Phrases.com »

Phrases related to: rake over old coals Page #10

Yee yee! We've found 832 phrases and idioms matching rake over old coals.

Sort:RelevancyA - Z
cold hands, warm heart; dirty feet, no sweetheart!A few old timer's "fun" way to compliment a lady & to find out if she could be courted.Rate it:

(3.92 / 12 votes)
grab by the lapelsTo exert control (over something)Rate it:

(3.67 / 3 votes)
chip shotA shot in which the ball is kicked from underneath with accuracy but with less than maximum force, to launch it high into the air in order either to pass it over the heads of opponents or to score a goal.Rate it:

(3.50 / 2 votes)
proverbs run in pairsEvery proverb seems to be contradicted by another proverb with an opposed message, such as "too many cooks spoil the broth" and "many hands make light work."1863, Sir Richard Burton, Abeokuta and the Camaroons Mountains, vol. 1, Tinsley (London), p. 309:Moreover, all the world over, proverbs run in pairs, and pull both ways: for the most part one neutralizes, by contradiction, the other.Rate it:

(3.50 / 2 votes)
sally forth!An archaic military term. To exit a fortified position in order to assault a besieging force. The meaning has become more metaphorical over time.Rate it:

(3.50 / 2 votes)
sisters before mistersA woman should prioritize her female friends over her boyfriend or husband.Rate it:

(3.50 / 2 votes)
a big blow hardOne whom exaggerates, over emphasizes personal prowess and accomplishments.Rate it:

(3.40 / 5 votes)
get a lifeUsed sarcastically to tell someone who keeps meddling in other people's business, or gossiping about others, to stop obsessing over other people's lives and to concentrate on themselves and do something useful.Rate it:

(3.33 / 3 votes)
c'est un homme de la vieille rocheHe belongs to the good old stock; He is a man of the old school.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
cat and mouse gameTwo individuals and/or groups repeatedly keeping check on each other in a suspicious or self-protective way, often with the goal of one or both parties trying to gain a malicious advantage over the other.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
dicksize warA pointless competition, dispute or conflict, often over some trivial matter.Rate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
have someone by the short and curliesto exercise total control over someone.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
jump onTo attack someone verbally, or criticise them over strongly for small errors.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
overleapTo leap over, to jump over, to cross by jumping.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
pass byTo pass over. disregard, overlook.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
pass downTo hand over, pass through or transfer to a lower level, next generation, etc.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
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)
vieil ami et vieux vin sont vraiment deux bons vieux, mais vieux écus sont encore mieuxOld friends and old wine are good, but old gold is better than both.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
win the dayto gain complete victory or success over something or someoneRate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
go back to square onerevert to the beginning and start all over againRate it:

(2.50 / 2 votes)
the fucking you get isn't worth the fucking you get(vulgar) The sexual satisfactions that one receives from a spouse or romantic partner are not sufficient to compensate for the significant periods of bad faith and unpleasant treatment which such relationships routinely involve.1971, Allen Churchill, The Literary Decade, ISBN 9780135375228:Years later she expressed her disillusionment with sex by saying, "The fucking you get isn't worth the fucking you get."1999, Ben Sonnenberg, Lost Property: Memoirs and Confessions of a Bad Boy, ISBN 9781582430454, p. 93:Maitland got drunk at his parties and threw his arm around you and pulled you over to his wife and made you look down her dress, saying, "The trouble with marriage is that the fucking you get isn't worth the fucking you get."2008, Joseph Heywood, Blue Wolf In Green Fire, ISBN 9781599213590, p. 63:"I can't believe a little pussy got me into dis mess." "Shit happens," Service said. "Sometimes the fucking you get isn't worth the fucking you get."Rate it:

(2.34 / 15 votes)
garbage in, garbage out(computing, information technology) If input data is not complete, accurate, and timely, then the resulting output is unreliable and of no useful value.1963, Raymond Crowley, "Robot Tax Collector Seeks Indications of 'Fudging'," Times Daily (Alabama, USA), 1 April (retrieved 26 July 2010):Officials explained that the quality of the computer's work depends on the quality of the data fed into it. Neil Hoke, administrative assistant to Stewart, quoted an adage of computer men: "Garbage in, garbage out."2008, Roger K. Lewis, "'In Architectural Design, Brains and Talent Trump the Best Software," Washington Post, 19 July (retrieved 26 July 2010):The old caveat "GIGO"Rate it:

(2.33 / 3 votes)
airmailTo throw the ball well over a fielder's head where that fielder is unable to make a play on the ball.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
before someone's timeFrom before one was born or old enough to be aware of the world.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
ear trumpetold hearing aidRate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
make upTo resolve, forgive or smooth over an argument or fight.Rate it:

(2.00 / 2 votes)
measure twice and cut once(literally, carpentry) One should double-check one's measurements for accuracy before cutting a piece of wood; otherwise it may be necessary to cut again, wasting time and material.1872, "Dressmaking," Hall's Journal of Health, vol. 19, no. 12, p. 280:Look at Carpenters! . . . In old times it was a proverb "Measure twice, and cut once."(figuratively, by extension) Plan and prepare in a careful, thorough manner before taking action.2008, Hilary Johnson, "Mergers rattle bank relations," Financial Week, 9 Nov. (retrieved 9 Nov. 2008):Mr. Paz noted that since the onset of the credit crisis, eBay, like other companies, hasnRate it:

(2.00 / 4 votes)
not a patch onNot an improvement over something; not nearly as good as something; much worse than.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
pissing contestAn immature dispute over some trivial matter.Rate it:

(2.00 / 3 votes)
tirer une épine du pied à quelqu'unTo take a thorn out of some one’s side; To get some one over a difficulty.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
heave to and splice the main brace'Heave to and splice the main brace!' An old salt's invitation to shipmates in a shore side pub to drink-up and be merry!Rate it:

(1.50 / 2 votes)
keep one's eye on the ballMy ethos has always been to be very straight with people, tell it as it is. It doesn't often make people happy but I found that over a period of time it's better to be that way. So being straight, also being very focused on your objectives, keep your eye on the ball and not get deflected away from it.Rate it:

(1.50 / 2 votes)
build downIn solitaire card games, to place a card over another card of higher value.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
c'est un rusé compèreHe is a sly dog, a cunning old fox. Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
c'est vieux comme le pont neufQueen Anne is dead; It is as old as the hills.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
drive the porcelain busTo vomit, especially while drunk or hung over.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
il fait l'empressé auprès de sa vieille tanteHe pays marked attention to his old aunt.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
les grosses mouches passent à travers la toile de la justice, mais les petites y sont prisesOne man may steal a horse, while another dare not look over the hedge; Justice will whip a beggar, but bow to a lord; One does the scath, another has the harm; The crow gets pardoned, and the dove has the blame.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
nugget of truthJanuary 2008, Chicago Tribune - Clinton's Hispanic edge over Obama.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
oat operaA, film, or novel depicting adventures of characters in the American Old West; a western.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
petit bonhomme vit encoreThere’s life in the old dog yet.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
sorry, not sorryUsed to sarcastically express a lack of guilt over an action or statement.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
a pristina consuetudine deflectereto give up old customs.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
a rey muerto, rey puestoout with the old, in with the newRate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
a vetere consuetudine discedereto give up old customs.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
à vieille mule frein doréOld women have the finest clothes.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
actum est de meit's all over with me; I'm a lost man.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
adieu paniers, vendanges sont faitesYou come too late, it is all over.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
admodum adulescens, senexstill quote a young (old) man.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
aetate affecta esseto be infirm through old age.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)

We need you!

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

Alternative searches for rake over old coals:

Quiz

Are you a phrases master?

»
She passed that exam by the skin of her ________.
A feet
B teeth
C nails
D hair