not cricketmod. unfair; illegitimate; un-
orthodox. (See affirmative examples at
cricket.) You can’t do that! It’s not
cricket! What do you mean it’s not
cricket? You do it.
not enough room to swing a cattv. very
crowded or cramped; [of a room] small,
It’s really crowded in here. Not enough
room to swing a cat.
not grow on treesin. not to be abundant;
not to be expendable. (Usually said about
money.) I can’t afford that. Money
doesn’t grow on trees, you know. Don’t
waste the glue. That stuff doesn’t grow on
trees, you know.
Nothing doing!exclam. No! Me, go to
the opera? Nothing doing! Nothing do-
ing! I refuse to do it.
Nothing to it!exclam. It is very easy!
Look, anybody can do it! Nothing to it!
Changing a light bulb is easy. Nothing
to it!
nothing to sneeze atn. no small amount
of money; something not inconsequen-
tial. It’s not a lot of money, but it’s noth-
ing to sneeze at. She worked hard and
did not accomplish much, but it’s nothing
to sneeze at.
nothing to write home aboutn. some-
thing small or inconsequential. I got a
little bit of a raise this year, but it was
nothing to write home about. The party
was nothing to write home about.
nothing upstairsphr. no brains; stupid.
Tom is sort of stupid acting. You know—
nothing upstairs. I know what’s wrong
with you. Nothing upstairs.
not just whistling Dixie[...”dIksi] tv. not
talking nonsense. (Folksy. Refers to a
song titled Dixie.) Man, you are right!
You’re not just whistling Dixie. When
you say she is wrong, you’re not just whist-
ling Dixie.
not know beans (about something)tv.
to know nothing about something.
Don’t pay any attention to her. She doesn’t
know beans. I don’t know beans about
fixing cars.
not know from nothingin. to be stupid,
innocent, and naive. (Usually with don’t,
as in the examples. Always in the nega-
tive.) Tom don’t know from nothing. He
is really dense. Don’t pay any attention
to her. She don’t know from nothing.not know one’s ass from a hole in the
groundtv. not to be knowledgeable; not
to be alert and effective. (Usually objec-
tionable.) That stupid son of a bitch
doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the
ground. She is so dumb, she doesn’t
know her ass from a hole in the ground.not know shit about somethingtv. not
to know anything about something. He
doesn’t know shit about women. Yo u’ v e
worked here for a month, and you don’t
know shit about this job!not know shit from Shinolatv. to know
what’s what; to be knowledgeable in
the ways of the world. (See also No Shi-
nola!Usually objectionable.) That jerk
doesn’t know shit from Shinola! Don’t even
ask him about it!Not my dog.Go to (It’s) not my dog.not too shabby 1. mod. [with emphasis on
shabby] nice; well done. Is that your
car? Not too shabby! That play was not
too shabby. 2. mod. [with emphasis on
too] very shabby; very poor indeed. (Sar-
castic.) Did you see that basket she
missed? Not too shabby! What a way to
treat someone. Not too shabby!Not to worry.phr. Don’t worry. You lost
your ticket? Not to worry. I’ll give you
mine. Not to worry. Everything will be
all right.not worth a damnmod. worthless. This
pen is not worth a damn. When it comes
to keeping score, she’s not worth a damn.not worth a plugged nickelmod. worth
little or nothing. This new battery is not
worth a plugged nickel. Mary isn’t
worth a plugged nickel at baseball.not worth beansmod. worthless. This
paint is not worth beans. I’ll have to buy
another can. Sue, you’re not worth
beans as a painter.not cricket