banyan day »
In British naval tradition, this originally referred to a day of the week when galley kitchens served no meat on board ship.
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born with a silver spoon in one's mouth »
Note. The original nautical expression is just born with a silver spoon and describes those young gentlemen who were able to enter the Royal Navy without examination and whose promotion was assured. the converse was born with a wooden ladle.
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break ground »
To begin digging in the earth at the start of a new construction, or, originally, for cultivation.
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break new ground »
To begin excavating and levelling earth for a new building, or, originally, for cultivation.
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bring forward »
To make something happen earlier than originally planned.
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chickens coming home to roost »
Consequences visited upon someone who originally had appeared to escape them.
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dog and pony show »
Originally, a small, traveling circus featuring animals as entertainment.
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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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drink off »
To drink the entirety of in a short period; originally and especially, in a single gulp.
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he who smelt it dealt it »
(colloquial, originally) A person who calls attention to or complains about a fart is likely trying to pretend it wasn't his or her own.(colloquial, by extension) Used to suggest that a person calling attention to or complaining about a given problem may in fact be the source of the problem.
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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.
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laundry list »
Originally, a list of articles of clothing that had been sent to be laundered.
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put back »
To return something to it's original place.
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washed out »
Of clothes. When they lose some of their original colour from being washed so often.
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what goes around comes around »
The status eventually returns to its original value after completing some sort of cycle.A person's actions, whether good or bad, will often have consequences for that person.
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