bad quarter of an hour—a brief but disagreeable and unnerving period: He had a very bad quarter of an hour. I never knew a man have such hard luck at cards. good quarter of an hour—not less than a quarter of an hour: He spoke for a good quarter of an hour, walking me through […]
Charitable vs Benevolent vs Humane vs Humanitarian vs Philanthropic vs Eleemosynary vs Altruistic
Charitable, benevolent, humane, humanitarian, philanthropic, eleemosynary, altruistic are comparable when they mean having or showing interest in or being concerned with the welfare of others.
Bad news vs What’s the bad news
bad news—(U.S. coll.) said of things, people, or places that are unpleasant or undesirable: Milly these days was plain bad news. Her fascination had evaporated. what’s the bad news—(U.S. joc.) what do I owe: After the clerk had run up all of the clothing Meg had selected, her mother nervously asked what the bad news […]
Characterize vs Distinguish vs Mark vs Qualify
Characterize, distinguish, mark, qualify are comparable when they mean to be a peculiar or significant quality or feature of something.
Cache vs Cachet vs Cash
Cache is a hiding place. The bears found a cache of food belonging to some hunters. Cache also is small, fast computer memory that holds recently accessed data. Could the cache handle the extra memory requirements? Cachet refers to a mark of authenticity, prestige, or quality. The state courts have a cachet that the local […]
Characteristic vs Trait vs Feature
Characteristic, trait, feature mean something that marks or sets apart a person or thing.
By and large vs By in large
By and large, meaning generally or as a rule, is the correct phrase.
Bad mouth vs Foul mouth
bad mouth— 1. a curse or spell: I have known of people that have had the record of saying that they could put a bad mouth on you. 2. malicious gossip: Companies don’t want people telling their friends about shoddy products. Word of badmouth can kill them. 3. a person who speaks ill of people: […]
Buttocks vs Buttox
Buttocks is the correct spelling. Place your hands under your buttocks to take some of the strain off your back
Bad money drives out good vs Bad penny always turns up
bad money drives out good —(saying ) worthless people or things supplant more valuable: The drain of human resources is one example where “bad money drives out good.” Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase throw good money after bad—waste more money or supplies in hopes of recouping previous losses: Creating […]
Characteristic vs Individual vs Peculiar vs Distinctive
Characteristic, individual, peculiar, distinctive are comparable when they mean indicating or revealing the special quality or qualities of a particular person or thing or of a particular group of persons or things.
Character vs Symbol vs Sign vs Mark
Character, symbol, sign, mark are comparable in the specific sense of an arbitrary or conventional device that is used in writing and in printing, but is neither a word nor a phrase nor a picture.