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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couple up »
To get into pairs.
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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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good fences make good neighbors »
It is better to mind one's own business than get involved with other people's affairs.
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have one's ducks in a row »
To be organized; to have one's affairs in order; specifically, to have a multi-person effort coordinated towards the exact same goal.
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have someone by the short hairs »
To have someone in a difficult situation in which he or she is without alternatives and can be controlled.
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how-d'ye-do »
A troublesome state of affairs.
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hunger is a good sauce »
(dated) Being hungry makes one less concerned about the taste of one's food.1854, Mark Lemon, Henry Mayhew, Tom Taylor, Shirley Brooks, Francis Cowley Burnand, Owen Seaman, Punch, Vol. XXVI, Punch Publications Ltd., page 74:His bread and cheese were somewhat dry, to be sure; his ale had become flat, and considerably warmer than was desirable; but hunger is a good sauce, and thirst is not particular.
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in the first place »
To begin with; earlier; first; at the start.
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inside job »
A crime or other illicit action committed by or with the help of someone either employed by the victim or entrusted with access to the victim's affairs and premises.
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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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mind one's own business »
To concern oneself only with what is of interest to oneself and not interfere in the affairs of others.
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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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mother hen »
An outspoken and overprotective woman dealing with others' affairs.
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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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proverbs go in pairs »
Alternative form of proverbs run in pairs.1932, Bertrand Russell,
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proverbs hunt in pairs »
Alternative form of proverbs run in pairs.
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proverbs often come in pairs »
Alternative form of proverbs run in pairs.
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proverbs run in pairs »
Every proverb seems to be contradicted by another proverb with an opposed message, such as "too many cooks spoil the broth" and "many hands make light work."1863, Sir Richard Burton, Abeokuta and the Camaroons Mountains, vol. 1, Tinsley (London), p. 309:Moreover, all the world over, proverbs run in pairs, and pull both ways: for the most part one neutralizes, by contradiction, the other.
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put on airs »
To become haughty, to assume a haughty manner.
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put on the dog »
To dress up; to put on airs; to make a show of wealth and/or importance; to be pretentious.
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rake »
The sloped edge of a roof at or adjacent to the first or last rafter.
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rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic »
To do something pointless or insignificant that will soon be overtaken by events, or that contributes nothing to the solution of a current problem.
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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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short hairs »
Pubic hair.
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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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split hairs »
Tedious details; minutiae.
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state of affairs »
A specific situation; a set of circumstances.
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stick one's nose in »
To be nosy; to meddle or interfere in the affairs of another.
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sticking point »
A disputed issue or state of affairs that causes an interruption or outright impasse in progress towards some goal or resolution, especially in negotiation or argumentation.
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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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the fucking you get isn't worth the fucking you get »
(vulgar) The sexual satisfactions that one receives from a spouse or romantic partner are not sufficient to compensate for the significant periods of bad faith and unpleasant treatment which such relationships routinely involve.1971, Allen Churchill, The Literary Decade, ISBN 9780135375228:Years later she expressed her disillusionment with sex by saying, "The fucking you get isn't worth the fucking you get."1999, Ben Sonnenberg, Lost Property: Memoirs and Confessions of a Bad Boy, ISBN 9781582430454, p. 93:Maitland got drunk at his parties and threw his arm around you and pulled you over to his wife and made you look down her dress, saying, "The trouble with marriage is that the fucking you get isn't worth the fucking you get."2008, Joseph Heywood, Blue Wolf In Green Fire, ISBN 9781599213590, p. 63:"I can't believe a little pussy got me into dis mess." "Shit happens," Service said. "Sometimes the fucking you get isn't worth the fucking you get."
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the world is one's oyster »
All opportunities are open to someone, the world is theirs.
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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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to hell in a handbasket »
To a bad state of affairs quickly.
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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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wet one's whistle »
To have a drink; to quench one's thirst.
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work over »
To improve a prototype, or first draft.
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