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Phrases related to: Old Wives' Tale Page #5

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tan someone's hideTo beat or spank someone.Rate it:

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that dog won't huntThat idea will not work; that is an inadequate explanation or proposition.Rate it:

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that's a fine how do you do!An expression said in disgust or in jest to someone who 1) did not greet you as expected 2) ignored you 3) did something undesirable instead of greeting you 4) insulted you 5) did something mean or uncaringRate it:

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that's a wrapa declaration the current activity is now finishedRate it:

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that's lamethat's bad; not as good as it could be or has been; not as good as is typical of othersRate it:

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that's the way the cookie crumblesThat is the way things happen; that's life.Rate it:

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the devil's lettuceA code name for marijuana.Rate it:

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there's no crying in baseballQuit complaining about it, go back and do your job.Rate it:

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there's no place like homeone feels the most comfortable at homeRate it:

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there's no time like the presentNow (i.e., the present time) is an appropriate time to take a particular action.Rate it:

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to let a frog out of one's mouthTo say the wrong thing.Rate it:

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we will have no wine before it's timeSome things are worth the wait and should not be rushed.Rate it:

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we're goodthere is nothing wrong between us; our relationship is okay, not in jeopardy; alternate way of saying it: we goodRate it:

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what's going downWhat's been happening; the latest news; current goings-on; can be used in place of ‘what's coming off’Rate it:

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why on god's green earth"on God's green Earth" is used to add emphasis to the question "Why...?"; precedes the rest of the question while conveying that the speaker is astonished as to why some situation exists.Rate it:

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wits' endLimit of one's sanity or mental capacity; point of desperation; often said when you can't find an answer and you don't want to try any more.Rate it:

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wrap one's head aroundTo come to a good understanding of; believe or accept something shocking; also to wrap one's mind aroundRate it:

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you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drinkYou can give someone knowledge, advice or an opportunity or try to make something easy for them, but you can’t force them to believe it, act on it, or benefit from itRate it:

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you can run but one can't hideThere is nothing someone can do to evade something.You can run but you can't hide.Rate it:

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you can't squeeze blood out of a turnipyou can't force a situation when there is no possibility of successRate it:

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you don't know shit from shinola1. Like calling someone ignorant 2. Often said in reference to something specific, the person saying this phrase is expressing that they don't think the subject of their complaint knows what they are talking about, or doesn't know what they are doing or that they don't know anything at all 3. Same as the phrase: "You don't know your ass from a hole in the ground"Rate it:

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blood is thicker than waterFamily relations and loyalties are stronger than relationships with people who are not family members.1866, Anthony Trollope, The Belton Estate, ch. 30,Blood is thicker than water, is it not? If cousins are not friends, who can be?circa 1915, Lucy Fitch Perkins, The Scotch Twins, ch. 5,The old clans are scattered now, but blood is thicker than water still, and you're welcome to the fireside of your kinsman!Rate it:

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bring backTo reenact an old rule or law.Rate it:

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bucket of boltsA piece of machinery that is not worth more than its scrap value, often of old cars.Rate it:

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fish or cut baitTo choose between taking action now, or forgoing the opportunity and putting that energy into another endeavor; to decide; do something constructive, but don't just do nothingRate it:

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hoi polloithe masses, the general populace, the common people; in America it can carry a negative connotation depending on the context (as though commoners don't belong amongst the rich (high society) but it is not inherently derogatoryRate it:

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horse operaA theatrical production, film, or program on radio or television depicting adventures of characters in the American Old West; a western.Rate it:

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i could eat a horseI am very hungry; short form of "I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse."Rate it:

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i have many bridges to sell you.You've been very naive.Rate it:

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jiminy cricketAn expression of surprise or annoyance; a euphemism for Jesus Christ used in place of swearing or taking the Lord's name in vainRate it:

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mr. potato headA popular, commercially available, children's game featuring a plastic potato onto which a variety of features can be added for amusing results.Rate it:

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over the hillOld, past the prime of life.Rate it:

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round robinan arrangement of choosing all elements in agroup equaly in some rational order e.g. 'taking turns"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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take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselvesIf you take care of little things one at a time, they can add up to big things.1750, Chesterfield, letter 5 Feb. (1932) IV. 1500:Old Mr. Lowndes, the famous Secretary of the Treasury, ?used to say?Take care of the pence, and the pounds will take care of themselves.1912, G. B. Shaw, Pygmalion ii. 132:Take care of the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves is as true of personal habits as of money.1979, R. Cassilis, Arrow of God, iv. xvii.:Little things, Master Mally. Look after the pennies, Master Mally, and the pounds will look after themselves.1999, Rate it:

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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:

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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:

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you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegarIt's easier to persuade others with polite requests and a positive attitude than with rude demands and negativity.Rate it:

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behind the timesOut of date; old-fashioned; obsolete; outmoded; outdated.Rate it:

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home sweet homeOne's home, especially a nice, comfortable home.Rate it:

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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:

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i am what i amI can't help the way I am. The underlying meaning is that I am not going to change either.Rate it:

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il nous a dit des contes à dormir deboutHe told us tedious, nonsensical tales, old wives’ tales.Rate it:

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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:

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your eyes are bigger than your stomachTo take more food on one's plate than one can eat; Also and more often said "your eyes are bigger than your, belly"Rate it:

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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:

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