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- A watched pot never boils
- Some things work out in their own time, so being impatient and constantly checking will just make things seem longer.
- Armchair critic
- An armchair critic is someone who offers advice but never shows that they could actually do any better.
- Bring to the table
- If you bring something to the table, you make a contribution or an offer in a discussion or negotiation..
- Brush under the carpet
- If you brush something under the carpet, you are making an attempt to ignore it, or hide it from others.
- Call on the carpet
- If you are called on the carpet, you are summoned for a reprimand by superiors or others in power.
- Caught with your hand in the cookie jar
- (USA) If someone is caught with his or her hand in the cookie jar, he or she is caught doing something wrong.
- Clean sheet
- When someone has a clean sheet, they have got no criminal record or problems affecting their reputation.
In football and other sports, a goalkeeper has a clean sheet when let no goals in.
- Come out of the woodwork
- When things come out of the woodwork, they appear unexpectedly. ('Crawl out of the woodwork' is also used.)
- Cupboard love
- (UK) To show love to gain something from someone
- Cut a rug
- To cut a rug is to dance.
- Doormat
- A person who doesn't stand up for themselves and gets treated badly is a doormat.
- Down the drain
- If something goes down the drain, especially money or work, it is wasted or produces no results.
- Empty vessels make the most noise
- The thoughtless often speak the most.
- Everything but the kitchen sink
- If people include everything but the kitchen sink, they include every possibility, regardless of whether they are useful.
- Flash in the pan
- If something is a flash in the pan, it is very noticeable but doesn't last long, like most singers, who are very successful for a while, then forgotten.
- Fresh from the oven
- If something is fresh from the oven, it is very new.
- Get out of bed on the wrong side
- If you get out of bed on the wrong side, you wake up and start the day in a bad mood for no real reason.
- Hand that rocks the cradle
- Women have a great power and influence because they have the greatest influence over the development of children- the hand that rocks the cradle.
('The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world' is the full form.)
- Kitchen-sink
- (UK) Kitchen-sink drama deals with ordinary people's lives.
- Lie like a rug
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If someone lies like a rug, they lie to the point where it becomes obvious that they're lying.
- Light bulb moment
- A light bulb moment is when you have a sudden realisation about something, like the light bulbs used to indicate an idea in cartoons.
- Memory like a sieve
- If somebody can't retain things for long in his or her memory and quickly forgets, he or she has a memory like a sieve. A sieve has lots of tiny holes in it to let liquids out while keeping the solids inside.
- Never darken my door again
- This is a way of telling someone never to visit you again.
- Off the shelf
- If a product is off the shelf, it can be used straightaway without any setting-up.
- On the carpet
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When you are called to the bosses office (since supposedly, they are the only ones who have carpet) and its definitely not for a good reason, i.e., you are in trouble, something has not gone according to plan and either maybe you are responsible and/or have some explaining to do.
- Out of the frying pan, into the fire
- If you get out of one problem, but find yourself in a worse situation, you are out of the frying pan, into the fire.
- Over the counter
- Medicines and drugs that can be sold without a doctor's prescription are sold over the counter.
- Red carpet
- If you give someone the red-carpet treatment, you give them a special welcome to show that you think they are important. You can roll out the red carpet, too.
- Split the blanket
- If people split the blanket, it means they get a divorce or end their relationship.
- Tables are turned
- When the tables are turned, the situation has changed giving the advantage to the party who had previously been at a disadvantage.
- Take the chair
- If you take the chair, your become the chairman or chairwoman of a committee, etc.
- Tidy desk, tidy mind
- A cluttered or disorganised environment will affect your clarity of thought. Organised surroundings and affairs will allow for clearer thought organisation.
- Under lock and key
- If something is under lock and key, it is stored very securely.
- Under the table
- Bribes or illegal payments are often described as money under the table.
- Wet blanket
- A wet blanket is someone who tries to spoil other people's fun.
- Window to the soul
- Eyes are sometimes referred to as the window to the soul.
- You've made your bed- you'll have to lie in it
- This means that someone will have to live with the consequences of their own actions.
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