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The Q drawer
11 phrases beginning with Q.
- Quantum leap A sudden, dramatic advance or change - a jump to a new level rather than a gradual improvement. The physicists' joke is that in its native field a…
- Queen Anne is dead A sarcastic response meaning that the supposed news is stale, obvious or universally known. A sarcastic rejoinder. It can sound needlessly sharp when…
- Queer as a three-dollar bill Historically, obviously false, counterfeit, suspicious, or highly unusual. The expression is dated and should not be applied to a person: it has also…
- Queer fish An odd, eccentric, or unconventional person. Old-fashioned and potentially awkward or offensive today. The idiom predates the modern identity sense of…
- Queer street A difficult or precarious situation, especially financial trouble. The expression is dated and may be misunderstood because queer now has prominent…
- Quick as a flash Moving or reacting with lightning speed, instantaneous.
- Quick on the draw Fast to react or respond.
- Quiet as a mouse Extremely silent or stealthy, barely making a sound.
- Quiet firing When an employer deliberately makes a job unrewarding, stagnant, or unpleasant, by withholding raises, promotions, feedback, or opportunities, so that…
- Quiet quitting Doing only what your job description requires, working your contracted hours, and refusing unpaid extra effort, without actually resigning. Despite…
- Quixotic Foolishly impractical in the pursuit of ideals, especially marked by rash, lofty romantic schemes destined to fail; extravagantly chivalrous or…