a little bird told me »
Of information which was gathered from a source not to be overtly exposed.
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as the crow flies »
In a straight line distance between two locations, as opposed to the road distance or over land distance.
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been to the rodeo »
Exposed to conmen and hucksters; experienced.
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caught in the act »
To be found doing something that you weren't supposed to be doing, while you're doing it.
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collect one's thoughts »
To become mentally composed, especially after being distressed, surprised, or disoriented; to become calm or organized in one's emotional state or thinking, as in preparation for a conversation, speech, decision, etc.
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comfort woman »
A woman forced, or supposedly recruited, into brothels by the Japanese occupation forces during World War II.
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dead set against »
Completely opposed, with no possibility of a change of mind.
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devil's advocate »
A canon lawyer appointed by the Church to argue against the canonization of the proposed candidate.
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hardball »
In baseball, a type of ball and baseball game, as opposed to softball.
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hardwired »
In humans and animals, genetically determined, instinctive behavior, as opposed to learned behavior.
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have one's wits about one »
To remain calm, composed, or aware.
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here's to »
Denoting proposed salutation while drinking alcohol, toast.
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in the sun »
Exposed to sunlight.
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keep one's cool »
To remain composed, calm, and even-tempered, especially in a provocative situation.
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murder will out »
Secrets or hidden crimes will eventually be exposed or discovered.
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new school »
A style, way of thinking, or method for accomplishing a task that is typical of the current era, as opposed to former eras.
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no brainer »
Something that supposedly doesn’t take much intellectual thought. Whoever says that something is a no brainer is usually the one with no brains.
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nod's as good as a wink to a blind bat »
The idea/proposed action is inconsequential to the current situation.
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old money »
The imperial system of measurement, as opposed to the metric system.
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on spec »
Short form of "on speculation": Creating a work with the hope of selling it, as opposed to creating a work "on commission" for hire.
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one at a time »
Individually, as opposed to collectively; slowly or methodically, figuratively.
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one thousand »
Used in a common chronometric counting scheme, in which each iteration is sequentially numbered and supposed to be approximately one second in length.
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painting rocks »
Pointless or futile work organised by the government, supposedly to increase employment but in fact merely disguising the unemployment level.
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popped the question »
proposed
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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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put one foot in front of the other »
To walk, decomposed to stress the fundamentality of the task.
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safe and sound »
Having come to no harm, especially after being exposed to danger.
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shoot off at the mouth »
To disclose some information that was supposed to be secret.
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show one's true colors »
To reveal how one really is, as opposed to how one has been portrayed.
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sleep with the fishes »
To be killed and have one's body disposed off in the sea or other body of water.
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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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supposed to »
Permitted.
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supposed to »
Required.
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take things as they come »
To accept and deal with events as they occur, with a composed state of mind.
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throw a sickie »
To take a day off from work, supposedly because of ill health. The illness could be either real or feigned.
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to be the cat's whiskers »
To perform better than was generally supposed possible.
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university of life »
The real world as a source of instruction, as opposed to a formal education.
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| BTW, Why won't you become an editor? |
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