Phrase of the hour
Talk the hind leg off a donkey
Talk at exhausting length, especially with little pause for anyone else. Informal and humorous. Singular and plural leg forms both occur. Regional…
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Plain-English meanings.
Folklore labelled honestly.
Folklore labelled honestly.
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Keep your powder dry
Remain prepared and conserve resources until they are needed. A somewhat old-fashioned military metaphor, often used in politics, business, and…
Meaning & originDown the rabbit hole
To fall into a strange, surreal, or bewildering situation that swallows your attention and sense of time. Once associated with psychedelic or…
Meaning & originQuiet firing
When an employer deliberately makes a job unrewarding, stagnant, or unpleasant, by withholding raises, promotions, feedback, or opportunities, so that…
Meaning & originPut up your dukes
Raise your fists and prepare to fight, either as a real challenge or as a theatrical imitation of one. Dated and often playful. In a real…
Meaning & originBy the skin of your teeth
Only just succeeding or escaping, with the smallest possible margin between success and failure. The possessive changes with the subject. It normally…
Meaning & originBells and whistles
Attractive extra features beyond what a product basically needs; showy add-ons on gadgets, software, cars, and services. The phrase often carries a…
Meaning & originGo belly up
To fail completely, collapse, or cease to exist; said especially of businesses, projects, plans, or schemes that go bankrupt or come to nothing, and…
Meaning & originKeep your shirt on
A plea to stay calm or patient, holding off a hotheaded strip to fight.
Meaning & origin
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