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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread Idiom for 'limiting the damage' #162438 10/09/2006 5:35 PM Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 1,055 Berlin belligerentyouth old hand belligerentyouth old hand Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 1,055 Berlin Can someone perhaps suggest an saying expressing the notion of attempting to limit or mitigate damage that has been caused (not necessarily by one's own wrong doing)? Thanks. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Idiom for 'limiting the damage' #162439 10/11/2006 2:30 AM Joined: Aug 2006 Posts: 631 Hydra addict Hydra addict Joined: Aug 2006 Posts: 631 When asked to explain his stance, the governor likened himself to “the little Dutch boy” with his finger in the damn, trying to hold back the floodwaters You may be familiar with the story. A little boy who plugs a leak in the wall of a dam with his finger. Is that what you mean? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Idiom for 'limiting the damage' #162440 10/11/2006 9:09 AM Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 Faldage Carpal Tunnel Faldage Carpal Tunnel Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 Quote: A little boy who plugs a leak in the wall of a dam with his finger. Is that what you mean? Or either dike, one. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Idiom for 'limiting the damage' #162441 10/11/2006 10:35 AM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 6,511 lower upstate New York AnnaStrophic Carpal Tunnel AnnaStrophic Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 6,511 lower upstate New York by, how about "to spin" or "put a spin on"? And the sycophants who do that are called "spin doctors." Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Idiom for 'limiting the damage' #162442 10/11/2006 10:41 AM Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 11 RodolfoC stranger RodolfoC stranger Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 11 Revamp? Botch? (in a clumsy way) Remediation, remediate? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Idiom for 'limiting the damage' #162443 10/11/2006 11:44 AM Joined: Jul 2000 Posts: 3,467 Marion NC TEd Remington Carpal Tunnel TEd Remington Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jul 2000 Posts: 3,467 Marion NC Lieing TEd Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Idiom for 'limiting the damage' #162444 10/11/2006 2:36 PM Joined: Jul 2005 Posts: 1,773 Apple Valley, CA, USA dalehileman Pooh-Bah dalehileman Pooh-Bah Joined: Jul 2005 Posts: 1,773 Apple Valley, CA, USA assuage, allay, alleviate, abate, palliate, moderate Enter "moderate" or "mitigate damage" etc in OneLook's reverse dictionary Last edited by dalehileman; 10/11/2006 2:41 PM. dalehileman Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Idiom for 'limiting the damage' #162445 10/11/2006 5:27 PM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 6,511 lower upstate New York AnnaStrophic Carpal Tunnel AnnaStrophic Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 6,511 lower upstate New York I still go with "spin." Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Idiom for 'limiting the damage' #162446 10/14/2006 10:53 PM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky Jackie Carpal Tunnel Jackie Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky You mean other than "damage control"? That's the one I've heard the most. Lotsa movies. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Idiom for 'limiting the damage' #162447 10/15/2006 4:20 AM Joined: Aug 2006 Posts: 631 Hydra addict Hydra addict Joined: Aug 2006 Posts: 631 also Brit. damage limitation Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Idiom for 'limiting the damage' #162448 10/16/2006 10:39 AM Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 1,055 Berlin belligerentyouth old hand belligerentyouth old hand Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 1,055 Berlin Thanks for the suggestions. I like the boy with his finger in the dyke, because that's is a little like the figurative expression I'm actually looking to translate, which is: die Kuh vom Eis holen Literally that's 'to pull the cow from the ice' and comes from the idea of a farmer attempting (at great risk) to rescue his cow from ice, presumably after he has neglected to keep it enclosed. Perhaps, therefore, the saying is a little like closing the barn door after the horse has bolted, but German has a different expression for that. The above link suggests 'save the day' or 'crack it', but both of these fail to imply that the initial problem was the person's wrong doing and that they are trying to make the best out of a bad situation. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... 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