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Phrases related to: sum of its parts Page #2

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Bite Off More Than You Can ChewTo take on something more than of its actual capacity, a person, who tries to accomplish too much, or is greedy by nature, or overconfident or too much motivated, taking more responsibility or task that a person can manageRate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
boot upTo start a computer using its bootstrap procedure.Rate it:

(5.00 / 7 votes)
bucket of boltsA piece of machinery that is not worth more than its scrap value, often of old cars.Rate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
embrace, extend and extinguishA strategy of marketing that involves extending widely used standards of product categories with proprietary capabilities, and then using the differences to disadvantage its competitors.Rate it:

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flutter in the dovecoteI further argued that the principal cause for the political deadlock that persisted for thirty years after the guns fell silent was Israeli intransigence rather than Arab intransigence. The appearance of the first wave of revisionist studies excited a great deal of interest and controversy in the media and more than a flutter in the academic dovecote. — Israel Confronts Its Past.Rate it:

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hell in a hand basketto go to one's doom, to deteriorate quickly, to proceed on a course to disaster. The phrase go to hell in a handbasket is an American phrase which came into general use during the American Civil War, though its popularity has spread into other countries.Rate it:

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knock oneself outto grant permission for or to give endorsement of a suggestion or proposal, especially when the speaker is not interested in its outcome.Rate it:

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lose trackTo forget one's train of thought or temporarily misplace an item or its place in a sequence.Rate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
scrape the bottom of the barrelTo use the least desirable parts of something.Rate it:

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stay wokeFirst used by Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee, Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter in a 1938 interview afterword of his song Scottsboro Boys-named for nine Black teenagers and young men falsely accused of raping two white women in Alabama in 1931. Lead Belly knew the Scottsboro boys, and urged Black listeners and Black persons traveling through that area in Alabama to "Stay Woke" (be vigilant, cautious, and alert) in the spoken afterword to the song. Lead Belly's direct relative, Global Activist and Equality Advocate Greshun De Bouse began the #STAYWOKELEADBELLY movement to acknowledge the phrase's origin, and redefine its present-day meaning as a more generalized, all-inclusive phrase admonishing all to be cognizant of past, present, and future world occurrences.Rate it:

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sticking pointThe point at which a process or thing, especially a state of mind or emotion, reaches its greatest strength and remains steadfast; sticking-place.Rate it:

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toothpaste is out of the tubeA situation that cannot be recovered or reversed to its original state.Rate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
una catena è resistente solo quanto il suo anello debolea chain is only as strong as its weakest linkRate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
wait onTo fly above its master, waiting till game is sprung; said of a hawk.Rate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
boil downAs an allusion to the cooking technique of reducing liquids by heat, one boils down a problem, argument, etc. to its most central elements.Rate it:

(4.71 / 7 votes)
or somethingOr something like that. Used to indicate the possibility that previously mentioned word may not be exactly correct in its applicability.Rate it:

(4.50 / 2 votes)
spell outFrom its component letters.Rate it:

(4.33 / 3 votes)
add upTo take a sum.Rate it:

(4.00 / 3 votes)
apple does not fall far from the treeA child grows up to be very similar to its parents, both in behavior and in physical characteristics.1842, E. A. Freidlaender (translator), Frederika Bremer (author), The Neighbours, ch. 10:It is impossible to look at Madam Rhen, without at once making the conclusion that she is pleasantness, hospitality, and loquacity itself; nor can one look upon her daughter Renetta without thinking, "the apple does not fall far from the tree!"1978, Dr. Isador Rosenfeld, "Doctor Asks Patient Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
canary in a coal mineSomething whose sensitivity to adverse conditions makes it a useful early indicator of such conditions; something which warns of the coming of greater danger or trouble by a deterioration in its health or welfare.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
curate's eggA thing which has good and bad parts.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
happy Fourth of JulyA greeting used during the United States Independence Day to recognize its celebration.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
happy Independence DayA greeting used during Independence Day to recognize its celebration.Rate it:

(4.00 / 2 votes)
home field advantageUsually in sports, the heightened performance enjoyed by the team playing on its own familiar field in front of its home crowd.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
keel overOf a vessel: to roll so far on its side that it cannot recover; to capsize.Rate it:

(4.00 / 2 votes)
pull apartTo open something by pulling on various parts of it.Rate it:

(4.00 / 2 votes)
spruce upTo refresh, revamp; to freshen or improve something, especially its appearance.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
think throughTo fully consider an action, and understand all its consequences.Rate it:

(4.00 / 3 votes)
to the tune ofRoughly; about; as much as; to the sum of, to the extent of.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
vowel quantityA vowel's duration of articulation; its length.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
turn to stoneTo become completely still, not moving. The phrase "turn to stone" typically means to become motionless, rigid, or unresponsive. It can also refer to becoming emotionally numb or unfeeling. The phrase has its origins in Greek mythology, where the Gorgon Medusa was said to have the power to turn anyone who looked at her into stone. In this context, "turning to stone" meant to become petrified, frozen, and unable to move. In a more metaphorical sense, "turning to stone" can refer to becoming emotionally or mentally rigid, closed off, or unresponsive. For example, a person might be said to have "turned to stone" if they have experienced trauma or emotional distress that has left them numb or unfeeling. The phrase can also be used to describe a situation where a person or group of people becomes unresponsive or unwilling to change their views or actions. For example, a team that is stuck in their ways and resistant to change might be said to have "turned to stone" in terms of their ability to adapt and evolve. Overall, the phrase "turn to stone" implies a sense of rigidity, immobility, and unresponsiveness. It can refer to becoming physically or emotionally petrified, and it can also describe a situation where a person or group is unwilling or unable to change or adapt.Rate it:

(3.86 / 7 votes)
tune upTo make adjustments to an engine in order to improve its performance.Rate it:

(3.33 / 3 votes)
bridgeA valence bond, atom or chain of atoms that connects two different parts of a molecule; the atoms so connected being bridgeheads.Rate it:

(3.25 / 4 votes)
common nameThe name by which a species is known to the general public, rather than its taxonomic or scientific name.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
Don't Look a Gift Horse in the MouthDon’t complain if you get gift that is not as good as you expect; accept what you've been given without analyzing its valueRate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
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:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
fail overTo automatically switch processing from a failed component in a critical system to its live spare or backup component.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
flower of the flockSomething exceedingly good or the best of its type.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
in the right place at the right timeAt a location where something good is about to happen at just the time of its occurrence; lucky; fortunate; able to obtain a benefit due to circumstances, rather than due to merit.Rate it:

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kick offTo force the weaning of a bovine cow's calf by restricting the calf's access to its mother's udders. Used figuratively or literally.Rate it:

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kiss my gritsA nice way of saying "eff you." Its a spin on the phrase "kiss my a**", written into a TV show from the 80s called "Alice". The saying was usually preceded by the name "Mel" who was the owner of the diner where Flo, the waitress who made the saying famous, worked.Rate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
leaf outTo open its buds.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
mark upTo increase the price of something between its wholesale and retail phase.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
paper flowerA plant, Psilostrophe cooperi, and its flower.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
poisoned chaliceA scheme or instrument for causing death or harm, especially one which eventually brings about the downfall of its creator; something which is initially regarded as advantageous but which is later recognized to be disadvantageous or harmful.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
mad moneyA sum of money kept in reserve or to insulate oneself financially in the event of the sudden breakdown of a relationship in which one is economically dependent.Rate it:

(2.50 / 2 votes)
get one's hands dirtyto get involved with the unpleasant parts, or the lowest levels, of a task.Rate it:

(2.00 / 3 votes)
green lightA traffic light in its green state .Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
in for a penny, in for a poundExpressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof; accepting that one must Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
mother of allUsed before a plural noun to form a compound noun having the sense of: the greatest or largest of its kind.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)

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