Phrases.com »

Phrases related to: Play Both Ends Against the Middle Page #6

Yee yee! We've found 572 phrases and idioms matching Play Both Ends Against the Middle.

Sort:RelevancyA - Z
a blessing and a curseSomething that is both a benefit and a burden, or that may seem initially beneficial but also brings unforeseen negative consequencesRate it:

(3.50 / 2 votes)
dead of nightMiddle of the night.Rate it:

(3.50 / 2 votes)
proverbs run in pairsEvery proverb seems to be contradicted by another proverb with an opposed message, such as "too many cooks spoil the broth" and "many hands make light work."1863, Sir Richard Burton, Abeokuta and the Camaroons Mountains, vol. 1, Tinsley (London), p. 309:Moreover, all the world over, proverbs run in pairs, and pull both ways: for the most part one neutralizes, by contradiction, the other.Rate it:

(3.50 / 2 votes)
caught between the devil and the deep blue seaHaving a choice between two alternatives, both undesirable.Rate it:

(3.33 / 3 votes)
act outTo go through the process of a scene from a play, a charade or a pointless exercise.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
ante upTo pay a fee necessary to play a game, typically a card gameRate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
be offTo be working against a present or former addiction to.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
bunk offTo play truant.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
bunny hopA jump made where both wheels leave the ground.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
cat and mouse gameTwo individuals and/or groups repeatedly keeping check on each other in a suspicious or self-protective way, often with the goal of one or both parties trying to gain a malicious advantage over the other.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
devil's advocateA canon lawyer appointed by the Church to argue against the canonization of the proposed candidate.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
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)
game outTo play games to such an excessive degree that one is unwilling to play more.Rate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
home teamThe team that's playing in the usual area that they play in, as opposed to the visitor team.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
mess aroundTo joke, kid, or play.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
On the Horns of a DilemmaHaving to decide between two things, faced with the decision making with both the options unfavorableRate it:

(3.00 / 3 votes)
sell ice to eskimosTo persuade people to go against their best interests or to accept something unnecessary or preposterous.Rate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
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)
tail inTo fasten by one of the ends into a wall or some other support.Rate it:

(2.33 / 3 votes)
airmailTo throw the ball well over a fielder's head where that fielder is unable to make a play on the ball.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
épater le bourgeoisTo scandalize, provoke the middle class.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
jouer la belleTo play the rubber (or third game, to see which of the players is the conqueror).Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
put onTo play recorded music.Rate it:

(2.00 / 3 votes)
well, i'll be dipped (in a barrell of beer!)When one is completely taken aback by the facts at hand. Can be expressed in both elation and/or frustration. Also, depending on the level of either of the forementioned emotions, the phrase goes from the simple short version of, "(Well), I'll Be Dipped.(!) to the extended version of, "(Well), I'll be Dipped In A Barrell of Beer.(!)Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
buy straw hats in winterOf stocks, to buy when both demand and price is low, sell when demand and price is high.Rate it:

(1.67 / 3 votes)
black-on-blackInteractions that occur between black people, notably crime that is perpetrated by one black person against another.Rate it:

(1.25 / 4 votes)
come out swingingTo display spunk and strength of character, especially when rising above or when fighting back against trouble or adversity.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
crier haro sur quelqu'unTo raise an outcry against any one.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
deadNot in play.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
fresh legsSomebody who has yet to play in a match, and therefore has plenty of energy.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
il est entre deux âgesHe is middle-aged.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
it takes two to tangleBlame is to be laid on both parties in a conflict.Rate it:

(1.00 / 2 votes)
lead the lineTo play as centre forward.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
medium sermonem abrumpere (Verg. Aen. 4. 388)to break off in the middle of the conversation.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
no plan survives contact with the enemyIt is a reality of conflict that, after a plan against an enemy is begun, there will always be unexpected elements resulting from opposition that require improvisation and deviation from the original plan.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
Pull the Wool over Your EyesTo play trick with someone making him or her fool, to deceive or cheat someoneRate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
that's the way life isThat is the way things happenCertain things cannot be changed, helped or improved; struggle and objection are pointless.1935, Louis Bromfield, The Man Who Had Everything, page 279:That's the way life is, and there's no use trying to go against it.1979, Jay Edward Abrams, A Theology of Christian Counseling: More Than Redemption, ISBN 0310511011, page 45:There are no standards, no values; that's the way life is. Learn to accept it and slide with it. Stop fighting it.2002, B. Eugene Ellison, Rings of the Templars, ISBN 059524050X, page 337:Shit happens; that's the way life is. In fact, I want you to take an additional thousand for your efforts.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
under erasureOf a bit of text, written and strickenthrough; hence, figuratively in some sense both present and absent.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
à contre-courantagainst the grainRate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
à l'encontre deagainstRate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
à rebrousse poilAgainst the grain; (To rub) the wrong way.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
à vous le déIt is your turn to play (at dice). [See Avoir.]Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
absent le chat, les souris dansentwhen the cat's away the mice will playRate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
accusare aliquem perduellionisto charge a person with treason (hostile conduct against the state generally).Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
adversante et repugnante natura or invitā Minervā (ut aiunt) aliquid facere (Off. 1. 31. 110)to do a thing which is not one's vocation, which goes against the grain.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
ah! vous m'en direz tant!1. Well, that alters the case! 2. Ah! now I understand, why did you not say so at first? 3. There’s no going against such a reason as that.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
aliquid a sensibus meis abhorretsomething offends my instincts, goes against the grain.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
aliquid abhorret a meis moribus (opp. insitum [atque innatum] est animo or in animo alicuius)something is contrary to my moral sense, goes against my principles.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
all rights reservedThe copyright holder of a creative work reserves all copyright-related rights, typically including the right to publish the work, to make derivative works of it, to distribute it, to make profit from it, to license a number of these rights to other people, and to forbid these uses by any unauthorized people, thus being entitled to take legal action against infringement.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)
all the world's a stagePeople have roles to play in life just as actors do in the theatre.Rate it:

(0.00 / 0 votes)

We need you!

Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

Alternative searches for Play Both Ends Against the Middle:

Quiz

Are you a phrases master?

»
The _____ has no clothes.
A jester
B emperor
C king
D queen

Browse Phrases.com

#ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ