add insult to injury »
To further a loss with mockery or indignity.
|
asleep at the switch »
Neglectful of an important task, responsibility, or opportunity.
|
at first »
Initially; at the start.
|
at one with »
United with; in tune with.
|
baptism by fire »
A change in initial attitude or ideals through a traumatic situation.
|
barnburner »
Liberal faction of the New York state United States Democratic Party in the mid 19th century.
|
bite the bullet »
To endure a punishment or consequence with dignity or stoicism.
|
blow one's chances »
To forfeit opportunities to achieve some goal.
|
blue state »
A state of the United States voting Democratic in a given election, or tending to vote Democratic in general.
|
bluewash »
To tout a business or organization's commitment to social responsibility, and to use this perception for public relations and economic gain; to present a humanitarian front in this manner.
|
borganism »
An organization of autonomous organisms that exhibit collectivism: individual "units" that have merged to yield a unified construct. Such an amalgam may possess a collective consciousness, arguably an emergent phenomenon of social networking.
|
bottom of the ninth »
By extension, any last chance or final opportunity.
|
break ground »
To initiate a new venture, or to advance beyond previous achievements.
|
break new ground »
By extension, to initiate a new venture.
|
break rank »
To march or charge out of the designated order in a military unit.
|
burn one's bridges »
To destroy one's path, connections, reputation, opportunities, etc.
|
by all means »
Yes certainly; definitely.
|
by no means »
Certainly not; definitely not.
|
call off the dogs »
During a one-sided sports contest, to remove the first-string unit of a team from the game after dominating the opponent.
|
cash in »
To profit from; to use an opportunity to maximum advantage, especially financially.
|
cast off »
To finish the last row of knitted stitches and remove them securely from the needle.
|
cast on »
To start the first row of knitting by putting stitches on a needle.
|
catch-as-catch-can »
Intermittent; only when possible or when the opportunity presents itself.
|
che sera sera »
Used to express a personal philosophy of fatalism1604, Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus:Why then belike we must sin, / And so consequently die. / Aye, we must die an everlasting death. / What doctrine call you this ? Che, sera, sera: / What will be*, shall be; Divinity adieu. / These Metaphysics of Magicians, / And necromantic books, are heavenly.
|
come unhinged »
To become angered or crazy; to lose control of one's senses or sanity.
|
company »
A military unit, typically consisting of two or three platoons.
|
company »
A unit of firefighters and their equipment.
|
cross the aisle »
To vote, unite, or otherwise co-operate with members of another political party in order to achieve governmental or political action.
|
crown jewels »
The male genitalia.
|
curveball »
An unexpected turn of events initiated by an opponent or chance.
|
dead to rights »
With sufficient evidence to establish responsibility definitively.
|
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.
|
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.
|
end of the world »
End of humanity.
|
esprit de corps »
A shared spirit of comradeship, enthusiasm, and devotion to a cause among the members of a group, for example of a military unit.
|
feather one's nest »
To achieve benefits, especially financial ones, by taking advantage of the opportunities with which one is presented; to amass a comfortable amount of personal wealth.
|
fencepost problem »
In computer programming, a problem dealing with how to treat the initial or boundary values of a discrete problem.
|
fine feathers make fine birds »
Something that appears beautiful or good is by definition beautiful or good.
|
fire up »
To ignite.
|
firm up »
To make tentative plans more definite.
|
fish or cut bait »
To choose between taking action now, or forgoing the opportunity and putting that energy into another endeavor; to decide.
|
food chain »
The feeding relationships between species in a biotic community.
|
free ride »
An opportunity or benefit which has no cost, especially one enjoyed or undertaken at the expense of others.
|
get one's foot in the door »
To initiate contact or a relationship; to gain access, especially to an entry-level job.
|
go out with »
Often in hopes that the relationship will become more longterm as in definition 1.
|
golden opportunity »
Ideal moment to do something.
|
golden ticket »
A qualification, person or thing that can provide lucrative opportunities.
|
hold your fire »
Do not discharge your weapon. Used originally for weapons needing a spark or lighting of a fuse to ignite gunpowder, now sometimes used to mean any weapon launching a projectile.
|
honorable mention »
An award or recognition given to something that does not make it to a higher standing but is worth mentioning in an honorable way.
|
if you lie with dogs you will get fleas »
It is important whom to choose as one's closest acquanitances.
|
in for a penny, in for a pound »
Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof; accepting that one must
|
in the driver's seat »
Having the most important role in a storyline or recognition. Of primary importance.
|
in unity there is strength »
More can be accomplished by a team with a common goal, than individuals.
|
installed base »
The number of units of a system or product that are currently in use.
|
jump at »
To accept something enthusiastically. Usually an opportunity, or chance, or job etc.
|
keep tabs on »
To monitor; to keep track of; to watch.
|
keep your hair on »
An admonition to stay calm.
|
keep your shirt on »
An admonition to be more patient or to calm down.
|
kick oneself »
To reproach oneself for making a mistake or missing an opportunity.
|
knock-on effect »
The continued running of an engine after the ignition has been turned off; dieseling.
|
land of opportunity »
A nickname for the United States.
|
larger-than-life »
Of greater size or magnitude than is naturally or normally the case.
|
lay about »
To set about, with infinitive or gerund.
|
lay open »
In Japan and South Korea, to publish a patent for initial public review, prior to the formal application for registration.
|
lead time »
The amount of time between the initiation of some process and its completion, e.g. the time required to manufacture or procure a product; the time required before something can be provided or delivered.
|
leader of the free world »
The President of the United States.
|
loaded word »
Any word, set phrase or idiom that has strong positive or negative connotations beyond their ordinary definition.
|
lone gunman »
An individual person who acts on his or her own initiative, without partners, especially one who has sole responsibility for doing something questionable, confidential, or iniquitous.
|
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.
|
make hay »
To take advantage of an opportunity.
|
make hay while the sun shines »
To act while an opportunity exists; to take action while a situation is favorable.
|
miss out »
To miss an experience or lose an opportunity, etc. that should not be missed.
|
miss the boat »
To fail to take advantage of an opportunity; to overlook or be too late to pursue an option or course of action.
|
mouth of a sailor »
The characteristic of regularly using vulgar language, especially strong profanities; a person having this characteristic.
|
music to one's ear »
Some unexpected good news; a favorable outcome after some initial confusion or delay.
|
nine lives »
Durability; near immunity to damage.
|
old money »
The monetary system used in the United Kingdom before decimalisation and consisting of pounds, shillings, and pence.
|
on the clock »
Remunerated per unit of time.
|
on the make »
Actively seeking an opportunity for self-advancement; eager to ingratiate oneself to others in order to secure some advantage.
|
once or twice »
A small, indefinite number of times.
|
one who hesitates is lost »
A person who spends too much time contemplating what to do may miss a valuable but fleeting opportunity.
|
open ended »
without definite limits
|
out the window »
A missed opportunity.
|
outsider »
A newcomer with little or no experience in an organization or community.
|
outsider »
One who is not part of a community or organization.
|
pick up stitches »
Stitches to the knitting needle that were previously bound off, or that belong to the selvage, during the process of knitting or entrelac.
|
plead the fifth »
To invoke the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which protects witnesses from being forced to incriminate themselves.
|
pop the cherry »
To break the hymen; to lose one's virginity.
|
potty mouth »
The characteristic of regularly using vulgar language, especially strong profanities; a person having this characteristic.
|
pull together »
To unite for a common objective.
|
put down »
To pay an initial amount of money on a large purchase.
|
red state »
A state of the United States voting Republican in a given election, or tending to vote Republican in general.
|
root cause »
An initiating cause of a chain of events which leads to an outcome or effect of interest.
|
run for one's money »
A reasonable opportunity to succeed, perform acceptably, or escape harm, especially in a difficult situation.
|
second childhood »
The period or state of cognitive decline of an elderly person, characterized by childlike judgment and behavior.
|
second string »
In sports, a unit of players that plays behind the first string.
|
set off »
To begin; to cause; to initiate.
|
shit or get off the pot »
To choose between taking action now, or foregoing the opportunity until a later date.
|
shotgun »
A one-story dwelling with no hallways or corridors, with the rooms arranged in a straight line. Mostly heard in the southern United States.
|
size up »
To evaluate; to estimate or anticipate the magnitude, difficulty, or strength of something.
|
slippery slope »
A chain of events that, once initiated, cannot be halted; especially one in which the final outcome is undesirable or precarious.
|
snake oil »
A type of 19th century patent medicine sold in the United States that claimed to contain snake fat, supposedly a Native American remedy for various ailments.
|
spark off »
To initiate something by providing the necessary conditions.
|
spark spread »
The difference between the cost of the fuel required to produce a unit of electricity, and the price of that same unit of electricity.
|
step up to the plate »
To initiate action; to assume a responsibility.
|
strike while the iron is hot »
To act on an opportunity promptly; to avoid waiting.
|
take upon »
To take charge of an item of business, or an obligation, as a personal initiative.
|
the early bird gets the worm »
Whoever arrives first has the best chance of success; some opportunities are only available to the first competitors.
|
the world is one's oyster »
All opportunities are open to someone, the world is theirs.
|
the world is one's oyster »
In order to achieve something in this world, one has to grab the opportunity.
|
there are plenty more fish in the sea »
There are many more potential opportunities available.
|
there are plenty of fish in the sea »
There are many more potential opportunities available.
|
there but for the grace of God go I »
A recognition that others' misfortune could be one's own, if it weren't for the blessing/kindness/luck bestowed by fate or the Divine.Man's fate is in God's hands.More generally, our fate is not entirely in our own hands.
|
thick as thieves »
Intimate, close-knit.
|
third string »
A unit of players that plays behind the first and second strings; a junior varsity team.
|
those who will not when they may, when they will they shall have nay »
(archaic) One should take immediate advantage of an opportunity that may not be available later.
|
tomorrow is another day »
Tomorrow will bring new opportunities and a fresh start for one's endeavors.1600, author unknown, "Phillidaes Love-call to her Coridon, and his replying" (song), in England's Helicon, printed at London by I.R. for John Flasket:Phil. Yonder comes my Mother, Coridon,whether shall I flie?Cor. Under yonder Beech my lovely one,while she passeth by.Say to her thy true-Love was not heere,remember, remember,to morrow is another day:1896, Amelia E. Barr, A Knight of the Nets, ch. 8:"Well, well, my dear lass, to-night we cannot work, but we may sleep. . . . Keep a still heart tonight, and tomorrow is another day."1936, Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind, ch. 63:"Tomorrow, I'll think of some way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day."2005, Fran Schumer, "JERSEY: In Princeton, Taking On Harvard's Fuss About Women," New York Times, 19 June (retrieved 18 Aug. 2009):"Half of me is depressed
|
watch one's mouth »
In the imperative form, used as a warning to avoid or stop using inappropriate language, especially profanity, or disrespectful utterances.
|
well ain't that the catfish in the trap »
A sentence commonly spoken in the Southern United States. It can often be used in place of "well, I'll be damned". Used to express surprise.
|
when you're up to your neck in alligators, it's easy to forget that the initial objective was to drain the swamp »
Only because it seems so urgent.
|
whistle-stop train tour »
A tour in a political campaign that makes many brief stops in small communities.
|
wits' end »
Limit of one's sanity or mental capacity; point of desperation.
|
yoke together »
To unite, or join, or combine.
|
| Search from any page on the Web with Abbreviations.com AutoSearch. It's free! |
[