

Heart[]

At heart[]

At heart meant at one's emotional core.

Garak considered himself a romantic at heart. (DS9: "Our Man Bashir")

Dax told Worf that, at heart, he wasn't much of a traditional man. (DS9: "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places")

Big heart[]

To have a big heart meant to be very kind.

Dax once punned on the expression by commenting that a legendary Klingon whose heart was eaten by a whole group of Klingon warriors had a literal big heart. Later, Kor described Worf as having a stout heart. (DS9: "The Sword of Kahless")

When a hallucination of a past Dukat claimed his heart was too big for his own good, Dax knocked him out and quipped, "And so is your ego." (DS9: "Things Past")

Broken heart[]

A broken heart meant extreme sadness.

When Arjin referred to Dax as two-faced and was feeling dejected, Quark asked if she had broken Arjin's heart. He claimed that it was not his heart that she had broken, but him. (DS9: "Playing God")

When Jake was brooding about his unrequited crush on Kira, and O'Brien was processing a lovers' quarrel he'd had with Keiko, O'Brien told Jake that he was better off single, since romantic partners inevitably broke one's heart. However, he then decided that sometimes it was worth it. (DS9: "Fascination")

Quark once riffed on the idiom by saying that being deprived of his pet Cardassian voles would break Morn's hearts. (DS9: "Through the Looking Glass")

Quark said that he experienced heartbreak during the Great Monetary Collapse. (DS9: "Homefront")

When Odo revealed to Ambassador Troi that Kira (upon whom he had a crush) and Shakaar were dating, Troi told Odo not to do what she did, which was to "look for someone to fix [his] broken heart, then end up pregnant and on the run." Later, Jeyal accused Odo of having broken Troi's heart. (DS9: "The Muse")

Bashir told Odo that he could not avoid a broken heart for life, or else it would break anyway, out of loneliness, and that not knowing how a prospective romantic partner would respond to you was worse than a broken heart. (DS9: "A Simple Investigation")

Kelis said that the character of Tuvok in his play had "a heart that's breaking silently and in more pain than any of us can possibly understand" despite his not expressing emotion. (VOY: "Muse")

Change of heart[]

A "change of heart" was a change in viewpoint, often relating to morality.

When Tuvok revealed that he once temporarily quit Starfleet due to finding Humanity annoying, Janeway replied, "Well, I'm glad you had a change of heart." While Tuvok agreed, he objected to her use of the term "heart", as he felt that implied his decision was illogical. (VOY: "Flashback")

When Paris was worried that he and B'Elanna only became romantically involved due to alien interference, he noted that she had an abrupt change of heart. (VOY: "Scientific Method")

When Seven of Nine insisted on remaining on the Borg sphere despite the rest of the away team she was part of returning to Voyager, Chakotay asked where she was. Janeway responded, "She had a change of heart."

When Janeway was threatening to sic the aliens the Equinox crew had been killing for fuel on Lessing, she said, "We'll be outside if you have a change of heart." (VOY: "Equinox")

The EMH once referred to Seven of Nine changing her mind about whether to remove the Borg implant that hindered her emotions as a change of heart. (VOY: "Endgame")

Cold heart[]

To have a cold heart meant to be emotionally detached.

When Quark was attracted to Sakonna, he noted that he wanted to "melt that cold, Vulcan heart of [hers]". (DS9: "The Maquis, Part I")

Drive a stake through someone's heart[]

To drive a stake through someone's heart was to make them very sad, often by letting them down romantically.

Julian Bashir once claimed this of Dax when she referred to him as a good friend. (DS9: "If Wishes Were Horses")

Find it in one's heart[]

To find it in one's heart to do something was to bring oneself to do it.

An alternate version of Miles O'Brien said that Sisko had found it in his heart to help him and alternate Bashir. (DS9: "Shattered Mirror")

Follow one's heart[]

To follow one's heart was to pursue one's passion.

Alixus once stated that nobody followed her, but rather, they followed their own hearts. Sisko countered that his heart was telling him to return to his ship. (DS9: "Paradise")

From the bottom of one's heart/From the heart[]

To say something from the bottom of one's heart or from the heart was to say it sincerely, and/or with great emotion.

O'Brien claimed to be stating from the heart that he no longer hated Bashir. (DS9: "Explorers")

When Harry Kim revealed that he did not recycle Lyndsay Ballard's skates, she replied, "My skates and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts." (VOY: "Ashes to Ashes")

Heart in the right place[]

If somebody's heart was in the right place, they had good intentions.

Dax defended Kor from Worf by stating that Kor's heart was in the right place. (DS9: "The Sword of Kahless")

When Odo stated that he thought Garak was let off too lightly for sabotage, assaulting a Federation officer, and attempting to start a war between the Federation and Dominion, Garak replied, "Yes, but my heart was in the right place." (DS9: "Broken Link")

Heart isn't in[]

If one's heart wasn't in something, they did not feel like doing it.

When O'Brien asked Bashir if he wanted another go in the holosuite, Bashir replied that his heart wasn't in it, because he was unhappy about the Changelings having infiltrated the Federation. (DS9: "Homefront")

Heavy heart[]

A heavy heart was an idiom for sadness.

Picard once noted in his log, "It is with a heavy heart that I have offered to meet whatever reasonable and necessary terms are demanded by the Ferengi."

Key to someone's heart[]

The key to someone's heart was the means to win them over romantically.

Quark said to Worf that the latter had the key to Grilka's heart, so he asked him how to unlock it. (DS9: "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places")

Kindness of one's heart[]

To do something out of the kindness of one's heart was to do it for no other reason than to be kind.

Arissa asked Odo if he was helping her out of the kindness of his heart, and he replied that he lacked a heart. (DS9: "A Simple Investigation")

Listen to one's heart, not one's head[]

To listen to one's heart, not one's head meant to allow one's emotions, particularly sentiment, to cloud one's logical judgment.

When Odo thought he could redeem the Jem'Hadar boy, Kira accused Odo of listening to his heart rather than his head. (DS9: "The Abandoned")

Lose one's heart[]

To lose one's heart was to be lovelorn.

When Odo asked Ambassador Troi, who was infatuated with him, if she had lost anything, she replied, "Only my heart." (DS9: "The Forsaken")

Warm place in one's heart for[]

To have a warm place in one's heart for something or someone was to think highly of it.

Makbar asked O'Brien during an interrogation, whether he had a warm place in his heart for Cardassians, or whether he was prejudiced against them. (DS9: "Tribunal")

Heel[]

Achilles heel[]

Dig one's heels in[]

Drag someone in by their heels[]

Hang someone up by their heels[]

Head over heels[]

To be head over heels was to experience extreme romantic feelings.

Tom Paris once noted that Harry Kim always had a particular expression before he fell head over heels. (VOY: "Revulsion")

Under one's heel[]

Hip[]

Joined at the hip[]

This term referred to people being so close to one another as to appear inseparable (physically or emotionally)

In 2369, Q described himself and Vash as "A team, joined together at the hip." (DS9: "Q-Less")

After being temporarily telepathically linked with Jean-Luc Picard on Kesprytt III in 2370, Beverly Crusher remarked that she was happy not to be joined to Picard's hip anymore. (TNG: "Attached")

In an alternate 2390, Harry Kim called Chakotay and his girlfriend Tessa Omond as close as to be joined at the hip. (VOY: "Timeless")

Jaw[]

Glass jaw[]

Iron jaw[]

Jawing[]

Jaws of death[]

Knee[]

Bending one's knee[]

Fall to its knees[]

Get off one's knees[]

Knee deep[]

Live on one's knees[]

Knuckle[]

Knuckle down[]

Meant to work hard.

In an alternate timeline 2390, the EMH told Harry Kim that he would have to "knuckle down and change history" if he wanted to save USS Voyager. (VOY: "Timeless")

Lap[]

Drop/dump something into someone's lap[]

In the lap of luxury[]

Melt in one's lap[]

Leg[]

A stack of books with legs[]

Break a leg[]

Give one a leg up[]

Pull one's leg[]

Space legs[]

Stretch one's legs[]

To stretch one's legs was to take a walk after prolonged inactivity.

Garak took a walk around the Defiant to stretch his legs due to his claustrophobia. (DS9: "The Abandoned")

Tuck one's tail between one's legs[]

Lip[]

Bite one's lip[]

Hard lip[]

Lips are sealed[]

If somebody's lips were sealed, they were keeping a secret.

When O'Brien told Rom to keep the project he'd assigned him a secret, Rom replied that his lips were sealed. (DS9: "The Assignment")

Name on one's lips[]

Stiff upper lip[]

A stiff upper lip was the ability to remain composed despite heavy emotional burden.

Bashir once commented that he and O'Brien had to keep a stiff upper lip regarding Clive's death and the Changelings' infiltration of the Federation. (DS9: "Homefront")

Lung[]

At the top of one's lungs[]

At the top of one's lungs meant at a high volume.

According to Julian Bashir, the title character in The Boy Who Cried Wolf called for help at the top of his lungs when the wolf really came, to no avail. (DS9: "Improbable Cause")

Mouth[]

Bad taste in (someone's) mouth []

Refers to something that seems wrong or offensive, or to a bad impression left on someone. (TOS: "The Naked Time"; DS9: "Field of Fire")

Big mouth[]

From one's mouth to another's ears[]

"I hope you don't intend to kiss your baby with that mouth"[]

Was used to chide somebody for saying something impolite.

The EMH used this idiom when B'Elanna Torres threatened to rip his head off if he told her to relax again. (VOY: "Endgame")

Look a gift horse in the mouth[]

Motor mouth[]

Meant the tendency to speak rapidly.

Sonya Gomez described herself as having a motor mouth, especially when she was excited. (TNG: "Q Who")

Mouth off[]

Put your latinum where your mouth is[]

Out of the mouths of babes[]

Referred to something said by a child that was deemed surprisingly precocious.

Kirk once used this expression in response to a young boy offering to help him and Spock on their mission, to which the boy took offense at being called a "babe". (TOS: "A Piece of the Action")

Put words into one's mouth[]

To put words into somebody's mouth meant to imply they had said something they hadn't.

In an alternate future, Reg Barclay used this idiom when accused of knowing where Admiral Janeway was. (VOY: "Endgame")

Run off at the mouth[]

An admission by Julian Bashir of something he tended to do that he confessed was "just a nervous habit." (DS9: "The Storyteller")

Shoot off one's mouth[]

Shut my mouth[]

Take the words right out of one's mouth[]

Watch one's mouth[]

Muscle[]

Flexing/using one's muscle[]

More muscle[]

Muscle car[]

Neck[]

Breathe down somebody's neck[]

To breathe down somebody's neck was to be uncomfortably close or attentive towards them.

Jake once observed that the people on the Promenade seemed to be in a hurry because of the Klingons breathing down their necks. (DS9: "Apocalypse Rising")

When Voyager's EMH told the EMH-Mark 2 to stop breathing down his neck, he retorted that his breathing was only a simulation. Voyager's EMH pointed out that his own neck was as well. (VOY: "Message in a Bottle")

Neck and neck[]

Neck of the woods[]

Pain in the neck[]

Up to one's neck[]

To be up to one's neck in something meant to have to deal with an abundance of it.

Bashir told Garak to work fast, because they would imminently be up to their necks in Jem'Hadar. (DS9: "By Inferno's Light")

Nerve[]

Frayed/rattled nerves[]

Frayed nerves or rattled nerves referred to irritability caused by tension.

Dukat once expressed fear that nerves would fray in response to the Starfleet/Maquis conflict, possibly leading to war. (DS9: "Defiant")

Get on another's nerves[]

Meant to annoy them.

When BC wondered why Benjamin Sisko was threatening to shoot him despite allegedly being on his side, Sisko replied, "We are, but you get on my nerves and I don't like your hat." (DS9: "Past Tense, Part II")

Kira stated that Bareil's serenity and apparent vast knowledge used to get on her nerves until she realised that he was just as confused as everyone else but just accepted it well. (DS9: "Life Support")

In a comatose hallucination experienced by Dr. Bashir, Kira Nerys told Odo that his habit of looking around got on her nerves. (DS9: "Distant Voices")

Dax once commented that a Jem'Hadar who was firing at the shrunken Rubicon, which she was aboard, was getting on her nerves. (DS9: "One Little Ship")

Have (a lot of/some) nerve/The nerve[]

To have nerve was to be undesirably bold or foolhardy.

Kira commented, "The nerve" when Quark put an advertisement for his bar into a replicator on the Defiant. (DS9: "The Quickening")

Quark stated that Odo had a lot of nerve to be complaining about how cold the planet the two were stranded upon was, when he was the one wearing the emergency jacket. (DS9: "The Ascent")

Lose one's nerve[]

Nerves of steel[]

Soothe/calm one's nerves[]

To soothe one's nerves or calm one's nerves was to alleviate tension or fear.

Reginald Barclay once played poker with a holographic Voyager crew to calm his nerves due to work-related stress. (VOY: "Pathfinder")

Strike/hit a nerve[]

Nose[]

As plain as the nose on one's face[]

Bloody nose[]

A bloody nose meant a minor inconvenience or embarrassment.

When an away team was stuck on a planet and dealing with ferocious creatures, one lieutenant suggested they "Give them a bloody nose" to mean fight back. (TOS: "The Galileo Seven")

After Q introduced Borg to Picard and his crew, he said that "If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home and crawl under your bed." (TNG: "Q Who")

When Lupaza was feeling nostalgic for her time in the Bajoran resistance, she said that when the Cardassians got "too close", she and the other resistance fighters would "give them a bloody nose". Shakaar responded that, "Sometimes it was our noses that got bloodied." (DS9: "Shakaar")

When Benjamin Sisko was practicing a speech to the Romulans, with Jadzia Dax pretending to be a Romulan, he claimed that the Dominion were violating Romulan territory. She responded, "So, they're crossing my backyard to give the Federation a bloody nose. I can't say that makes me very sad." (DS9: "In the Pale Moonlight")

By a nose[]

Cutting off one's nose to spite one's face[]

Keep one's nose clean[]

To keep one's nose clean was to stay out of trouble.

When Bell was told that Data was from South America, he replied, "Wherever you're from, keep your nose clean." Data did not know the idiom, and rubbed his nose to see if it was clean. (TNG: "The Big Goodbye")

Keep one's nose out of/off of something[]

Led by the nose[]

Nose to nose[]

Nosing around[]

Pay through the nose[]

(Right) on the nose[]

Rub someone's nose in something[]

Stick one's nose into something[]

Thumb one's nose[]

To thumb one's nose at something or someone was to express disdain or defiance towards it or them.

Sisko once noted that Odo enjoyed thumbing his nose at authority. (DS9: "The Search, Part 1")

Turn one's nose up at something[]

Under one's nose[]

Meaning: unnoticed, despite being very noticeable.

Garak thought it was improbable that Julius Caesar, despite his brilliance and skill with the military, could not see the attempt on his life that was happening under his nose. (DS9: "Improbable Cause")

When Sisko commented that the Bajorans fought their resistance under the Cardassians' noses, Garak replied, "Not under my nose, Captain. Under his." (DS9: "Things Past")

Shoulder[]

A shoulder to cry on[]

A shoulder to cry on referred to sympathy for a sad person.

When Guinan pretended she wanted to replace Deanna Troi, whose empathic powers were not functioning, as ship's counsellor in an attempt to make Troi realise she was still intuitive enough to do her job, she noted, "People come here, they want a shoulder to cry on, and usually, it turns out to be mine." Before Troi realised that Guinan wasn't sincere, she replied, "It's not just about letting them cry on your shoulder." (TNG: "The Loss")

When Quark visited Kira, who was leaving Deep Space Nine, he said, "I thought, perhaps, an intimate farewell drink, a sympathetic smile, a shoulder to cry on." He then noted that this was surprisingly successful in impressing women. (DS9: "The Circle")

When Ambassador Troi was expressing sorrow for Odo because he found out his species was running the Dominion, she offered him "A sympathetic ear, a shoulder to cry on, a lap to melt in." (DS9: "Fascination")

Chip on one's shoulder[]

Looking/standing over one's shoulder[]

On one's shoulder[]

Shoulder something[]

Skin[]

Crawling out of one's skin[]

Get under one's skin[]

To get under someone's skin was to put them into a bad mood.

When Michael Eddington compared Benjamin Sisko to Javert, Dax said that the two were not actually very similar, and Eddington just wanted to get under Sisko's skin. (DS9: "For the Uniform")

When Nog asked O'Brien why Garak kept bringing up Setlik III, O'Brien replied, "Because he wants to get under my skin." (DS9: "Empok Nor")

Have the hide of[]

To have the hide of someone was to chastise someone severely.

In 2269, according to Dickerson, Captain Kirk promised to have the hide of the first man to smile or otherwise react with amusement to the appearance of President Abraham Lincoln on the Enterprise. (TOS: "The Savage Curtain")

Making one's skin crawl[]

Save our skins[]

Spend a day in one's skin[]

Thick skin[]

Under the skin[]

Meant beneath one's outward appearances.

Trelane claimed he and Carl Jaeger were all military men under the skin. (TOS: "The Squire of Gothos")

Waste of skin[]

Stomach[]

Butterflies in one's stomach[]

Referred to anxiety, or a stirring sensation in the abdomen caused by such.

When Icheb felt out of sorts due to being nervous of meeting his parents, he mistook his sensations for an illness and went to sickbay. The EMH said that he was in perfect health, but simply had butterflies in his stomach. Icheb did not know the idiom, so the EMH explained. (VOY: "Child's Play")

Having the guts/stomach for something[]

Knot in one's stomach[]

Way to one's heart is through one's stomach[]

Meant that offering a romantic partner food was a good way to impress them.

When Sisko offered Kasidy food, he stated that his father told him that the way to a woman's heart was through her stomach. Kasidy replied, "So it's my heart you're after, is it?" (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior")

Tail[]

Bushy-tailed[]

Meaning: eager.

O'Brien once commented on DeCurtis's "bushy-tailed enthusiasm" when the latter started work without the former's say-so. (DS9: "Whispers")

Busting one's tail[]

Chasing one's own tail[]

On one's tail[]

If somebody was on one's tail, they were pursuing the speaker.

O'Brien once observed that the Defiant had two Klingon ships on its tail. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior")

Eddington accused Sisko of having been on his tail for eight months. Later, when pursuing Eddington, Dax remarked that she and the others were on his tail. (DS9: "For the Uniform")

Janeway once ordered Harry Kim to get some Klingons off her tail. (VOY: "Endgame")

Take some heat off one's tail[]

Tuck tail between one's legs[]

To tuck one's tail between one's legs meant to surrender in a cowardly way.

The Circle once claimed that the Federation had tucked their tail between their legs when they noted that they'd evacuated Deep Space Nine. (DS9: "The Siege")

Turning tail[]

Teeth[]

Armed to the teeth[]

To be armed to the teeth meant to possess a lot of weapons, or to possess very effective weaponry.

When Geordi La Forge modified the weapons on a Pakled ship, he told the crew they were armed to the teeth, however, they did not understand and replied in confusion, "Teeth are for chewing." (TNG: "Samaritan Snare")

Give one's eye teeth[]

Have (sharp) teeth[]

To have teeth or have sharp teeth was to be dangerous.

Keogh stated that he expected the Dominion to have sharper teeth than the Maquis. (DS9: "The Jem'Hadar")

Sisko said that the Defiant might have flaws, but also had teeth. (DS9: "The Search, Part 1")

Like pulling teeth[]

If something was like pulling teeth, it was hard.

Odo said that when he was trying to interrogate Rom, even getting him to admit his name was like pulling teeth. (DS9: "The Assignment")

Show one's teeth[]

Something to sink one's teeth into[]

Sweet tooth[]

Throat[]

At one's throat[]

To be at someone's throat was to have animosity towards them.

Quark, following the 76th Rule of Acquisition and declaring peace with Odo to confuse him, claimed that the two of them had "been at each other's throats long enough." (DS9: "The Homecoming")

Kelis once described his patron's enemies as "constantly at each other's throats." (VOY: "Muse")

(Jump) down one's throat[]

Toes[]

Keep someone on their toes[]

To keep someone on their toes was to prevent them from letting their guard down.

When Odo said that Quark would become "sloppy" in his absence, Quark said that Odo had kept him on his toes for too long. (DS9: "A Man Alone")

When Keiko jokingly pretended to suspect O'Brien of having an affair with Neela, she claimed that she was keeping him on his toes. (DS9: "In the Hands of the Prophets")

Sisko once stated that Odo was not the first person on Deep Space 9 to keep Quark on his toes. (DS9: "Things Past")

Stay on one's toes[]

Step on one's toes[]

To step on somebody's toes was to anger or offend them.

Bashir noted that a paper he had written stepped on a few people's toes. (DS9: "Nor the Battle to the Strong")

Toe the line[]

Toe to toe[]

Tongue[]

Bite your tongue[]

Carry justice on one's tongue[]

Loosen one's tongue[]

Lose one's tongue[]

On the tip of one's tongue[]

If something was on the tip of one's tongue, they almost remembered it.

Neelix used the idiom when trying to remember a location during a game of trivia with Tom Paris. (VOY: "11:59")

Rolls off the tongue[]

If a word or phrase rolled off the tongue, it was pleasing to say.

Ambassador Troi once claimed that Odo's name rolled off the tongue. (DS9: "The Forsaken")

Sharp tongued[]

Slip of the tongue[]

Swallow one's tongue[]

Tongue tied[]

Tongue turn to fire[]

Watch/hold one's tongue[]

Vein[]

Brine in the veins[]

Monean saying meaning "someone who has special connection to The Waters". (VOY: "Thirty Days")

Wing[]

Clip [someone's] wings[]

To clip [someone's] wings was to prevent or limit them from doing something.

In 2372, Julian Bashir participated in a holosuite program wherein the character Anastasia Komananov, about to shoot the character Falcon, said, "Time to clip this bird's wings." (DS9: "Our Man Bashir")

On the wings of [something][]

To be carried on the wings or on wings of something was to be inspired or otherwise metaphorically "carried" by that thing.

Takarian mythology featured rhyming verse called Song of the Sages that foretold the arrival of a pair of demigods called Holy Sages. In the final verse, they were led away by the Holy Pilgrim on "wings of fire." (VOY: "False Profits")

In 2024, Doctor Renée Picard reported to mission control on the way to Europa that they were "away on the wings of those who came before us." (PIC: "Farewell")

Spread one's wings[]

To spread one's wings is to try new things, gain independence, or to reach one's potential.

In 2373, The Doctor, when he was about to go on his first away mission, said he had been looking forward to spreading his wings with his new mobile emitter. (VOY: "Macrocosm")

Under one's wing[]

To take someone under one's wing was to help, teach, or protect that person, especially if that person was younger or had less experience.

Curzon Dax met an Ensign Benjamin Sisko in 2355, and took him under his wing to teach him to appreciate life, about art and science and diplomacy. (DS9: "Dax")

Sometime previous to 2368 when Julian Bashir was in college, he met Isam Helewa with whom he studied meditation. Bashir characterized their relationship as Helewa having taken taken Bashir under his wing. (DS9: "Crossover")

In 2381, Commander Jack Ransom told Beckett Mariner to take Ensign Gary under her wing on his first away mission to Narj's Miraculous Menagerarium. (LD: "I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee")

In 2401, when Raffaela Musiker went to the USS Excelsior with Elnor, Picard asked if she was keeping him under her wing. (PIC: "The Star Gazer")

Wing it[]

To wing it was to improvise.

In 2365, Kyle Riker said that there were no manuals for being a parent, and it required winging it from day to day. (TNG: "The Icarus Factor")

In 3191, Moll didn't make a plan for the eventuality that the Breen might pursue her, saying she'd "always been partial to winging it." (DIS: "Erigah")

Wrist[]

Slap on the wrist[]