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Phrases related to: literal and figurative language Page #71

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word playA technique in which the nature of the words used become part of the subject of the work, such as puns, phonetic mix-ups such as spoonerisms, obscure words and meanings, clever rhetorical excursions, oddly formed sentences, and telling character names.Rate it:

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words of one syllableSimple, clear, straightforward language; blunt language.Rate it:

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work around the clockTo work all day and all night without a break, because it is imperative to finish something.Rate it:

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work like a dreamTo function very efficiently and effectively, with few or no problems.Rate it:

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work one's magicTo achieve something favourable and desired through the application of special skills, talents, or expertise.Rate it:

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work spouseA man or woman in the workplace with whom one shares a special relationship having bonds similar to those of a marriage: special confidences, loyalties, shared jokes and experiences, and unusual degree of honesty or openness.Rate it:

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work the roomTo interact with one's audience, taking queues from its reactions and adapting one's performance or words to elicit the audience's attention and enthusiasm.Rate it:

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work the roomTo interact enthusiastically with the attendees at an event, by moving among them, greeting them, and engaging them in conversation.Rate it:

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work throughUsed other than with a figurative or idiomatic meaning: see work,‎ through.Rate it:

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worth one's whileGood and important enough for one to spend time, effort, or money on.Rate it:

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Worth Your SaltGood and deserving at a job, worth the productivityRate it:

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wouldn't give two hoots n a holler / ... two hoots and a hollerdefinition: it isn't worth much, or I wouldn't put much stock in it - it is not believable, or wouldn't pay attention to it.Rate it:

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wouldn't work in a pie factory tasting piesLazy and will not keep a job anywhereRate it:

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wrack and ruinComplete destruction.Rate it:

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wrap one's head aroundTo crash into (something, especially a pole) messily and fatally while travelling in a motor vehicle.Rate it:

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wrap someone around your little fingerA feeling, a sense, an awareness one realizes when another is deeply devoted, lovingly loyal and shares a mutuality in myriad areas in each other and their lives.Rate it:

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wrap upTo fold and secure something to be the cover or protection for something.Rate it:

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write home aboutSee nothing to write home about and something to write home about.Rate it:

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X's and O'skisses and hugs.Rate it:

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X's and O'sThe basic delineation of roles in a project.Rate it:

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X's and O'stic-tac-toeRate it:

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X's and O'sThe fundamental elements of a play.Rate it:

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XYZThe color space of the tristimulus values X, Y, and Z.Rate it:

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y para de contarand that's all, and that's it, period.Rate it:

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yack onTo talk at length, in an annoying, boring and long-winded way.Rate it:

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yada yada yadaAnd so on; and so forth.Rate it:

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yank someone's chainUsed other than with a figurative or idiomatic meaning: see yank,‎ chain.Rate it:

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yasssSomething that you accomplished and in a very valley girl accent.Rate it:

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yeetus muc feetus and i will self deletusYall stop messin with me or I’ll explodeRate it:

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yellow brick roadA proverbial path to a Promised Land of one's hopes and dreams.Rate it:

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yellow journalismMaterial published in a broadcast or periodical, such as a tabloid newspaper or magazine, which is sensationalistic and of questionable accuracy and taste.Rate it:

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yellow journalistA journalist who writes material which is sensationalistic and of questionable accuracy and taste.Rate it:

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yellow pressNewspapers which publish sensationalist articles rather than well researched and sober journalism.Rate it:

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yes and amenAn emphatic agreement.Rate it:

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yes and noUsed other than as an idiom: see yes, and, no.Rate it:

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yes and noAn answer in reply to a yes-no question, indicating there is no simple "yes" or "no" answerRate it:

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you and what armyAlternative form of you and whose armyRate it:

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you and whose armyUsed in response to someone’s threat suggesting that the person in question cannot do what she or he says alone.Rate it:

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you and whose army%3fYou can't do all that on your own.Rate it:

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you beautyA general exclamation of happiness and joy.Rate it:

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you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegarIt's easier to persuade others with polite requests and a positive attitude than with rude demands and negativity.Rate it:

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you can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pigYou can try to change something or one's outward appearance, but it will not change the inward appearance. Even if you put lipstick on a pig, it will always roll in mud and grunt.Rate it:

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you can't make an omelette without breaking eggsIn order to achieve something, it is inevitable and necessary that something should be destroyed.Rate it:

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you can't put an old head on young shouldersYoung people inevitably lack the experience and wisdom which come with age.Rate it:

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you can't run with the hare and hunt with the houndsYou can't have it both ways.Rate it:

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you don't know what you've got 'til it's goneA commonly used phrase to acknowledge the irony of taking something or someone for granted and only appreciating it/them once you don't have it/them any longer.Rate it:

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you drained me dryYour incessant and extended discussion, queries and theories have been so exuberant that I am exhausted.Rate it:

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you get more with a kind word and a gun than you do with a kind word aloneIt is advantageous not to rely solely on being nice.Rate it:

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you get what you pay forIn commercial transactions, the quality of goods and services increases as the prices increase, i.e., the more one pays, the better the merchandise.2003, Michael Blumenthal, "For Whom the School Bell Tolls," Time, 7 Dec.:Though it may sound unapologetically capitalistic to say soRate it:

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you lost meYou left me out in left field, You did not explain clearly. Your explanation was to me enigmatic, and requires another meeting of the minds.Rate it:

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C hot dog
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