don't be penny wise and pound foolish »
Don't be careful when it comes to spending small amounts of money, but careless when spending much larger amounts.Don't focus on minutiae and lose sight of the big picture; don't obsess over tiny inconsequential efficiencies while glaring inefficiencies are going on elsewhere.
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don't give up your day job »
Implying that they could not earn a living from it without other regular employment.
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don't shit where you eat »
(idiomatic, vulgar) One should not cause trouble in a place, group, or situation in which one regularly finds oneself.1998 April 14, Nelson Navarro, "Ever faithful, ever true," Manila Standard (Philippines) (retrieved 12 Aug. 2011):The guiding principle is Don't shit where you eat. Office romances are always destructive of morale and objectivity.2003 Oct. 8, Jonathan Valania, "Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Pussy," Philadelphia Weekly (retrieved 12 Aug. 2011):Limbaugh was scheduled to deliver the keynote speech at the NAB convention in, of all places, Philadelphia, thus violating the cardinal law of the animal kingdom: Don't shit where you eat.2006 Sept. 19, Michael Musto, "NY Mirror," Village Voice (retrieved 12 Aug. 2011):Mitchell refused to indulge in on-set romances with either gender. "You don't shit where you eat," he told me, plainly.
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double Dutch »
A language game akin to pig Latin.
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double Dutch »
Incomprehensible language.
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down in the dumps »
Sad; lacking engagement or enthusiasm.
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down the tubes »
Into a state of collapse or failure.
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down to the short strokes »
In the final steps or decisive phase of an undertaking, especially one which has been lengthy or laborious.
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drain the swamp when up to one's neck in alligators »
(idiomatic) When performing a long and complex task, and when you've gotten utterly immersed in secondary and tertiary unexpected tangential subtasks, it's easy to lose sight of the initial objective. This sort of distraction can be particularly problematic if the all-consuming subtask or sub-subtask is not, after all, particularly vital to the original, primary goal, but ends up sucking up time and resources (out of all proportion to its actual importance) only because it seems so urgent.
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draw a blank »
To be unable to produce a required piece of information.
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draw out »
To make something last for more time than is necessary; prolong; extend.
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draw stumps »
To declare an end to the days play, and remove the bails and sometimes the stumps.
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drive the porcelain bus »
To vomit, especially while drunk or hung over.
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drive-by media »
Media professionals who "spray" a bunch of repetitive misstatements, mistaken and misinterpreted news reports to cause excitement and confusion. They then figuratively "drive off" leaving the cleanup of their mess and hysteria to others, to correct and properly explain and interpret.
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drop a bomb »
To announce surprising or alarming information suddenly and without warning.
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