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Phrases related to: circle the drain

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a vicious circlea sequence of reciprocal cause and effect in which two or more elements intensify and aggravate each other, leading inexorably to a worsening of the situation.Rate it:

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aliquem (tertium) ad (in) amicitiam ascribereto admit another into the circle of one's intimates.Rate it:

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boucler la boucleto come full circleRate it:

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cake walkFrom the mid 1900s, a game at a fair or party in which people walk around a numbered circle along to music. When the music is stopped, the caller draws a number from a jar and whoever is standing on or closest to that number that number wins a cake.Rate it:

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calamitatem haurireto drain the cup of sorrow.Rate it:

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circle backTo revisit a topic, concept or idea after having put it on the back burner; to return to a place or locationRate it:

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circle gets the squareAn affirmative response; often used sarcastically.Rate it:

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circle the drainTo be in rapid decline or a state of downfall, especially as leading to inevitable utter failure or destruction.Rate it:

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circle the wagonsTo draw a wagon train into a circle to allow the wagons to provide cover when under attack.Rate it:

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circle the wagonsTo prepare to defend against an attack.Rate it:

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close to homeAffecting people close to, or within, ones family circle.Rate it:

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come full circleTo complete a cycle of transition, returning to the point of origin.Rate it:

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come full circleTo make a complete change or reform.Rate it:

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daylightTo run a drainage pipe to an opening from which its contents can drain away naturally.Rate it:

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down the drainWasted, squandered; irretrievable.Rate it:

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Down the DrainLost or vanishedRate it:

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drain awayTo diminish over time; to disappear or leak out gradually.Rate it:

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drain outTo empty completely of liquids; to drain completely.Rate it:

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drain outTo be emptied of liquid; to be drained completely.Rate it:

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drain the main veinTo urinate.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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duck duck gooseA children's game where kids sit in a circle facing each other with their eyes closed. One child is designated "it" and walks around the outside of the circle saying "duck" as he/she touches each child's head. Finally, instead of saying "duck" the person who is it says "goose!" then runs forward around the circle and tries to sit down in the spot where the "goose" was sitting. The goal of the game is for the person who is "it" to sit down before the "goose" catches him/her. If he/she does sit down before being touched/tagged, then the "goose" becomes "it" and the process begins again. If the "goose" catches the person who was "it" then the person who was "it' is out of the game and the circle moves in closer/smaller until only one sitting winner remains.Rate it:

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forget, when up to one's neck in alligators, that the mission is to drain the swampTo lose sight of one's initial objective, becoming caught up in subtasks or in tasks only tangentially/orthogonally related to the initial objective.Rate it:

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full circleUsed other than as an idiom: see full, circle.Rate it:

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full circleThrough a cycle of transition, returning to where one started after gaining experience or exploring other things.Rate it:

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

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full circleAn arc of 360 degrees.Rate it:

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full circleA full turn back to the original direction or orientation.By extension, of a discussion, a point arrived at which is the same point at which it began; the point at which effort has resulted in no progress.Rate it:

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full circleBy extension, of a discussion, a point arrived at which is the same point at which it began; the point at which effort has resulted in no progress.Rate it:

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go down the drainSynonym of go down the toilet : to fail.Rate it:

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inner circleThe closest of friends of a person.Rate it:

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laugh like a drainTo laugh with a loud, coarse soundRate it:

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omnes labores exanclareto drain the cup of sorrow.Rate it:

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poculum mortis (mortiferum) exhaurire (Cluent. 11. 31)to drain the cup of poison.Rate it:

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pour down the drainto waste prior work by subsequent bad decisionsRate it:

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ring aroundTo call a number of people by phone, usually a circle of friends, to organise something.Rate it:

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ring roundTo call a number of people by phone, usually a circle of friends, to organise something.Rate it:

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squaring the circleA hopeless or impossible task.Rate it:

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squaring the circleThe historical problem of how to construct, using compass and ruler, a square having the same area as a given circle.Rate it:

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twiddle one's thumbsTo circle one's thumbs around one another, usually with the fingers interlaced, usually done idly while waiting or bored.Rate it:

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when you're up to your ass in alligators, it's easy to forget your goal was to drain the swampYou can't complete the a task if more urgent/immediate necessities take priorityRate it:

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貴圈真亂The lifestyle of people in your social circle is something I cannot easily comprehend.Rate it:

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