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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ad fontes »
Go to the sources: An expression emphasizing the importance of conducting fundamental research and of consulting primary sources.
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babes in the wood »
Criminals in the stocks, or pillory.
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bawl out »
To deliver a loud, hard scolding or lecture; to reprimand.
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be had up »
To be accused of, or arrested for a criminal act.
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break a leg »
A wish for a successful performance; primarily a valediction to an actor wishing him or her a successful theatrical stage performance.
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brim over »
To overflow over the brim.
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catch hell »
Be severely reprimanded, punished, or beaten.
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catch it »
Be severely reprimanded, punished, or beaten.
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caucus race »
The competitive process in which a political party selects their candidate, esp. presidential; a primary election via caucus.
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chew out »
To lecture, scold, reprimand, or rebuke.
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circular firing squad »
A political party or other group experiencing considerable disarray because the members are engaging in internal disputes and mutual recrimination.
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cut in »
When painting, to paint edges, corners, or trim in preparation for rolling larger areas.
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do a bunk »
To escape or flee under incriminating circumstances.
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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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