Phrases.com »

Phrases related to: literal and figurative language Page #64

Yee yee! We've found 3,634 phrases and idioms matching literal and figurative language.

Sort:RelevancyA - Z
there's a sucker born every minuteThere are a great number of fools in the world, and there always be.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
there's many a slip twixt cup and lipIn any situation, however well planned, something can always go wrong.Rate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
there's only one way to find outSaid lightheartedly when trying something new and unknown. Or said seriously and with weight when attempting something unknown and potentially unsafe or final.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
thick and thinBoth good and bad times.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
thin-skinnedUsed other than with a figurative or idiomatic meaning: see thin,‎ skinned.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
think of englandTo tolerate or endure bad sex. Used in conjunction with "I just lie on my back and.." "I just go through the motions and..." etc.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
think on one's feetWhen one is in the middle of a process, activity, or conversation, to adjust rapidly, effectively, and intelligently to new developments or changing circumstances.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
think tankA group of which performs research and develops reports and recommendations on topics relating to strategic planning or public policy, and which is usually funded by corporations, interest groups, or government.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
think throughTo fully consider an action, and understand all its consequences.Rate it:

(4.00 / 3 votes)
third personThe words, word-forms, and grammatical structures, taken collectively, that are normally used of people or things other than the speaker or the audience.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
third personthe form of a verb used when the subject of a sentence is not the audience or the one making the statement. In English, pronouns used with the third person include he, she, it, one, they, and who.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
third stringA unit of players that plays behind the first and second strings; a junior varsity team.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
this, that, and the otherParticular items belonging to a large, diverse set, but items of the general kind of item indicated.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
this, that, and the otherA wide range of actions, circumstances, characteristics, topics, or other items.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
thorn in the fleshIvar Specto. The Soviet Union and the Muslim World, 1917-1958.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
thread the needleA game in which children stand in a row, joining hands, and in which the outer one, still holding his neighbour, runs between the others.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
three greena confirmation given by the pilots that the landing gear has gone down successfully and has locked.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
three in the pink one in the stinkTo place your three fingers inside a vagina and your fourth finger inside the anusRate it:

(3.00 / 3 votes)
three rsThe basic education any child can expect to receive, but not necessarily limited to reading, writing and arithmetic.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
three rsThe basic education received in primary schools. Literally; reading, writing and arithmetic.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
three score and tenA life span. The number 70 (= 60 + 10).Rate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
three wise monkeys, see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil.avoid all evil in every formRate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
three-dimensionalityComplexity and depth of character.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
through and throughCompletely; entirely; fundamentally.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
throw a partyTo organize and execute a party.Rate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
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:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
throw enough mud at the wall and some of it will stickTry the same thing often enough, and, even if the general standard is poor, sometimes one will be successful.Rate it:

(5.00 / 2 votes)
throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stickTry the same thing (or similar things) often enough, and, even if the general standard is poor, sometimes one will be successful.2001, And still no one is shouting stop. read in The Kingdom archives at on 02 Nov 06,Many team managers are of the philosophy that if you throw enough mud at the wall some of it will stick. They believe that team preparation is all about physical fitness. They run the players into the ground and they believe they will be "flying on the day".2001, Robert McCrum, Let them eat cake, in The Observer 16 Dec 01, read on Guardian Unlimited site at on 02 Nov 06,Australian publishing boomed and in the past 10 years the country's literary culture has undergone a mini golden age, capped by Carey's triumph at the 2001 Booker Prize. As one Australian arts administrator said to me many years ago: 'Listen, mate, if you throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick.'2001, Chris Collin, Re: 2-cp speys on The Strathspey Server mailing list archive at on 02 Nov 06,I am finding that "if you throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick". It doesn't always work of course (especially on the nights when the class is mostly the beginners), but the class seems to thrive on the challange.2005, Ray Craft (poster on The right scale blog), Fitzhooie and his Burden, read at on 02 Nov 06,Prosecutors everywhere have bad habits of overcharging lots of cases, knowing that if the throw enough mud at the wall some of it will stick.2005, Sean Kelleher, Spike Milligan: His part in our downfall in Business 07 Aug 05, read at on 02 Nov 06,As long as there is negligible regulation and enforcement anyone can actually try and do the job...Weak regulation allows the industry to build strategies on full time recruitment. The theory goes: throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick.c2005, Everything You've Learned About Marketing Is Wrong, read on LINC Performance website at on 02 Nov 06,They have the money to continue to believe in the repetition side of the equation. You throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick. But it still isnRate it:

(3.00 / 4 votes)
thumb-warsInterlock two fists, lift up one thumb each and try to pin down the other players thumb to win the game.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
thus and soA generic thing; a placeholder name.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
thus and suchA placeholder or generic name for something.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
TIASInitialism of try it and see.Rate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
tick overTo run smoothly and without problems.Rate it:

(5.00 / 6 votes)
tickled pinkSimple past tense and past participle of tickle pink.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
ties that bindcommon things that cause people to be close to one another and/or give them a sense of belongingRate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
tiger teamA specialized group tasked with testing the effectiveness of an organization's ability to protect assets by attempting to circumvent, defeat or otherwise thwart that organization's internal and external security.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
tight shipA well-organized and highly disciplined organization.Rate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
tighten upTo become tense and restrained.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
tighten upTo become stringent and ungenerous.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
tighten upTo become focused and serious; To stop any vacillation or inconsistency.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
Tighten Your BeltLiving in financial constraints; making sacrifice and diminishing the living standardsRate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
till death do us partA common phrase said between the bride and the groom at a Christian wedding, indicating togetherness and commitment.Rate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
till the wheels fall offliteral meaning - to drive a car until it won't run any more; figurative meaning - dedicated to the end; indicates relentless effort, commitment to something until it is no longer viable/possible/usableRate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
time after timeAgain and again; repeatedly; every time; always.Rate it:

(3.33 / 3 votes)
time and materialA form of contractual compensation involving payment for materials used and at agreed rates for the those involved in performing the services.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
time and tideShortened form of time and tide wait for no manRate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
time and tide tarry for no manAlternative form of time and tide wait for no man.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
time and tide wait for no manpeople cannot stop the passing of time, and therefore we should not delay doing thingsRate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
time is moneyWhen a person's time is not used productively; time is valuable and should not be wasted.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
tin earInsensitivity to and inability to appreciate the elements of performed music or the rhythm, elegance, or nuances of language.Rate it:

(3.50 / 2 votes)

We need you!

Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

Alternative searches for literal and figurative language:

Quiz

Are you a phrases master?

»
Serves them __________ for sneaking off like that.
A best
B right
C up
D wrong

Browse Phrases.com

#ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ