a good man is hard to find »
Men who make good husbands or workers are rare.
|
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.
|
all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy »
Too much focus on one's career is often viewed unfavorably.Too much hard work and not enough leisure time can be unhealthy.
|
bawl out »
To deliver a loud, hard scolding or lecture; to reprimand.
|
bear up »
To endure hardship cheerfully.
|
between a rock and a hard place »
Having the choice between two unpleasant or distasteful options; in a predicament or quandary.
|
between Scylla and Charybdis »
Similar in meaning to between a rock and a hard place.
|
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.
|
burn one's candle at both ends »
To work extremely or excessively hard; to work too hard for good health or peace of mind.
|
bust one's butt »
To work exceptionally hard.
|
busy beaver »
Someone who is very busy or hard-working.
|
cake crumbs »
Hardly anything.
|
catch-as-catch-can »
A. 1681, John Fryer, Richard Chiswell, Robert Roberts, Robert White, A New Account of East-India and Persia, in Eight Letters, Being Nine Years Travels, Begun 1672 and Finished 1681.
|
come hell or high water »
Regardless of the hardships.
|
dig deep »
Try especially hard.
|
dig in »
To make a burst of hard work.
|
do the hard yards »
To perform a difficult task or tasks.
|
donkey work »
Hard, boring, routine work.
|
drink from a firehose »
To take a small amount from an enormous, hard-to-manage quantity.
|
early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise »
platitude from Benjamin Franklin under the pseudonym Poor Richard.
|
egg on »
To encourage or coax a person to do something, especially something foolhardy or reckless.
|
elbow grease »
Effort or hard work, especially physical work involving repeated motion of the forearm, such as scrubbing.
|
forewarned is forearmed »
Advance awareness of a situation, especially a risky one, prepares one to deal with it.1863, Charles Reade, Hard Cash, ch. 4:[W]hatever a young gentleman of that age says to you, he says to many other ladies; but your experience is not equal to your sense; so profit by mine . . . forewarned is forearmed.1885, G. A. Henty, Saint George for England, ch. 4:Sometimes, they say, it is wiser to remain in ignorance; at other times forewarned is forearmed.circa 1903, Lucy Maud Montgomery, "Why Mr. Cropper Changed His Mind":"Well, Miss Maxwell, I think it only fair to tell you that you may have trouble with those boys when they do come. Forewarned is forearmed, you know."
|
give it one's best shot »
To make one's best effort or attempt; to try as hard as possible.
|
give somebody a hard time »
To tease, kid, or rib.
|
hard as nails »
Very hard; tough.
|
hard cheese »
Expressed to someone suffering misfortune.
|
hard done by »
Used, cheated, dejected.
|
hard feelings »
Resentment, anger.
|
hard hitting »
uncompromising
|
hard lines »
Expressed to someone suffering misfortune.
|
hard of hearing »
Having difficulty hearing; somewhat deaf.
|
hard pressed »
Having or likely to have difficulty or to find a task almost impossible.
|
hard shoulder »
mortorway shopping area
|
hard-hearted »
unfeeling
|
hard-nosed »
Guided by practical experience and observation rather than by theory.
|
hard-nosed »
Hardheaded.
|
hardball »
In baseball, a type of ball and baseball game, as opposed to softball.
|
harden »
To become hard.
|
harden »
To become or make a thing resistant or less sensitive.
|
harden someone's heart »
To make someone more resistant to something.
|
hardwired »
Designed to perform a specific task.
|
hardwired »
In humans and animals, genetically determined, instinctive behavior, as opposed to learned behavior.
|
hardwired »
Not changeable.
|
hardwired »
Of devices, closely or tightly coupled.
|
he who laughs last laughs hardest »
Alternative form of he who laughs last laughs best.
|
hit someone for six »
To hit another person very hard.
|
hospital pass »
A poorly executed pass to a team-mate causing the receiver to present an easy target for a defender, and thus be tackled hard.
|
keep somebody in stitches »
To keep somebody laughing hard or amused.
|
no rest for the wicked »
(humorous) People who are wicked must work harder than normal people.
|
nose to the grindstone »
Hard at work.
|
old habits die hard »
Existing habits are hard to change.
|
ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny »
(biology, social sciences, art, philosophy) The physical, cultural, moral, or intellectual development of each individual passes through stages similar to the developmental stages of that individual's species, society, or civilization.1905, J. A. Harris, "The Importance of Investigations of Seedling Stages," Science, New Series, vol. 22, no. 554, p. 186:With reference to seedling stages the statement that ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny must be made with great reserve.1961, M. E. Wolfgang, "Pioneers in Criminology: Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909)," The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science, vol. 52, no. 4, p. 367:Haeckel maintained that ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny, and this idea was incorporated by Lombroso into his parallelism between the criminal and the child.2002, B. S. Jackson, "Models in Legal History: The Case of Biblical Law," Journal of Law and Religion, vol. 18, no. 1, p. 11:For even if we accept that "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny," those responsible for the drafting of ancient legal documents were not children, and are hardly to be endowed with some form of infantile mentality.
|
pay one's dues »
To acquire status or to earn the right to enjoy certain benefits, especially through lengthy experience, hardship, or service to an organization.
|
play hardball »
To act rough and ruthless, especially in politics or business.
|
play hardball »
To use every means possible to achieve a goal, especially in disregarding the harm caused.
|
play the race card »
Donald A. Carson, Love in Hard Places p.94.
|
proverbs run in pairs »
Every proverb seems to be contradicted by another proverb with an opposed message, such as "too many cooks spoil the broth" and "many hands make light work."1863, Sir Richard Burton, Abeokuta and the Camaroons Mountains, vol. 1, Tinsley (London), p. 309:Moreover, all the world over, proverbs run in pairs, and pull both ways: for the most part one neutralizes, by contradiction, the other.
|
quick-and-dirty »
Of or pertaining to the creation or repair of software or hardware in a manner which permits operation within a brief period of time, although with compromised functionality or reliability.
|
ridden hard and put away wet »
Mistreated; not properly cared for.
|
run for the roses »
A hard-fought competition or demanding challenge of any kind.
|
school of hard knocks »
An education consisting of real-world experiences, especially harsh experiences.
|
stick in someone's craw »
To cause lasting annoyance, irritation, or hard feelings.
|
swing for the fences »
To swing at the ball as hard as possible, with the aim of getting a home run, increasing the chance of missing the ball.
|
swot up on »
To study particularly hard to learn a subject quickly.
|
talk like an apothecary »
To use hard or gallipot words: from the assumed gravity and affectation of knowledge generally put on by the gentlemen of this profession, who are commonly as superficial in their learning as they are pedantic in their language.
|
that which doesn't kill you makes you stronger »
Used to express the sentiment that hardship or difficult experiences build moral character.
|
the bigger they are, the harder they fall »
The larger something is, the more disastrous and spectacular its downfall
|
tough cookie »
A person who can endure physical or mental hardship; a hardened, strong-willed person.
|
upper crust »
The topmost layer of a bread, pastry dish, or other item with a hardened coating.
|
walk on eggshells »
To be overly careful in dealing with a person or situation because they get angry or offended very easily; to try very hard not to upset someone or something.
|
wear out »
To cause to become damaged, useless, or ineffective through continued use, especially hard, heavy, or careless use.
|
what doesn't kill you makes you stronger »
Used to express the sentiment that hardship or difficult experiences build moral character.
|
work one's butt off »
To work very hard or to excess.
|
work one's fingers to the bone »
Work especially hard, usually for an extended period.
|
| Like Phrases.net? Why won't you tell a friend about us? |
[