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Phrases related to: rack one's brain Page #32

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

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pack upTo move one's residence.Rate it:

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peel offTo separate off from the main body, to move off to one side; as in troop movements on a parade ground or an organized retreat, or columns in a procession.Rate it:

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pièce de résistanceA masterpiece; the most memorable accomplishment of one’s career or lifetime.Rate it:

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pitch inTo help out; lend assistance; contribute; to do one's part.Rate it:

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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:

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pump upTo cause one's muscles to swell by means of focussed weightlifting.Rate it:

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red face testA hypothetical test of a person's embarrassment, that is either passed or failed. Saying one passes the red face test means one would not blush and thus would not be embarrassed by disclosing something to others or doing something, and saying one fails the red face test means a situation would cause them discernible embarrassment.Rate it:

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red rideranother name for "War", one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.Rate it:

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run something up the flagpoleTo float an idea that one suspects might be controversial.Rate it:

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sabre-rattlingAny threat, such as one company threatening another with a lawsuit.Rate it:

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saddleA block of wood, usually fastened to one spar and shaped to receive the end of another.Rate it:

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show the flagTo display the flag of one's country, especially as an expression of patriotic pride.Rate it:

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smell testAn informal method for determining whether something is authentic, credible, or ethical, by using one's common sense or sense of propriety.Rate it:

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smooth operatorA person who accomplishes tasks with efficiency and grace, especially one with verbal skills who is persuasive in interpersonal relationships, negotiation, etc.Rate it:

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speak upTo make oneself or one's opinions known; to advocate or assert oneself.Rate it:

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spending money as if it were waterlack of respect for the dollar, frittering away one's paycheck.Rate it:

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squint like a bag of nailsTo squint very much, as though one's eyes were directed as many ways as the points of a bag of nails.Rate it:

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step asideto move out of one's wayRate it:

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strap on a pairTo be brave; to show some courage, especially in a situation where one has so far failed to do so.Rate it:

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there but for the grace of god go iA recognition that others' misfortune could be one's own, if it weren't for the blessing/kindness/luck bestowed by fate or the Divine.Man's fate is in God's hands.More generally, our fate is not entirely in our own hands.Rate it:

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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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wait for the other shoe to dropTo await a seemingly inevitable event, especially one which is not desirable.Rate it:

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what it says on the tinExactly what is described or what one would expect from the name.Rate it:

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what's good for the goose is good for the ganderWhat is good for one type is equally good for another type, despite any irrelevant differences between the types.Rate 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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you can't take it with youIt is not possible to take one's material wealth to whatever world may await one after death.1900, E. Phillips Oppenheim, A Millionaire of Yesterday, ch. 6:"The clause whichRate it:

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fat lipA swelling on the lip, especially one resulting from a punch or other blow.Rate it:

(2.80 / 5 votes)
back downTo take a less aggressive position in a conflict than one previously has or has planned to.Rate it:

(2.67 / 3 votes)
German goitreA protruding stomach, especially one supposed to be indicative of excessive consumption of beer.Rate it:

(2.67 / 3 votes)
money creates loveWhen you are in state of success in every aspect of you life meaning that one success brings the other like a dominoRate it:

(2.67 / 3 votes)
blue-eyed boyThe favourite, especially a young one, of especially someone in power; a fair-haired boy,Rate it:

(2.50 / 4 votes)
come againCould you repeat that? Repeat that please. a polite formula used when one has not heard or understood what has been saidRate it:

(2.50 / 2 votes)
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:

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yank outTo remove something like a nail, or a tooth with one quick strong pull.Rate it:

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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)
se frayer un chemin avec les coudesTo elbow one’s way through a crowd.Rate it:

(2.33 / 3 votes)
tail inTo fasten by one of the ends into a wall or some other support.Rate it:

(2.33 / 3 votes)
alicui bibere ministrareto serve some one with drink.Rate it:

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alicui Syria (sorte) obvēnit, obtigitthe province of Syria has fallen to some one's lot.Rate it:

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before someone's timeFrom before one was born or old enough to be aware of the world.Rate it:

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Black Sheep of the FamilyA disrespected member of a family, community or any other group or society due to certain actions. It happens when all other are performing or doing well but one person lacks it allRate it:

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choke upTo lose one's power of speech, because of embarrassment, fear etc.Rate it:

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dans le royaume des aveugles les borgnes sont roisAmong the blind, the one-eyed is king.Rate it:

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divide and conquerA combination of political, military and economic strategies that aim to gain and maintain power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into chunks that individually have less power than the one implementing the strategy.(computing) Applied to various algorithms, such as quicksort, that solve a problem by splitting it recursively into smaller problems until all of the remaining problems are trivial.(as imperative, proverb) In order to rule securely, don't allow alliances of your enemies.Rate it:

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do something with mirrorsTo insinuate one has performed a magic or optical trick with the use of hidden mirrors, insinuating trickery and sham.Rate it:

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down to the short strokesIn the final steps or decisive phase of an undertaking, especially one which has been lengthy or laborious.Rate it:

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eat shitTo fall and land on one's face.Rate it:

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enough to make the angels weepSomething so distressing that it causes one to lose hope and faith.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)

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