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very dirty or black (a chimney sweep cleans chimneys and becomes very black) commencer à apprendre
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My friend was as black as a sweep after he finished cleaning the basement.
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commencer à apprendre
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The old house was as black as night when we entered it.
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commencer à apprendre
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as black as pitch/the ace of spades /a stack of black cats/coal My face was as black as pitch after cleaning the stove all morning.
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commencer à apprendre
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as red as a cherry/a poppy The car was as red as a cherry after its new paint job. The mark on my arm was as red as a poppy.
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commencer à apprendre
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The morning sunrise was as red as a rose.
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commencer à apprendre
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The stain on the carpet was as red as blood. The office assistant was wearing lipstick that was as red as a ruby.
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very pale because of fear or shock or illness commencer à apprendre
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My sister became as white as a ghost when she saw the man at the window.
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commencer à apprendre
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I felt terrible this morning and in the mirror I looked as white as a sheet.
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very white The fur on the dog was as white as the driven snow. commencer à apprendre
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as white as the driven snow
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commencer à apprendre
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My shoulder was black and blue after I fell down the stairs.
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either good or bad, either one way or the other way, oversimplified commencer à apprendre
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Our boss sees everything in black and white.
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an electronic device such as a flight recorder that can be removed from an aircraft as a single package commencer à apprendre
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The investigators searched for a long time in order to find the black box of the airplane.
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a bruise near one's eye which makes it appear black commencer à apprendre
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The man received a black eye when he bumped into the closed door.
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to darken a room or building by turning off the lights commencer à apprendre
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During the war, people in the cities were forced to black out their windows so nobody could see them.
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commencer à apprendre
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The man blacked out during the parade and he had to sit down and rest.
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a person who is a disgrace to a family or group commencer à apprendre
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black sheep (of a family) The man is the black sheep in his family and has not made a success of his life.
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to exclude or ostracize someone socially, to reject someone commencer à apprendre
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The businessman was blackballed in the industry because of his bad business practices.
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to exclude or ostracize someone, to write someone's name on a list if they break some rules commencer à apprendre
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The sports federation blacklisted the swimmer because he was using steroids.
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to extort or take money from someone by threatening him or her commencer à apprendre
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The photographer tried to blackmail the famous actress with some photographs that he had taken.
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a temporary situation where you do not release some information commencer à apprendre
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The government decided to have a blackout regarding the political prisoner.
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a formal event where guests wear semi-formal clothes with men wearing black bow ties with tuxedos or dinner jackets commencer à apprendre
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The award ceremony for the movie awards was a black-tie affair.
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someone from a noble or wealthy or aristocratic family commencer à apprendre
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Many of the blue bloods of the town went to the opening of the opera.
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to be very angry or upset, to be excited and very emotional commencer à apprendre
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I argued with my supervisor until I was blue in the face.
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of superior quality or distinction, the best of a group commencer à apprendre
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A blue-ribbon panel of experts were asked to suggest a new policy for the city.
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commencer à apprendre
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I must brown bag it this week because the company cafeteria is closed.
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the freedom or permission to do what you want (blanche means white in French) commencer à apprendre
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The new manager was given carte blanche to change the policies in her department.
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to catch someone in the middle of doing something wrong commencer à apprendre
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catch (someone) red-handed The woman was caught red-handed when she tried to steal some cosmetics.
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to try to get or achieve something that is difficult or impossible commencer à apprendre
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My old school friend is always chasing rainbows and he never achieves anything.
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permanent, always (like wool that is dyed a certain color) commencer à apprendre
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My father is a dyed-in-the-wool conservative and he will probably never change.
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one's ears are red from embarrassment commencer à apprendre
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My ears were red after hearing what the teacher said about me.
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to have one's hair turn gray from stress commencer à apprendre
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Our teacher is getting gray hair from stress.
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to become sad or depressed commencer à apprendre
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The dull cloudy weather has caused me to get the blues.
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to receive a signal to start or continue something commencer à apprendre
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We got the green light to begin a study of the security problems at our school.
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to give someone permission to proceed with a project commencer à apprendre
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give (someone) the green light The city gave us the green light to begin the new project.
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a place or situation that is far away or different seems better than one's present situation commencer à apprendre
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grass is always greener on the other side (of the fence) The man believes that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence and he always wants to change jobs.
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something that is not clearly defined and does not conform to an existing set of rules, neither black or white, neither one way or another way commencer à apprendre
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The issue of the tax on children's toys is a gray area for the accountant.
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commencer à apprendre
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I wish that my friend would use his gray matter more effectively when he is making his crazy plans.
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to be inexperienced or immature commencer à apprendre
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The young man is rather green and does not have enough experience to drive the large machinery.
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commencer à apprendre
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My friend looked green around the gills after the long bus ride.
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an area of fields and trees around a town commencer à apprendre
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Our city has a policy to increase the green belt around the city.
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commencer à apprendre
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The woman was consumed by the green-eyed monster and it was affecting her life.
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a talent for gardening, the ability to make things grow commencer à apprendre
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My neighbor has a green thumb and she is able to grow one of the best gardens in our neighborhood.
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to be very jealous, to be full of envy I was green with envy when I heard that my cousin would be going to London for a week. commencer à apprendre
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an untrained or inexperienced or naive person commencer à apprendre
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The young man is a greenhorn and he has much to learn about his new job.
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commencer à apprendre
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The man has a yellow streak and he will not defend you if you are having a problem.
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commencer à apprendre
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The man next door seems to have the blues.
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to have a signal to start or continue something The company finally has the green light to start the project. commencer à apprendre
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something totally separate and different commencer à apprendre
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horse of a different color I know that our boss would like to discuss that issue now but it is a horse of a different color and we should discuss it at another time.
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commencer à apprendre
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I put down my complaint in black and white.
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to be in disgrace or in disfavor with someone commencer à apprendre
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in (someone's) black books The boy is in his girlfriend's black books because he was late for their date.
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to be successful or profitable commencer à apprendre
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Our company has been in the black since they began to cut costs.
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commencer à apprendre
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in the pink (of condition) My grandmother was in the pink of condition when I saw her.
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to be in debt, to be unprofitable commencer à apprendre
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The company has been in the red for three years now.
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to provide something extra to accompany something commencer à apprendre
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lend color to (something) The music in the play helped to lend color to the performance of the actors.
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what you are doing will definitely make someone angry or upset commencer à apprendre
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like waving a red flag in front of a bull Talking about the city mayor with my father is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. He hates the city mayor.
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the traditional features of a place which give it its own character commencer à apprendre
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The weekend vegetable market added much local color to the small town.
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to see only the good things about something, to be too optimistic commencer à apprendre
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look at the world through rose-colored glasses My friend always looks at the world through rose-colored glasses and he does not believe that some people are dishonest.
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commencer à apprendre
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The man told an off-color joke at the party which made his wife angry.
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commencer à apprendre
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We painted our kitchen in an off-color of white.
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without any warning, by surprise (like something that comes out of a blue sky) commencer à apprendre
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My friend decided out of the blue to quit his job and go to Europe.
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commencer à apprendre
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Our company is finally out of the red and we are now making money.
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to go out and party and have a good time commencer à apprendre
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When my cousin came to visit us we decided to go out and paint the town red.
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a termination notice from a job commencer à apprendre
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I received my pink slip last week and I am now looking for a new job.
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very black, as black as pitch commencer à apprendre
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The road was pitch-black and we could not see anything.
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the person who criticizes or accuses someone else is as guilty as the person he or she criticizes or accuses commencer à apprendre
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pot calling the kettle black My friend criticized me for not changing jobs but that is like the pot calling the kettle black. She will not change jobs either.
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to write the details of a contract or something on paper commencer à apprendre
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put (something) down in black and white I asked the buyer to put the offer to buy my car down in black and white.
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to indicate that you have been defeated and that you want to give up commencer à apprendre
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The soldiers raised a white flag and surrendered to the enemy.
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to receive special or royal treatment commencer à apprendre
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I always receive the red-carpet treatment when I go and visit my aunt.
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an airplane flight that leaves late at night and arrives early in the morning commencer à apprendre
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We caught the red-eye flight last night and we are very tired today.
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a signal that something is not working properly or correctly commencer à apprendre
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The fallen trees along the road raised a red flag for the safety inspectors.
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an unimportant matter that draws attention away from the main subject commencer à apprendre
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Talking about the other issue was a red herring that did not do anything to deal with today's problem.
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very hot, creating much excitement or demand commencer à apprendre
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The new video game is red-hot and many people are waiting to buy one.
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commencer à apprendre
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I became red in the face when the teacher asked me a question.
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a day that is memorable because of some important event commencer à apprendre
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It was a red-letter day when my sister received her graduation diploma.
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excessive formalities in official business commencer à apprendre
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Many businesses complain about the red tape that they must deal with in order to get anything done with the government.
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to greet a person with great respect, to give a big welcome to someone commencer à apprendre
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The government rolled out the red carpet when the politician came to visit.
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to pretend to be something that one is not (a pirate ship used to disguise itself as an ordinary ship by using a false flag) commencer à apprendre
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The head of the company is sailing under false colors and he does not really understand how the company works.
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to see things which are not really there because they are only in your imagination commencer à apprendre
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The man was seeing pink elephants according to those who listened to his story.
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commencer à apprendre
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My boss saw red when I told him that I would not be coming to work today.
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to prove that someone has enough money for something commencer à apprendre
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see the color of (someone's) money The car dealer would not let me take the car until he saw the color of my money.
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- to see only the good things about something, to be too optimistic commencer à apprendre
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see the world through rose-colored glasses The man sees the world through rose-colored glasses and thinks that everything is wonderful.
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to show what one is really like or really thinking commencer à apprendre
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I thought that the woman likes me but she showed her true colors when she began yelling at me on the telephone.
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to talk very much and very rapidly commencer à apprendre
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The woman beside me on the bus talked a blue streak for most of the journey.
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to talk until one is exhausted commencer à apprendre
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talk until one is blue in the face I talked until I was blue in the face but I could not change my teacher's opinion about my essay.
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to be very pleased or delighted by someone or something commencer à apprendre
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"My mother was tickled pink that you visited her when you were in town.
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to indicate that you have been defeated and that you want to give up commencer à apprendre
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The soldiers were waving a white flag when they surrendered to the enemy.
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a useless possession (that often costs money to maintain) commencer à apprendre
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The new airport is a white elephant and nobody wants to use it.
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a harmless or small lie told to be polite or to avoid hurting someone's feelings commencer à apprendre
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I told my supervisor a white lie yesterday and said that I was sick when actually I was not.
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the selling of towels or sheets at a reduced price commencer à apprendre
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We went to the white sale at the department store to buy some new sheets.
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an event that requires guests to wear formal dress such as men wearing white bow ties with formal evening dress commencer à apprendre
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I attended a white-tie dinner in honor of the president of our university.
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to cover up or gloss over faults or errors or wrongdoing commencer à apprendre
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The government was accused of trying to whitewash the scandal about the illegal money.
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with great or total success commencer à apprendre
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My friend passed the course with flying colors and she now wants to celebrate.
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extremely timid, cowardly commencer à apprendre
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The man is yellow-bellied and is never willing to fight for what is right.
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