a day late and a dollar short »
Action that was taken too late and too feeble to be of any use.
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be taken ill »
Due to sudden illness.
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be taken ill »
To become ill.
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brace of shakes »
The time taken for a sail to shake or shiver twice as a ship comes into the wind.
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busy work »
Work or activity performed with the intention or result of occupying time, and not necessarily to accomplish something productive; routine work of low priority undertaken for the sake of avoiding idleness.
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dead ringer »
Someone or something that very closely resembles another; someone or something easily mistaken for another.
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drive-by media »
Media professionals who "spray" a bunch of repetitive misstatements, mistaken and misinterpreted news reports to cause excitement and confusion. They then figuratively "drive off" leaving the cleanup of their mess and hysteria to others, to correct and properly explain and interpret.
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e pluribus unum »
A national motto of the United States of America, meaning "From many, one", or "out of many, one", referring to the integration of 13 independent colonies into one country, and that has taken an additional meaning, giving the pluralistic nature of American society from immigration.
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eat crow »
To recognize that one has been shown to be mistaken or outdone, especially by admitting that one has made a humiliating error.
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field day »
A day of class taken away from school for a field trip.
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free ride »
An opportunity or benefit which has no cost, especially one enjoyed or undertaken at the expense of others.
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from my cold, dead hands »
A statement that something will not be taken away from you until the day you die.
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get taken in »
To be fooled; to fall for.
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get taken in »
To be unofficially fostered.
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hair of the dog »
An alcoholic drink taken the morning after to cure a hangover or withdrawal symptoms.
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his back is up »
He is offended or angry; an expression or idea taken from a cat; that animal, when angry, always raising its back. An allusion also sometimes used to jeer a crooked man.
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holding pattern »
A path taken by an aircraft waiting to land.
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it's not the whistle that pulls the train »
Boasting and loud talk should not be mistaken for the work that produces real achievements; bravado is no proof of action.1956, James Reston, "Washington: It's Not the Whistle that Pulls the Train," New York Times, 1 July, p. E8:
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nut-cutting time »
Time to gather nuts before they are taken by other animals or buried in snow.
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out of the way »
Taken care of.
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rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic »
To do something pointless or insignificant that will soon be overtaken by events, or that contributes nothing to the solution of a current problem.
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straight out of the chute »
Something done immediately, or "from the beginning". Taken from rodeo routine: the bucking bronco, or bull, or the calf for the calf-roping contest is kept in a narrow pen, a chute, until it is released and dashes out to its fate.
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to go »
Served in a package or takeout container so as to be taken away from a restaurant rather than eaten on the premises.
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whole enchilada »
All of something or a group of related things taken in totality.
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you never know what you've got till it's gone »
Good friends and acquaintances shouldn't be taken for granted.
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