keen-kenning Ben
gossamer von Goss
quick-wit Nick
zazen Zach
from Greek epitheton, epi ‘upon’ + tithenai ‘to place.’ (OED)
cliches: boy, did this drag me back into my childhood! -- who knew my mother was a master?
every cloud has a silver lining
always darkest before the dawn
can't win for losing
a stitch in time saves nine
many hands make light work
were you born in a barn
it'll all come out in the wash
half-baked
three sheets to the wind
the price of tea in China
pot calling the kettle black
from the frying pan into the fire
bring home the bacon
waiting for your ship to come in
money doesn't grow on trees
wrong side of the tracks
wrong side of the bed
water under the bridge
nothing ventured, nothing gained
circle the wagons
face the music
get a word in edgewise
preaching to the choir
all dressed up and nowhere to go
stuffed shirt
if the shoe fits
diamond in the rough
back to the salt mines
back to the wall
spitting image
all ears
all thumbs
bite your tongue
big head, mouth, heart
pain in the neck, ass
an arm and a leg
see eye to eye
as plain as the nose on your face
keep your nose to the grindstone
shoulder to the wheel
turn a deaf ear
out of the mouths of babes
tail between his legs
like a bat out of hell
snug as a bug in a rug
horse of a different color
can of worms
frog in my throat
hare-brained?
hold your horses
horsing around
useless as tits on a bull
take the bull by the horns
bright-eyed and bushy-tailed
curiosity killed the cat
the cat's meow
look what the cat dragged in
when the cat's away, the mice will play
more than one way to skin a cat
let the cat out of the bag
crazy like a fox
beat a dead horse
birds of a feather
playing possum
hornet's nest
good for the goose, good for the gander
no spring chicken
counting your chickens before they’re hatched
like a chicken with its head cut off
chickens come home to roost
until the cows come home
monkey see, monkey do
the worm has turned
wolf in sheep's clothing
what a zoo
don't let the bedbugs bite
(which reminds me of a scary nightly prayer from my youth: "... if I should die before I wake ... " !! needless to say, I discontinued this particular family tradition)young enough to be his daughter
skeleton in the closet
absence makes the heart grow fonder
the lights are on but nobody's home
damn with faint praise
head in the clouds
poetry in motion
and, last but not least
(painfully apropos at this moment in history):
laugh all the way to the bank
