Tagged Questions
5
votes
3answers
473 views
Is there an English equivalent for the Swedish expression “the droplet that caused the beaker to overflow”?
In Swedish, the expression "det var droppen som fick bägaren att rinna över", directly translated to "the droplet that caused the beaker to overflow", is used to express that enough is enough. Is ...
1
vote
2answers
146 views
Is there an idiom beginning “when a dog is cornered”?
Is there any saying in a complete sentence including “a dog which is cornered”? I have tried to find a complete one, but there seems to be no one.
Actually, what I want to know is how to explain the ...
6
votes
7answers
338 views
Idiom/word/saying request: Accepting a situation out of desperation
How can I say for example:
Individual retailers run out of business when a big fish came to town. So they had accepted that they cannot compete and closed their stores.
In the novel To Kill A ...
3
votes
3answers
110 views
Phrase for someone taking over business when you skip for humanity
Is there a witty or general saying of indicating the act of taking over a business when a person, business or country skips an opportunity for general benevolence?
Examples:
If I don't sell weapons ...
33
votes
10answers
2k views
“To shoot out of cannon into sparrows”
In Russian we have idiom/saying "To shoot out of cannon into sparrows" (literal translation) which is used to convey an idea of applying too drastic measures to small problems. I believe there should ...
1
vote
6answers
320 views
A phrase for ignoring the disparity at a low level, while seeking commonality at a high level
I'm having a hard time describing the phrase I'm looking for, so I think the best way to ask the question is to simply present the problem.
At work I've been tasked with merging the guidelines (the ...
4
votes
3answers
323 views
“Strike gold” but without the implication of searching?
Whenever I hear the phrase I struck gold the fact the person had to have done a certain search is implied to me. Is this correct?
For example, if I say:
Janet loves sex so much! I've struck gold ...
21
votes
8answers
812 views
What is a better way to name “The Wrong Question”?
On StackOverflow.com I often find that people ask questions about problems that arise due to poor design choices (typically due to a lack of knowledge about the particular programming language).
For ...
