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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 270
enthusiast
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OP
enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 270 |
When someone extols, or talks highly about something, but it turns out to be nothing; is there a phrase to that?
In Hebrew we say "no bears and no woods" ("lo dubim ve lo yahar"), for instance.
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
bullshit. 
formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 270
enthusiast
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OP
enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 270 |
heh. I forget this is a forum for words, not phrases 
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Joined: Nov 2005
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stranger
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stranger
Joined: Nov 2005
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perhaps the phrase,'much ado about nothing' or 'make a mountain out of a molehill' is close to what you're looking for
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Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 22
stranger
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stranger
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 22 |
All smoke and no fire - though it refers primarily to boasting, I believe.
make a mountain out of a molehill is more like crying wolf, isn't it? That is, making a minor problem sound like a major emergency.
You can also say, "You're just bullshitting", though it's not the most polite of language.
There's also "painting castles in the air," but I think that it refers more to day-dreaming and wish-fulfillment.
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Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 22
stranger
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stranger
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 22 |
One of my coworkers just told me his mother used to say, "You can't make chicken salad out of chickenshit." (There's that s*** word again!) She's at least a fifth-generation Vermonter (or maybe New Hampshire-ite), which gives the phrase an interesting pedigree.
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 270
enthusiast
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OP
enthusiast
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Posts: 270 |
Heh. These are not bad, thanks!
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Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,773 |
Oops this is getting confusing: PF is a site for phrases only; AWAD for words only; WW for either words or phrases, making it difficult for the poor old non-geek who can't cope with the complexity of the Web World. For what it's worth, which evidently isn't much, the multi-purpose function like WW's is much more useful, obviating the embarrassment continual surfing from site to site
I even know of one such site---for phrases only--believe this or not--that actually banned a contributor when he tried to sneak a word in the guise of a phrase
When actually he had some justification because a Googling revealed 14 instances of its usage as phrase
So let's not let AWAD also become a center of contentious infighting
In all other respects AWAD remains one of my favorites and long may it survive
Last edited by dalehileman; 11/22/05 06:29 PM.
dalehileman
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Joined: Jun 2002
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
phrases, words. we take 'em all here.
and that's no bullshit.
formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 270
enthusiast
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OP
enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 270 |
PF? WW? I never heard of those. Any links?
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