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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at cross-purposes »
Mutually misunderstanding each other's plans, intentions or meanings.
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behind the bit »
An equestrian term, meaning that the horse is evading the bit.
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between Scylla and Charybdis »
Similar in meaning to between a rock and a hard place.
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blind »
An 1800s baseball term meaning no score.
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clothes don't make the man »
An aphorism meaning that you cannot judge a person solely by his appearance. Usually pertains to men.
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double entendre »
A phrase that has two meanings, especially where one is innocent and literal, the other risqué, bawdy, or ironic; an innuendo..
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e pluribus unum »
A national motto of the United States of America, meaning "From many, one", or "out of many, one", referring to the integration of 13 independent colonies into one country, and that has taken an additional meaning, giving the pluralistic nature of American society from immigration.
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empty promise »
A promise that is either not going to be carried out, worthless or meaningless.
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face value »
No more or less than what is stated; a literal or direct meaning or interpretation.
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full of hot air »
Talking a lot, especially without saying anything of value or meaning.
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give it the gun »
Literal meaning.
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have a screw loose »
A phrase meaning that the subject is insane or irrational.
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hit home »
To be especially memorable or meaningful; to be fully understood, believed or appreciated.
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hit the pavement »
Literal meaning.
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lord of the flies »
A ruler over a worthless kingdom; leader of a meaningless microcosm.
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miss the point »
To fail to grasp the meaning of an utterance.
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now you're cooking »
A phrase, often given in response, meaning that the subject has switched to a more suitable or more efficient approach.
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read between the lines »
To infer a meaning that is not stated explicitly.
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see someone's point »
To comprehend the meaning that someone is trying to convey.
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take someone's point »
To grasp the essential meaning of what a person is saying.
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