at hand »
Being at the moment the center of attention or the cause of trouble.
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babe in the woods »
A person who is innocent, naive, inexperienced, or helpless.
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barnburner »
Liberal faction of the New York state United States Democratic Party in the mid 19th century.
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boil down »
As an allusion to the cooking technique of reducing liquids by heat, one boils down a problem, argument, etc. to its most central elements.
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booby prize »
A prize or status, often unwelcome, awarded as a joke or disincentive to the loser of a contest or for poor performance.
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born yesterday »
New, naive, innocent, inexperienced or easily deceived.
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bread and butter »
That which is central or fundamental, as to one's business, survival, or income; a staple or cornerstone.
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bridge »
A prosthesis replacing one or several adjacent teeth.
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butterfly upon a wheel »
An innocent person crushed by life's adversities.
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by the way »
Incidentally; a parenthetical statement not timely, central, or crucial to the topic at hand; foregone, passed by, something that has already happened.
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center field »
A central role in some activity that requires speed.
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center field »
The defensive position in the outfield in the middle, typically played by a player that can run fast.
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center field »
The part of a baseball field which is beyond the infield and straight ahead left if you stand on home plate and face the pitcher.
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climb up »
To make a gradual ascent or increase.
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cut a rug »
To dance, especially in a vigorous manner and in one of the dance styles of the first half of the twentieth century.
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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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double entendre »
A phrase that has two meanings, especially where one is innocent and literal, the other risqué, bawdy, or ironic; an innuendo..
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dusty miller »
One of several species of plants with leaves of a dusty appearance: Centaurea cineraria, Senecio cineraria, and Lychnis coronaria.
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four-on-the-floor »
Characterised by a steady, uniformly accented beat with a 4/4 time signature.
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fresh out of »
Of someone who has recently left one stage of life to begin another.
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front and center »
A command to come to the center of attention of an assemblage, as of military personnel or students.
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get into one's stride »
To become familiar with something recently learnt.
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good old boy »
A male friend or chum, especially a schoolmate; a man with an established network of friends who assist one another in social and business situations; a decent, dependable fellow.
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grass roots »
People and society at the local level rather than at the national centre of political activity.
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greatest thing since sliced bread »
A relatively recent invention likely to significantly improve people's lives.
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halfway decent »
Good - better than expected.
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halfway decent »
No more than adequate.
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have bats in one's belfry »
To be crazy or eccentric.
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hot button »
A central issue, concern or characteristic, especially one that motivates people to make a choice.
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house warming »
Presented as a way of welcoming someone to a home into which he or she recently moved.
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if my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle »
(colloquial, vulgar, humorous) It is fruitless to speculate about counterfactual situations."We would have won the match if we'd had a decent goalkeeper.""And if my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle!"
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in the hot seat »
Under pressure to perform; under scrutiny; at the center of attention.
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joe job »
An act of e-mail spamming where the sender's identity and address are those of an innocent third party, intended either to tarnish that person's reputation or to flood that person's e-mail with bounces.
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keep a weather eye open »
To be alert; to concentrate on a matter in hand.
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keep one's eye on the ball »
To maintain one's concentration fixed on one important theme.
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landing strip »
A cultivated pubic hair pattern in which much of the pubic hair is removed, leaving only a central vertical line or rectangle.
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late model »
Recently designed or fabricated; new.
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left, right and center »
All over the place; indiscriminately; frequently or excessively.
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licence to print money »
The authority to print money, usually given to a central bank exclusively as the issuer of currency.
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live one »
Someone who is eccentric, nonconformist, or otherwise peculiar.
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look-in »
A quick short pass to a receiver running diagonally toward the center of the field.
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middle of the road »
Having a centrist attitude or philosophy; not extreme, especially politically.
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mind you »
Used to draw attention to adjacent words.
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nightcap »
A warm cloth cap worn while sleeping, often with pajamas. Nightcaps were common in northern Europe before central heating was available, when homes were cold at night.
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not a sausage »
John: Do you know how I get to the town center from here?.
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not half bad »
Pretty good; okay; decent.
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nothing to sneeze at »
Not bad; decent; acceptable; worthwhile.
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nutty as a fruitcake »
Behaving in an eccentric, foolish, or kooky manner; very nutty.
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of late »
In the recent past; recently; lately.
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park the car in Harvard Yard »
A sentence used to illustrate that the Boston accent is non-rhotic; typically pronounced "pahk the cah in Hahvad Yahd".
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pre-war »
Describing the most recent or significant war in a culture's history.
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pronunciamiento »
A military uprising or coup in Spain or the Spanish American republics, particularly in the 19th century. They received this designation because coups were usually accompanied by a statement declaring the existing government null and void.
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pull one's finger out »
To stop wasting time in preliminaries, and concentrate on the important task.
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queer fish »
An odd or eccentric person.
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rake »
The sloped edge of a roof at or adjacent to the first or last rafter.
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redolent »
Fragrant or aromatic; having a sweet scent.
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redolent »
Suggestive or reminiscent.
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robber baron »
Especially in the 19th-century and early 20th-century, a business tycoon who had great wealth and influence but whose methods were morally questionable.
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run into »
To blend into; to be followed by or adjacent to without there being a clear boundary.
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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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sow one's wild oats »
To indulge in a period of irresponsible behavior, particularly sexually; Often used in reference to young adults or to the recently divorced.
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spill one's guts »
To confess, or to divulge secrets, typically speaking freely and at length after a change of motive or an incentive.
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stop the presses »
An imperative form used to introduce especially new, important, surprising, or recent developments.
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strike through »
Partly obliterate text by drawing a continuous line through the centre thereof, usually to indicate the deletion of an error or obsolete information.
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take one's eye off the ball »
To lose one's concentration on what is most important.
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the other day »
Recently; lately; a few days ago.
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throw dirt enough, and some will stick »
If enough allegations are made about someone or something, then even if they are all untrue, people's opinion of the person or thing will be diminished.1759, John Wesley, letter to John Downes, Rector of St. Michael's, Wood Street, read at Wesley Center Online at [1] on 14 Oct 06.I hope...that you are ignorant of the whole affair, and are so bold only because you are blind...And blind enough; so that you blunder on through thick and thin, bespattering all that come in your way, according to the old, laudable maxim, 'Throw dirt enough, and some will stick.'1857, Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown's Schooldays, read at fullbooks.com on 14 Oct 06,But whatever harm a spiteful tongue could do them, he took care should be done. Only throw dirt enough, and some will stick.1864, John Henry Newman, Apologia Pro Vita Sua, Penguin Classics (1994), p. 10,Archbishop Whately used to say
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two cents »
A nearly worthless amount, alluding to placing a copper penny on each of the eyelids of a pauper's or slave's body before burial.
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two cents »
One's opinion or thoughts.
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two-bit »
Costing 25 cents.
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up-to-date »
Current; recent; the latest.
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walk the talk »
To do what one said one could do, or would do, not just making empty promises. To walk one's talk is to be innocent of hypocrisy.
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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 concentrate or focus one's attention on at task.
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| New: We also know Zip Codes FYI! |
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