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Phrases related to: proverbs often come in pairs Page #8

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circle gets the squareAn affirmative response; often used sarcastically.Rate it:

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dicksize warA pointless competition, dispute or conflict, often over some trivial matter.Rate it:

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force someone's handBring about a situation which necessitates an agent to act, often causing a plan to be executed prematurely.Rate it:

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fuck aboutTo waste time with unimportant activities, often used as an admonition to urge the other party to stop wasting time.Rate it:

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get one's voice heardIt often requires much energy and persistence to get people to listen to your strongly held views.Rate it:

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I'm all right, JackIndicates a selfish attitude, not worried about any problems one's friends and neighbours might have. Often associated with strikes and other trade union industrial actions.Rate it:

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make outTo characterize as; often with to be.Rate it:

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nine times out of tenvery often, mostly, most of the timeRate it:

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no good deed goes unpunishedUsed to express the idea that beneficial actions often go unappreciated or are met with outright hostility.Rate it:

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Once in a Blue MoonVery seldom, scarcely, not very often, hardly everRate it:

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rye seedCaraway seed, used whole as a flavoring in the best-known type of rye bread- often mistakenly assumed to be the rye itself.Rate it:

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second-guessto vet or evaluate; to criticize or correct, often by hindsight, by presuming to have a better idea, method, etc.Rate it:

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sweat equityAn investment of labour, typically by the owner and often his or her family, usually in a small business or personal residence that increases the value of the business or residence.Rate it:

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take a bowTo accept applause at the end of a performance in a theatre. Often this includes actually bowing to the audience.Rate it:

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take offTo imitate, often in a satirical manner.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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yaassa slang for yes often used with girlsRate it:

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damp squibAnything that doesn’t work properly, or fails to come up to expectations..Rate it:

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

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holy fuckExpression of terror, awe, surprise, shock, etc., often at something seen for the first time or remembered immediately before using this term.Rate it:

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put downTo halt, eliminate, stop, or squelch, often by force.Rate it:

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suck intoTo cause someone to become slowly more and more involved in a business or situation that is often not to that person's liking.Rate it:

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a lie has no legsYou can't get away with a lie, the truth will always come out.Rate it:

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boys will be boysIt is hard, often fruitless, to attempt to curb the natural playfulness and tendency to mischief of most growing boys.1922, James Joyce, Ulysses Chapter 13But just then there was a slight altercation between Master Tommy and Master Jacky. Boys will be boys and our two twins were no exception to this golden rule.Even grown men usually remain somewhat boyish in heart"Boys will be boys", grinned grandpa while he joined his adult son playing with the fancy train-set he gave his grandson for Christmas while the kid was in school.Rate it:

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little pitchers have big earsSmall children often overhear more of what is said than adults realize or desire.1844, Charlotte M. Yonge, Abbeychurch, ch. 2:Seeing me listening to something she was saying to Mamma, she turned round upon me with that odious proverb, "Little pitchers have long ears."1939, "Bedtime Bedlam," Time, 17 Apr.:A caution to U. S. parents, but a joy to radio merchandising, is the dread truth that little pitchers have big ears.2002, Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, ISBN 9780743455961, p. 185:I suppose he might say pushed or went woowoo, but took a shit is, I fear, very much in the ballpark (little pitchers have big ears, after all).Rate it:

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empty vessels make the most soundnoisy, opinionated people are often stupid.Rate it:

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a day late and a dollar shortCome into the picture minus some necessary fundamental factors or entities.Rate it:

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cloud nineA state of happiness, elation or bliss; often used in the phrase on cloud nine.Rate it:

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dicky-birdEndearing term for a small bird, often used when talking with young children.Rate it:

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jack upTo raise, increase, or accelerate; often said of prices, fees, or rates. See also jack up the price.Rate it:

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lock hornsTo come into conflict.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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poor little rich girlA wealthy young person whose money brings them no contentment (often used as an expression of mock sympathy).Rate it:

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run downTo criticize someone or an organisation, often unfairly.Rate it:

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sugar glider or sugar bearA small gliding marsupial often kept as a pet. Looks like a rodent. Known for being carried in owners’ pockets and other concealed places.Rate it:

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top hatA man's formal hat, with a tall cylindrical crown (often of silk).Rate it:

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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:

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uh hmmm!Unspoken 'juvenile', 'disrespectful' nasal/throat exhalation often used and 'socially accepted' as expressing approval.Rate it:

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under the impressionThinking or making assumptions, often incorrectly.Rate it:

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à la guerre comme à la guerreOne must take things as they come; We must take the rough with the smooth.Rate it:

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break coverUsed other than as an idiom. to come out of hiding; to become visible.Rate it:

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dog in the huntThis is often used erroneously to indicate that one has no stake in the outcome. As such this is a bastardization of two Southern idioms: "no dog in the fight," and "that dog won't hunt." (The latter indicates something is a bad idea or prone to fail.) Use of the phrase "no dog in the hunt" when one wishes to indicate they have no "dog in the fight" will generate funny glances from any Southerners who overhear it.Rate it:

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let the cat out of the bagTo disclose a secret; to let a secret be known, often inadvertently.Rate it:

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mark down asTo come to a conclusion about someone or something; to make a note of one's conclusion about someone or something.Rate it:

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moonlight flita disappearing act, often without paying the rent; supposedly at night by the light of the moon.Rate it:

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petite pluie abat grand ventA little rain lays much dust; Often quite a trifle calms a torrent of wrath.Rate it:

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shots firedUsed as an indication of or response to an insult, often to the point of starting a fight or argument.Rate it:

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smoke-filled roomA place where powerful people meet to decide a matter in secret, often of a political nature.Rate it:

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'tis an ill wind that blows no goodSimilar to "every cloud has a silver lining" or "one man's gain is another's loss". This expression appeared in John Heywood's 1546 proverb collection and remains so well known that it is often shortened. (www.dictionary.com}Rate it:

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