a cold day in Hell »
An event that will never happen.
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against the collar »
In a tight spot.
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all nations »
A composition of all the different spirits sold in a dram-shop, collected in a vessel into which the drainings of the bottles and quartern pots are emptied.
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answer back »
To issue echo characters, protocol responses, reflexive connection requests, etc.
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bawl out »
To deliver a loud, hard scolding or lecture; to reprimand.
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bill of goods »
A collection of items purchased or offered for sale.
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black »
Absorbing all light and reflecting none; dark and colourless.
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black-on-black »
A description of the colors of an automobile .
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blow hot and cold »
To behave inconsistently; to vacillate or to waver, as between extremes of opinion or emotion.
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borganism »
An organization of autonomous organisms that exhibit collectivism: individual "units" that have merged to yield a unified construct. Such an amalgam may possess a collective consciousness, arguably an emergent phenomenon of social networking.
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brass monkey »
Said of the weather when it is very cold.
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brass monkeys »
Very cold.
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brown bread »
Bread with a brown colour as distinct from white bread, wholemeal, granary or other specific types of bread.
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bump into »
To collide with something.
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bust ass cold »
Extremely cold.
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button-down »
Of a collar, able to be buttoned down to the shirt, as over a necktie.
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catch a cold »
To become infected with cold.
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cave in »
The act of something collapsing or caving in.
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chew out »
To lecture, scold, reprimand, or rebuke.
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close in on »
To enclose around; to tighten or shrink; to collapse.
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cold comfort »
C. 1594, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, act 4, sc. 1.
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cold comfort »
Much less reassurance, consolation, aid, or pleasure than one needs or desires.
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cold fish »
A heartless individual; a person lacking empathy and emotion.
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cold hands, warm heart »
Implies inner beauty; a caring person; warm-hearted
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Cold hands, warm heart; Dirty feet, no sweetheart! »
A few old timer's "fun" way to compliment a lady & to find out if she could be courted.
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cold one »
A beer.
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cold shoulder »
A deliberate act of disrespect; a slight or snub.
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cold snap »
A period of exceptionally cold weather.
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cold turkey »
The physiological effects of such a withdrawal.
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cold turkey »
The sudden and complete withdrawal of a dependent substance, especially of a drug.
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collect dust »
To remain untouched and unused for a long period of time.
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collect one's thoughts »
To become mentally composed, especially after being distressed, surprised, or disoriented; to become calm or organized in one's emotional state or thinking, as in preparation for a conversation, speech, decision, etc.
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colt over the fence »
An illegitimate child.
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debris field »
Any area, non-dependent of locale, space, or contour, that contains the debris of wreckage, impact, sinking, or other material that once constituted a complete object. Debris fields can be found at the site of air crashes, water vessel sinking, explosions of buildings, collapses, and other events that render a whole entity into components, pieces, or other non-whole items.
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does Macy's tell Gimbel's »
(US, dated, colloquial, rhetorical question) A rhetorical question with the implied answer being that competitors do not share business secrets with one another.
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down the tubes »
Into a state of collapse or failure.
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dress down »
To scold.
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e pluribus unum »
A national motto of the United States of America, meaning "From many, one", or "out of many, one", referring to the integration of 13 independent colonies into one country, and that has taken an additional meaning, giving the pluralistic nature of American society from immigration.
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fair sex »
Women collectively.
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fall down »
To collapse.
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fall in »
To collapse inwards.
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feed a cold, starve a fever »
Eating more will cure the common cold, and eating less will cure a fever.1887, J. H. Whelan, "The Treatment of Colds.", The Practitioner, vol. 38, pg. 180:"Feed a cold, starve a fever." There is a deal of wisdom in the first part of this advice. A person with a catarrh should take an abundance of light nutritious food, and some light wine, but avoid spirits, and above all tobacco.1968, Katinka Loeser, The Archers at Home, publ. Atheneum, New York, pg. 60:I have a cold. 'Feed a cold, starve a fever.' You certainly know that.2009, Shelly Reuben, Tabula Rasa, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, ISBN 015101079X, pg. 60:They say feed a cold, starve a fever, but they don't tell you what to do when you got both, so I figured scrambled eggs, tea, and toast.
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flower »
Typically including sepals, petals, stamens, and ovaries; often conspicuously colourful.
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from my cold, dead hands »
A statement that something will not be taken away from you until the day you die.
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gapers' block »
A traffic jam resulting from motorists slowing to look at a motor vehicle collision or other roadside distraction.
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garbage in, garbage out »
(computing, information technology) If input data is not complete, accurate, and timely, then the resulting output is unreliable and of no useful value.1963, Raymond Crowley, "Robot Tax Collector Seeks Indications of 'Fudging'," Times Daily (Alabama, USA), 1 April (retrieved 26 July 2010):Officials explained that the quality of the computer's work depends on the quality of the data fed into it. Neil Hoke, administrative assistant to Stewart, quoted an adage of computer men: "Garbage in, garbage out."2008, Roger K. Lewis, "'In Architectural Design, Brains and Talent Trump the Best Software," Washington Post, 19 July (retrieved 26 July 2010):The old caveat "GIGO"
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get cold feet »
To become nervous or anxious and reconsider a decision about an upcoming event.
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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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give in »
To collapse or fall.
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give somebody the cold shoulder »
To snub, resist or reject somebody; to regard somebody distantly.
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go native »
To adopt the lifestyle or outlook of local inhabitants, especially when dwelling in a colonial region; to become less refined under the influence of a less cultured, more primitive, or simpler social environment.
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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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he who smelt it dealt it »
(colloquial, originally) A person who calls attention to or complains about a fart is likely trying to pretend it wasn't his or her own.(colloquial, by extension) Used to suggest that a person calling attention to or complaining about a given problem may in fact be the source of the problem.
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head-on »
Of a collision, from the front or in the direction of motion.
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horse of a different color »
An unrelated or only incidentally related matter with distinctly different significance.
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hot and cold »
Ambivalent; having conflicting emotions.
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hot chocolate »
warm drink
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hot under the collar »
Worried.
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if my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle »
(colloquial, vulgar, humorous) It is fruitless to speculate about counterfactual situations."We would have won the match if we'd had a decent goalkeeper.""And if my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle!"
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if pigs had wings they would fly »
(colloquial) Expresses speakers skepticism toward a hypothetical argument by another.
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in black and white »
Having it displayed using shades of gray/gray rather than colour/color .
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in black and white »
Using shades of grey/gray rather than colour/color.
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in cold blood »
In a ruthless and unfeeling manner; premeditated and deliberate.
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keel over »
To collapse in a faint; to black out; to die.
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kick in »
To kick or strike so as to cause the object struck to collapse or fall inwards.
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kick in »
To contribute, especially to a collection of money.
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life is like a box of chocolates »
Life is full of surprises, you never know what will happen next.
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look through rose-tinted glasses »
Alternative spelling of wear rose-colored glasses.
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memory lane »
A set of recollections available to be reviewed, especially accompanied by a feeling of nostalgia.
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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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ne'er cast a clout til May be out »
Advice not to change from winter clothes to summer clothes until June, as there is often a sudden cold snap in May.
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nightcap »
A warm cloth cap worn while sleeping, often with pajamas. Nightcaps were common in northern Europe before central heating was available, when homes were cold at night.
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not touch something with a ten foot pole »
Ambrose Bierce, The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Vol. 8.
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off-color »
Considered dirty, vulgar or obscene.
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oil colour »
painting
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old college try »
A vigorous, committed attempt or effort.
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on the ropes »
Leaning against the ropes of the boxing ring, as when exhausted and nearing defeat or collapse.
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on the ropes »
Showing signs of imminent failure or collapse.
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one at a time »
Individually, as opposed to collectively; slowly or methodically, figuratively.
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orange up »
To make more prominent by making orange or adding orange colour.
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paper trail »
A written record, history, or collection of evidence.
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peaches-and-cream »
Of facial complexion, smooth, with attractive yellow-pink coloring.
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pick up »
To collect an object, especially in passing.
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pick up »
To collect a passenger.
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pile up »
To collect or accumulate, as a backlog.
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pile-up »
A traffic accident or collision involving multiple vehicles.
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put by »
To run a ship aground intentionally to avoid a collision.
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rake »
A garden tool with a row of pointed teeth fixed to a long handle, used for collecting grass or debris, or for loosening soil.
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read somebody the riot act »
To scold or berate somebody; to reprimand.
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revenge is a dish best served cold »
An expression that emotional detachment is ideal when taking revenge, as one is righting the wrongs that have been done to the doer.
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rose-colored glasses »
An optimistic perception of something; a positive opinion; seeing something in a positive way, often thinking of it as better than it actually is.
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rose-colored glasses »
Glasses that are tinted in a pink or rose shade.
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rose-coloured »
Cheerfully optimistic.
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rose-coloured »
Having a pink colour.
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run for the roses »
A college football game or series of games played with the ultimate goal of qualifying for the championship Rose Bowl game.
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run hot and cold »
To alternate between two opposite extremes, such as enthusiasm and disinterest or success and failure.
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run into »
To collide with.
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run into »
To cause to collide with.
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scissorbill »
And railroad term for someone who refused to join the union or who openly colluded with management to thwart the union.
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scrape together »
To collect, assemble or gather small amounts , from various sources, with some difficulty.
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show one's true colors »
To reveal how one really is, as opposed to how one has been portrayed.
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slop bowl »
One of the four components of the traditional tea set. Tea drinkers emptied their unwanted, cold tea into the slop bowl before refilling their cups with fresh, hot tea.
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smoke signal »
A method of long-distance communication sometimes used in ancient and undeveloped societies, consisting of messages conveyed by means of columns or intermittent puffs of smoke.
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sneck posset »
A cold reception, closing the door on a visitor.
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sort out »
To organise or separate into groups, as a collection of items, so as to make tidy.
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squirrel away »
To stash or hide; to hoard, collect, save, or accumulate; to create a reserve, stash, or hoard of some supply, so as to recall a squirrel's burying of nuts.
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stave in »
To stave from the outside, to crush inward, to cause to collapse inward.
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stone cold »
Very cold; lacking any semblance of warmth.
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tear a strip off somebody »
To scold vigorously.
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than a bygod »
Used with a comparative to express extreme heat or cold.
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the whole shooting match »
Everything; the entire collection, endeavor, or activity.
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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 cold water on »
To belittle or dismiss; to cast doubt upon; to debunk.
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throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick »
Try the same thing (or similar things) often enough, and, even if the general standard is poor, sometimes one will be successful.2001, And still no one is shouting stop. read in The Kingdom archives at [1] on 02 Nov 06,Many team managers are of the philosophy that if you throw enough mud at the wall some of it will stick. They believe that team preparation is all about physical fitness. They run the players into the ground and they believe they will be "flying on the day".2001, Robert McCrum, Let them eat cake, in The Observer 16 Dec 01, read on Guardian Unlimited site at [2] on 02 Nov 06,Australian publishing boomed and in the past 10 years the country's literary culture has undergone a mini golden age, capped by Carey's triumph at the 2001 Booker Prize. As one Australian arts administrator said to me many years ago: 'Listen, mate, if you throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick.'2001, Chris Collin, Re: 2-cp speys on The Strathspey Server mailing list archive at [3] on 02 Nov 06,I am finding that "if you throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick". It doesn't always work of course (especially on the nights when the class is mostly the beginners), but the class seems to thrive on the challange.2005, Ray Craft (poster on The right scale blog), Fitzhooie and his Burden, read at [4] on 02 Nov 06,Prosecutors everywhere have bad habits of overcharging lots of cases, knowing that if the throw enough mud at the wall some of it will stick.2005, Sean Kelleher, Spike Milligan: His part in our downfall in Business 07 Aug 05, read at [5] on 02 Nov 06,As long as there is negligible regulation and enforcement anyone can actually try and do the job...Weak regulation allows the industry to build strategies on full time recruitment. The theory goes: throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick.c2005, Everything You've Learned About Marketing Is Wrong, read on LINC Performance website at [6] on 02 Nov 06,They have the money to continue to believe in the repetition side of the equation. You throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick. But it still isn
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today we are all »
September 12, 2001: Jean-Marie Colombani, "Today, We Are All Americans", Le Monde.
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underwater basket weaving »
"Sure, somewhere out there, college slackers were taking broom ball and underwater basket weaving." — The Columbus Dispatch, September 15, 2005.
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underwater basket weaving »
An easy and useless college or high school class.
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vote in »
To collectively approve a nominee into an office or position as a result of voting.
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walk into »
To collide with.
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washed out »
Of clothes. When they lose some of their original colour from being washed so often.
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weaker vessel »
A woman; women collectively.
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wear rose-colored glasses »
To see the positive in things while being oblivious to the negative.
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wherever you go, there you are »
(colloquial, clich
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with flying colors »
Extremely well; in an exceptional, noteworthy, or extraordinary manner.
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world »
Human collective existence; existence in general.
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yell at »
To scold, to rebuke - often by yelling.
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yellowbelly »
Someone from Lincolnshire.
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