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Phrases related to: Rub the Wrong Way Page #6

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shushA nice way of saying shut up, be quiet, lower your voice, keep your mouth shut.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
spill overTo enter into another zone by way of accident or overcrowding; to overflow.Rate it:

(4.00 / 2 votes)
stepping stoneSomething used as a way to progress to something or somewhere else.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
talk upIn such a way as to make the thing or person sound better than it actually is.Rate it:

(4.00 / 2 votes)
the whole nine yardsAll the way; with everything done completely or thoroughly.Rate it:

(4.00 / 5 votes)
throw a bone toTo provide support or assistance to, especially in one particular way or to a limited extent; to make a concession to.Rate it:

(4.00 / 1 vote)
unwashed massesOf people who are considered by someone to be somehow uneducated, uninformed, godless, or in some other way unqualified for inclusion in the speaker's elite circles.Rate 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)
boiSomeone looking down on the person, Critically saying that a thing is wrong here.Rate it:

(3.83 / 6 votes)
hit someone for sixBe affected in a devastating way by some unexpected news.Rate it:

(3.50 / 4 votes)
na-na na-na boo-booA taunt or putdown, typically used to indicate that the speaker believes he or she has beaten the listener in a competition or is better in some other way or in a general sense; or an expression of satisfaction that the listener has received some supposedly deserved minor punishment or misfortune.Rate it:

(3.50 / 2 votes)
poison penA usually intentionally rude, spiteful, and/or condescending piece of writing directed at a person, group, lifestyle, way of thought, or other target.Rate it:

(3.50 / 2 votes)
put the cart before the horseTo put things in the wrong order or with the wrong priorities.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)
there are many ways to skin a catAlternative form of there's more than one way to skin a cat.Rate it:

(3.50 / 2 votes)
stick it where the sun don't shinea sarcastic way of expressing disgust to someone; akin to telling someone where to goRate it:

(3.33 / 3 votes)
a lifestyle overhaula complete revision of one's way of livingRate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
always be yourselfdon´t change the way you are. be you, be special. don´t be like othersRate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
blown out of the waterthoroughly and decisively defeated, proven wrong, or discredited.Rate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
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)
go suck on a toeA way of telling someone to go away -- or a way of telling someone 'no'.Rate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
kiss my gritsA nice way of saying "eff you." Its a spin on the phrase "kiss my a**", written into a TV show from the 80s called "Alice". The saying was usually preceded by the name "Mel" who was the owner of the diner where Flo, the waitress who made the saying famous, worked.Rate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
necessity is the mother of inventionA person who is in great need of something will find a way to get it.Rate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
put awayTo store away, place out of the way, clean up, or organize.Rate it:

(3.00 / 3 votes)
step asideto move out of one's wayRate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
there's many a slip twixt cup and lipIn any situation, however well planned, something can always go wrong.Rate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
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)
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:

(3.00 / 4 votes)
take a bulletto sacrifice oneself for another; to put oneself in harm's way in place of anotherRate it:

(2.67 / 3 votes)
baggageIn a metaphorical sense, factors that restrict a person's freedom, often in an intellectual or psychological way: emotional baggage.Rate it:

(2.50 / 2 votes)
se frayer un chemin avec les coudesTo elbow one’s way through a crowd.Rate it:

(2.33 / 3 votes)
fuck withTo mess with; to interact with in a careless or inappropriate way.Rate it:

(2.25 / 4 votes)
bread and butterthe main way you make your living; where the bulk of your money comes fromRate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
dial it inTo set up in a perfect or complete way.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
from cover to coverAll the way to the last page.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
honesty is the best policyHonesty is the most honorable and fulfilling way to live one's life.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
let someone down gentlyTo reject or refuse someone in a way that avoids causing hurt or disappointment.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
take one's ball and go homeTo cease participating in an activity that has turned to one's disadvantage, especially out of spite, or in a way that prevents others from participating as well.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
to get one's wires crossedOne can get their wires crossed by asking the wrong question or making a confusing statement or by interpreting the answer incorrectly, or by receiving confusing answers to confusing statements.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
keep one's eye on the ballMy ethos has always been to be very straight with people, tell it as it is. It doesn't often make people happy but I found that over a period of time it's better to be that way. So being straight, also being very focused on your objectives, keep your eye on the ball and not get deflected away from it.Rate it:

(1.50 / 2 votes)
rabbit holeA way into a bizarre world.Rate it:

(1.50 / 2 votes)
arse about faceSomething that is placed or arranged the opposite way to the way it should be.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
carry throughTo manage to execute; to perform successfully, all the way to the end.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
eat out of someone's handTo behave in a docile, submissive way towards somebody.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
fait à la diable (i.e. à la manière du diable)Done anyhow, in a slipshod way.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
get into troubledo something wrong; get into a bad situation; get reprimanded; have consequencesRate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
hold one's head highto act with pride; to be proud in a positive wayRate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
I have to love you and leave youUsed as an affectionate way of saying goodbyeRate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
run around like a chicken with its head cut offTo act in a haphazard or aimless way; to act frantically or without control.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
sick puppyIn a morbid or gruesome way.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)

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