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 bark and no bite »
Full of big talk but lacking action, power, or substance; pretentious.
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all hat and no cattle »
Full of big talk but lacking action, power, or substance; pretentious.
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barking dogs seldom bite »
People who make big threats never usually carry them out.
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big boy »
A large object or person.
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big boys »
Plural form of big boy.
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big boys »
The people or bodies with the most influence and/or power.
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big break »
A breakthrough, especially the first big hit of a previously unknown performer or performers in the entertainment industry.
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big bucks »
Lots of money.
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big cheese »
A very important figure, especially a high-ranking person in an organization.
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big daddy »
Something or someone of importance.
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big deal »
Something very important, difficult, or of concern.
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big enchilada »
A very important person, especially the highest-ranking individual in an organization.
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big enchilada »
Some item of high value, especially a top prize or reward.
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big fat »
Complete, utter, total.
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big fish in a small pond »
One who has achieved a high rank or is highly esteemed, but only in a small, relatively unimportant, or little known location or organization.
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big gun »
A large-caliber artillery piece.
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big gun »
Someone who is powerful or influential most often in plural form.
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big kahuna »
A boss, leader, chieftain, or top-ranking person in an organization.
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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 picture »
The main film in a double feature.
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big picture »
The totality of a situation.
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big shot »
A person with a reputation of importance or power.
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big sleep »
Death.
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big top »
circus tent
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big up »
To increase one's muscle mass through exercise.
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big up »
To proclaim or exaggerate the importance of.
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big wheel »
A person with a great deal of power or influence, especially a high-ranking person in an organization.
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big wheel »
Ferris wheel.
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bigger fish to fry »
A higher valued result or target to reach.
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bigger fish to fry »
A much more pressing issue to attend to.
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bigwig »
A person of importance to a group or organization.
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bunny hop »
A dance from the big band era, a variation of the conga.
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by a long shot »
By a wide margin; indicates a very big difference or disparity.
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catch big air »
Superlative of catch air; make a big jump high off the ground.
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don't be penny wise and pound foolish »
Don't be careful when it comes to spending small amounts of money, but careless when spending much larger amounts.Don't focus on minutiae and lose sight of the big picture; don't obsess over tiny inconsequential efficiencies while glaring inefficiencies are going on elsewhere.
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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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have eyes bigger than one's belly »
To take more food on one's plate than one can eat; to be greedy.
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have eyes bigger than one's stomach »
To take more food on one's plate than one can eat; to be greedy.
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hit it big »
To have great success.
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hit paydirt »
To strike it rich; to get lucky or have a big break.
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hit the big time »
To become successful and widely known.
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in no uncertain terms »
With great clarity, emphasis, or exactness; without any ambiguity.
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last of the big spenders »
Someone who doesn't spend much money.
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left-handed compliment »
A complimentary remark which is ambiguous or ineptly worded, so that it may be interpreted as having an unflattering or dismissive sense.
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little pitchers have big ears »
Small children often overhear more of what is said than adults realize or desire.1844, Charlotte M. Yonge, Abbeychurch, ch. 2:Seeing me listening to something she was saying to Mamma, she turned round upon me with that odious proverb, "Little pitchers have long ears."1939, "Bedtime Bedlam," Time, 17 Apr.:A caution to U. S. parents, but a joy to radio merchandising, is the dread truth that little pitchers have big ears.2002, Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, ISBN 9780743455961, p. 185:I suppose he might say pushed or went woowoo, but took a shit is, I fear, very much in the ballpark (little pitchers have big ears, after all).
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little pitchers have long ears »
Alternative form of little pitchers have big ears.
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make it big »
To become famous and successful.
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no biggie »
Not a big deal, not something to worry about.
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not in Kansas anymore »
No longer in quiet and comfortable surroundings; in the big city.
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open one's big mouth »
To speak about things, when it would be better to stay silent.
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ox is in the ditch »
This is a big problem; there is unavoidable or demanding work ahead.
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see the forest for the trees »
To discern an overall pattern from a mass of detail; to see the bigger picture, or the broader, more general situation. Generally used in the negative.
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stick it to the man »
To take some action intended to defy a source of oppression such as globalization, commercialization, big business or government.
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storm in a tea-kettle »
A big fuss made in a small context.
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stuff up »
To make a big mistake.
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take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves »
If you take care of little things one at a time, they can add up to big things.1750, Chesterfield, letter 5 Feb. (1932) IV. 1500:Old Mr. Lowndes, the famous Secretary of the Treasury, ?used to say?Take care of the pence, and the pounds will take care of themselves.1912, G. B. Shaw, Pygmalion ii. 132:Take care of the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves is as true of personal habits as of money.1979, R. Cassilis, Arrow of God, iv. xvii.:Little things, Master Mally. Look after the pennies, Master Mally, and the pounds will look after themselves.1999,
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tall order »
A big job; a difficult challenge.
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the bigger they are, the harder they fall »
The larger something is, the more disastrous and spectacular its downfall
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tip of the iceberg »
Only the beginning; just a small indication of a larger possibility; a problem is much bigger than it seems.
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too big for one's boots »
Far less capable than one's claims to be.
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too big for one's britches »
Disturbingly confident, unacceptably cocky.
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too big for one's britches »
Too large to fit into one's pants.
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