awkwardness

by main strength and awkwardness

By sheer force or physical strength. I couldn't get my car out of the mud until my brothers came along and moved it by main strength and awkwardness.
See also: and, awkwardness, by, main, strength

main strength and awkwardness

Pure, unreasoning force of strength; brute force. The car is completely stuck in the mud—the only way we're getting it out is with main strength and awkwardness. You can't just get this thing to work with main strength and awkwardness. We'll need to devise some new method of operating the mechanism.
See also: and, awkwardness, main, strength
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

by main strength and awkwardness

Rur. by force or brute strength. Tom: How did you get that piano up the stairs? Mary: By main strength and awkwardness. By main strength and awkwardness, we got all the luggage crammed into the car.
See also: and, awkwardness, by, main, strength

main strength and awkwardness

Fig. great force; brute force. They finally got the piano moved in to the living room by main strength and awkwardness. Lifting the antique table must be done carefully. This is not a job requiring main strength and awkwardness.
See also: and, awkwardness, main, strength
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • by main strength and awkwardness
  • by brute strength
  • main strength and awkwardness
  • be at full strength
  • be at/below full strength
  • go from strength to strength
  • at full strength
  • inner strength
  • be below full strength
  • main
References in periodicals archive
Do you really believe people stricken by awkwardness will truly get to a space where they believe they are awesome?
"Wear your awkwardness on your sleeve" is the rule for marketers, especially those hoping to sell to the millennial generation, says Simon Dumenco, a media columnist for Advertising Age.
While Guest employs awkward humor to parody the subjects of his mockumentaries, he also uses it to satirize the form and style of observational documentaries, exposing the inherent awkwardness of the documentary encounter.
So this isn't just about the awkwardness of doing something that doesn't conform to expectations, it's also about the pressure to then show acceptance of the behavior of others.
In a grand, old-fashioned As, one after the other, the guests squeeze themselves inside a large wardrobe, every twinge of awkwardness and discomfort is played to perfection as the mood turns darker.
Washington, Jan 9 ( ANI ): Margot Robbie opened up about the awkwardness while filming a sex scene with Leonardo DiCaprio on top of a pile of money in film 'The Wolf of Wall Street', saying that it was actually painful to film.
She and handsome Spanish tenor Ismael Jordi (Alfredo) were well matched: she may have been able to overpower him vocally, but didn't, while he could have easily used his secure physical presence to show up her slight physical awkwardness. In the end, though, that bit of awkwardness only served to highlight her undeniable stage presence.
I also found Janie's relationships very satisfying: Her friendship with Ben has awkwardness and affection, and just the right touch of romantic possibilities.
Don't feel as though you have to talk about the awkwardness itself.
"Troop 142" is a graphic novel from Mike Dawson, as he explores the awkwardness of youth through one week of camping where many young men learn the lessons of life hard and fast and find each other more of the teachers than the scoutmasters.
Yes, nostalgia-wise they've nailed the embarrassing social awkwardness of those late-teen times to a tee - and, let's face it, there can't be too many shows that have one of the characters name-check Aberbeeg - but we haven't exactly fallen off our seats laughing.
The awkwardness dissipated, as the relief spread that it was over.
To add to the awkwardness, the awards jury comprised former Supreme Court judge B.
More than a few Republican insiders are admitting that name recognition, money--and awkwardness he's shown on the stump thus far--are not exactly points in Stephen's favor, even against a governor who is hitting his low point in favorability ratings.
Using a vertical format to maximize visual impact, Bishop's take on the old English nursery rhyme captures well the gangly awkwardness of the crooked man.