a closed mouth gathers no feet »
One who does not speak can be certain he won't say anything embarrassing.
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a miss is as good as a mile »
A failure remains a failure, regardless of how close to success one has actually come.
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about time »
Close to the right time.
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at arm's length »
Avoiding a close relationship.
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at bay »
Unable to come closer; at a distance.
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balance the books »
To put or keep any closed or conservative system or its analysis in balance.
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batten down »
To close or make watertight, referring to hatches and cargo.
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bear up »
To sail close to the wind.
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behind closed doors »
Public disclosure.
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blow a fuse »
To lose one's temper; to become enraged.
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blow one's top »
To be explosively angry. To lose one's temper.
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blow the whistle »
To disclose information to the public or to appropriate authorities concerning the illegal or socially harmful actions of a person or group, especially a corporation or government agency.
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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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break even »
To neither gain nor lose money.
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breathe down someone's neck »
To follow someone too closely, making it uncomfortable for them.
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bring down »
To make a legitimate rulership lose their position of power.
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bung up »
To close an opening with a cork, cork like object or other improvised obstruction.
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by the skin of one's teeth »
Barely; closely; by a narrow margin; with nothing to spare.
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cheek by jowl »
In close proximity; crammed uncomfortably close together.
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close as wax »
Miserly.
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close down »
To stop trading as a business.
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close down »
To surround someone, as to impede their movement.
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close enough for government work »
It is not worth investing additional time on perfecting this thing.
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close fisted »
stingy
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close in on »
To enclose around; to tighten or shrink; to collapse.
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close in on »
To catch up with in a chase; to near the end of a pursuit.
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close in on »
To near a goal or completion.
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close off »
To seal or block the entrance to a road, an area, or a building so that people cannot enter.
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close one's eyes »
To ignore.
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close shave »
A near accident or mishap; a dangerous or risky encounter or incident.
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close shave »
A shave that is very short or near the skin.
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close the stable door after the horse has bolted »
To attempt to prevent a problem only to find it has already happened.
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close to home »
Affecting people close to, or within, ones family circle.
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close up »
To move people closer together.
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close up »
To shut a building or a business for a period of time.
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close up »
To heal a cut or other wound.
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close up shop »
To shut down a shop; to end a business activity.
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close, but no cigar »
That's almost correct, but not quite.
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closed book »
A person or thing that cannot be easily understood; someone or something incomprehensible or puzzling.
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come out »
To come out of the closet.
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come out of the closet »
To tell others about homosexuality, bisexuality or any minority or disapproved-of belief, preference, etc., where previously this had been kept secret.
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come unhinged »
To become angered or crazy; to lose control of one's senses or sanity.
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coug it »
To suddenly lose a contest through reversal of fortune, mistakes, or bad judgment. The phrase is analogous to "blow it", or "snatch defeat from the jaws of victory".
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cough up »
To lose a competition by one's own mistakes, usually near the end of the contest.
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cut it close »
To judge or finish something close to its limit.
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dead heat »
A close race or contest in which no winner is apparent.
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dead ringer »
Someone or something that very closely resembles another; someone or something easily mistaken for another.
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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 look a gift horse in the mouth »
Do not unappreciatively question a gift or handout too closely.
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drain the swamp when up to one's neck in alligators »
(idiomatic) When performing a long and complex task, and when you've gotten utterly immersed in secondary and tertiary unexpected tangential subtasks, it's easy to lose sight of the initial objective. This sort of distraction can be particularly problematic if the all-consuming subtask or sub-subtask is not, after all, particularly vital to the original, primary goal, but ends up sucking up time and resources (out of all proportion to its actual importance) only because it seems so urgent.
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eat one's own dog food »
To use or consume the economic goods or services that oneself is producing; to be part of a closed household economy.
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enough to make the angels weep »
Something so distressing that it causes one to lose hope and faith.
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eye up »
To examine closely something coveted.
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fall off »
A hip hop term; to completely lose the plot in terms of artistic direction.
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fence in »
To enclose with a fence.
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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 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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give a sneck posset »
To give someone a cold reception; to close the door on someone; to reject them.
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go belly-up »
To fail or fold; especially, to close or shut down a business; to go out of business.
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go down the wrong way »
To swallow food or drink so that it goes down the wrong tube in one's throat and makes one cough or for a short period lose one's breath or choke.
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go off the boil »
To lose interest; to pall.
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grasp all, lose all »
one who wants everything, may lose it all
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grow cold »
To wane; to lose interest or enthusiasm for something or someone; to become disenchanted or to fall out of love with someone.
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hand in glove »
In very close cooperation.
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hand-in-glove »
Closely cooperative.
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hang on »
To pay close attention.
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hardwired »
Of devices, closely or tightly coupled.
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hem in »
enclose, confine
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hit the ceiling »
To be explosively angry. To lose one's temper.
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hold one's breath »
To inhale and then intentionally close the epiglottis so that one's breath is not exhaled.
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home in on »
To focus or narrow down to something; to find or draw closer, as by trial and error or a gradual seeking process.
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hot on somebody's heels »
Close behind; pursuing or following closely.
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if you lie with dogs you will get fleas »
It is important whom to choose as one's closest acquanitances.
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in a league of one's own »
Far excelling even the closest contender; not having any worthy competition.
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in bed with »
Engaging in a close mutually beneficial relationship, especially secretly and illicitly.
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inner circle »
The closest of friends of a person.
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keep a close watch on »
To pay careful attention to a situation or a thing, so that you can deal with any changes or problems.
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keep one's cards close to one's chest »
To avoid revealing one's thoughts, circumstances, or plans.
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keep one's eyes peeled »
To watch closely; to look for.
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keep your friends close, and your enemies closer »
One should be on their toes and alert of their surroundings if malicious people are around, to ensure such people can't wreak havoc in one's life.
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knocking on heaven's door »
Dying, close to death.
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last minute »
Point in time, too close to a deadline to reasonably begin a critical task.
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lay open »
to disclose
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let on »
To reveal, disclose, or divulge.
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let somebody in on »
To disclose; to tell somebody a secret or share privileged information.
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let the cat out of the bag »
To disclose a secret; to let a secret be known, often inadvertently.
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listen up »
To listen closely; to pay attention. Often used in the imperative.
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lock up »
To close all doors and windows of a place securely.
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long absent, soon forgotten »
Love fades away when people are distant and don't keep close physical contact.
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long goodbye »
Nickname for Alzheimer's disease, especially for the final phase of the disease, during which the patient suffers a progressive decline of cognitive and motor skills and gradually loses the ability to recognize and to communicate with family and friends.[1]; nickname for the relationship between a person suffering from Alzheimer's disease and that person's family or friends.
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long shot »
A master shot, the primary wide shot of a scene into which the closeups will be edited later.
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long shot »
Something unlikely; something that has little chance of happening or working. The term arose from the accuracy of early ship guns, which were effective only at close range and unlikely to hit the mark at any great distance.
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lose face »
To lose the respect of others, to be humiliated or experience public disgrace.
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lose it »
To be explosively angry; to lose one's temper.
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lose it »
To lose control of a situation.
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lose one's cool »
To become upset or disconcerted; to lose one's temper.
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lose one's head »
To go crazy.
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lose one's marbles »
To go crazy.
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lose one's mind »
To become mad, insane.
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lose one's shirt »
To lose all of one's money; to go broke; to undergo financial ruin or disaster.
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lose one's shit »
To lose one's temper.
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lose one's temper »
To be explosively angry. To get very cross.
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lose one's touch »
To lose one's special mastery of or knack for a particular skill or activity.
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lose out »
To be at a disadvantage.
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lose the number of one's mess »
To die, to perish.
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lose the plot »
To cease to be behaving in a predictable and/or rational manner.
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lose the plot »
To have one's results decline severely in quality or suddenly fall below an acceptable standard, especially when compared to past excellence.
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lose touch »
To cease to be familiar with someone or something or to cease to communicate or have contact.
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miss out »
To miss an experience or lose an opportunity, etc. that should not be missed.
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neck and neck »
Very close in progress, as in a race or contest.
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on hand »
close by; ready to help
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on one's deathbed »
Close to death.
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on the brink »
Very nearly; imminent; close.
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on the bubble »
Holding the last qualifying position with qualification still in progress, and thus liable to lose that position.
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on the point »
Very nearly; imminent; close.
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on the verge »
Very near or close.
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outside world »
The rest of the world outside of some closed, restricted, or remote environment.
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paper »
A sheet material used for writing on or printing on , usually made by draining cellulose fibres from a suspension in water.
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pitched battle »
A hostile engagement involving sustained, full-scale fighting between opposing forces in close combat.
|
pop the cherry »
To break the hymen; to lose one's virginity.
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pull up »
Drive close to something, especially a curb.
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put through the wringer »
To interrogate or scrutinize closely; to subject to some trial or ordeal.
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run down »
To lose power slowly. Used for a machine, battery, or other powered device.
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shake on it »
To agree; to close a deal.
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shoot off at the mouth »
To disclose some information that was supposed to be secret.
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short of a length »
Of a ball that pitches short of a good length; a ball that bounces closer to the bowler than the area of the pitch regarded as the best for dismissing or restricting the scoring of the batsman.
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shut down »
To close, terminate, or end.
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slam dunk »
Tacking on top of the wind of the following yacht in close quarters.
|
space out »
To stupefy, intoxicate, disorient, or lose attention or focus, especially by the use of drugs.
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spill the beans »
To reveal a secret; to disclose.
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stand off »
To prevent any would-be attacker from coming close by adopting an offensive posture.
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stick with »
To remain close by.
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stitch up »
To close by sewing.
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swallow up »
To completely enclose or envelop.
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switch off »
To lose interest, and start thinking about something else.
|
take a bath »
To lose a large amount of money in an investment.
|
take a dive »
To feign a knockout in order to lose intentionally.
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take a dive »
To lose or fail intentionally.
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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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take the wind out of someone's sails »
To discourage someone greatly; to cause someone to lose hope or the will to continue.
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take up with »
To form a close relationship with someone.
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the shoemaker's children go barefoot »
One often neglects those closest to oneself.
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thick as thieves »
Intimate, close-knit.
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throw off »
To confuse; especially, to lose a pursuer.
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throw one's toys out of the pram »
To lose one's temper; to throw a tantrum.
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under the microscope »
Under close scrutiny or examination.
|
up front »
Open, honest; tending to disclose information; truthful.
|
verge on »
To approach or come close to something; to border or be on the edge of something.
|
wall in »
To enclose by surrounding with walls.
|
wash out »
To lose traction while going around a turn, especially in cycling, motorsports and skiing/snowboarding.
|
washed out »
Of clothes. When they lose some of their original colour from being washed so often.
|
waste away »
To lose energy and become weak and feeble.
|
watch out »
To be aware or conscious; to look closely or carefully; to use caution. Often used in the imperative.
|
white on rice »
A descriptive analogy of closeness. See like white on rice.
|
yield up »
To disclose something hidden.
|
you snooze you lose »
If you are not alert and attentive, you will not be successful.
|
zip up »
To close with a zip fastener.
|
zip up »
To close as if with a zip fastener.
|
zoom in »
To focus a zoom lens in order to obtain a larger image, or a closer view.
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