a good beginning makes a good ending »
Good beginnings promise a good end; start off on a good note to reap the benefits at the end.
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a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step »
even the longest and most difficult ventures have a starting point
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about turn »
An about face; a military command to a formation of soldiers to reverse the direction in which they are facing.
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amber nectar »
Lager beer.
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ass into gear »
Get going; get moving; start producing.
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at first »
Initially; at the start.
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back to square one »
Located back at the start, as after a dead-end or failure.
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back-cloth star »
An actor who stands upstage, forcing the other actors to face him and turn their backs to the audience, in order to gain more attention to himself.
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bag of rations »
A fussy or overly zealous military superior.
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bar star »
A female who frequents bars or lounges, usually late at night.
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bastardly gullion »
A bastard's bastard.
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beam up »
To be teleported over a long distance by means of a specific imaginary technology, specifically from the surface of a planet to an orbiting starship.
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beat up »
Repeatedly bomb a military target or targets.
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bigger fish to fry »
A higher valued result or target to reach.
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bluewash »
To tout a business or organization's commitment to social responsibility, and to use this perception for public relations and economic gain; to present a humanitarian front in this manner.
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boot camp »
A short, intensive, quasi-military program generally aimed at young offenders as an alternative to a jail term.
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boot up »
To start a computer using its bootstrap procedure.
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break a sweat »
To start sweating.
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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 into »
To try to start in a profession or business.
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break rank »
To march or charge out of the designated order in a military unit.
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break the ice »
To start to get to know people, by avoiding awkwardness.
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brickbat »
A criticism or uncomplimentary remark hurled at artwork or other recipient.
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bring up »
To turn on power or start, as of a machine.
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butt-naked »
Stark-naked, completely nude.
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call up »
An order to report for military service.
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Cannon fodder »
Military personnel who are regarded as expendable when attacking the enemy.
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cast on »
To start the first row of knitting by putting stitches on a needle.
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chump change »
An amount of remuneration, reward, or other monetary recompense considered to be insultingly small.
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chump-change »
Of or pertaining to something of little monetary value.
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come by »
To obtain; to get, now especially by chance or involuntarily.
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come on »
To get one's period, start menstruating.
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company »
A military unit, typically consisting of two or three platoons.
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court martial »
military trial
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crank up »
To start something mechanical, an act that often used to involve cranking.
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cut the mustard »
To suffice; to be good or effective enough.
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dawn of a new day »
A new beginning; a fresh start; an important, promising turning point.
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dead duck »
A project that is doomed to failure from the start.
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deadbeat dad »
A man, especially one who is divorced or estranged from his partner, who fails to provide monetary child support when he is legally required to do so.
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dictated but not read »
Dictated, as to a secretary or stenographer, but not proofread by the person who dictated the text so annotated.
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dive in »
To start a new endeavor enthusiastically and wholeheartedly.
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divide and conquer »
A combination of political, military and economic strategies that aim to gain and maintain power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into chunks that individually have less power than the one implementing the strategy.(computing) Applied to various algorithms, such as quicksort, that solve a problem by splitting it recursively into smaller problems until all of the remaining problems are trivial.(as imperative, proverb) In order to rule securely, don't allow alliances of your enemies.
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don't get me started »
About the subject currently being discussed.
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don't go there »
Don't start talking about that.
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drive home »
To push to or into a target.
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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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everything happens for a reason »
All events are purposeful.Everything happens for a reason, so there is no such thing as failure. Mary-Kate OlsenPeople like to say "everything happens for a reason." If you repeat that in your head long enough that starts to sound like "anything can happen with a razor." Laura KightlingerI believe that everything happens for a reason, but I think it's important to seek out that reason - that's how we learn. Drew Barrymore
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face off »
The starting point, in a match of ice hockey. Two players face each other, for snatching the puck.
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facts on the ground »
A euphemism, similar to fait accompli, used as an oblique way of saying that discussions over the possession of a given piece of territory has been rendered moot by the presence of military forces.
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fall on one's sword »
To voluntarily take the blame for a situation.
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feed a cold, starve a fever »
Eating more will cure the common cold, and eating less will cure a fever.1887, J. H. Whelan, "The Treatment of Colds.", The Practitioner, vol. 38, pg. 180:"Feed a cold, starve a fever." There is a deal of wisdom in the first part of this advice. A person with a catarrh should take an abundance of light nutritious food, and some light wine, but avoid spirits, and above all tobacco.1968, Katinka Loeser, The Archers at Home, publ. Atheneum, New York, pg. 60:I have a cold. 'Feed a cold, starve a fever.' You certainly know that.2009, Shelly Reuben, Tabula Rasa, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, ISBN 015101079X, pg. 60:They say feed a cold, starve a fever, but they don't tell you what to do when you got both, so I figured scrambled eggs, tea, and toast.
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feed into »
To be a tributary of another river or waterway.
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fire up »
To start.
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first among equals »
In the British and other parliamentary systems, a term used to describe the relationship of the prime minister to the other members of the cabinet.
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first port of call »
The first place to go to start a process.
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first port of call »
The first port that a vessel calls in at after the start of a voyage.
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fits and starts »
Activity which is intermittent, variable in intensity, and prolonged by interruptions.
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for starters »
as a beginning
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fresh start »
A new beginning, without prejudices.
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from scratch »
From the beginning; starting with no advantage or prior preparation; starting from raw ingredients.
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from the get-go »
From the very beginning; from the outset; immediately upon starting.
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from the ground up »
From the beginning; starting with the basics, foundation, or fundamentals.
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from the word go »
From the very beginning; from the outset; immediately upon starting.
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front and center »
A command to come to the center of attention of an assemblage, as of military personnel or students.
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full speed ahead »
A command, especially on military vessels, to move forward at maximum speed.
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get a jump on »
To start early, especially to start before something begins or before others begin.
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get a leg up »
To gain some advantage; to get a head start.
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get busy »
Start working, usually in opposition to idleness.
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get cracking »
To get started; to get busy.
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get moving »
To start hurrying to undertake a task.
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get out of bed on the wrong side »
To start the day in a bad mood for no apparent reason.
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get the ball rolling »
To begin; to start some action; to set in motion.
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give me liberty or give me death »
A set-phrase indicating enormous displeasure at any over-authoritarian policy or law.
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go back to the drawing board »
To start again; to scrap a previous idea or plan and try again from the beginning.
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gold standard »
A monetary system where the value of circulating money is linked to the value of gold.
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gunboat diplomacy »
The pursuit of foreign policy objectives with the aid of conspicuous displays of military power.
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head start »
For example, prior to the beginning of a race.
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head start »
A factor conducive to superiority and success.
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hoist by one's own petard »
To be hurt, or destroyed by one's own plot or device, of one's own doing which one intended for another; to be "blown up by one's own bomb".
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hospital pass »
A poorly executed pass to a team-mate causing the receiver to present an easy target for a defender, and thus be tackled hard.
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in for a penny, in for a pound »
Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof; accepting that one must
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in the first place »
To begin with; earlier; first; at the start.
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jack-tar »
Alternative spelling of jacktar.
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jacktar »
Nickname for a sailor in the Royal Navy.
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joe job »
An act of e-mail spamming where the sender's identity and address are those of an innocent third party, intended either to tarnish that person's reputation or to flood that person's e-mail with bounces.
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jump the gun »
To begin a race too soon, before the starting gun goes off.
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kick in »
To start or connect suddenly.
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kick off »
To start; to launch.
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labor of love »
A task performed voluntarily without expectation of reimbursement; an altruistic work or undertaking.
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last post »
military bugle call
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leading lady »
starring actress
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left-handed compliment »
A complimentary remark which is ambiguous or ineptly worded, so that it may be interpreted as having an unflattering or dismissive sense.
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lend a hand »
To help or assist, especially voluntarily.
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let sleeping dogs lie »
To leave things as they are; especially, to avoid restarting or rekindling an old argument; to leave disagreements in the past.
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letters after one's name »
A list of abbreviations, separated by commas, representing the academic qualifications and civil or military honours achieved by a person.
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light a fire under »
To start sooner or move faster.
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look daggers »
To stare sharply at someone to indicate disapproval without actually speaking.
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miss the mark »
To fail to hit the target.
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move on »
To start dealing with something else.
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move the goalposts »
To alter the agreed basis, scope, standards or target of a procedure or task during its course, especially to do so to someone's advantage.
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movie star »
famous film actor
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naked as a jaybird »
Stark naked; nude; especially, naked in a public setting and without embarrassment.
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non-starter »
An idea or argument that cannot be sensibly debated.
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non-starter »
Someone or something who was listed to start in a race, but did not start in the race.
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non-starter »
Something that is not going to happen.
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off the bat »
From the start; immediately; right away.
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old money »
The monetary system used in the United Kingdom before decimalisation and consisting of pounds, shillings, and pence.
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on opposite sides of the barricades »
Of starkly different, opposite views on an issue.
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on the go »
To have started.
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on the house »
Free, complimentary.
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opening time »
hour at which a pub can start serving
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pay the piper »
To pay a monetary debt or experience unfavorable consequences, especially when the payment or consequences are inevitable in spite of attempts to avoid them.
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peanut gallery »
Any source of heckling, unwelcome commentary or criticism, especially from a know-it-all or of an inexpert nature.
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peel out »
To start abruptly from a standing stop, accelerating rapidly, especially so as to produce skid marks.
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pick up »
To restart or resume.
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pickin' and grinnin' »
Vigorously playing folk or country music on a stringed musical instrument, especially the guitar or banjo, while smiling broadly.
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play ball »
To start anything tumultuous.
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point blank »
The distance between a gun and a target such that it requires minimal effort in aiming it. In particular no allowance needs to be made for the effects of gravity, target movement or wind in aiming the projectile.
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poison pen »
A usually intentionally rude, spiteful, and/or condescending piece of writing directed at a person, group, lifestyle, way of thought, or other target.
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pronunciamiento »
A military uprising or coup in Spain or the Spanish American republics, particularly in the 19th century. They received this designation because coups were usually accompanied by a statement declaring the existing government null and void.
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pull one's socks up »
To start making an effort; to renew or redouble one's efforts.
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pull out »
To withdraw; especially of military forces; to retreat.
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quantum mechanics »
The branch of physics which studies matter and energy at the level of atoms and other elementary particles, and substitutes probabilistic mechanisms for classical Newtonian ones.
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ramp up »
Of a project or operation, to start up.
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reach an early grave »
To resign near the start for good.
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reach for the stars »
To have high hopes, to be ambitious.
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roses are red »
The start of a generic poem about love.
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rumor campaign »
A method of persuasion in which damaging rumors or innuendo are deliberately spread concerning a person or other target, while the source of the rumors tries to avoid detection.
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sabre-rattling »
A flamboyant display of military power as an implied threat that it might be used.
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scare the pants off of »
To scare or startle thoroughly.
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shit one's pants »
To involuntarily defecate into one's pants or other clothing.
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shoot off at the mouth »
Don't let [presidential press secretary Ron] Ziegler shoot off at the mouth without our knowledge.
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show the flag »
Of a naval vessel or military force, to identify itself by displaying the flag of its country of origin, especially in order to establish an authoritative presence and to exert diplomatic or political influence.
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sitting duck »
An obvious or unconcealed target.
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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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stare someone in the face »
To be extremely visible and obvious.
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starry eyed »
natively optimistic
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stars in one's eyes »
The state of being overly or extremely impressed with something; enchanted with romance.
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start off »
To begin.
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start off on the wrong foot »
To begin badly; especially, to begin a relationship badly.
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start over »
To begin again; to return to the beginning.
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start up »
To rise suddenly.
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start up »
To begin to operate.
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start up »
To begin.
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steal a march »
To start early.
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steal a march on »
To get ahead of someone or something by starting earlier.
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strike up »
To start something with somebody else. Usually a conversation or relationship.
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strike up »
To start something, usually playing live music.
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switch off »
To lose interest, and start thinking about something else.
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switch on »
To turn a switch to the "on" position in order to start or enable a device.
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take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves »
If you take care of little things one at a time, they can add up to big things.1750, Chesterfield, letter 5 Feb. (1932) IV. 1500:Old Mr. Lowndes, the famous Secretary of the Treasury, ?used to say?Take care of the pence, and the pounds will take care of themselves.1912, G. B. Shaw, Pygmalion ii. 132:Take care of the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves is as true of personal habits as of money.1979, R. Cassilis, Arrow of God, iv. xvii.:Little things, Master Mally. Look after the pennies, Master Mally, and the pounds will look after themselves.1999,
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tar with the same brush »
To characterize using the same undesirable attribute, especially unjustly.
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tart up »
To dress like a prostitute.
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tart up »
To dress garishly.
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tart up »
To modify or repackage a product, service, or idea to make it more attractive or easier to sell.
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tartufo »
Hypocrite; tartuffe.
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tartufo »
Truffle.
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tomorrow is another day »
Tomorrow will bring new opportunities and a fresh start for one's endeavors.1600, author unknown, "Phillidaes Love-call to her Coridon, and his replying" (song), in England's Helicon, printed at London by I.R. for John Flasket:Phil. Yonder comes my Mother, Coridon,whether shall I flie?Cor. Under yonder Beech my lovely one,while she passeth by.Say to her thy true-Love was not heere,remember, remember,to morrow is another day:1896, Amelia E. Barr, A Knight of the Nets, ch. 8:"Well, well, my dear lass, to-night we cannot work, but we may sleep. . . . Keep a still heart tonight, and tomorrow is another day."1936, Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind, ch. 63:"Tomorrow, I'll think of some way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day."2005, Fran Schumer, "JERSEY: In Princeton, Taking On Harvard's Fuss About Women," New York Times, 19 June (retrieved 18 Aug. 2009):"Half of me is depressed
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touch of the tar brush »
Of South Asian or Afro-Caribbean in their background and/or in their appearance.
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touch off »
To start; to cause, especially used for unstable situations that may magnify if disturbed.
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trigger-happy »
Having a tendency or desire to shoot a firearm irresponsibly before adequately identifying the target.
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tuck in »
To start to eat.
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turn on »
To power up; to start a device by switching it on.
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turn the page »
To move on to new involvements or activities; to make a fresh start.
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untar »
To extract a tar archive.
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valley of death »
The phase of a startup business beginning with the entrepreneur's fulltime commitment to it and ending when the business has achieved sustainable cash flow.
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war bride »
A woman who marries a man who is on active duty military in wartime.
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whisper campaign »
A method of persuasion in which damaging rumors or innuendo are deliberately spread concerning a person or other target, while the source of the rumors tries to avoid detection.
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wide of the mark »
Missing the target.
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wipe the slate clean »
To forget about previous differences and disagreements, and make a fresh start.
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zero in on »
To aim precisely at a target.
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