Meaning: absinthe oil

n.
a dark bitter oil obtained from wormwood leaves; flavors absinthe liqueurs

oil Idiom, Proverb

boiling mad

very angry, very upset, hopping mad By the time the car started, Emil was boiling mad.

burn the midnight oil

study/work all night or until very, very late at night.

oilpatch

the local oil industry, the oil business Calgary's oilpatch does not control the price of oil and gas.

pour oil on troubled waters

calm down a quarrel, say something to lessen anger and bring peace to a situation They tried to pour oil on troubled waters after they noticed the argument among the students.

spoil for a fight

try to begin a fight, chip on his shoulder, cruising for a bruising "Bud was spoiling for a fight with me. He said, ""You're too chicken to fight, ain't you?"""

spoiled brat

a child who always gets what he wants Sure he's a spoiled brat. His mom gave him whatever he wanted.

spoilsport

one who will not play, party-pooper You spoilsport! Why won't you play strip poker with us?

too many cooks spoil the broth

too many managers cause problems, too many chiefs... The structure failed because it was designed by a group of architects. Too many cooks spoil the broth.

what it boils down to

what it really means, the bottom line What it boils down to is this: we don't have enough money.

boiler

1. derogatory term for an unattractive woman. Often phrased as old boiler for added derogatory emphasis
2. a car

bunny boiler

an obsessive and psychotic woman; taken from a scene in the film Fatal Attraction

boil down

1．be reduced by boiling煮浓
These apples will soon boil down to jelly．这些苹果不久就会煮成果酱了。
2．be reduced to its real meaning；mean；summarise意味着；归结为；使缩短
You can boil down the story to a few sentences．你可以用几句话来概括这个故事。
What the foreign minister said boiled down to the rejection of the proposal．外交部长的话意味着拒绝这项建议。
The whole discussion boils down to the question of whether the government should fix prices．整个讨论归结到政府是否应当规定价格。

boil over

overflow by boiling煮沸溢出
Turn off the gas．The milk is boiling over．关上煤气，牛奶溢出来了。

make sb's blood boil

make sb． angrg激怒
When someone called him a liar it made his blood boil．当有人说他是个扯谎的人时，他十分恼火。
It made Mary's blood boil to see the children make fun of the crippled girl．玛丽看到孩子们在取笑那位残废的女孩时，勃然大怒。

pour oil on the flames

make the quarrel severe火上加油
You pretended that you were helping them out of difficulty，but actually you were pouring oil on the flames and making matters worse．你假装帮助他们克服困难，而实际上你是在火上加油。

pour oil on the waters

quiet a quarrel平息风波；调解争端
The groups were nearing a bitter quarrel until the leader poured oil on the waters．要不是领导人出面调解，双方很快就会大吵起来。

Too many cooks spoil the stew

Idiom(s): Too many cooks spoil the stew, AND Too many cooks spoil the broth

Theme: CONTROL

A proverb meaning that too many people trying to manage something simply spoil it.
• Let's decide who is in charge around here. Too many cooks spoil the stew.
• Everyone is giving orders, but no one is following them! Too many cooks spoil the broth.

To the victors belong the spoils

Idiom(s): To the victors belong the spoils

Theme: WINNING

A proverb meaning that the winners achieve power over people and property.
• The mayor took office and immediately fired many workers and hired new ones. Everyone said, "To the victors belong the spoils."
• The office of president includes the right to live in the White House and at Camp David. To the victors belong the spoils.

shuffle off this mortal coil

Idiom(s): shuffle off this mortal coil

Theme: DAYDREAM

to die. (Often jocular or formal euphemism. Not often used in consoling someone.)
• Cousin Fred shuffled off this mortal coil after drinking a jug full of rat poison.
• When I shuffle off this mortal coil, I want to go out in style—bells, flowers, and a long, boring funeral.

make one's blood boil

Idiom(s): make one's blood boil

Theme: INCITE - ANGER

to make someone very angry. (Informal.)
• It just makes my blood boil to think of the amount of food that gets wasted around here.
• Whenever I think of that dishonest mess, it makes my blood boil.

have a low boiling point

Idiom(s): have a low boiling point

Theme: ANGER

to anger easily. (Informal.)
• Be nice to John. He's upset and has a low boiling point.
• Mr. Jones sure has a low boiling point. I hardly said anything, and he got angry.

boil sth down

Idiom(s): boil sth down

Theme: SUMMARY

to summarize something; to make information more concise.
• I don't have time to listen to the whole story. Please boil it down for me.
• Please boil down the report so I can read it on the plane.

boil down to

Idiom(s): boil down to sth

Theme: RESULTS

to reduce to something; to come down to something; to be essentially something.
• It all boils down to whether you wish to buy a car.
• It boils down to a question of good health.

soil one's hands

Idiom(s): get one's hands dirty AND dirty one's hands; soil one's hands

Theme: WRONG - DEED

to become involved with something illegal; to do something that is beneath one.
• The mayor would never get his hands dirty by giving away political favors.
• I will not dirty my hands by breaking the law.

oil one's palm

Idiom(s): grease someone's palm AND oil someone's palm

Theme: BRIBERY

to bribe someone. (Slang.)
• If you want to get something done around here, you have to grease someone's palm.
• I'd never oil a police officer's palm. That's illegal.

A rotten apple spoils the barrel.

A dishonest or immoral person can have a bad influence on a group.

Spare the rod and spoil the child

If you don't punish a child when he does wrong, you will spoil his character.

Too many cooks spoil the broth.

If too many people are involved in something, it will not be done properly.

A watched pot never boils

Some things work out in their own time, so being impatient and constantly checking will just make things seem longer.

Make your blood boil

If something makes your blood boil, it makes you very angry.

Snake oil

Advice or medicine which is of no use.

Snake oil salesperson

A person who promotes something that doesn't work, is selling snake oil.

Spoil the ship for a ha'pworth of tar

(UK) If someone spoils the ship for a ha'pworth (halfpenny's worth) of tar, they spoil something completely by trying to make a small economy.

Well-oiled

If someone is well-oiled, they have drunk a lot.

Well-oiled machine

Something that functions very well is a well-oiled machine.

A watched pot never boils.

If we are eagerly waiting for something, it seems to take forever to happen.

banana oil|banana|oil

n., slang Flattery that is an obvious exaggeration; statements that are obviously made with an ulterior motive. Cut out the banana oil; flattery will get you nowhere!

boil down|boil

v. 1. To boil away some of the water from; make less by boiling. She boiled down the maple sap to a thick syrup. The fruit juice boiled down until it was almost not good for jelly. 2. To reduce the length of; cut down; shorten. The reporter boiled the story down to half the original length. 3. To reduce itself to; come down to; be briefly or basically. The whole discussion boils down to the question of whether the government should fix prices.

boil over|boil

v. phr. 1. To rise due to boiling and overflow down the sides of a pan or a pot. "Watch out!" Jane cried. "The milk is boiling over on the stove!" 2. To become enraged to the point of being unable to contain oneself. John took a lot of abuse from his boss, but after 25 minutes he suddenly boiled over and told him what he thought of him.

boiling point|boiling|point

n. 1. The temperature at which a liquid boils. The boiling point of water is 272supo/sup Fahrenheit. 2. The time when you become very angry. He has a low boiling point. After being teased for a long time, John reached the boiling point. When John made the same mistake for the fourth time, his teacher reached the boiling point.
Compare: BLOW UP(1b), MAKE ONE'S BLOOD BOIL.

burn the midnight oil|burn|midnight|midnight oil|o

v. phr. To study late at night. Exam time was near, and more and more pupils were burning the midnight oil.

dirty one's hands|dirty|hand|hands|soil|soil one's

v. phr. To lower or hurt one's character or good name; do a bad or shameful thing. The teacher warned the children not to dirty their hands by cheating in the examination. I would not soil my hands by going with bad people and doing bad things.

hard-boiled|boil|boiled|hard

adj. Unrefined; tough; merciless. "Because you were two minutes late," my hard-boiled boss cried, "I will deduct fifteen minutes worth from your salary!"

make the blood boil|blood|blood boil|blood run col

v. phr., informal To make someone very angry. When someone calls me a liar it makes my blood boil. It made Mary's blood boil to see the children make fun of the crippled girl.
Compare: BOILING POINT.

potboiler

n. A book, play, or film written for the primary purpose of earning money for the author. "Reading a cheap potboiler helps me go to sleep," the professor wryly remarked.

pour oil on troubled waters|oil|pour|troubled|trou

v. phr. To quiet a quarrel; say something to lessen anger and bring peace. The troops were nearing a bitter quarrel until the leader poured oil on the troubled waters.

spoil for|spoil

v. phr. To want something very badly; be belligerent or pugnacious about something. After a few drinks it became embarrassingly evident that Hal was spoiling for a fight.
Compare: HANKER AFTER, LUST FOR.

too many cooks spoil the broth|broth|cooks|spoil|s

A project is likely to go bad if managed by a multiplicity of primary movers.

A proverb. When several people acted all at once in trying to reshape the company's investment policy, Tom spoke up and said, "Let me do this by myself! Don't you know that too many cooks spoil the broth?"

watched pot never boils|boil|boils|pot|watched|wat

If you watch or wait for something to get done or to happen, it seems to take forever.

A proverb. Jane was nine months pregnant and Tom hovered over her anxiously. She said, "You might as well go away and play some golf. A watched pot never boils, you know!"

banana oil

banana oil
Nonsense, exaggerated flattery, as in I should be on television? Cut out the banana oil! The precise analogy in this idiom is not clear, unless it is to the fact that banana oil, a paint solvent and artificial flavoring agent, has no relation to the fruit other than that it smells like it. Possibly it is a variation on snake oil, a term for quack medicine that was extended to mean nonsense. [1920s]