a new broom sweeps clean »
New management will often make radical changes.
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act out »
To go through the process of a scene from a play, a charade or a pointless exercise.
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an apple a day »
Healthy eating and living using traditional temperate-zone fresh foods.
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April showers bring May flowers »
April, traditionally a rainy period, gives way to May, when flowers will bloom because of the water provided to them by the April rains.By extension, that a period of discomfort can provide the basis for a period of happiness.
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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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beefed out »
Having been improved greatly or upgraded; beefed up.
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best of both worlds »
A combination of two seemingly contradictory benefits.
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beyond one's pay grade »
Beyond one's capability.
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beyond one's pay grade »
Beyond one's level of authority.
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blanket term »
A word or phrase that is used to describe multiple groups of related things. The degree of relation may vary. Blanket terms often trade specificity for ease-of-use; in other words, a blanket term by itself gives little detail about the things that it describes or the relationships between them, but is easy to say and remember. Blanket terms often originate as slang, and eventually become integrated into the general vocabulary.
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bump up »
To promote a person to a higher grade.
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by trade »
As a profession; professionally.
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calling card »
A small printed card which identifies the bearer, traditionally presented for introduction when making a social visit to a home or when attending a formal social event or business meeting.
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cat's cradle »
A children's string game.
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cat's cradle »
Any complicated structure which appears to be without purpose.
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climb up »
To make a gradual ascent or increase.
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climb up »
To gradually ascend something.
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close down »
To stop trading as a business.
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come in »
Of a broadcast, such as radio or television, to have a strong enough signal to be able to be received well.
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count sheep »
To attempt to go to sleep by thinking of something boring, traditionally by counting imaginary sheep.
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cradle robber »
A person who marries or becomes romantically involved with someone who is much younger or who employs or otherwise engages a young person for a purpose inappropriate for his or her age.
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cutie pie »
A small hand-held radiation meter.
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dead air »
An unintended interruption in a radio broadcast during which there is no sound; a similar interruption of a television broadcast in which there is neither sound nor a video signal.
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disc jockey »
radio presenter
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do a slow burn »
To experience a gradually increasing feeling of anger or frustration.
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down the road, not across the street »
Along the radial artery rather than across the wrist from side to side.
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drift off »
To fall asleep in a gradual manner.
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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.
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factotum »
Jack of all trades.
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fade out »
decrease gradually
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far out »
New, radical and extreme.
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field day »
A parade day.
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film out »
To transfer images or animation from videotape or digital files to a traditional celluloid film print.
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fly in the face of »
To act in a manner highly contrary to; to counteract or contradict.
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fly-by-night »
Traveling businessmen and tradesmen.
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fool's paradise »
A state of happiness due to illusion or false hope.
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give away the store »
To transact, trade, or negotiate badly, by paying, providing, or conceding too much to the other party.
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home in on »
To focus or narrow down to something; to find or draw closer, as by trial and error or a gradual seeking process.
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horse opera »
A theatrical production, film, or program on radio or television depicting adventures of characters in the American Old West; a western.
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household name »
A genericized trademark or anepronym.
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in process of time »
In the course of time; as time goes on; gradually; in due course.
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jack of all trades »
One competent in many endeavors, especially one who excels in none of them.
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jack of all trades, master of none »
A master of integration, who knows enough from many learned trades and skills to be able to bring their disciplines together in a practical manner; a polymath; a renaissance man.
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jack of all trades, master of none »
A person who has a competent grasp of many skills but who is not outstanding in any one.
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jump the gun »
To trade securities based on information that is not yet public; to trade on inside information.
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little pitchers have big ears »
Small children often overhear more of what is said than adults realize or desire.1844, Charlotte M. Yonge, Abbeychurch, ch. 2:Seeing me listening to something she was saying to Mamma, she turned round upon me with that odious proverb, "Little pitchers have long ears."1939, "Bedtime Bedlam," Time, 17 Apr.:A caution to U. S. parents, but a joy to radio merchandising, is the dread truth that little pitchers have big ears.2002, Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, ISBN 9780743455961, p. 185:I suppose he might say pushed or went woowoo, but took a shit is, I fear, very much in the ballpark (little pitchers have big ears, after all).
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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.
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long ways, long lies »
Someone who comes back from a far-off country can tell lies without fear of being contradicted.
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make the grade »
To prove satisfactory; to be successful or worthy of merit.
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man up »
To "be a man about it"; to do the things a good man is traditionally expected to do, such as: taking responsibility for the consequences of one's actions; displaying bravery or toughness in the face of adversity; providing for one's family, etc.
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mixed message »
Any communication that is contradictory, inconsistent, or unclear, especially in its motive or intent.
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moses basket »
portable cradle
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off the radar »
Unlikely to happen, or be important in the near future or tending to escape detection or attention.
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over and out »
Used to signal the end of a conversation, especially one conducted by CB radio or the like.
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pan out »
By swirling dirt or crushed rock in a pan of water, in the manner of a traditional prospector seeking gold.
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parade of horribles »
A parade featuring a progression of people wearing comic and grotesque costumes.
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parade of horribles »
A rhetorical device employing a series of progressively more terrible results following from an act.
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pare down »
To reduce by paring or a similar gradual process.
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pass out »
To graduate, usually marked by the ceremony at the end of their training.
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play along »
To take part in a charade, deception, or practical joke.
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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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rain on someone's parade »
To disappoint or discourage someone.
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rob the cradle »
To marry or become romantically involved with a much younger person.
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rob the cradle »
To use a young person for a purpose inappropriate to his or her age.
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rub it in »
To add insult to injury; to emphasize one's strengths or another's weaknesses in a manner that degrades another.
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second banana »
A comedian who plays a secondary or supporting role, especially as straight man and traditionally in vaudeville or burlesque theatre.
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sign off »
Term used to describe the closing of a radio or television station's studios and cessation of a broadcasting signal, usually during the overnight hours.
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sign on »
The time of day when a radio or television station begins broadcasting, usually after being off the air for several hours.
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slop bowl »
One of the four components of the traditional tea set. Tea drinkers emptied their unwanted, cold tea into the slop bowl before refilling their cups with fresh, hot tea.
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slow burn »
A gradually increasing feeling of anger or frustration.
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snake oil »
Snake oil is a traditional Chinese medicine used to treat joint pain.
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spaghetti western »
Nickname for a motion picture produced by an Italian-based company and filmed in Europe, depicting a tale of cowboys and desperadoes set in the American Old West.
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stamp out »
To get rid of, eradicate.
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step down »
To gradually reduce something, a little at a time, as an electronic step down transformer.
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sweet hereafter »
Heaven; paradise as enjoyed in the afterlife.
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switch off »
To alternate between; to trade.
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take its toll »
To affect, especially negatively; to damage or degrade; to cause destruction.
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taper off »
To diminish or lessen gradually; to become smaller, slower, quieter, etc.
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trick of the trade »
A shortcut or other quick, or very effective way of doing things, that professional workers learn from experience.
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try one's hand »
To attempt a skill, craft, or trade.
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tune in »
To select a channel, station, etc., as on television or radio.
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two wrongs don't make a right »
(ethics) A wrongful action is not a morally appropriate way to correct or cancel a previous wrongful action.1915, William MacLeod Raine, The Highgrader, ch. 15:"But when it comes to taking what belongs to another
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under the radar »
Without attracting notice; in an undetected or secretive manner.
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walk the line »
To participate in the procession at a graduation ceremony; to graduate.
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wear off »
To disappear because of being abraded, over-polished, or abused.
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work out »
To extract gradually.
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