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Phrases related to: little old Page #4

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unless the wheels available to you aren't made for the vehicle you're trying to drive.Follow-up to the phrase, "No need to reinvent the wheel." Meant for when one does, in fact, need to reinvent a process to account for accumulated changes that make the old status-quo obsolete.Rate it:

(5.00 / 1 vote)
vale of tearsA symbolic "valley of tears"; meaning the world and the sorrows felt through life. Similar to the Old Testament Psalm 23's reference to the "valley of the shadow of death", the phrase implies that sadness is part of the physical world (i.e. part of human experience).Rate it:

(5.00 / 2 votes)
behind the timesOut of date; old-fashioned; obsolete; outmoded; outdated.Rate it:

(4.50 / 2 votes)
fat chanceLittle or no likelihood of occurrence or success.Rate it:

(4.50 / 2 votes)
fly off the handlegetting angry for a small little thingRate it:

(4.50 / 2 votes)
a stitch in time saves nineA little effort expended sooner to fix a small problem prevents it from becoming a larger problem requiring more effort to fix later; A little preparation can eliminate the need for repairs later; consistency (achieving a set rhythm) is better than trying to rush ahead.Rate it:

(4.43 / 7 votes)
a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go downAn otherwise unpleasant situation can be pleasant when a pleasant aspect is deliberately introduced.1999, Eli Yassif, The Hebrew Folktale: History, Genre, Meaning, Indiana University Press, ISBN 0253335833, page 372,One is known as the "sweetening parable," that is to say a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. Thus, when the aim is to preach to the people, to guide them along the "bitter," arduous path of upholding burdensome precepts and prohibitions, a tale can lighten the load, make the "medicine" easier "to swallow."2001, Maureen Reagan, First Father, First Daughter: A Memoir, Little, Brown, ISBN 0316736368, page 319,It put some fun into the tedious business of preparing for a presidential debate. A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, right?2004, John Hoover, How to Work for an Idiot: Survive & Thrive... Without Killing Your Boss, Career Press, ISBN 1564147045, page 11,If a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, a barrel of laughs can wash down the big pills you might need to swallow.Rate it:

(4.00 / 5 votes)
aliquid magno, parvo stat, constata thing costs much, little.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
all talk and no actionSpeaking, promising, or boasting much, but doing littleRate it:

(4.00 / 2 votes)
easy for you to sayRequiring little effort or sacrifice on your part, with the implication that it is or has been more difficult for others.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
il nous a dit des contes à dormir deboutHe told us tedious, nonsensical tales, old wives’ tales.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
man of partsA man that is talented in multiple areas of life. This includes but is not limited to the area of seduction. He puts very little emphasis on memorized scripts or "peacocking" and instead relies on individualized ways to charm a woman.Rate it:

(4.00 / 2 votes)
much of a muchnessOf two or more things, having little difference of any significance between them.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
not much of anythingVery little; not a lot.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
penny pincherOne who spends little money; one who is very frugal or cautious with money.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
sugar and spiceExcerpt from a common nursery rhyme "What are little girls made of?"Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
throw a sprat to catch a mackerelTo sacrifice something of little value in the hope of gaining something better.Rate it:

(4.00 / 2 votes)
winter ratAn old, unattractive automobile, purchased for little money, to be driven during brutal Great Lakes winters while the owner's "good" car remains garaged and protected from corrosive road salt for the season.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
слухом земля полнитсяa little bird told meRate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
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)
fly like a rockto travel through the air with little or no benefit from aerodynamic liftRate it:

(3.33 / 3 votes)
a drop in the bucketAn effort or action having very little overall influence, especially as compared to a huge problem.Rate it:

(3.00 / 3 votes)
break out of your shellWhen someone is a little shy.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
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)
Over the HillOld and past age, beyond one’s prime, past the bestRate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
phase inTo introduce something little by little.Rate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
phase outTo remove or relinquish the use of something little by little.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)
under lock and keyImprisoned with little or no chance of escape.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
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)
what mattersIt takes all the little things that makes the big things matterRate it:

(3.00 / 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)
before someone's timeFrom before one was born or old enough to be aware of the world.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
bright-line ruleA clearly defined rule or standard, composed of objective factors, which leaves little or no room for varying interpretation.Rate it:

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

(2.00 / 1 vote)
f** allNothing at all or very little.Rate it:

(2.00 / 3 votes)
hiding to nothingA situation in which victory has little or no value, but defeat has a huge cost.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)
small fryOne or more persons or things of relatively little consequence, importance, or value.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
vivre de l'air du tempsTo live upon nothing (i.e. to eat very little).Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
hack intoTo gain unauthorized entry to, particularly by exploiting little-known weaknesses.Rate it:

(1.67 / 3 votes)
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)
small beerSomething that is of relatively little importance.Rate it:

(1.50 / 2 votes)
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)
cette petite fille est sage comme une imageThat little girl is very quiet, is as good as gold.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
dans le siècle où nous sommes, on ne donne rien pour rienAt the present day people give nothing for nothing, and precious little for sixpence.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
gravy trainAn occupation or any lucrative endeavor that generates considerable income whilst requiring little effort and carrying little risk.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)

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