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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atom bomb »
nuclear weapon
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barrel »
The quantity which constitutes a full barrel. This varies for different articles and also in different places for the same article, being regulated by custom or by law. A barrel of wine is 31 1/2 gallons; a barrel of flour is 196 pounds; of beer 31 gallons; of ale 32 gallons; of crude oil 42 gallons.
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better an egg today than a hen tomorrow »
It is better to have a sure thing now than a possibility of more later.
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black-on-black »
A description of the colors of an automobile .
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blood mary »
Vodka and tomato juice
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bolt bucket »
A machine, especially an automobile. Implies that the machine is clunky or unreliable.
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bottom line »
The final balance; the amount of money or profit left after everything has been tallied.
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bottom line »
The summary or result; the most important information; the upshot; the net-net.
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bottom of the line »
The worst, the most lackluster, or lowest quality currently on the market, especially among selections in a product line.
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bottom of the ninth »
By extension, any last chance or final opportunity.
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bottom of the ninth »
In baseball, the second part of the ninth and final inning. The end of the game.
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bottoming the house »
The process by where someone cleans their house 'from top to bottom'. It is a very thorough clean indeed, even more so than 'spring cleaning'.
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boys and their toys »
Used to evoke the idea that adult men sometimes dote excessively on machines, automobiles, and gadgets in a childish manner.
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boys will be boys »
It is hard, often fruitless, to attempt to curb the natural playfulness and tendency to mischief of most growing boys.1922, James Joyce, Ulysses Chapter 13But just then there was a slight altercation between Master Tommy and Master Jacky. Boys will be boys and our two twins were no exception to this golden rule.Even grown men usually remain somewhat boyish in heart"Boys will be boys", grinned grandpa while he joined his adult son playing with the fancy train-set he gave his grandson for Christmas while the kid was in school.
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break ground »
To lift off the sea bottom when being weighed.
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bridge »
A valence bond, atom or chain of atoms that connects two different parts of a molecule; the atoms so connected being bridgeheads.
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bring out »
To cause a visible symptom such as spots or a rash.
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broad across the beam »
Without fat on the hips and the bottom.
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broad in the beam »
Without fat on the hips and the bottom.
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by hand »
Manually; without the use of automation or machines.
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by the way »
His mother will be coming for dinner tomorrow, and, by the way, she volunteered to bring dessert.
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carpe diem cras »
seize the day tomorrow, make the most of tomorrow
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chain reaction »
A nuclear reaction in which particles produced by the fission of one atom trigger fissions of other atoms.
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city slicker »
One accustomed to a city or urban lifestyle or unsuited to life in the country.
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come down with »
To contract or get; to show symptoms of a minor illness.
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copper-bottomed »
Having lower parts made of or covered by copper.
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copper-bottomed »
Thoroughly reliable.
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fail over »
To automatically switch processing from a failed component in a critical system to its live spare or backup component.
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field day »
Top-to-bottom all-hands cleaning.
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flipside »
Later or tomorrow.
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force of habit »
An act that has been repeated to the point where the performance of the act becomes automatic.
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fresh off the boat »
Newly arrived from a foreign place, especially as an immigrant who is still unfamiliar with the customs and language of his or her new environment.
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from the bottom of one's heart »
In earnest; sincerely; with one's full feeling.
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grease monkey »
A mechanic, often with the specific connotation of an automobile mechanic.
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hair of the dog »
An alcoholic drink taken the morning after to cure a hangover or withdrawal symptoms.
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have butterflies in one's stomach »
To be nervous, uncertain, or anxious.
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have eyes bigger than one's stomach »
To take more food on one's plate than one can eat; to be greedy.
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hit the pavement »
To get moving in an automobile or other road vehicle.
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hit the road »
To begin traveling in an automobile or other road vehicle.
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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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it pays to advertise »
Good qualities do not get rewarded automatically.
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knock on wood »
A self-directive to undertake the customary action to ward off bad luck.
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knock on wood »
To take a customary action to ward off some misfortune that is believed to be attracted my a presumptuous statement.
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lemon law »
A law dealing with defective items, especially automobiles, and consumers' rights.
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lot lizard »
A customer or salesperson at a used car lot.
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matter of course »
An expected or customary outcome.
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mercury »
A silvery-colored metallic chemical element, liquid at room temperature, with atomic number 80 and symbol Hg.
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mind the store »
To remain present in a retail business, in order to maintain the security of the premises and to serve customers.
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necker's knob »
A knob attached to the steering wheel of an automobile, especially before the widespread availability of power steering, helping the driver steer with one arm and leaving the other arm free to provide romantic attention to a companion.
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night person »
A person whose preference or custom is to remain awake and active during the night and the early morning hours, and who usually sleeps during part of the daytime.
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nighthawk »
A person whose preference or custom is to remain awake and active during the night and the early morning hours.
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off-the-shelf »
As purchased or as commonly available, without modification or customization.
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on a full stomach »
Directly after eating, after a meal.
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on wheels »
Having wheels affixed to the bottom, and so transportable.
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out of sorts »
Irritable or somewhat unwell, with vague medical symptoms.
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out of the box »
Immediately, without intervention from the customer.
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parking lot »
An open area, generally paved, where automobiles may be left when not in use.
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pelt of the dog »
An immoderate, excessive quantity of alcohol drunk the morning after whilst suffering withdrawal symptoms or a hangover, which goes beyond alleviating the complaint to causing drunkenness; cf. hair of the dog.
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pink slip »
An automobile roadworthiness inspection certificate.
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quantum mechanics »
The branch of physics which studies matter and energy at the level of atoms and other elementary particles, and substitutes probabilistic mechanisms for classical Newtonian ones.
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rain cheque »
Any voucher or note issued by a store to allow a customer to get a special or sale price later if an item is out of stock.
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rock bottom »
The very lowest possible level.
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scrape the bottom of the barrel »
To use the least desirable parts of something.
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second nature »
A mindset, skill, or type of behavior so ingrained through habit or practice that it seems natural, automatic, or without a basis in conscious thought.
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set in one's ways »
Driven by habit; inclined or determined to continue according to one's custom or established preferences.
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sleep in »
To sleep late; to go on sleeping past one's customary or planned hour.
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soft sawder »
"How the old boy swallowed my soft sawder and Brummagem notes!" —Tom Taylor, The Ticket-of-Leave Man.
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spare tyre »
A large stomach and rolls of fat around the waist.
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the way to a man's heart is through his stomach »
Cooking for a man is a good way to win his affections.
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three-on-the-tree »
On an automobile, describing the gearshift lever of a steering column-mounted three-speed manual transmission.
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throw dirt enough, and some will stick »
If enough allegations are made about someone or something, then even if they are all untrue, people's opinion of the person or thing will be diminished.1759, John Wesley, letter to John Downes, Rector of St. Michael's, Wood Street, read at Wesley Center Online at [1] on 14 Oct 06.I hope...that you are ignorant of the whole affair, and are so bold only because you are blind...And blind enough; so that you blunder on through thick and thin, bespattering all that come in your way, according to the old, laudable maxim, 'Throw dirt enough, and some will stick.'1857, Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown's Schooldays, read at fullbooks.com on 14 Oct 06,But whatever harm a spiteful tongue could do them, he took care should be done. Only throw dirt enough, and some will stick.1864, John Henry Newman, Apologia Pro Vita Sua, Penguin Classics (1994), p. 10,Archbishop Whately used to say
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tomato tomato »
Uses insignificant pronunciation difference to dismiss a correction to one's adherence to an alternative standard.
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tomorrow is another day »
Tomorrow will bring new opportunities and a fresh start for one's endeavors.1600, author unknown, "Phillidaes Love-call to her Coridon, and his replying" (song), in England's Helicon, printed at London by I.R. for John Flasket:Phil. Yonder comes my Mother, Coridon,whether shall I flie?Cor. Under yonder Beech my lovely one,while she passeth by.Say to her thy true-Love was not heere,remember, remember,to morrow is another day:1896, Amelia E. Barr, A Knight of the Nets, ch. 8:"Well, well, my dear lass, to-night we cannot work, but we may sleep. . . . Keep a still heart tonight, and tomorrow is another day."1936, Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind, ch. 63:"Tomorrow, I'll think of some way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day."2005, Fran Schumer, "JERSEY: In Princeton, Taking On Harvard's Fuss About Women," New York Times, 19 June (retrieved 18 Aug. 2009):"Half of me is depressed
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trick out »
To trick out; to mod or customize an object, typically for the purpose of both personalization as well as enhancing the object's performance capabilities and more particularly for the purpose of performing stunts with that object.
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tuck in »
To push the fabric at the bottom of a shirt under the pants.
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turn a trick »
To perform a sexual service for a customer.
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turn over »
To flip over; to rotate top to bottom.
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turn upside down »
To flip over; to rotate top to bottom.
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used to »
Accustomed to; in the habit of.
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wash down »
To wash something completely from top to bottom.
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when in Rome »
Adjust to local customs.
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wind up one's bottoms »
To finish a job.
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winkle out »
Tom managed to winkle the truth out of John eventually.
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winter rat »
An old, unattractive automobile, purchased for little money, to be driven during brutal Great Lakes winters while the owner's "good" car remains garaged and protected from corrosive road salt for the season.
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