all bark and no bite »
Full of big talk but lacking action, power, or substance; pretentious.
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all ears »
Listening intently; fully focused.
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all hat and no cattle »
Full of big talk but lacking action, power, or substance; pretentious.
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at full tilt »
At full speed; very quickly.
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at large »
In full, fully.
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au fait »
fully informed;
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balancing act »
A performance that involves balancing things precariously and suspensefully.
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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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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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be all ears »
To listen carefully or eagerly; to anticipate.
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bear up »
To endure hardship cheerfully.
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blue moon »
The third full moon in a quarter that contains four rather than the usual three full moons.
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born in a barn »
Engaging in the annoying behavior of inappropriately, and usually neglectfully, leaving open a door or window.
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break out »
To escape, especially forcefully or defiantly.
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bright-eyed and bushy-tailed »
Alert and in an eager, frisky, or playful mood; full of life.
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bustle with »
To teem with; abound with; to exhibit an energetic and active abundance of a thing; to be full of a certain activity or active beings.
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buy time »
Purposefully cause a delay to something, in order to achieve something else.
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come full circle »
To complete a cycle of transition, returning to the point of origin.
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come full circle »
To make a complete change or reform.
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come of age »
To mature, or become fully developed.
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cup of tea »
A cup full of tea.
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dead »
Full and complete.
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deadweight »
The largest weight of cargo a ship is able to carry; i.e, the weight of a ship when fully loaded minus its weight when empty.
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do justice »
To really allow to be apprehended in its full scope.
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drag out »
To haul or bring out forcefully or as though with force.
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easy does it »
Relax; do something gently, lightly or carefully; slow down; calm down.
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fill up »
To make full.
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fill up »
To become full.
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from the bottom of one's heart »
In earnest; sincerely; with one's full feeling.
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fry up »
Full English breakfast.
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full as a goog »
Having eaten too much, or being drunk.
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full blast »
Maximum capacity or effort.
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full English »
A cooked breakfast consisting of bacon and eggs, and other foods.
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full marks »
To exclaim complete satisfaction with someone's efforts.
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full of beans »
Energetic and enthusiastic.
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full of beans »
Incorrect; uninformed; exaggerating or expressing falsehood.
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full of hot air »
Talking a lot, especially without saying anything of value or meaning.
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full of it »
Speaking nonsense; lying, exaggerating, or boasting.
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full of oneself »
Egotistical, believing oneself to be superior to others; preoccupied with one's own work, interests, point of view, etc.
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full of shit »
Characterized by speaking nonsense or falsehoods.
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full speed ahead »
A command, especially on military vessels, to move forward at maximum speed.
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full speed ahead »
Maximum effort without reservations or delay.
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full tilt »
As quickly as possible; very rapidly.
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full tilt boogie »
At the most extreme level.
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full tilt boogie »
In an extremely focused manner.
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full tilt boogie »
Intensely, fast paced.
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full tilt boogie »
Out of control.
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full to the gills »
Completely or overly full.
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full whack »
The whole amount.
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full-fledged »
Having all its feathers; able to fly.
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full-fledged »
Having full qualification, credentials or preparation; entire; real.
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get one's marching orders »
To be dismissed disgracefully.
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go over »
To look at carefully; to scrutinize; to analyze.
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handle with kid gloves »
To treat something very delicately or carefully.
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have one's hands full »
To be busy or thoroughly preoccupied.
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head to toe »
Entirely; completely; over one's full body.
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hit home »
To be especially memorable or meaningful; to be fully understood, believed or appreciated.
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hit one's stride »
To reach a full level of efficiency, competence, comfort, etc.; to get going.
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hit one's stride »
When walking or running, to reach a full or comfortable pace.
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hit the ground running »
To begin an activity immediately and with full commitment.
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hold back »
To act with reserve; to contain one's full measure or power.
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in for an inch, in for a mile »
Given that one is partly involved in or committed to a project, action, position, etc., there is no reason to refrain from becoming fully involved or fully committed.
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in full swing »
Proceeding fully, quickly, or completely; thoroughly begun and in progress.
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in high dudgeon »
Resentfully or furiously.
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keep a weather eye open »
To maintain a background awareness of something; to remain alert to changes without it occupying your full attention.
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leave no stone unturned »
To do a task very carefully and thoroughly, not missing any step.
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let the good times roll »
To have fun or live fully; may imply letting things that are going well proceed.
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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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live it up »
To have a wonderful life; to live fully and have fun.
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man up »
To staff adequately; to staff up; to successfully fill all needed labor positions.
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muck about »
To be playful; full of fun and high spirits.
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on a full stomach »
Directly after eating, after a meal.
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on purpose »
Purposefully; with intention; deliberately.
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on the back burner »
Not immediate; inactive; receiving less than full or regular attention.
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on tiptoe »
Moving carefully, quietly, warily or stealthily.
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on top of »
Fully informed about, and in control of something; up to speed with.
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one brick short of a full load »
Not mentally sound; insane.
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one brick short of a full load »
Stupid.
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one card shy of a full deck »
Mentally deranged; demented; insane.
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one step at a time »
Slowly and carefully, ensuring that each action has been completed successfully before taking the next.
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out of character »
Not in character; not successfully performing within the mindset of a given character in a theatrical performance. See also break character, drop character.
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piss away »
To spend wastefully.
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pitched battle »
A hostile engagement involving sustained, full-scale fighting between opposing forces in close combat.
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play someone like a fiddle »
Skilfully.
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pore over »
To examine something carefully and attentively.
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put one's shoulder to the wheel »
To work or exert oneself heavily or with full effort.
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put through its paces »
To test completely; to exercise the full range of abilities or functions.
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quick-and-dirty »
Done or constructed in a hasty, approximate, temporarily adequate manner, but not exact, fully formed, or reliable for a long period of time.
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reflect on »
To think carefully about something, and give it due consideration.
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rose-coloured »
Cheerfully optimistic.
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run the gamut »
To encompass the full range or variety possible.
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sell a bargain »
A species of wit, much in vogue about the latter end of the reign of Queen Anne, and frequently alluded to by Dean Swift, who says the maids of honour often amused themselves with it. It consisted in the seller naming his or her hinder parts, in answer to the question, What? which the buyer was artfully led to ask. As a specimen, take the following instance: A lady would come into a room full of company, apparently frightened, crying out "It is white, and follows me!" As soon as someone responded "What?" she sold him the bargain, by saying "Mine arse".
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stretch out »
To lie fully extended.
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stretch out »
To fully extend a part of the body.
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take liberties »
To behave disrespectfully, especially to make unwanted sexual advances.
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take one's time »
To go about something slowly and carefully.
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take out the trash »
To forcefully remove people from a place.
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tell off »
To speak to someone rudely, disrespectfully or angrily; to berate; to unleash one's fury verbally towards someone.
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think through »
To fully consider an action, and understand all its consequences.
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thrash out »
To discuss something so fully as to resolve a problem or conflict; to hammer out.
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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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throw down »
To cause something one is holding to drop, often forcefully.
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throw down »
Admirably or forcefully.
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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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thumb one's nose »
To act disrespectfully, especially by flouting the object of disrespect.
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tread lightly »
To proceed carefully; especially, to seek to avoid causing offense.
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up to speed »
Fully informed; current.
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upset the applecart »
To spoil carefully laid plans or arrangements; to spoil something.
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valley of death »
The phase of a startup business beginning with the entrepreneur's fulltime commitment to it and ending when the business has achieved sustainable cash flow.
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wade in »
To interrupt someone, or a situation, by doing or saying something abruptly, or forcefully, and usually without thinking about the consequences.
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warts and all »
Of or pertaining to a description or other depiction which reveals the full range of characteristics of a person or thing, including the shortcomings and imperfections.
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watch out »
To be aware or conscious; to look closely or carefully; to use caution. Often used in the imperative.
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write out »
To write in full length or expanded form.
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zero in on »
To successfully narrow down a search.
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