a picture paints a thousand words »
A visualisation is a better description than a verbal description.1971, David Gates (of Bread), If, from Manna album:If a picture paints a thousand wordsThen why can't I paint you;The words will never showThe you I've come to know.1989, Alan Kay, quoted in K?o-tung Huang, Timothy D. Huang, Introduction to Chinese, Japanese and Korean Computing, World Scientific, ISBN 9971506645, p. 9:Most human beings, no matter how familiar they are with abstract symbols, respond to voice and images better than written language. In other words, A picture paints a thousand words.2006, Paul Shakespeare, Building a Dune Buggy: The Essential Manual, ISBN 1904788734, p. 52:See accompanying diagram: a picture paints a thousand words, and all that!
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all in a day's work »
A nonchalant dismissal of a significant accomplishment.
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arse over tit »
Tumbling; falling; upside-down; unstable or unbalanced.
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backfoot »
To put on the defensive; to put off balance.
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balance out »
To counteract one another so as to be balanced.
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balance the books »
To add up all the debits and credits.
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balance the books »
To put or keep any closed or conservative system or its analysis in balance.
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balancing act »
A performance that involves balancing things precariously and suspensefully.
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balancing act »
An effort to manage many conflicting or competing items or interests.
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beat up »
To alarm by a sudden attack.
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been to the rodeo »
N.d., Alan Neff, Precious Tribes, Vicious Lies, page 72.
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bottom line »
The final balance; the amount of money or profit left after everything has been tallied.
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bridge »
Any of several electrical devices that measure characteristics such as impedance and inductance by balancing different parts of a circuit.
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cat that ate the canary »
A person whose appearance and behavior suggest guilt mixed with other qualities, such as satisfaction or feigned nonchalance.
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cry wolf »
To raise a false alarm; to constantly warn others about an imagined threat, thereby failing to get assistance when a real threat appears.
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don't shit where you eat »
(idiomatic, vulgar) One should not cause trouble in a place, group, or situation in which one regularly finds oneself.1998 April 14, Nelson Navarro, "Ever faithful, ever true," Manila Standard (Philippines) (retrieved 12 Aug. 2011):The guiding principle is Don't shit where you eat. Office romances are always destructive of morale and objectivity.2003 Oct. 8, Jonathan Valania, "Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Pussy," Philadelphia Weekly (retrieved 12 Aug. 2011):Limbaugh was scheduled to deliver the keynote speech at the NAB convention in, of all places, Philadelphia, thus violating the cardinal law of the animal kingdom: Don't shit where you eat.2006 Sept. 19, Michael Musto, "NY Mirror," Village Voice (retrieved 12 Aug. 2011):Mitchell refused to indulge in on-set romances with either gender. "You don't shit where you eat," he told me, plainly.
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drop a bomb »
To announce surprising or alarming information suddenly and without warning.
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even keel »
A situation in which the boat is level and balanced for a smooth ride.
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even keel »
A state of having one's emotions under control and balanced.
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f** it »
An expression of great indifference or nonchalance.
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fruit salad »
dessert dish
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garbage in, garbage out »
(computing, information technology) If input data is not complete, accurate, and timely, then the resulting output is unreliable and of no useful value.1963, Raymond Crowley, "Robot Tax Collector Seeks Indications of 'Fudging'," Times Daily (Alabama, USA), 1 April (retrieved 26 July 2010):Officials explained that the quality of the computer's work depends on the quality of the data fed into it. Neil Hoke, administrative assistant to Stewart, quoted an adage of computer men: "Garbage in, garbage out."2008, Roger K. Lewis, "'In Architectural Design, Brains and Talent Trump the Best Software," Washington Post, 19 July (retrieved 26 July 2010):The old caveat "GIGO"
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going rate »
The current standard or usual price, rate, or salary for something.
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hang in the balance »
To be in a precarious situation, unsure of the future.
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happy medium »
A balanced position between two opposite extremes.
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light bucket »
Nickname for a reflecting telescope, especially one with a relatively large aperture and suitable for observing deep sky objects such as nebulae and galaxies.
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off balance »
Not physical balanced; not having physical equilibrium.
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off balance »
Surprised; perplexed.
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on the back foot »
In a defensive posture; off-balance.
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out of whack »
Not in proper balance; unbalanced.
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palace politics »
The relationships and interactions of top-level officials, advisors and other powerbrokers within a government, especially as involving internal rivalry and intrigue.
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perfect storm »
A situation where a calamity is caused by the convergence and amplifying interaction of a number of factors.
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put the cat among the pigeons »
To cause alarm.
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roll down the windows »
To flail one's arms in a circular motion when off-balance, as to mimic the act of rolling down a car window.
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salad years »
The inexperienced, youthful prime of an individual, group, organization or entity.
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sea legs »
The ability, when walking aboard ship, to anticipate the motion of the deck so as to walk steadily without losing balance.
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sex up »
To make more palatable or acceptable to the general public; to improve the image or perception.
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sit out »
To lean out to the windward side of a sailboat in order to counterbalance the effects of the wind on the sails.
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stir-crazy »
Of a prisoner, mentally unbalanced due to prolonged incarceration.
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throw off balance »
To unsettle, to catch by surprise.
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tip the scales »
To turn to one side a balanced situation.
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top heavy »
unbalanced
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