against the grain »
To sand or plane a piece of wood parallel or nearly parallel to the fibers such that splinters forming ahead of the tool originate below the cutting surface.
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babe in the woods »
A person who is innocent, naive, inexperienced, or helpless.
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babes in the wood »
Criminals in the stocks, or pillory.
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barrow man »
A man under sentence of transportation; alluding to the convicts at Woolwich, who are principally employed in wheeling barrows full of brick or dirt.
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born with a silver spoon in one's mouth »
Note. The original nautical expression is just born with a silver spoon and describes those young gentlemen who were able to enter the Royal Navy without examination and whose promotion was assured. the converse was born with a wooden ladle.
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chase after »
To pursue someone with romantic intentions; to woo.
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come out of the woodwork »
To appear or emerge as though out of nowhere, frequently in large numbers or quantity.
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cut a wide swath »
To clear a broad track through a grassland, woodland, geographical region, or other area, either by natural means or by human action.
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dead wood »
Dead limbs and branches still attached to a living tree.
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dead wood »
Personnel no longer contributing to an organization.
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does a bear shit in the woods »
Rhetorical question in response to a question where the answer is an emphatic yes.
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don't take any wooden nickels »
Do not permit yourself be cheated or duped; do not be naive.
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dye in the wool »
To dye woolen fibers before they are spun into thread.
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dyed in the wool »
Simple past tense and past participle of dye in the wool.
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dyed-in-the-wool »
Dyed before being formed into cloth.
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dyed-in-the-wool »
Firmly established in a person's beliefs or habits; deeply ingrained in the nature of a person or thing.
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hatchet man »
Someone who carries out brutal and unpleasant duties on behalf of another, such as firing dead wood employees.
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in the woods »
In critical condition; near death's door.
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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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little pitchers have big ears »
Small children often overhear more of what is said than adults realize or desire.1844, Charlotte M. Yonge, Abbeychurch, ch. 2:Seeing me listening to something she was saying to Mamma, she turned round upon me with that odious proverb, "Little pitchers have long ears."1939, "Bedtime Bedlam," Time, 17 Apr.:A caution to U. S. parents, but a joy to radio merchandising, is the dread truth that little pitchers have big ears.2002, Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, ISBN 9780743455961, p. 185:I suppose he might say pushed or went woowoo, but took a shit is, I fear, very much in the ballpark (little pitchers have big ears, after all).
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measure twice and cut once »
(literally, carpentry) One should double-check one's measurements for accuracy before cutting a piece of wood; otherwise it may be necessary to cut again, wasting time and material.1872, "Dressmaking," Hall's Journal of Health, vol. 19, no. 12, p. 280:Look at Carpenters! . . . In old times it was a proverb "Measure twice, and cut once."(figuratively, by extension) Plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action.2008, Hilary Johnson, "Mergers rattle bank relations," Financial Week, 9 Nov. (retrieved 9 Nov. 2008):Mr. Paz noted that since the onset of the credit crisis, eBay, like other companies, hasn
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more cry than wool »
Asserted but not grounded in reality.
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neck of the woods »
A local neighbourhood or region.
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one fell swoop »
One stroke; one action or event with many results.
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out of the woods »
Out of peril; likely to recover or prevail over trouble; finished with the worst or most threatening part of a problem or illness.
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pitch woo »
To court.
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pitch woo »
To flatter.
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pitch woo »
To make love.
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play the race card »
Mark Fuhrman, Murder in Brentwood p.153.
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saw wood »
To snore loudly.
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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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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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trip to the woodshed »
An occasion on which a reprimand or punishment is administered.
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woo back »
To gain somebody back by wooing him or her.
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wooden spoon »
A spoon made from wood.
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wooden spoon »
An ironic prize for finishing last in a competition.
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wooden-top »
Uniformed police officers.
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