"Delicate Genius"...........

A highly touted professional (such as a doctor or lawyer) who would not think of talking business outside of business hours. A professional who should never be asked questions outside of his/her offices confines.

.....Tabula Rasa.....

Greek translation of this phrase generally means to have a clean slate....the idea that any something exists first in an unmarked, unblemished or without previous impression. It can also mean, for some, the chance to begin anew or start anew.

(I like this phrase a lot and feel it's very useful, positive, true).

Would this be the American equivalent of "To Wipe The Slate Clean" Miss Katz?

I believe so, homoe. Lots of people use this particular expression in that way. But if you look up the Greek translation, it's thought to mean something in its unmarked state of consciousness.... Like a newborn human being, for example.

I may of posted this before but it bears repeating......

"Hop Over A Quarter To Pick Up A Penny'...........


Passing on something only to get something else of lesser value!

It's Not You, It's Me"...............

The phrase "it's not you, it's me" is a cliche used when someone breaks up with another person.

"A Double-Edged Sword".........




Anything that causes both advantages and disadvantages!

"My Dogs Are Barking" ............



If your dogs are barking, this means that your feet are hurting.


Sidebar: There is a brand of shoe called "Hush Puppy" and it's named that as a reference to the expression, "My dogs are barking." In the case of the shoe, Hush Puppies are supposedly so comfortable they can quiet your puppies - that is, stop your feet from hurting.

Oh, that is very interesting!!! I've never heard this before. Is it a saying that is somehow regional by design??? I think it's a terribly cute way to say your feet are tired!!! :hangloose:

Miss Katz:

According to what I found this is an old expression, typically associated with the South and especially concentrated around the Appalachian Mountain chain. Older usage didn't connote smelly or dirty feet, just sore feet.

okay, homoe, I think I understand now what you were talking about! :balloon:

You know, late last night, it came to me that my late grandmother always wore hush puppy shoes for her role at work as an head dietician. Back in the day, I'd say it was early 1960s, no shoe retailer made shoes for women to wear that felt comfortable for women....especially women who were on their feet all day long. Even early models of nursing shoes were not comfortable at all...because it was nearly 1973 before my mother could find a comfortable shoes to wear. Both my mother and her mother worked long hours on their feet in both their roles as an dietician and nurse. So, even I couldn't find shoes comfortable enough to wear in all the years I worked in my former career, but I could never ever find a pair of hush puppies that would fit my feet. I'm tall, my feet are sort of long, but not too wide... I'm a "B" or "C" width. Mom and grandmother had fairly little feet, which worked perfectly for them to buy a pair or three of hush puppies. :eyebat: :blush:

Thanks for jogging my memory, homoe :balloon:

.....A Bone of Contention.....

Using this phrase of expression generally means that there is an ongoing issue of disagreement which is not easily solved or, worst case scenario, is never solved.

"In Short Order".................



To take care of a task very quickly.

"Hot Under The Collar".................



To be upset over some matter! Someone or something has made you mad!

"Not For All the Tea In China"..............



Not at any price. Never!

"Be Still My Heart"...............



An exclamation that something is too exciting or overwhelming for one to bear; literally, that it is causing one's heart to beat too fast.

In modern usage, it is almost always used sarcastically to imply that something is actually mundane, uninteresting, or unappealing.

"Thrifty With A Buck"......................"Penny Pincher"



A person who is very frugal. Someone careful about how they spend money.

"Put The Cart Before The Horse"..........



To have things in the wrong order; to have things confused and mixed up.

"Que Sera Sera " Whatever Will Be, Will Be !

“All the world loves a lover” ........




This is derived from an essay on love by the American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. It means people are always happy to see a couple in love.

I love discovering the origin of phrases we use today with absolutely no idea of why they came about.

"Don't throw the baby out with the bath water." always intrigued me since I could attribute that to nothing within my own experience or anything I'd read.

I love Lucy Worsley (check her out on YouTube) because I get answers on things like this.

When baths were a weekly thing, the order of bathing was father, mother, eldest child down to youngest child. They were all bathing in the same water, so by the time it was the baby's turn the water might well have been dark enough that you could throw the bathwater out not having seen the baby was still in it.

Anyone else grateful for modern plumbing?

Again, Lucy Worsley.

"They don't have a pot to piss in." Contextually, I understood this to mean someone was poor (I was about to say dirt poor, but I'm not sure of the origin of that. Something I'll have to look up.)

Centuries ago, one way of earning money was to collect the urine from the household chamber pots or whatever they were called at the time. If you didn't have a pot to collect the urine in to sell for a source of income, you didn't have a pot to piss in.

I love weird stuff like this.

Very True. :)
 

If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything

This phrase is not exactly an idiom but it's an often used strand of thought which traces it's roots back to early 1900s use, right before the Great Depression, and was also used during the days of WW2.... It's been resurrected again in popular culture via the country western artist Aaron Tippin.

To discover more interesting ideas about this particular phrase, please see the link provided. :)

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/02/18/stand-fall/

"Have Bigger Fish To Fry"...........




To have something more important or more interesting to do.

"You're Right On The Money"...............


Exactly right or correct.

"Cut A Rug".;................



To dance.

"Sweep Under The Rug/Carpet"...................




To hide something damaging or unpleasant and try to keep it secret.

"To Take The Starch Out Of Someone"



To reduce someone's ego or conceit, to deflate someone.

comme si comme sa Spanish for so- so good nor bad

"A Stuffed Shirt..............




Someone, especially a man, who behaves in a formal, old-fashioned way and thinks they are very important.

"A Party Pooper.....................




Someone who spoils other people's enjoyment of social activities by being unhappy or by refusing to become involved and join in the fun.

"Spoilsport"........................






A person who spoils the pleasure of other people by his or her actions or attitudes.

sight unseen !! <<< internet shopping lolol

.....To turn the prevailing tide.....

A phrase which means that you desire conditions to improve, get better.

...... Come what may.......

To state that you're in it for the long haul, no matter the outcome, that you're committed to seeing it through.

...... to take the high road .....

To infer that you'd rather exercise a choice to do what's right, not only for yourself, but for the overall good of yourself or others.

Sidebar: I'm not exactly fond of this idiom because there's no need really to assert your position. For example, just do the right thing and don't call attention to it. In other words, don't let one hand dictate what the other hand does. Just do it (nike).

..... Make it count .....

Not sure that I like this saying either, but I've heard it used by preachers, church going folks, or by anyone in general. And like some turns of phrase, it can mean almost anything, depending on the way the 'message' is delivered (ie, tone of voice, facial expression, point of entry or exit in use).

I've heard it used in pejorative ways more often than I've heard it expressed in positive terms.

Take what works for you, toss out what doesn't. :rrose:

"Don't Burn Your Bridges" ......



It means that we should always leave situations in good standing, as we may need something from the person in the future.

Sidebar: "Don't burn your bridges," comes from military strategy. It means one should always leave a way to retreat when going into battle.

"Keep Your Cards Close To Your Vest/Chest............



To keep to oneself, to be secretive, to be very cautious in one's dealing with people and giving nothing much or nothing at all away (as if one were playing cards and not permitting anyone to see any of their cards).