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 pull of the hair for being unfair »
The general response to "A kick and a flick for being so quick", which is in turn a response in itself to "A pinch and a punch for the first day of the month".
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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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across the board »
A racing bet where one bets that the same competitor will place in first, second and third.
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ash wednesday »
first day of lent
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at first »
Initially; at the start.
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bat a thousand »
To reach first base on every at-bat.
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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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break one's duck »
To do something for the first time.
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break one's duck »
To score one's first run in an innings.
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call off the dogs »
During a one-sided sports contest, to remove the first-string unit of a team from the game after dominating the opponent.
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cast on »
To start the first row of knitting by putting stitches on a needle.
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cast the first stone »
To act self-righteously in accusing another person, believing that one is blameless.
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chrome horn »
The front bumper of a car when used to bump another vehicle, usually to inform the driver of the other vehicle, that the first car would like to pass.
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come around »
To change one's mind, especially to begin to agree or appreciate what one was reluctant to accept at first.
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crack of dawn »
The first moment of daylight; sunrise.
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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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Do the best and live the rest »
First do your work with your 100% dont think about the result
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faceplant »
The act of landing face first, often associated with bailing during extreme sports.
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feed a cold, starve a fever »
Eating more will cure the common cold, and eating less will cure a fever.1887, J. H. Whelan, "The Treatment of Colds.", The Practitioner, vol. 38, pg. 180:"Feed a cold, starve a fever." There is a deal of wisdom in the first part of this advice. A person with a catarrh should take an abundance of light nutritious food, and some light wine, but avoid spirits, and above all tobacco.1968, Katinka Loeser, The Archers at Home, publ. Atheneum, New York, pg. 60:I have a cold. 'Feed a cold, starve a fever.' You certainly know that.2009, Shelly Reuben, Tabula Rasa, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, ISBN 015101079X, pg. 60:They say feed a cold, starve a fever, but they don't tell you what to do when you got both, so I figured scrambled eggs, tea, and toast.
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first among equals »
A person or position that if formally equivalent to others in a group, but is superior in some attribute.
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first among equals »
In the British and other parliamentary systems, a term used to describe the relationship of the prime minister to the other members of the cabinet.
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first class »
excellent
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first come, first served »
People will be dealt with in the order they arrive.
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first loser »
Second place.
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first loser »
The second place finisher in auto racing competition.
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first of all »
Firstly; before anything else.
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first port of call »
The first place to go to start a process.
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first port of call »
The first port that a vessel calls in at after the start of a voyage.
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first rate »
Superb, exceptional; of the best sort; very high quality.
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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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flutter in the dovecote »
I further argued that the principal cause for the political deadlock that persisted for thirty years after the guns fell silent was Israeli intransigence rather than Arab intransigence. The appearance of the first wave of revisionist studies excited a great deal of interest and controversy in the media and more than a flutter in the academic dovecote. — Israel Confronts Its Past.
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from soup to nuts »
From the first course of a meal to the last.
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go the way of the dinosaurs »
To go extinct or become obsolete; to fall out of common use or practice; to go off the firsthand market; to become a thing of the past.
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go the way of the dodo »
To go extinct or become obsolete; to fall out of common use or practice; to go out of the firsthand market; to become a thing of the past.
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golden duck »
The score of zero runs after getting out on the first ball faced.
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in the first place »
To begin with; earlier; first; at the start.
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kick off »
To make the first kick in a game or part of a game.
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ladies first »
A phrase encouraging polite gentlemanliness, allowing the ladies to go before the men.
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morning person »
A person whose who wakes up without difficulty early each morning and who is alert and active during the first part of the day.
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not the end of the world »
It's of minor importance, at least not as important as it first seemed.
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number one »
First; foremost; best.
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one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind »
Words spoken by Neil Armstrong when taking the first steps on the moon.
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pinch and a punch for the first of the month »
Said the first day of a new month, accompanied by a pinch and a punch to the victim.
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proverbs come in pairs »
Alternative form of proverbs run in pairs.1979, Irving Howe, John Hollander, David Bromwich, Literature as Experience: An Anthology, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, ISBN 0155511130, page 325:Sometimes proverbs come in pairs, the first one providing the context, the second, the revision.
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rake »
The sloped edge of a roof at or adjacent to the first or last rafter.
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second fiddle »
A fiddle part in harmony to the first fiddle.
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second string »
In sports, a unit of players that plays behind the first string.
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shoot first and ask questions later »
To act boldly.
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shoot first and ask questions later »
To take action with serious consequences without delay, preserving the benefit of surprise by not providing indication of one's intent.
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shoot oneself in the foot »
To deliberately sabotage an activity in order to avoid obligation, though it causes personal suffering. Origins in first world war trench warfare.
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soft sawder »
"If she goes to act ugly, I'll give her a dose of "soft sawder"; that will take the frown out of her frontispiece...!" —Thomas Haliburton, "The Trotting Horse" — first usage.
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straight from the horse's mouth »
Directly from the source; firsthand.
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take the lead »
To become the leader, to advance into first place.
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tee off »
To hit the first shot of the hole.
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the early bird gets the worm »
Whoever arrives first has the best chance of success; some opportunities are only available to the first competitors.
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third string »
A unit of players that plays behind the first and second strings; a junior varsity team.
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under the gun »
The first player to act on the first round of betting in Texas hold 'em.
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work over »
To improve a prototype, or first draft.
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