Encourage many ideas from many sources.
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The Phrase Finder
The meanings and origins of phrases, sayings, idioms and expressions.
Look up any phrase - we'll tell you what it means, where it came from, and how it's been used. 2171+ meanings, 714+ idioms, 10,636+ thesaurus entries.
Meaning of the day
Let a thousand flowers bloom
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- Meaning Nothing new under the sun Everything that appears new has in some form happened before; there is nothing genuinely original in human affairs.
- Meaning Practice makes perfect The more you do something, the better you become at it, because repetition builds skill.
- Meaning In the blink of an eye In an extremely short space of time; almost instantaneously.
- Meaning At sixes and sevens To be at sixes and sevens is to be at a state of confusion and disorder, or of disagreement between parties.
- Meaning Alive and kicking Definitely alive; lively and active.
- Meaning At one fell swoop 'At one fell swoop' means 'suddenly; in a single action'.
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Phrases.org.uk has been documenting the meaning and origin of phrases, sayings and idioms since 1997. Every entry is researched and written by Gary Martin, with citations to the earliest printed use we can find.
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