Tagged Questions

-3
votes
1answer
61 views

How to explain the metaphorical use of watershed in, “Great artists come from watershed”? [closed]

How to explain the metaphorical use of watershed in, "Great artists come from watershed"?
-3
votes
1answer
179 views

Meaning of the phrase “I am all ears” [closed]

I was going through Stack Overflow and I noticed this phrase. I am all ears Is it some spelling error of "I am all yours" or does it mean something like "I am eager to listen"? What is meant by ...
1
vote
2answers
256 views

Meaning of “95 percent Kabuki theater”

I assume conference goers are not usually performing Kabuki, so please explain this metaphor from The New York Times: [the financial conference at] Bretton Woods was itself 95 percent Kabuki ...
8
votes
4answers
438 views

What does “Sautéed” mean in “Someone who has not sautéed in a subject”?

Maureen Dowd article titled, “Neocons Slither Back” in September 15 New York Times begins with the following sentence: “Paul Ryan has not sautéed in foreign policy in his years on Capitol Hill. ...
6
votes
3answers
416 views

Understand the meaning of “tall order”

I was wondering why a "tall order" means a formidable task or requirement? Is it a metaphor? If so, how shall I understand it?
0
votes
3answers
324 views

Does the sentence “His confident visage hid insecurity” make sense?

I was wondering if this sentence makes sense, and if it does, is the meaning of visage in this sentence metaphoric? His confident visage hid insecurity.
1
vote
2answers
576 views

“Steamroller” to describe a person as very determined

Can "steamroller" be used to describe a person like in the following sentence? He is like a steamroller; nothing will stop him from getting work done. Or are there any other meanings to the word ...
2
votes
3answers
347 views

Meaning of “it's the tie to go along with X's tux”

I found this when learning underscore.js (a programming framework). The introduction says: It's the tie to go along with jQuery's tux. Does it mean that it is to be used along with jQuery or is ...
4
votes
3answers
2k views

What does “Eat our peas” mean - where does it come from?

In a recent speech about the national debt, Obama said it's time to "Eat our peas". What does it mean - where does it come from?
7
votes
6answers
7k views

What is the metaphoric meaning of silo?

Process-oriented organizations break down the barriers of structural departments and try to avoid functional silos. I was wondering what silo means here? Is it a metaphor?
3
votes
2answers
341 views

A “human cue tip”?

I am watching the excellent documentary "Nobelity" by Turk Pipkin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobelity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turk_Pipkin 4 minutes into the movie, there is a bit that I ...
5
votes
2answers
714 views

What does “piracy pirates” mean?

What does the phrase In Soviet Russia, piracy pirates YOU. mean? What is implied by "piracy pirates YOU" and what - by "IN Soviet Russia"? Update: My difficulty was because The term ...