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Phrases related to: for old time's sake Page #11

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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)
Happy RamadanAn expression used during Ramadan to wish someone a happy time during the holiday.Rate it:

(3.33 / 6 votes)
ancient historyThat which happened a long time ago and not worth discussing any more.Rate it:

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any port in a stormAn unfavourable option which might well be avoided in good times but which nevertheless looks better than the alternatives at the current time.Rate it:

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

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Cook Your GooseTo bring someone down, spoil someone’s quality time or to wreck a happy plan or projectRate 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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dust offTo use something after a long time without it.Rate it:

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every dog has its dayEveryone has a time of success and satisfaction.Rate it:

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fiddle aboutTo waste time; spend time idly.Rate it:

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fiddle while Rome burnsTo neglect helping when one's time is needed most; to ignore the major problem at hand (whilst doing something less important); to be idle, inactive, or uninterested in a time of great need.Rate it:

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fuck aboutTo waste time with unimportant activities, often used as an admonition to urge the other party to stop wasting time.Rate it:

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good things come to those who waitA patient seeker will be satisfied in due time; patience is a virtue.Rate it:

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have legsTo have endurance; to have prospects to exist or go on for a long time.Rate it:

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hold overSomething left from an earlier time.Rate it:

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Labour of LoveTo do something free of money, work done for love and pleasure, not for the sake of moneyRate it:

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nine times out of tenvery often, mostly, most of the timeRate it:

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not here to fuck spidersUsed to indicate one has serious business to pursue and should not be wasting time.Rate it:

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Over the HillOld and past age, beyond one’s prime, past the bestRate it:

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run downTo find something or someone after searching for a long time.Rate it:

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run onTo continue talking for a long time.Rate it:

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take a picture, it will last longeran ironic statement said after being stared at for a long time.Rate it:

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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, 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:

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too many balls in the airAttempting to accomplish many projects in one time period.Rate it:

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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:

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from can see to can't seeFrom the time when it is barely light enough to see until there is no light remaining whatsoever: from sunup to sundown, from dawn to duskRate it:

(2.67 / 3 votes)
one who hesitates is lostA person who spends too much time contemplating what to do may miss a valuable but fleeting opportunity.Rate it:

(2.67 / 3 votes)
grace periodA length of time during which rules or penalties do not take effect or are withheld.Rate it:

(2.50 / 2 votes)
holy fuckExpression of terror, awe, surprise, shock, etc., often at something seen for the first time or remembered immediately before using this term.Rate it:

(2.50 / 4 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)
little pitchers have big earsSmall children often overhear more of what is said than adults realize or desire.1844, Charlotte M. Yonge, Abbeychurch, ch. 2:Seeing me listening to something she was saying to Mamma, she turned round upon me with that odious proverb, "Little pitchers have long ears."1939, "Bedtime Bedlam," Time, 17 Apr.:A caution to U. S. parents, but a joy to radio merchandising, is the dread truth that little pitchers have big ears.2002, Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, ISBN 9780743455961, p. 185:I suppose he might say pushed or went woowoo, but took a shit is, I fear, very much in the ballpark (little pitchers have big ears, after all).Rate it:

(2.33 / 3 votes)
against the clockRunning out of time.Rate it:

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ear trumpetold hearing aidRate it:

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for onceFor the first time, after many instances to the contrary; in a rare exception to the rule; as an exception to the usual.Rate it:

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hindsight is 20/20(idiomatic) In hindsight things are obvious that were not obvious from the outset; one is able to evaluate past choices more clearly than at the time of the choice.Rate it:

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jerk offTo do nothing; to waste time.Rate it:

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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:

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one-offOccurring once; one-time.Rate it:

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T-minusUsually specifies the remaining time until some future event.Rate it:

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day or nightAt any time; 24/7Rate it:

(1.50 / 4 votes)
gather dustto remain unused for a long period of timeRate it:

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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)
monkey businessAn activity that is considered silly, or stupid, or time-wasting.Rate it:

(1.50 / 2 votes)
twist in the windTo wait for an uncomfortably long period of time.Rate it:

(1.50 / 2 votes)
a fair seasonA right timeRate it:

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around the clockAll the time or seemingly all the time; constantly.Rate it:

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bank nightAn event where patrons are enticed to buy entry tickets into some venue, for example a movie theater, with the anticipation that they will be entered into a drawing to win an amount of money if their ticket is drawn and they are on-site at the time of the winning.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
butt outdon't be involved in (stop interfering in) what someone else is doingRate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)

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