a few sandwiches short of a picnic »
Exhibiting disquiet or unsoundness of mind; not sane; mad.
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a leopard cannot change its spots »
One cannot change one's own nature.1597, William Shakespeare, Richard II Act i, Scene 1 (First Folio):King. Lyons make Leopards tame.Mowbray. Yea but not change his ?pots.1611, King James Version of the Bible, Jeremiah 13:23:Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?1820, Walter Scott, Ivanhoe Chapter 32:End now all unkindness. Let us put the Jew to ransom, since the leopard will not change his spots, and a Jew he will continue to be.1918, Johnston McCulley, Thubway Tham's Inthane Moment:The leopard cannot change his spots, old boy.
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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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against the grain »
To sand or plane a piece of wood parallel or nearly parallel to the fibers such that splinters forming ahead of the tool originate below the cutting surface.
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around the bend »
Crazy, insane.
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at a moment's notice »
Immediately; instantaneously; without need of warning.
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at once »
At the same time; simultaneously; together.
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beam up »
To be teleported over a long distance by means of a specific imaginary technology, specifically from the surface of a planet to an orbiting starship.
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break off »
To end abruptly, either temporarily or permanently.
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bring owls to Athens »
Who brings owls to Athens? — Euelpides, in Aristophanes' Birds.
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carrot and stick »
Simultaneous rewards for good behavior and punishments for bad behavior.
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carry on »
To take baggage or luggage onto an airplane, rather than check it.
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come about »
To tack; to change tack; to maneuver the bow of a sailing vessel across the wind so that the wind changes from one side of the vessel to the other; to position a boat with respect to the wind after tacking.
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comfort woman »
A woman forced, or supposedly recruited, into brothels by the Japanese occupation forces during World War II.
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crack up »
To become insane; to suffer a mental breakdown.
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crane fly »
daddy longlegs
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deadstick landing »
When a pilot lands a plane after the engine has died; a landing lacking any propulsion control.
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due course »
A. 1803, Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey.
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elbow room »
Room or space in which to move or maneuver.
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end of the world »
End of the planet Earth.
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first things first »
Deal with matters of highest priority first; deal with matters in logical sequence.1922, H. G. Wells, The Secret Places of the Heart, ch.4,"First things first," said Sir Richmond. If we set about getting fuel sanely, if we do it as the deliberate, co-operative act of the whole species, then it follows that we shall look very closely into the use that is being made of it.1999, Frank Pellegrini, "House Republicans Quell Mutiny Over Tax Bounty," Time, 23 Jul.,Judging by the polls
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for good »
Forever; permanently.
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for good and all »
Permanently, forever.
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for keeps »
Permanently.
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funny farm »
An insane asylum.
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go mad »
To become insane.
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great dane »
dog
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grow cold »
To wane; to lose interest or enthusiasm for something or someone; to become disenchanted or to fall out of love with someone.
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gut reaction »
An instantaneous reaction made without thought.
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have a screw loose »
A phrase meaning that the subject is insane or irrational.
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hocus pocus »
chicanery
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hoover up »
Into a vacuum cleaner, irrespective of brand.
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household name »
A genericized trademark or anepronym.
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in one's right mind »
Sane, sensible, reasonable; thinking clearly.
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in the fast lane »
In a lifestyle, employment position, or other set of circumstances where the rapid pace is exciting, frantic, or risky.
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in the twinkling of an eye »
Immediately; instantaneously.
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inside track »
The lane or track nearest to the interior.
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jug ears »
Ears whose plane is markedly not parallel to the plane of the head.
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lose one's mind »
To become mad, insane.
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memory lane »
A set of recollections available to be reviewed, especially accompanied by a feeling of nostalgia.
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neither here nor there »
Not important; having no significance or influence on the question at hand; not related; not relevant; not germane; not pertinent.
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nutfarm »
An insane asylum.
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odds and ends »
Miscellaneous things.
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off one's rocker »
Crazy; insane.
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off the rails »
Insane.
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off the top of one's head »
Without great thought or investigation; extemporaneous; natural; offhand.
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off-the-cuff »
Extemporaneous; without prior preparation; impromptu.
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on board »
Even when I am on board the plane, I can never feel secure that my luggage is, too.
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on the fly »
Spontaneously or extemporaneously; done as one goes, or during another activity.
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on the spur of the moment »
On very short notice; spontaneously.
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on the wane »
In a period of decrease or decline.
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on the wane »
The moon was on the wane.
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once and for all »
Finally, permanently, conclusively.
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one brick short of a full load »
Not mentally sound; insane.
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one card shy of a full deck »
Mentally deranged; demented; insane.
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perfect storm »
A powerful hurricane or other major weather disturbance, especially as produced by a combination of meteorological conditions.
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puddle jumper »
A small passenger airplane, typically used for shorter connecting trips to smaller airports.
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pull my finger »
A phrase used when playing a prank regarding flatulence, in which a mark is asked to pull the finger of the person playing the prank, who simultaneously flatulates so as to suggest a causal relationship between the pulling of the finger and the resulting expulsion of gas.
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pull out »
To maneuver a vehicle from the side of a road onto the lane.
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put aside »
To ignore or intentionally forget something, temporarily or permanently, so that more important things can have one's attention.
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rake »
The direction of slip during fault movement. The rake is measured within the fault plane.
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round the bend »
Crazy, mad or insane.
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sell »
To pretend that an opponent's blows or maneuvers are causing legitimate injury; to act.
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set in stone »
Permanent; certain; firm.
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sexual congress »
Loose translation of the title of Aristophanes' play Ecclesiazousae, more literally translated as Assemblywomen.
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soft spot »
A fontanelle.
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take to the cleaners »
To take a significant quantity of a person's money or valuables, through gambling, unfavorable investing, fraud, litigation, etc.
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talk dirty »
To use profane language, especially sexual vulgarities for the purpose of arousal.
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thumb one's nose »
To place a thumb upon the tip of the nose, usually while simultaneous wiggling one's fingers, in a gesture of disrespect.
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today we are all »
March 11, 2004: Denis MacShane, Guardian Unlimited.
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watch one's mouth »
To be careful about what one says, especially with regard to disrespectful or profane language.
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world »
A planet,especially one which is inhabited or inhabitable.
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| BTW, Why won't you become an editor? |
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