a rising tide lifts all boats »
Benefits provided to a few may lead to conditions that are beneficial to all.
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a rolling stone gathers no moss »
A person who never settles in one place will never be successful.A person who does not keep active will grow mouldy.
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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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a stopped clock is right twice a day »
A normally unreliable person or instrument can occasionally provide correct information, even if only by accident.
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abide with »
To remain or live with someone.
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about turn »
An about face; a military command to a formation of soldiers to reverse the direction in which they are facing.
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absence makes the heart grow fonder »
When someone or something is faraway, you realise how much you love (or miss) them or it.
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accident of birth »
Reference to the fact that various benefits or detriments to the life of a person arise from the circumstances into which that person was born, these being entirely beyond his control.
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acid test »
A rigorous test or appraisal of the quality or worth of something.
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act like a bull in a china shop »
To act rudely or clumsily in a delicate situation.
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act out »
To express one's feelings through disruptive actions.
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add fuel to the fire »
To worsen a conflict between people; to inflame an already tense situation.
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Adds up »
To enhance. " Law of attraction adds up to the success in life."
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admiral of the blue »
A landlord or publican wearing a blue apron, as was formerly the custom among men of that vocation.
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after all »
In the end; anyway; referring to something that was believed to be the case, but has now been shown not to be.
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