RobertHaigh's entries

Here's the list of entries submitted by RobertHaigh  — There are currently 50 entries total — keep up the great work!

the holy of holiesThe most private room in the house. "This is my husband's holy of holies where he can work without being disturbed." The Holy of Holies was the name given to the innermost apartment of the Jewish Temple, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. Only the high priest could enter this room on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).added
4 years ago
a pyrrhic victoryAn apparent victory, but one which is no victory at all, due to the great cost incurred. The phrase comes from the victory won by King Pyrrhus at Asculum in 279BC which cost him many of his best men. After the battle Pyrrhus remarked: "One more such victory and we are finished."added
4 years ago
bat on a sticky wicketTo take action in unfavourable conditions.added
4 years ago
a bird of ill-omenSomeone who is always delivering bad news, or bringing bad luck.added
4 years ago
put not your trust in princesA warning that men of power and influence can be just as fickle and unreliable as the rest of us.added
4 years ago
like a sphinxAn expressionless face which conceals a secret.added
4 years ago
drop the pilotTo dismiss an expert adviser. A classic example was the dismissal of the German Chancellor, Bismarck, by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1891.added
4 years ago
a stormy petrelA person who is restless or turbulent, and who is likely to stir up trouble.added
4 years ago
as cross as two sticksTo be in a very bad temper.added
4 years ago
necessity knows no lawSomeone who is desperate cannot be expected to obey the rules, or keep the law.added
4 years ago
as hungry as a hunterTo be very hungry. Hunters are presumed to be hungry because of the (often lengthy) time taken in order to catch their quarry.added
4 years ago
every man to his tradeKeep to your own job and don't meddle in other people's. We should all stick to what we are good at.added
4 years ago
kick over the tracesTo throw off all restraint.added
4 years ago
more than flesh can standMore than human nature can endure.added
4 years ago
a carpet-baggerA candidate for election who has no roots or interest in the constituency he wishes to represent. The original meaning was a Unionist financier or adventurer who exploited the cheap labour in the American South after the Civil War. The carpet bags carried by these adventurers were made of carpet material.added
4 years ago
the gutter pressNewspapers that depend on scandal, sex and violence to promote their sales.added
4 years ago
die in harnessTo continue to work until the day of one's death.added
4 years ago
as close as an oysterSecretive; reluctant to give information.added
4 years ago
a bird of passageSomeone who never stays long in one place; a wanderer, like a swallow which migrates according to season.added
4 years ago
in fine featherIn splendid condition; lively and cheerful.added
4 years ago
as large as lifeTo appear in person.added
4 years ago
back in harnessTo be restored to one's employment or office. Often said of someone returning to work after recovering from illness.added
4 years ago
make an honest pennyTo make an honest living through hard work.added
4 years ago
sleeping partnerA sleeping partner is a partner who has invested capital in a firm but plays no part in its management.added
4 years ago
rhetorical questionA QUESTION which is asked merely for effect, and which does not expect an answer. For example: If I say, "Do I look like a fool?" then I don't expect an answer: I am merely choosing a rhetorical way of saying, "I am not a fool."added
4 years ago

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