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.
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amateur hour »
A situation or activity in which the participants show a lack of skill, sound judgment, or professionalism.
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blow up »
To explode something or somebody or destroy something or injure or kill somebody by explosion.
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brown thumb »
Lack of skill at growing plants; something possessed by a poor gardener.
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brush up »
To review; to improve an existing but rusty or under-developed skill.
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bump off »
To kill, especially to murder.
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curiosity killed the cat »
One should not be curious about things that can be dangerous.
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dead men tell no tales »
Once someone is dead, they can no longer communicate, hence killing someone is the best way to keep him/her quiet.
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do in »
To kill or end.
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finish off »
To kill.
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go through the mill »
To experience the suffering or discipline necessary to bring one to a certain degree of knowledge or skill, or to a certain mental state.
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green thumb »
A natural skill for gardening.
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green thumb »
A person with this skill.
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hatchet man »
A professional killer.
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have a green thumb »
A person with a green thumb, a natural skill for gardening.
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have a way with »
To be skilled, adept, or graceful in something.
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hide one's light under a bushel »
For a person to keep some talent or skill hidden from other people. The tone is that a person having a talent which they can be proud of ought not hide it.
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hit man »
hired killer
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hold a candle »
To compare; to be even remotely of the same quality, skill, etc. as another.
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hot on »
Skilled at.
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if looks could kill »
A phrase said upon catching sight of someone's giving you a particularly nasty look of discontent or disapproval.
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in for a dime, in for a dollar »
Americanised form of in for a penny, in for a pound.1983, Allen Drury, Decision, p. 356:In for a dime, in for a dollar, he thought crazily, and said what he had to say in a voice he forced to stay level and calm.1998, Ellen Miller, Like Being Killed, p. 47:In for a dime, in for a dollar. I whispered to Gerry,
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it's not what you know but who you know »
For success, and especially to obtain employment, one's knowledge and skills are less useful and less important than one's network of personal contacts.1951, G. P. Bush and L. H. Hattery, "Federal Recruitment of Junior Engineers," Science, vol. 114, no. 2966, p. 456:Eighty-four students referred to political influence as a disadvantage of federal employment with such remarks as: "There are too many political connections necessary . . . it's not what you know but who you know
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jack of all trades, master of none »
A master of integration, who knows enough from many learned trades and skills to be able to bring their disciplines together in a practical manner; a polymath; a renaissance man.
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jack of all trades, master of none »
A person who has a competent grasp of many skills but who is not outstanding in any one.
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kill off »
To eliminate, or make extinct.
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kill off »
To represent or portray as being dead.
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kill the fatted calf »
To begin a festive celebration and rejoicing for someone's long-awaited return.
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kill the goose that lays the golden eggs »
To seek short term gain at the sacrifice of long term profit.
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kill the messenger »
To blame a problem on whoever reported it; to hold somebody accountable a problem because he/she brought attention to it.
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kill the rabbit »
To get a positive test result from an old-fashioned pregnancy test.
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kill two birds with one stone »
To solve two problems at once.
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legal beagle »
A skillful and adroit attorney.
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legal eagle »
A skillful and adroit attorney.
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legwork »
Skillful or vigorous use of the legs, as in dance or sports.
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long goodbye »
Nickname for Alzheimer's disease, especially for the final phase of the disease, during which the patient suffers a progressive decline of cognitive and motor skills and gradually loses the ability to recognize and to communicate with family and friends.[1]; nickname for the relationship between a person suffering from Alzheimer's disease and that person's family or friends.
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lose one's touch »
To lose one's special mastery of or knack for a particular skill or activity.
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make a killing »
To win or earn a large amount of money.
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managerial inbreeding »
Bad management, caused by managers making poor selection choices in recruitment, rewards, and promotions of the staff that report to them, leading to another generation of managers who lack the necessary skill sets to reward and promote the most effective staff.
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old hat »
Something with which one is very familiar, or in which one is experienced or skilled.
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one-trick pony »
A person or group noteworthy for only a single achievement, skill, or characteristic.
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overkill »
A destructive capacity that exceeds that needed to destroy an enemy; especially with nuclear weapons.
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overkill »
An unnecessary excess of whatever is needed to achieve a goal.
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people person »
Someone who is happier or more skilled at dealing with people rather than things or concepts.
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pinch-hit »
To do something in the place of another person who is not able to perform or is less skilled; to substitute or stand in for somebody.
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play Old Harry »
Blenkiron and I have been moving in the best circles as skilled American engineers who are going to play Old Harry with the British on the Tigris. — John Buchan, "Greenmantle", 1916..
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pop off »
To kill someone.
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price on one's head »
A compensation for capturing or killing a person, especially someone guilty of a crime.
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rag the puck »
To retain possession of the puck by skillful skating and stickhandling without attempting to score, as a deliberate tactic intended to use up time.
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rub out »
To kill.
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run down »
To hit someone with a car or other vehicle and injure or kill them.
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second nature »
A mindset, skill, or type of behavior so ingrained through habit or practice that it seems natural, automatic, or without a basis in conscious thought.
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serial killer »
murderer
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show off »
To exhibit; to demonstrate one's skill, talent, etc. for its own sake.
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silver bullet »
A bullet made of silver, usually with reference to the folkloric belief that such bullets are the only weapons which can kill a werewolf.
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sleep with the fishes »
To be killed and have one's body disposed off in the sea or other body of water.
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smooth operator »
A person who accomplishes tasks with efficiency and grace, especially one with verbal skills who is persuasive in interpersonal relationships, negotiation, etc.
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smooth operator »
A skillful, manipulative person, con artist, or clever scoundrel.
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stickhandle »
To maintain individual possession of the puck or ball by controlling it with movements of one's stick, especially to do so in a skillful manner.
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string up »
To kill by hanging, especially to lynch.
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that which doesn't kill you makes you stronger »
Used to express the sentiment that hardship or difficult experiences build moral character.
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try one's hand »
To attempt a skill, craft, or trade.
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what doesn't kill you makes you stronger »
Used to express the sentiment that hardship or difficult experiences build moral character.
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