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An endless balancing act

It is a process of doing several jobs at the same time and making sure all jobs are done well, equally well.

Time to call time on cheap, strong alcohol

To call time on something is to say time is up, the game is over and let’s call it a day.

Worth the candle?

It means the gains made from getting some job done won’t be enough to buy the oil burnt from the lamp during the process.

Ebbs and flows

It is used to describe things in life that are affected by such cycles of high and low, up and down.

Train of thought

Train of thought, which, by the way, means a series of connected thoughts developing in one’s mind.

Fair game

Fair play? That means behavior that’s in accordance with rules of a game.

Smoke and mirrors?

Smoke and mirrors, you see, stand for deception, something that blurs or distorts facts.

Long leash?

When the website is given a “long leash”, it means they have a lot of freedom to publish what they want.

More Pinocchios?

If people call someone a Pinocchio, they believe this person is very prone to telling a lie.

Road map to get back to profitability?

A road map here is a metaphor. What they have is not a map of roads, but a clear and detailed business plan .

Bad taste?

If you do something that is described as in bad taste, you do something that is unpleasant, displeasing, discomforting.

Give him the glad hand?

They shake hands with him in public, saying “Glad to meet you” and so forth but the next moment they’re cursing him with closed teeth.

In the cards?

If we say something is in the cards, we mean to say that they’re likely to happen.

Fly close to the wind?

When people say someone is sailing too close to the wind, they are saying that this person is doing something exceedingly risky or improper.

Shifting sands of democracy?

A plan on shifting sand won’t work because it doesn’t have a solid foundation.

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