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Phrases related to: chance would be a fine thing Page #4

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bad newsAn irritating, troublesome, or harmful person, situation, or thing.Rate it:

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beginner's luckrefers to the supposed phenomenon of novices experiencing disproportionate frequency of success or succeeding against an expert in a given activity. One would expect experts to outperform novices - when the opposite happens it is counter-intuitive, hence the need for a term to describe this phenomenon.Rate it:

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Between a Rock and a Hard PlaceTo face a difficult situation and remain in a tight spot one after another, Or face some difficulty in making the right decision that would deliver no harmRate it:

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busman's holidayA holiday or vacation during which you do the same thing that you do for your usual work.Rate it:

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cry out forTo say that a situation needs a thing, or a solution urgently.Rate it:

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culpam alicuius rei sustinereto bear the blame of a thing.Rate it:

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curate's eggA thing which has good and bad parts.Rate it:

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embarrassment of richesAn abundance or overabundance of something; too much of a good thing.Rate it:

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fancy one's chancesTo believe that one has a good chance of success.Rate it:

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Fit like a GloveA person or thing which fits perfectly or snuglyRate it:

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jack upTo raise, hoist, or lift a thing using a jack, or similar means.Rate it:

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jump atTo accept something enthusiastically. Usually an opportunity, or chance, or job etc.Rate it:

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leaped at the oppotunityjumped at the chanceRate it:

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no matter how thin you slice it, it's still baloneyRegardless of how many clever points or fine distinctions one makes, what one is saying is still false or is still nonsense.Rate it:

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quand il n'y en a plus, il y en a encoreThe thing is inexhaustible; It is easy to get more.Rate it:

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Sight for Sore EyesA pleasant and good surprise, an unexpected thing that can relieve you of your troubleRate it:

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stumble acrossTo meet somebody by chance.Rate it:

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sure enoughJust like one would expect.Rate it:

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talk upIn such a way as to make the thing or person sound better than it actually is.Rate it:

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there's always a bigger fishNo matter how large or intimidating a person or thing is, there is likely to be an even larger or more intimidating person or thing somewhere.Rate it:

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boiSomeone looking down on the person, Critically saying that a thing is wrong here.Rate it:

(3.83 / 6 votes)
finer than frog hairExtremely fine.Rate it:

(3.67 / 6 votes)
if my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle(colloquial, vulgar, humorous) It is fruitless to speculate about counterfactual situations."We would have won the match if we'd had a decent goalkeeper.""And if my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle!"Rate it:

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old schoolCharacteristic of a style, outlook, or method employed in a former era, remembered either as inferior to the current style, or alternately, remembered nostalgically as superior or preferable to the new style, the older denoting something that would be considered out of date or out of fashion to some, but as such, is considered by others as cool and hip.Rate it:

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cross someone's pathTo meet by chance.Rate it:

(3.50 / 2 votes)
stop an eight-day clock and throw it into reverseBefore batteries and household electricity were used to power clocks, most clocks had to be wound by hand to keep operating. Eight-day clocks were designed so they only had to be wound every eighth day and the movement only turned in a clockwise direction. Therefore, someone with an appearance objectionable enough to stop the clock and send the movement spinning in the wrong and opposite direction would be ugly indeed.Rate it:

(3.50 / 4 votes)
dyed-in-the-woolFirmly established in a person's beliefs or habits; deeply ingrained in the nature of a person or thing.Rate it:

(3.33 / 3 votes)
heart and soulThe core of a thing; the most essential or important part.Rate it:

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be-all, end-allSomething ultimate, definitive; the best part of something; the thing which solves all problems associated with something; the most completeRate it:

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fill in the blankA type of question or phrase with one or more words replaced with a blank line, giving the reader the chance to add the missing word(s).Rate it:

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for a startfor one thing; as one rebutting factor among manyRate it:

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go the way of the dinosaursTo go extinct or become obsolete; to fall out of common use or practice; to go off the firsthand market; to become a thing of the past.Rate it:

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it does exactly what it says on the tinWhat is described or what one would expect with no further explanation needed.Rate it:

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keep a close watch onTo pay careful attention to a situation or a thing, so that you can deal with any changes or problems.Rate it:

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la goutte d'eau qui fait d%c3%a9border le vaseThe final thing that is too much and forces a reaction; the straw that broke the camel's back.Rate it:

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luck of the drawA selection rife with low odds of winning. A game of chance. Luck associated with one's propensity for winning.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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roll the diceTo take a chance.Rate it:

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run acrossTo find or discover by chance.Rate it:

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stumble onTo meet somebody by chance.Rate it:

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stumble uponTo meet somebody by chance.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:

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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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under lock and keyImprisoned with little or no chance of escape.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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come uponto discover or find, especially by chance or accident.Rate it:

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Hallmark momentA memorable moment or event, one which would make a poignant greeting card.Rate it:

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pie in the skyA belief that one's wildest dreams shall come true. A devotee, of pie in the sky is prone to believe the most impossible possibility. The taller the tale you can spin, the greater chance he'll buy into it!Rate it:

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there's no accounting for tastesDifferent people like different things The world would be incomplete if everyone were alike. Diversity is essential.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
better an egg today than a hen tomorrowIt is better to have a sure thing now than a possibility of more later.Rate it:

(1.80 / 5 votes)

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