Idioms for daily use (R)

Ragged blue line
(USA) This term was used to signify the Union forces (who wore blue uniforms)
in the American Civil war .
 

Rags to riches
Someone who starts life very poor and becomes rich goes from rags to riches.
 

Rain on your parade
If someone rains on your parade, they ruin your pleasure or your plans.
 

Raining cats and dogs
When it is raining cats and dogs, it is raining very heavily.
 

Rainy day
If you save something, especially money, for a rainy day, you save it for some
possible problem or trouble in the future.
 

Raise Cain
(USA) If someone raises Cain, they make a big fuss publicly, causing a
disturbance.
 

Raise eyebrows
If something raises eyebrows, it shocks or surprises people.
 

Rake over old coals
(UK) If you go back to old problems and try to bring them back, making trouble
for someone, you are raking over old coals.
 

Rake someone over the coals
(USA) If you rake someone over the coals, you criticize or scold them severely.
 

Rank and file
The rank and file are the ordinary members of a company, organisation, etc,
excluding the managers and directors.
 

Rat race
The rat race is the ruthless, competitive struggle for success in work, etc.
 

Rather you than me
Rather you than me is an expression used when someone has something
unpleasant or arduous to do. It is meant in a good natured way of expressing
both sympathy and having a bit of a laugh at their expense.
 

Raw deal
If you get a raw deal, you are treated unfairly.
 

Read between the lines
If you read between the lines, you find the real message in what you're reading
or hearing, a meaning that is not available from a literal interpretation of the
words.

Right up your street
If something is ideal for you, it is right up your street.
 

Ring a bell
If something rings a bell, it reminds you of something you have heard before,
though you may not be able to remember it very well. A name may ring a bell, so
you know you have heard the name before, but cannot place it properly.
 

Ringside seat
If you have a ringside seat, you can observe something from a very close and
clear position.
 

Rip van Winkle 

Rip van Winkle is a character in a story who slept for twenty years, so if
someone is a Rip van Winkle, they are behind the times and out of touch with
what's happening now.
 

Rise and shine
If you wake up full of energy, you rise and shine.
 

Rise from the ashes
If something rises from the ashes, it recovers after a serious failure.
 

Road to Damascus
If someone has a great and sudden change in their ideas or beliefs, then this is
a road to Damascus change, after the conversion of Saint Paul to Christianity
while heading to Damascus to persecute Christians.
 

Rob Peter to pay Paul
If you rob Peter to pay Paul, you try to solve one problem, but create another in
doing so, often through short-term planning.
 

Rock the boat
If you rock the boat, you destabilise a situation by making trouble. It is often
used as advice; 'Don't rock the boat'.
 

Rocket science
If something is not rocket science, it is not very complicated or difficult to
understand. This idiom is normally used in the negative.
 

Roll out the red carpet
If you roll out the red carpet, you treat someone in a special way, especially
when welcoming them.
 

Roll with the punches
If you roll with the punches, you are flexible and able to adapt to difficult
circumstances.
 

Roll your eyes
If you roll your eyes, you show with your eyes that you don't believe someone or
aren't interested in what they're saying.
 

Rolling in money
If someone has a lot of money, more than they could possibly need, they are
rolling in money.