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Phrases related to: can't do right for doing wrong Page #9

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seeding on the rockEffort not worth doingRate it:

(3.33 / 3 votes)
a boon or a baneSomething that can be either a benefit or an affliction.Rate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
bang aroundTo make a lot of percussive noise while doing an activity.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
based on experiencethe purpose or a new work can be designed having few numbers or data from the previous successful execution.Rate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
blown out of the waterthoroughly and decisively defeated, proven wrong, or discredited.Rate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
cookie-cutterA solution to a problem that can be applied in many situations without modification.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)
fiddle while Rome burnsTo neglect helping when one's time is needed most; to ignore the major problem at hand (whilst doing something less important); to be idle, inactive, or uninterested in a time of great need.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
idle hands are a devil's toolsIf you are idle then you can do something which. can lead you to troubleRate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
keep a close watch onTo pay careful attention to a situation or a thing, so that you can deal with any changes or problems.Rate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
Like Pulling TeethTo feel great difficulty in doing somethingRate it:

(3.00 / 2 votes)
lucky dipA game in which prizes are covered up and mixed together in a container, so that contestants can dip their hand into the container and randomly pull out a prize.Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
nobody's perfectUsed when someone's mistakes or flaws are acknowledged, to remind that everyone else makes mistakes and has flaws1995, New York Magazine Vol. 28, No. 5, 30 January 1995, The de-moralization of society (Book Review)Hypocrisy, particularly in sexual matters, is excused on the grounds that hey, nobody's perfect, and at least folks back then felt bad enough to lie.2000, Madonna, Nobody's PerfectI feel so sad. What I did wasn't right. I feel so bad and I must say to you: Sorry, but nobody's perfect. Nobody's perfect. What did you expect? I'm doing my bestRate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
over one's headMore complex or confusing than one can understand; beyond one’s comprehension..Rate it:

(3.00 / 1 vote)
red face testA hypothetical test of a person's embarrassment, that is either passed or failed. Saying one passes the red face test means one would not blush and thus would not be embarrassed by disclosing something to others or doing something, and saying one fails the red face test means a situation would cause them discernible embarrassment.Rate it:

(3.00 / 4 votes)
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 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)
break the InternetTo overwhelm a web server through organic user-driven demand, such that the server goes offline or is in danger of doing so.Rate it:

(2.50 / 2 votes)
I don't fancy yoursUsed to reserve the right to chat up an attractive woman, who is with an unattractive woman.Rate it:

(2.50 / 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)
a lie has no legsYou can't get away with a lie, the truth will always come out.Rate it:

(2.33 / 3 votes)
beat one's swords into ploughsharesTo refrain from doing aggressive activities and to do peaceful ones.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
Black Sheep of the FamilyA disrespected member of a family, community or any other group or society due to certain actions. It happens when all other are performing or doing well but one person lacks it allRate it:

(2.00 / 2 votes)
go to great lengthsTo make a major effort; to be very careful when doing something, especially to an extreme or excessive degree.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
hard-pressedBarely able. Having difficulty doing something.Rate it:

(2.00 / 3 votes)
hit the spotTo be particularly pleasing or appropriate; to be just right.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
in living memoryIn recent history, in recorded history amongst the lifespan of extant people; events or situations which can be remembered by people that are still aliveRate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
Mexican breakfastA breakfast consisting of a cigarette and a glass of water, supposedly because that is all Mexicans can afford.Rate it:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
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:

(2.00 / 1 vote)
self fulfilling prophecyAn expectation can bring about an outcome.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)
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)
it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of godThe rich can afford more immoral behavior than the poor.Rate it:

(1.80 / 5 votes)
a fair seasonA right timeRate it:

(1.00 / 2 votes)
a lie comes back sooner or laterYou can't run from a lie, it will return to you at some point.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
a risk takerAny new venture replete with myriad unknown consequences can become costly in many areas.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
Blood is Thicker than WaterThere is no other replacement for blood relations. What a person from your family or relatives can do for you, will not be done by strangers in a good senseRate it:

(1.00 / 2 votes)
butt outdon't be involved in (stop interfering in) what someone else is doingRate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
Clear As a BellAnything that can be understood easily and without any confusionRate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
dead tree editionPaper version of a publication that can be found online.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
deliver the message to garciaWhat we need is people who get the job done, no matter how. We don't want pickers who'll only learn if we use their preferred learning method. Have you read "A Message to Garcia" ? That's what we need today - young people who can deliver the message to Garcia.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
fan the fireOne can fan the fire in challenging situations by criticizing, rebuking or strongly disagreeing.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)
get the hang ofTo learn to handle something with some skill, through practice or diligence, which can lead to an almost unconscious performance thereof.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
il faut à toute force l'empêcher de sortirYou must prevent him going out by all the means in your power; We must do all we can to prevent him going out.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
long ways, long liesSomeone who comes back from a far-off country can tell lies without fear of being contradicted.Rate it:

(1.00 / 2 votes)
on the pretext ofa false reason that you give for doing something, usually something bad, in order to hide the real reason; an excuseRate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
pissing contestA boys' prankish competition to determine who can urinate the furthest up a wall.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
plus fin que lui n'est pas bêteHe who can take him in is no fool.\n It would take a smart man to deceive him.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)
pro viribus or pro mea parteas well as I can; to the best of my ability.Rate it:

(1.00 / 1 vote)

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