Phrases.com »

Phrases related to: military-industrial complex

Yee yee! We've found 99 phrases and idioms matching military-industrial complex.

Sort:RelevancyA - Z
"life is a mathematical complex that you gain or lose with your actions."LifeRate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
des enfants perdus (military)A forlorn hope.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
break rankTo march or charge out of the designated order in a military unit.Rate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
call upAn order to report for military service.Rate it:

(5.00 / 6 votes)
every man for himself!Everyone has to fight for his or her own survival. This extraordinary admonition, generally applies during an extreme emergency, commercial or military wherein rescue assistance or other lifesaving help is unlikely.Rate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
full speed aheadA command, especially on military vessels, to move forward at maximum speed.Rate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
song and danceAn excessively complex set of instructions.Rate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
zero hourThe set time for an action, event, vital decision, or decisive change to take place; the hour at which a planned military operation is scheduledRate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
boots on the groundThis smacks of a military jargon. Troops deployed to confront enemy. Modern warfare can be conducted from helicopters, drones, bombers with remote directed missiles, rockets and missiles from ships.Rate it:

(4.67 / 3 votes)
break ranksTo march or charge out of the designated order in a military unit.Rate it:

(4.50 / 2 votes)
cannon fodderMilitary personnel who are regarded as expendable when attacking the enemy.Rate it:

(4.00 / 3 votes)
collateral damageA damage to things that are incidental to the intended target. It is frequently used as a military term where non-combatants are accidentally or unintentionally killed or wounded and/or non-combatant property damaged as result of the attack on legitimate enemy targets.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
dial inconfigure, set up, particularly a complex machine with many configuration options.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
esprit de corpsA shared spirit of comradeship, enthusiasm, and devotion to a cause among the members of a group, for example of a military unit.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
facts on the groundA euphemism, similar to fait accompli, used as an oblique way of saying that discussions over the possession of a given piece of territory has been rendered moot by the presence of military forces.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
pull outTo withdraw; especially of military forces; to retreat.Rate it:

(4.00 / 2 votes)
wild-goose chaseA task whose execution is inordinately complex relative to the value of the outcome.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
sally forth!An archaic military term. To exit a fortified position in order to assault a besieging force. The meaning has become more metaphorical over time.Rate it:

(3.50 / 2 votes)
about turnAn about face; a military command to a formation of soldiers to reverse the direction in which they are facing.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
baptism of fireThe first experience of a severe ordeal, especially a first experience of military combatRate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
beat upRepeatedly bomb a military target or targets.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
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.Rate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
I'm all right, JackIndicates a selfish attitude, not worried about any problems one's friends and neighbours might have. Often associated with strikes and other trade union industrial actions.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
magic bulletA simple remedy to a difficult or complex problem, especially a cure for a disease.Rate it:

(3.00 / 3 votes)
over one's headMore complex or confusing than one can understand; beyond one’s comprehension..Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
sabre-rattlingA flamboyant display of military power as an implied threat that it might be used.Rate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
divide and conquerA combination of political, military and economic strategies that aim to gain and maintain power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into chunks that individually have less power than the one implementing the strategy.(computing) Applied to various algorithms, such as quicksort, that solve a problem by splitting it recursively into smaller problems until all of the remaining problems are trivial.(as imperative, proverb) In order to rule securely, don't allow alliances of your enemies.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
iron eagleAn American military officer who has attained the rank of colonel but will not be promoted to the rank of general.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
pronunciamientoA military uprising or coup in Spain or the Spanish American republics, particularly in the 19th century. They received this designation because coups were usually accompanied by a statement declaring the existing government null and void.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
can of wormsA complex, troublesome situation arising when a decision or action produces considerable subsequent problems.Rate it:

(1.83 / 6 votes)
black tieEvening dress; a standard of dress which is less formal than white tie, consisting of black dinner jacket or tuxedo jacket, and matching trousers, white shirt and black bow tie or, possibly, military dress or national costume.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
war brideA woman who marries a man who is on active duty military in wartime.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
abstract ideaAn idea separated from a complex object, or from other ideas which naturally accompany it; as the solidity of marble when contemplated apart from its color or figure.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
aetas militarismilitary age.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
aide-de-camplower ranked military officerRate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
armoured carmilitary vehicleRate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
au temps!As you were! (military command).Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
back in the saddleA return to work, return to military detachment, return to usual lifestyle.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
bag of rationsA fussy or overly zealous military superior.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
beat one's swords into ploughsharesTo create a peaceful civilian instrument from military technologies.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
boot campA short, intensive, quasi-military program generally aimed at young offenders as an alternative to a jail term.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
boots on the groundThe ground forces actually fighting in a war or conflict, rather than troops not engaged or other military action such as air strikes.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
brain surgerySomething that is overly complex, detailed or confusing.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
brass ceilingAn unwritten, uncodified barrier to promotion or progression for women in law enforcement or the military.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
can of wormsA troublesome situation; an issue whose resolution is difficult or contentious, but not necessarily complex.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
cargo-200the code word referring to casualties for transportation in the Soviet and modern Russian military. In its official meaning, Cargo 200 refers to bodies contained in zinc-lined coffins, but in military context this code word can be used for dead bodies as they are transported from the battlefield.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
companyA military unit, typically consisting of two or three platoons.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
court martialmilitary trialRate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
don't ask, don't tellA policy of the U.S. military from 1993 to 2011, which barred openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual people from serving in the military, while also barring discrimination against closeted gays, lesbians, and bisexuals.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
don't ask, don't tell, don't harass, don't pursueFull name of the U.S. Military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy concerning the service of homosexuals in the military as defined in 10 USC § 654.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)

We need you!

Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

Alternative searches for military-industrial complex:

Quiz

Are you a phrases master?

»
______ up a fuss.
A breaking
B kicking
C making
D talking

Browse Phrases.com

#ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ