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Phrases related to: the ends justify the means Page #2

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catch someone's driftIf you catch someone's drift (or get someone's drift) it means you understand what they mean; this phrase is used especially when you want to get an idea across to someone but you don't want to exactly speak the words you mean or if you think the listener may be confused about what you meanRate it:

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cela ne s'enfile pas comme des perlesThat is by no means an easy matter.Rate it:

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check your attitude (at the door)The speaker is warning the listener that their attitude may have adverse effects and advising that the listener change their attitude. Adding "at the door" at the end of this phrases means to leave your attitude outside/don't bring that attitude in hereRate it:

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color me happyit means you are happyRate it:

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come to mention itWhat you just said reminds me of something; Used to justify a change of subject or a kind of statement that needs some kind of license.Rate it:

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cookie-cutterishLooking or seeming identical; created by some standard or common means; often with the implication that the result is boring, overly simple, or not applicable to all needs.Rate it:

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copiae cotidianis sumptibus suppetunt (vid. sect. IV. 2, note suppeditare...)his means suffice to defray daily expenses.Rate it:

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coûte que coûteat all costs, by any means, no matter whatRate it:

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cry for helpActing out as a means of displaying a subconscious desire for attention or help.Rate it:

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cut a wide swathTo clear a broad track through a grassland, woodland, geographical region, or other area, either by natural means or by human action.Rate it:

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cut one's coat according to one's clothLive according to your means.Rate it:

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de suo (opp. alieno) vivereto live on one's means.Rate it:

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dead menThe ends of reefs left flapping instead of being tucked out of sight when a sail has been furled.Rate it:

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deathblowSomething that prevents the completion, or ends the existence of some project etc.Rate it:

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diable vauverta million miles away, to the ends of the earthRate it:

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don't dilly-dally aroundDilly-Dally' Means To approach A Task Or Challenge With An Attitude Of Playfulness, Very Relaxed, Unimportant Viewpoint, 'Whatever? ? ? ?Rate it:

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down lowAfter asking you to "high five" or saying "up top" someone will then say "down low". This means they are asking you to "high five" or tap the palm of their hand with the palm of your hand down lower--about waist high--as they extend their hand out toward you. If you don't respond timely they may take their hand away and say "too slow" then laugh. It's just something Americans do to have fun.Rate it:

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drag inTo get into a course of action by forceful means.Rate it:

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drain the swamp when up to one's neck in alligators(idiomatic) When performing a long and complex task, and when you've gotten utterly immersed in secondary and tertiary unexpected tangential subtasks, it's easy to lose sight of the initial objective. This sort of distraction can be particularly problematic if the all-consuming subtask or sub-subtask is not, after all, particularly vital to the original, primary goal, but ends up sucking up time and resources (out of all proportion to its actual importance) only because it seems so urgent.Rate it:

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draw outTo use means to entice or force to be more open or talkative.Rate it:

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dressed/done up like a dog’s dinnerThe root of this idiom, chiefly used in the UK and Australia, is the phrase ‘a dog’s dinner’ which means- very disorganized, untidy, or messy. When it becomes the full idiom, to be ‘dressed up’ or ‘done up like a dog’s dinner’ it takes on the meaning of being inappropriately overdressed - garish or tastelessly. To attract attention by wearing formal or decorative clothing when it is not called for. This phrase is quite similar to ‘a dog’s breakfast’ in that the implication is of something messy and averse, as something socially distasteful or out of place, --an unappealing muddle.Rate it:

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drop a dimeTo make a phone call, usually means calling the pol to report another's activities.Rate it:

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dumber than a door-nailSomeone who is just stupid, and doesn't even know what doornail means anyway so isn't really insulted by the term anyway.Rate it:

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eggs from sunkist hens -keep the kids' legs straight.means that eggs from hens living under plain sunlight (containing ultraviolet light) deliver Vitamin D an so prevent ricketsRate it:

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ex invidia alicuius auram popularem petere (Liv. 22. 26)to use some one's unpopularity as a means of making oneself popular.Rate it:

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ex vivoMeans "out of the living," that what takes place outside the organismRate it:

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f*ck how it turn outI don't care about how it ends or simply not bothered.Rate it:

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faire flèche de tout boisTo use every means to accomplish an end; To leave no stone unturned.Rate it:

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fatten upTo cause to gain weight by means of feeding.Rate it:

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feel outTo try to ascertain a person's point of view, or the nature of a situation, by cautious and subtle means.Rate it:

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fight tooth and nailTo use every means possible to overcome a difficult opposition.Rate it:

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fit of furyit means full of angerRate it:

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full circleThrough a rotation or revolution that ends at the starting point.Rate it:

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gesutoJapanese - ゲスト (gesuto) in english means guest.Rate it:

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get intoTo move into an object, such that one ends up inside it.Rate it:

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get it how one livesTo achieve wealth or success by any means necessary.Rate it:

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give someone the chairTo execute a person by means of the electric chair.Rate it:

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glipeIn Northern Ireland a 'glipe' means 'idiot'Rate it:

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go to the ends of the earthTo do everything possible to achieve something.Rate it:

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goldene hochzeitIt's a German phrase that literally translates to "Golden Wedding", but means that 50th anniversary of someone's wedding.Rate it:

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gun downTo kill by means of a firearm, especially deliberately and in a brutal manner.Rate it:

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gussie upTo make fancy or attractive, as by artificial or contrived means.Rate it:

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haec vox longa syllaba terminatur, in longam syllabam cadit, exitthis word ends in a long syllable.Rate it:

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handy as "pockets in your underwire"Means "not at all handy"Rate it:

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hanging offenceA crime so serious that it is punishable by means of death by hanging.Rate it:

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haul arse!Means 'Hurry-Up!', 'Get it in GearRate it:

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he has become a millstone around my neckA millstone means a burdenRate it:

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home runThe portion of a journey that ends at home.Rate it:

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hot deskingThe working practice of sharing desks or workstations between workers, as a means of saving space and resources.Rate it:

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Humpty DumptyismThe practice of insisting that a word means whatever one wishes it to.Rate it:

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