apple of somebody's eye »
A favourite, a particular preference, or a loved one; the object of somebody's affections.
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bat away »
To knock an object, usually a ball.
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beam up »
To teleport another person or object in the same manner.
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big boy »
A large object or person.
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bright-line rule »
A clearly defined rule or standard, comprised of objective factors, which leaves little or no room for varying interpretation.
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bung up »
To close an opening with a cork, cork like object or other improvised obstruction.
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calling card »
An attribute, object, or behavior which is distinctly characteristic of someone or something.
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cat's pyjamas »
A highly sought-after and fancy example of something, usually referring to inanimate objects.
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chopped liver »
A person or object which is not worthy of being noticed; someone or something insignificant.
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conversation piece »
interesting object
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dead as a doornail »
Unquestionably dead. Used for both inanimate objects and once living beings.
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debris field »
Any area, non-dependent of locale, space, or contour, that contains the debris of wreckage, impact, sinking, or other material that once constituted a complete object. Debris fields can be found at the site of air crashes, water vessel sinking, explosions of buildings, collapses, and other events that render a whole entity into components, pieces, or other non-whole items.
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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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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 the short straw »
To select the shortest straw or other object while drawing straws.
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eye candy »
Any object or sight with considerable visual appeal.
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fair game »
An goal or object that may legitimately be sought.
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fishtail »
The tail of a fish, or an object resembling this.
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game plan »
Any strategy devised to reach a given objective.
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go in off »
To pot the cue ball accidentally after hitting the object ball.
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grate »
A horizontal metal grille through which water, ash, or small objects can fall, while larger objects cannot.
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gunboat diplomacy »
The pursuit of foreign policy objectives with the aid of conspicuous displays of military power.
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haul off »
To alter course so as to get farther away from an object.
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hot potato »
A child's game in which players pass a ball or other item between them, with the object of avoiding being left holding the item when time expires.
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keep one's eye on the ball »
My ethos has always been to be very straight with people, tell it as it is. It doesn't often make people happy but I found that over a period of time it's better to be that way. So being straight, also being very focused on your objectives, keep your eye on the ball and not get deflected away from it.
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kick in »
To kick or strike so as to cause the object struck to collapse or fall inwards.
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knacker's yard »
A place to send a person or object that is spent beyond all reasonable use.
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knowledge is power »
With knowledge and/or education, one's potential or ability to succeed in the pursuit of his objectives will certainly increase.
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last word »
The finest, highest, or ultimate representative of some class of objects.
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laughing stock »
An object of ridicule, someone who is publicly ridiculed; a butt of sport.
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lean and mean »
Efficient because of having nothing in excess of what is needed, and single-minded in one's objective.
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light bucket »
Nickname for a reflecting telescope, especially one with a relatively large aperture and suitable for observing deep sky objects such as nebulae and galaxies.
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line one's pockets »
To accumulate personal wealth, especially in an illegal or morally objectionable manner.
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look off »
To mislead by directing one's apparent attention away from one's true object of intent.
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make no bones about »
To see no difficulty in, have no objection to.
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nose test »
An inspection of an object using the sense of smell, as for freshness of food.
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object lesson »
A lesson taught using a familiar or unusual object as a focus.
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object lesson »
A punishment intended as a deterrent to others.
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object lesson »
An example that typifies a principle.
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object lesson »
Anything used an example or lesson which serves to warn others as to the outcomes that result from a particular action or behavior, as exemplified by the fates of those who followed that course.
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on steroids »
To a greater degree, exaggerating the characteristics of the previously named object.
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paint with a broad brush »
To describe a class of objects or a kind of phenomenon in general terms, without specific details and without attention to individual variations.
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peashooter »
A toy gun, consisting of a tube through which peas or small objects are blown.
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pick one's nose »
The act of picking one's nose, insertion of a finger or other object into one's nostril.
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pick up »
To collect an object, especially in passing.
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piece of ass »
A very attractive woman, when considered as a sex object.
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pull together »
To unite for a common objective.
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round off »
To change the shape of an object to make it more circular.
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screen out »
To use a screen, grate, sieve or similar means to separate large from small objects or particles.
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sight unseen »
Not having seen the object beforehand.
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smell test »
An inspection of an object using the sense of smell, as for freshness of food.
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spectator sport »
Something, especially a process or activity, which is a popular object of observation; an activity which a person prefers to watch rather than to participate in.
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take exception »
To take offense; to object or protest.
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take the biscuit »
To be particularly bad, objectionable, or egregious.
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take the cake »
To be particularly bad, objectionable, or egregious.
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that's the way life is »
That is the way things happenCertain things cannot be changed, helped or improved; struggle and objection are pointless.1935, Louis Bromfield, The Man Who Had Everything [1], page 279:That's the way life is, and there's no use trying to go against it.1979, Jay Edward Abrams, A Theology of Christian Counseling: More Than Redemption [2], ISBN 0310511011, page 45:There are no standards, no values; that's the way life is. Learn to accept it and slide with it. Stop fighting it.2002, B. Eugene Ellison, Rings of the Templars, ISBN 059524050X, page 337:Shit happens; that's the way life is. In fact, I want you to take an additional thousand for your efforts.
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the name of the game »
The overall purpose; the principal goal, or objective.
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there's no accounting for taste »
When it comes to subjective matters of taste, people have wildly different opinions.Disagreements about matters of taste can't be objectively resolved.
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throw one's weight around »
To exercise influence or authority especially to an excessive degree or in an objectionable manner.
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thumb one's nose »
To act disrespectfully, especially by flouting the object of disrespect.
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trick out »
To trick out; to mod or customize an object, typically for the purpose of both personalization as well as enhancing the object's performance capabilities and more particularly for the purpose of performing stunts with that object.
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whatever it takes »
Anything that may be required to achieve an objective.
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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.
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worm's-eye view »
A view of an object from below, from the ground.
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| BTW, Why won't you become an editor? |
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