a watched kettle never boils »
Alternative form of a watched pot never boils.
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a watched pot never boils »
A process appears to go more slowly if one waits for it rather than engaging in other activities.
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all hell breaks loose »
Vi A place or state of fury, turmoil, destruction, or chaos.
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barrel »
The quantity which constitutes a full barrel. This varies for different articles and also in different places for the same article, being regulated by custom or by law. A barrel of wine is 31 1/2 gallons; a barrel of flour is 196 pounds; of beer 31 gallons; of ale 32 gallons; of crude oil 42 gallons.
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boil down »
As an allusion to the cooking technique of reducing liquids by heat, one boils down a problem, argument, etc. to its most central elements.
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boil down to »
to be equivalent to; to reduce to.
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brown power »
The production of electricity made from conventional sources, such as coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear power.
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bugger up »
To break or spoil something, or make it inoperative, useless etc.
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burn the midnight oil »
To work studiously, especially late into the night.
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cheese down »
To coil the tail of a rope on deck so as to present a neat appearance.
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dirty laundry »
A clothes hamper or other container used to place unclean or soiled laundry.
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dirty laundry »
Laundry that is unclean or soiled.
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fly in the ointment »
Something which ruins or spoils everything else; a nuisance or problem; an unpleasant or disagreeable detail.
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fork over »
To turn over soil with a gardening fork.
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go down the toilet »
To fail.
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go off the boil »
Cease to boil when heat is no longer applied.
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go off the boil »
To become less successful.
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go off the boil »
To become of diminished intensity or urgency.
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go off the boil »
To lose interest; to pall.
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Gone to the bad »
soured, spoiled, turned rotten
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gunk up »
To soil or dirty; to mess up; to clog.
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idiot light »
Any warning light or indicator on the dashboard of a car, designed to alert the driver of problems, such as the parking brake being on or the oil being low.
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in the toilet »
Finished; to an end.
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lap of luxury »
A position or situation in which one is spoiled and indulged.
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lemon drop »
boiled sweet
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mess up »
To make a mess of; to untidy, disorder, soil, or muss.
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mess up »
To cause a problem with; to introduce an error or mistake in; to make muddled or confused; spoil; ruin.
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oil burner »
A device whose operation causes apparent combustion of lubricating oil.
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oil burner »
A heating device which burns fuel oil; an oil furnace.
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oil burner »
A machine that uses oil as its fuel.
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oil colour »
painting
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oil painting »
works of art
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pour oil on troubled waters »
To calm something or someone who is tenacious or misbehaving.
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proverbs run in pairs »
Every proverb seems to be contradicted by another proverb with an opposed message, such as "too many cooks spoil the broth" and "many hands make light work."1863, Sir Richard Burton, Abeokuta and the Camaroons Mountains, vol. 1, Tinsley (London), p. 309:Moreover, all the world over, proverbs run in pairs, and pull both ways: for the most part one neutralizes, by contradiction, the other.
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rake »
A garden tool with a row of pointed teeth fixed to a long handle, used for collecting grass or debris, or for loosening soil.
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shit oneself »
To soil oneself.
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shuffle off this mortal coil »
To die; to divest oneself of one's mortal body.
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snake oil »
A fraudulent, ineffective potion or nostrum; panacea.
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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.
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snake oil »
Any product with exaggerated marketing but questionable or unverifiable quality.
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snake oil »
Snake oil is a traditional Chinese medicine used to treat joint pain.
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spare the rod and spoil the child »
If one does not discipline a child, he or she will never learn obedience and good manners.
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spend a penny »
To use the toilet.
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spoil the ship for a hap'orth of tar »
To have something important fail for want of a small amount of money or effort.
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straight man »
A member of a team of comic performers who plays a supporting role by helping to set up jokes and punch lines through engaging in preparatory dialog with the principal comedian; a foil who plays such a role in theatrical comedy.
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to the victor go the spoils »
The winner of a conflict wins additional benefits, beyond just the subject of the conflict.
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too many cooks spoil the broth »
If too many people try to take charge at a task, the end product might be ruined.
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touch cloth »
To be on the point of soiling oneself.
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upset the applecart »
To spoil carefully laid plans or arrangements; to spoil something.
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