a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down »
An otherwise unpleasant situation can be pleasant when a pleasant aspect is deliberately introduced.1999, Eli Yassif, The Hebrew Folktale: History, Genre, Meaning, Indiana University Press, ISBN 0253335833, page 372,One is known as the "sweetening parable," that is to say a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. Thus, when the aim is to preach to the people, to guide them along the "bitter," arduous path of upholding burdensome precepts and prohibitions, a tale can lighten the load, make the "medicine" easier "to swallow."2001, Maureen Reagan, First Father, First Daughter: A Memoir, Little, Brown, ISBN 0316736368, page 319,It put some fun into the tedious business of preparing for a presidential debate. A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, right?2004, John Hoover, How to Work for an Idiot: Survive & Thrive... Without Killing Your Boss, Career Press, ISBN 1564147045, page 11,If a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, a barrel of laughs can wash down the big pills you might need to swallow.
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aim at »
To design for a particular audience.
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all it's cracked up to be »
As good as claims or reputation would suggest.
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ask for the moon »
To claim or desire something that one cannot have.
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big mouth »
The mouth of someone who talks too much, especially by making exaggerated claims or by inappropriately revealing information.
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big up »
To proclaim or exaggerate the importance of.
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bill of goods »
A set of misleading or deceptive claims; misinformation.
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boot camp »
A short, intensive, quasi-military program generally aimed at young offenders as an alternative to a jail term.
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claim to fame »
That for which one has bragging rights; one's reason for being well-known or famous.
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cue up »
The act of taking aim on the cue ball with the cue in a game of snooker, or billiards, etc.
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divide and conquer »
A combination of political, military and economic strategies that aim to gain and maintain power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into chunks that individually have less power than the one implementing the strategy.(computing) Applied to various algorithms, such as quicksort, that solve a problem by splitting it recursively into smaller problems until all of the remaining problems are trivial.(as imperative, proverb) In order to rule securely, don't allow alliances of your enemies.
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far be it »
A disclaimer stating that the person speaking will not do something.
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full marks »
To exclaim complete satisfaction with someone's efforts.
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hatchet job »
A treatment which serves primarily to disparage its subject; a piece of criticism which aims to destroy a reputation.
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kernel of truth »
A core accuracy at the heart of a claim or narrative which also contains dubious or fictitious elements.
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muck in »
To join in attaining a common aim.
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not all it's cracked up to be »
Not as good as claimed; falling short of expectations.
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pass the buck »
To transfer responsibility or blame from oneself onto another; to absolve oneself of concern for a given matter by claiming to lack authority or jurisdiction.
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point blank »
The distance between a gun and a target such that it requires minimal effort in aiming it. In particular no allowance needs to be made for the effects of gravity, target movement or wind in aiming the projectile.
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potter about »
To potter, to be gently active doing various things in an almost aimless manner.
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potter around »
To potter, to be gently active doing various things in an almost aimless manner.
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put one's money where one's mouth is »
More generally, to take an obvious stake in the truth of a claim that one is making.
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put words in somebody's mouth »
To attribute to somebody something he or she did not say; to claim inaccurately that somebody said or intended something.
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reckon with »
To settle accounts with or to settle claims with.
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rumor mill »
A group or network of persons who originate or promulgate gossip and other unsubstantiated claims.
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set the Thames on fire »
To achieve something amazing; to do something which brings great public acclaim.
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snake oil »
A type of 19th century patent medicine sold in the United States that claimed to contain snake fat, supposedly a Native American remedy for various ailments.
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speak for »
To claim, reserve, or occupy.
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swing for the fences »
To swing at the ball as hard as possible, with the aim of getting a home run, increasing the chance of missing the ball.
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take a bead on »
To aim a gun at something.
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talk the talk »
Speak like an expert, claim to be knowledgeable about something.
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tell tales »
To be lying, to be making false claims.
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too big for one's boots »
Far less capable than one's claims to be.
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up for grabs »
Available for anyone to obtain, claim or win.
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up-and-coming »
Emerging; aspiring; improving; beginning to attract attention or critical acclaim.
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wrap in the flag »
To claim one's cause deserves support for patriotic reasons or that one's own motives are patriotic.
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zero in »
To focus one's aim; to zoom in and center on something.
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zero in on »
To aim precisely at a target.
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