Idiom of the Week

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Week of April 27, 2008

“Nathan set the cat among the pigeons when he admitted that the new product was not going to be ready for the summer sales promotion.”

Set the cat among the pigeons- v. To do or say something that causes trouble or commotion.  To cause alarm.

“The news that the factory was being shut down set the cat among the pigeons.”

Week of April 21, 2008

“Hamish was unsure about taking a job with a larger company.  In his current position he was cock of the walk, but in a bigger company he’d be a nobody.”

 Cock of the walk- n. Someone who considers himself/herself important or powerful. A proud or conceited person. A person who is overbearing, bossy or domineering. 

“Janet felt like cock of the walk when her proposal was accepted by the board.”

Week of April 14, 2008

“The board members were tired of addressing the same issue at each meeting, but they still could not come to any sort of agreement.  Jordan wondered if it would have been better to abandon the proposal and let sleeping dogs lie.”

Let sleeping dogs lie – v. To avoid restarting an old conflict. To avoid disturbing a situation which will result in trouble or complications.

“At the monthly staff meeting, Shauna was again prepared to broach the topic of a pay rise, but her colleague advised her to let sleeping dogs lie.”

Week of April 7, 2008

“Our CEO let the cat out of the bag when he announced plans to merge with a market competitor.”

Let the cat out of the bag– v. To disclose a secret, often unintentionally.  To tell the truth.

“I was trying to keep my new promotion a secret, but my husband let the cat out of the bag.”