We've found 59 phrases for first (0.116 seconds):

a leopard cannot change its spots »    One cannot change one's own nature.1597, William Shakespeare, Richard II Act i, Scene 1 (First Folio):King. Lyons make Leopards tame.Mowbray. Yea but not change his ?pots.1611, King James Version of the Bible, Jeremiah 13:23:Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?1820, Walter Scott, Ivanhoe Chapter 32:End now all unkindness. Let us put the Jew to ransom, since the leopard will not change his spots, and a Jew he will continue to be.1918, Johnston McCulley, Thubway Tham's Inthane Moment:The leopard cannot change his spots, old boy.

a pull of the hair for being unfair »    The general response to "A kick and a flick for being so quick", which is in turn a response in itself to "A pinch and a punch for the first day of the month".

a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down »    An otherwise unpleasant situation can be pleasant when a pleasant aspect is deliberately introduced.1999, Eli Yassif, The Hebrew Folktale: History, Genre, Meaning, Indiana University Press, ISBN 0253335833, page 372,One is known as the "sweetening parable," that is to say a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. Thus, when the aim is to preach to the people, to guide them along the "bitter," arduous path of upholding burdensome precepts and prohibitions, a tale can lighten the load, make the "medicine" easier "to swallow."2001, Maureen Reagan, First Father, First Daughter: A Memoir, Little, Brown, ISBN 0316736368, page 319,It put some fun into the tedious business of preparing for a presidential debate. A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, right?2004, John Hoover, How to Work for an Idiot: Survive & Thrive... Without Killing Your Boss, Career Press, ISBN 1564147045, page 11,If a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, a barrel of laughs can wash down the big pills you might need to swallow.

across the board »    A racing bet where one bets that the same competitor will place in first, second and third.

ash wednesday »    first day of lent

at first »    Initially; at the start.

bat a thousand »    To reach first base on every at-bat.

big break »    A breakthrough, especially the first big hit of a previously unknown performer or performers in the entertainment industry.

break one's duck »    To do something for the first time.

break one's duck »    To score one's first run in an innings.

call off the dogs »    During a one-sided sports contest, to remove the first-string unit of a team from the game after dominating the opponent.

cast on »    To start the first row of knitting by putting stitches on a needle.

cast the first stone »    To act self-righteously in accusing another person, believing that one is blameless.

chrome horn »    The front bumper of a car when used to bump another vehicle, usually to inform the driver of the other vehicle, that the first car would like to pass.

come around »    To change one's mind, especially to begin to agree or appreciate what one was reluctant to accept at first.

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