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je l'ai fait tant bien que malI did it as well as I could, though I know it is not well done.Rate it:

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je me suis tenu à quatre pour ne pas lui dire ses véritésIt was almost more than I could do not to tell him what I thought of him.Rate it:

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je n'y ai pas tenuI could not contain myself.Rate it:

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je n'y ai vu que du feuIt was impossible for me to find out how the thing was done (as it was done so quickly); It was done so quickly (or, cleverly) that I could not make head or tail of it.Rate it:

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knife-edgeA precarious balance that could be upset by a very small force in either direction.Rate it:

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la duda ofendeHow could you think such a thing?Rate it:

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le cheval courait ventre à terreThe horse was running as hard as he could tear.Rate it:

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let there be no reprisals, said the widow of the murdered manThe widow urged/begged that there should be no reprisals.Here the speaker could be ordering, advising, urging or begging (let there be) .Rate it:

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little engine that could (the)a reference to a children's story about an engine that tried even when he didn't think he could succeedRate it:

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matter of life and deathSomething whose outcome could result in either someone's survival or their deathRate it:

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Mexican standoffA confrontation between two or more armed parties, neither of which wants to attack first (fearing that the other could retaliate), but neither of which will disarm (for fear the other will attack).Rate it:

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moon on a stickEverything; all that one could desire (especially as an unreasonable demand).Rate it:

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NIBMARAbbreviation of no independence before majority rule : a policy adopted by the United Kingdom requiring the implementation of majority rule in a colony, rather than rule by the white colonial minority, before the colony could be granted independence.Rate it:

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no, but if you hum a few bars...a response made as a joke when someone says, "Do you know _______" (could be anything that fills in this blank.)Rate it:

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not out of the woods yetPatient has shown improvement but still could get worse and dieRate it:

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on entendrait trotter une souris (or, voler une mouche)One could hear a pin drop.Rate it:

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on fait comme on peutWe must do the best we can; We have done the best we could.Rate it:

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on ne peut mieuxAs well as possible; It could not be better.Rate it:

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on pouvait entendre voler une moucheOne could hear a pin drop.Rate it:

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one could be someone's parentSaid to emphasize age disparity of a couple, usually to express disapproval and imply the possibility of choosing a partner with closer age.Rate it:

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one could do it in one's sleepSaid of something that can be done very easily.Rate it:

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only Nixon could go to ChinaOnly a politician or leader with an impeccable reputation of upholding particular political values could do an action in seeming defiance of them without jeopardizing his support or credibility.Rate it:

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peeble in own shoeTrouble but within group, self. Problem of one's own known to self more than others could be explained to.Rate it:

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put the cat among the pigeonsProfessor Stephen Hawking put the cat among the pigeons last week with his cheery remarks about comet Machholz-2, which some astronomers believe could be heading our way. — The Times, 19 September 1994.Rate it:

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québec, c'est saint-malo à s'y méprendre (max o'rell)You could easily mistake Quebec for St. Malo.Rate it:

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run around afterTo spend a lot of time doing things for another person or group of people. Often used when that person could reasonably do the things for themselves.Rate it:

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SCNRInitialism of sorry, could not resist : used in mock apology for a wisecrack.Rate it:

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she could be his motherOne could be someone's parent, said of a woman older than a man.Rate it:

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should've would've could'veAlternative form of could have, would have, should haveRate it:

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Smell a RatTo be skeptical about something wrong, someone who could sense the dangerRate it:

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so crooked he could hide behind a spiral staircaseDishonest in the extremeRate it:

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so quiet one could hear a pin dropSaid during a lull in a normally bustling place or scene, or as the result of a sudden dramatic or tense moment.Rate it:

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that's lamethat's bad; not as good as it could be or has been; not as good as is typical of othersRate it:

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the dear knowsGod knows; of course, certainly, nobody could doubtRate it:

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the doc says im going blind but i could never see anywayLess hurtRate it:

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the holy of holiesThe most private room in the house. "This is my husband's holy of holies where he can work without being disturbed." The Holy of Holies was the name given to the innermost apartment of the Jewish Temple, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. Only the high priest could enter this room on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).Rate it:

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there but for the grace of god go iA recognition that others' misfortune could be one's own, if it weren't for the blessing/kindness/luck bestowed by fate or the Divine.Man's fate is in God's hands.More generally, our fate is not entirely in our own hands.Rate it:

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throw a sickieTo take a day off from work, supposedly because of ill health. The illness could be either real or feigned.Rate it:

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throw dirt enough, and some will stickIf enough allegations are made about someone or something, then even if they are all untrue, people's opinion of the person or thing will be diminished.1759, John Wesley, letter to John Downes, Rector of St. Michael's, Wood Street, read at Wesley Center Online at on 14 Oct 06.I hope...that you are ignorant of the whole affair, and are so bold only because you are blind...And blind enough; so that you blunder on through thick and thin, bespattering all that come in your way, according to the old, laudable maxim, 'Throw dirt enough, and some will stick.'1857, Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown's Schooldays, read at fullbooks.com on 14 Oct 06,But whatever harm a spiteful tongue could do them, he took care should be done. Only throw dirt enough, and some will stick.1864, John Henry Newman, Apologia Pro Vita Sua, Penguin Classics (1994), p. 10,Archbishop Whately used to say Rate it:

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tooth and nailTaking everything bodily you possibly could offer/ use to get the job or task done, usually referring to an tough battle ahead. Battle usually a physical fight, or harsh obstacles were to be meet with this plight, but you or many were going to give it your all.Rate it:

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vira essa boca pra láSaid as a response after the interlocutor said that something deeply undesirable or harmful could happen.Rate it:

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vous arrivez on ne peut mieuxYou could not have come at a more opportune moment.Rate it:

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walk the talkTo do what one said one could do, or would do, not just making empty promises. To walk one's talk is to be innocent of hypocrisy.Rate it:

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what can i sayIndicating that nothing that could be said would add to or improve the situation.Rate it:

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who knowsA rhetorical question asked to express the idea that anything is possible or that anything could happen.Rate it:

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widow's walkA roof-top walkway or balcony associated with the homes of early sea captains from which the wife could see far out to sea and hope to catch a glimpse of her returning husband's ship...or not. Sailing in wooden ships and/or whaling was a hazardous business.Rate it:

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you could have fooled meWhat you now tell me is true I thought was false, or I nonetheless think is false; I don't believe you.Rate it:

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you had to be thereUsed to indicate to the interlocutor that the situation being talked about could only be properly understood if that person had been present.Rate it:

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you punched my buttonYour encouragement, reasoning, financial support and confidence that we could succeed turned me around.Rate it:

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you'll shit and fall in itUsed as a response to someone's plan of action. basically assuring them you won't let them and it could result in a physical altercation.Rate it:

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