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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all the rage »
Very fashionable and popular, like a craze.
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all to smash »
Ruined; bankrupt.
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ash wednesday »
first day of lent
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bang up cove »
A dashing fellow who spends his money freely.
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bash about »
To physically damage something or assault someone.
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bash in »
To break or dent badly by hitting violently.
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bash in »
To injure someone by hitting violently.
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bash out »
To write something very quickly, without much thought.
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bash up »
To assault someone with the intention of causing physical injury.
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bat an eyelash »
To react in any slight way; to respond.
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bluewash »
To tout a business or organization's commitment to social responsibility, and to use this perception for public relations and economic gain; to present a humanitarian front in this manner.
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bluewash »
To use a blue paint or glaze.
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brick by brick »
To create or build something in a steady, step-by-step fashion.
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bring out »
To cause a visible symptom such as spots or a rash.
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buried treasure »
Treasure stashed underground or underwater.
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cash cow »
A product, service, or enterprise that generates ongoing, high net free cash flows.
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cash cow »
Someone or something which is a dependable source of appreciable amounts of money; a moneymaker.
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cash in »
To profit from; to use an opportunity to maximum advantage, especially financially.
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come out in the wash »
Of problems or difficulties, to work out, resolve, or become understood eventually and naturally.
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crash and burn »
To fail utterly.
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crash course »
A quick, intense course of learning, especially one which is informal or hurried.
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crashpad »
Any place used for temporary lodging.
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crashpad »
In the aviation industry, used for a place of temporary lodging for airline flight crews.
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dash off »
To leave a place quickly or briefly.
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dash off »
To write quickly or informally.
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debris field »
Any area, non-dependent of locale, space, or contour, that contains the debris of wreckage, impact, sinking, or other material that once constituted a complete object. Debris fields can be found at the site of air crashes, water vessel sinking, explosions of buildings, collapses, and other events that render a whole entity into components, pieces, or other non-whole items.
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dressing-down »
A reprimand or rarely, a thrashing.
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every cloud has a silver lining »
In every bad situation there is an element of good1881, National Academy of Code Administration (U.S.), Folio, page 417:Every cloud has a silver lining; but in the old-fashioned meeting-houses every cloud of hymnal melody generally had a nasal lining before the congregation...1887, Shakers, Religion, page 36:that "a little reserve and thou'lt fail surely," will prove to be true in our experience. Every cloud has a silver lining and so has every sorrow,1918, George Jean Nathan, Performing Arts, page 222:But the most popular attitude toward what we may call "sad" plays is the peculiar one of believing that, since every cloud has a silver lining,
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fall over »
Of a computer program, to crash.
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fashion plate »
A person who dresses in especially stylish fashions.
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fashion plate »
A picture, usually an advertisement, showing the latest fashion in clothing.
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feel free »
Don't be ashamed, be my guest.
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flash in the pan »
A career notable for early success not followed by significant accomplishment.
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flash in the pan »
A transient occurrence with no long-term effect.
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forewarned is forearmed »
Advance awareness of a situation, especially a risky one, prepares one to deal with it.1863, Charles Reade, Hard Cash, ch. 4:[W]hatever a young gentleman of that age says to you, he says to many other ladies; but your experience is not equal to your sense; so profit by mine . . . forewarned is forearmed.1885, G. A. Henty, Saint George for England, ch. 4:Sometimes, they say, it is wiser to remain in ignorance; at other times forewarned is forearmed.circa 1903, Lucy Maud Montgomery, "Why Mr. Cropper Changed His Mind":"Well, Miss Maxwell, I think it only fair to tell you that you may have trouble with those boys when they do come. Forewarned is forearmed, you know."
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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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glimmer »
A flash of light.
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gloss over »
To cover up a mistake or a crime; to hush up or whitewash.
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grate »
A horizontal metal grille through which water, ash, or small objects can fall, while larger objects cannot.
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great unwashed »
A contemptuous term for the populace, particularly the working class.
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greenwash »
A false or misleading picture of environmental friendliness used to conceal or obscure damaging activities.
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hang out to dry »
To attach washing to a clothesline to dry.
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hash out »
To work through the details of something; especially to work through difficulties.
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hat in hand »
With humility; in an apologetic or self-effacing fashion.
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haul his ashes »
A euphemism for sexual intercourse.
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idiot light »
Any warning light or indicator on the dashboard of a car, designed to alert the driver of problems, such as the parking brake being on or the oil being low.
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in a flash »
Very quickly.
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it's not the whistle that pulls the train »
Boasting and loud talk should not be mistaken for the work that produces real achievements; bravado is no proof of action.1956, James Reston, "Washington: It's Not the Whistle that Pulls the Train," New York Times, 1 July, p. E8:
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jet setting »
The actions of the jet set; travelling from one fashionable location to another by jet.
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jet-setting »
The actions of the jet set; travelling from one fashionable location to another by jet.
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jive turkey »
Someone who is jiving, as in behaving in a glib and disingenuous fashion.
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kill the rabbit »
To get a positive test result from an old-fashioned pregnancy test.
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lash out »
To make a sudden blow.
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lash out »
To make a fierce verbal attack.
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make a splash »
To do something that attracts attention.
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make an example of »
He made an example of the drunken sailor with twenty lashes, to show that he must have a sober crew.
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no slave to fashion »
A person whose style of clothing and appearance are unconventional, informal, or slovenly; a person who takes little interest in how he or she is dressed.
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off the chain »
Crazy and exciting; delirious and wild. By analogy to a frenetic dog when unleashed.
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Old Fart »
An elderly person who holds views that are considered old-fashioned.
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old school »
Characteristic of a style, outlook, or method employed in a former era, remembered either as inferior to the current style, or alternately, remembered nostalgically as superior or preferable to the new style, the older denoting something that would be considered out of date or out of fashion to some, but as such, is considered by others as cool and hip.
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pack away »
To store away, place out of the way, or stash, especially for the longer term.
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party crasher »
Someone who attempts and often gains entry to a party or club to which they were not invited, often using social engineering techniques. The party crasher usually tries to blend into the party so as not to be kicked out.
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peashooter »
A toy gun, consisting of a tube through which peas or small objects are blown.
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peashooter »
Any small or ineffective gun.
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ring up »
To enter a payment into a cash register, or till in a shop.
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rise from the ashes »
To make a comeback after a long hiatus. To come back into common use or practice. To come back into popularity. To come back to being a thing of today.
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screw the pooch »
To screw up; to fail in dramatic and ignominious fashion.
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settle someone's hash »
To physically or verbally subdue someone.
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sex up »
To enhance in terms of fashionable appeal.
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shitstorm »
Considerable backlash from the public.
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short leash »
Forcing one to function within a strict set of rules, or under great scrutiny or oversight.
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smash hit »
Something that is tremendously popular or successful.
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squirrel away »
To stash or hide; to hoard, collect, save, or accumulate; to create a reserve, stash, or hoard of some supply, so as to recall a squirrel's burying of nuts.
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stick in the mud »
More generally, one who is slow, old-fashioned, or unprogressive; an old fogey.
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straight out of the chute »
Something done immediately, or "from the beginning". Taken from rodeo routine: the bucking bronco, or bull, or the calf for the calf-roping contest is kept in a narrow pen, a chute, until it is released and dashes out to its fate.
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take it out on »
To unleash one's anger on [a person or thing other than the one that caused it].
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take out the trash »
To forcefully remove people from a place.
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take out the trash »
To remove rubbish from a place.
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take the piss »
Are you takin' the piss? You'll get yer 'ead bashed in.
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tell off »
To speak to someone rudely, disrespectfully or angrily; to berate; to unleash one's fury verbally towards someone.
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thrash out »
To discuss something so fully as to resolve a problem or conflict; to hammer out.
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today we are all »
August 12, 2008:, Robert Barnes, "McCain to Georgian President: "Today, We Are All Georgians"", Washington Post.
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trailer park trash »
Lower-class people who live in trailer parks.
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trailer trash »
Deleted from the movie trailer. Not included in theatrical run.
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trailer trash »
Trailer park trash.
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train wreck »
The aftermath of a train crash.
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trash out »
To criticize the person spoken to in a rant.
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unwashed masses »
Of people who are considered by someone to be somehow uneducated, uninformed, godless, or in some other way unqualified for inclusion in the speaker's elite circles.
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valley of death »
The phase of a startup business beginning with the entrepreneur's fulltime commitment to it and ending when the business has achieved sustainable cash flow.
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wash away »
To eliminate, or destroy by fast moving water, such as in a flood, or a high sea.
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wash away »
To eliminate, in a figurative sense.
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wash down »
To help to swallow by drinking a liquid, after eating something, or taking a pill.
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wash down »
To wash something completely from top to bottom.
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wash one's hands of »
To absolve oneself of responsibility or future blame for.
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wash out »
To remove something by washing.
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wash out »
To wear away by the flow of water; to erode.
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wash out »
To cancel due to bad weather.
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wash out »
To lose traction while going around a turn, especially in cycling, motorsports and skiing/snowboarding.
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wash over »
To pass unnoticed so that one is unaffected by it.
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wash over »
Said of the way an emotion affects one suddenly.
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wash over »
Of open water. To surge over the banks, or other retaining structure.
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wash up »
To clean the utensils, dishes etc. used in preparing and eating a meal.
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wash up »
To wash one's hands and/or face, often around mealtimes.
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wash up »
To be carried on to land by water.
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washed out »
Of clothes. When they lose some of their original colour from being washed so often.
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washed out »
To be very tired and lacking energy.
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washed up »
Finished; having no future in a particular role.
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white goods »
fridges, washing machines, etc
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white trash »
A poorly educated white person with low moral and social standards and low social status.
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whitewash »
A lime and water mixture for painting walls and fences bright white.
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whitewash »
A victory without reply.
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wipe out »
To crash, fall over.
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