jungle
(redirected from jungly)Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Encyclopedia.
Like this video? Subscribe to our free daily email and get a new idiom video every day!
asphalt jungle
An overcrowded, unsafe or crime-ridden urban environment or city, characterized by the congestion of large buildings and roads. Primarily heard in US, South Africa. After 10 years living in that asphalt jungle, I'm looking forward to being in a place with a bit of grass and friendly neighbors.
See also: jungle
blackboard jungle
1. Schools viewed as a broad group or category. The term implies that they have many pitfalls and difficulties. After working in the blackboard jungle for 20 years, retirement is much more appealing than continuing to teach multiplication tables.
2. A school in which the students are particularly unruly. Teachers keep quitting because that school is a blackboard jungle. You have a good chance of being physically harmed if you teach there.
See also: jungle
concrete jungle
An overcrowded, unsafe and/or crime-ridden urban environment or city, characterized by the congestion of large buildings and roads. After years living in that concrete jungle, I'm looking forward to being in a place with a bit of grass and friendly neighbors.
hear (something) on the jungle telegraph
To hear or learn a something through an informal means of communication, especially gossip. Primarily heard in UK. I heard on the jungle telegraph that Stacy and Mark are getting a divorce! A: "How do you know the company is going bust?" B: "I heard it on the jungle telegraph."
it's a jungle out there
1. Some place is dangerous. Be careful when you go out tonight—it's a jungle out there!
2. The world is characterized by ruthless behavior and competition. All the top students are competing to be valedictorian—it's really a jungle out there. Don't expect this kind of consideration in the real world—it's a jungle out there.
jungle breath
slang Particularly foul-smelling breath. I know I tend to have jungle breath when I wake up, so I usually brush my teeth before I do anything else. My date was really attractive and very funny, but good lord, she had horrible jungle breath.
jungle juice
slang Any improvised mixture of large amounts various hard liquors combined with small amounts of fruit juice. Everyone was getting messed up on the giant bowl of jungle juice they had sitting on the kitchen table. Jungle juice? No thanks, I don't feel like dying of a hangover tomorrow.
jungle mouth
slang Particularly foul-smelling breath. I know I tend to have jungle mouth when I wake up, so I usually brush my teeth before I do anything else. My date was really attractive and very funny, but good lord, she had horrible jungle mouth.
jungle telegraph
An informal means of communication or information, especially gossip. Used most commonly in the phrase "hear (something) on the jungle telegraph." (Analogous to "hear (something) through the grapevine.") Primarily heard in UK. I heard on the jungle telegraph that Stacy and Mark are getting a divorce! A: "How do you know the company is going bust?" B: "I heard it on the jungle telegraph."
jungled up
old-fashioned slang Having particular living arrangements or being in particular accommodations, especially temporarily. I followed your hired muscle, Tommy, and they led me straight to where you've been jungled up for the last two months! We've been jungled up in this motel room for the last month while the house is being renovated.
king of the jungle
The lion, especially in cultural or artistic depictions. (Usually a misnomer, as lions typically inhabit deserts or dry forests, as opposed to jungles.) Engraved in striking marble, the king of the jungle stands sentinel over this ancient arena. The king of the jungle is the symbol for the zodiac sign Leo.
law of the jungle
The idea that the strongest or most merciless in a society or group will survive. The phrase comes from Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. I refuse to serve as mayor without compassion, so this city will not operate according to the law of the jungle.
rubber jungle
An aviation term among pilots and airline crew for the effect created when the rubber oxygen masks in a commercial aircraft deploy from its ceiling. Everyone started to panic when the rubber jungle appeared, so I had to reassure them that it was just a minor hiccup and that we were all perfectly safe.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
It's a jungle out there.
The real world is severe.; It's hard to get by in everyday life. A: Gee, people are so rude in this town. B: Yup, it's a jungle out there.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
law of the jungle
Survival of the strongest, as in The recent price war among airlines was governed by the law of the jungle. This term, alluding to the jungle as a place devoid of ethics where brutality and self-interest reign, was first used by Rudyard Kipling in The Jungle Book (1894).
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
the law of the jungle
You use the law of the jungle to describe a situation where people who are strong and do not care about harming others are most successful. The streets are subject to the law of the jungle and policing has been entrusted to private law enforcement agencies. She strongly criticized the president for what she described as his attempt to rule by the law of the jungle. Note: This phrase became popular from `The Jungle Book' by Rudyard Kipling (1894). `The law of the Jungle, which never orders anything without a reason, forbids every beast to eat Man, except when he is killing to show his children how to...'. Instead of encouraging aggression, this law actually places limits on the use of violence in the animal kingdom.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
blackboard jungle
a school, or schools in general, with violent and uncontrollable pupils.See also: jungle
the law of the jungle
the principle that those who are strong and apply ruthless self-interest will be most successful. 1989 Bessie Head Tales of Tenderness & Power And at the beer tank the law of the jungle prevailed, the stronger shoving the weaker.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
the ˌlaw of the ˈjungle
a situation in which people are prepared to harm other people in order to succeed: The police daren’t go into certain parts of the city. It’s the law of the jungle in there. ♢ In this business it’s the law of the jungle.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
asphalt jungle
n. the paved landscape of the city; the city viewed as a savage place. I don’t look forward to spending the rest of my days in an asphalt jungle.
See also: jungle
jungle
n. a vicious area of confusion; the real world. The place is a jungle out there. You’ll grow up fast out there.
jungle juice
n. homemade liquor; any strong liquor. This jungle juice will knock you for a loop.
jungle mouth
n. a case of very bad breath; breath like the rotting jungle floor. My husband woke up with jungle mouth, and I could hardly stand to be around him.
jungled
mod. alcohol intoxicated; affected by jungle juice. He was jungled before he came here.
See also: jungle
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.