group
a committee is a group of men who keep minutes and waste hours
proverb Committees take a very long time to accomplish something, if they accomplish anything at all. A pun on "minutes," which is a record of what is discussed at a particular meeting. A: "The task force has been in a meeting all day! How can they not have reached a decision by now?" B: "Well, a committee is a group of men who keep minutes and waste hours."
See also: and, committee, group, hour, keep, men, minute, of, waste, who
call (a group) together
To ask people to gather, typically to discuss a specific topic or issue. The boss has called us together to discuss the discrepancies in the latest budget report. Do you know why Josh called everyone together tonight?
See also: call, together
fall among (a group)
dated To stumble upon or happen into the company of a group of people or animals by chance. We stumbled through the clearing and fell among a band of thieves, who immediately stripped us of our possessions. It was quite by accident that I fell among a group of American students while studying in Croatia. The poacher fell among a pride lions, who promptly tore him to pieces.
See also: among, fall
ginger group
A small group of people within a political party or organization who attempt to influence the other members of the group. Primarily heard in UK, Australia. The party was staunchly conservative until the ginger group slowly started shifting them to a more liberal stance on social issues.
See also: ginger, group
group (someone or something) around (someone or something)
To cause or have people form a group around someone or something. A noun or pronoun can be used between "group" and "around." Hey, can you group the kids around the flowers? I'll group everyone around Grandma so we can sing "Happy Birthday" to her.
See also: around, group
group (someone or something) together
To put or gather people or things together. Hey, can you group the kids together by the flowers? I'll group everyone together so we can sing "Happy Birthday" to Grandma.
See also: group, together
group text
A conversation between multiple people that occurs via text message. How can I turn off the alerts for this annoying group text? My sisters and I chat in a group text all the time.
See also: group, text
group under (something)
To categorize like things under a particular heading. Hey, can you group these job postings under "Open" for me?
See also: group
group-grope
vulgar slang A scenario in which multiple, possibly many, people engage in sexual touching or activity. The rumor is that they used to host these creepy group-gropes at that mansion.
nose out
1. To move forward very slowly and cautiously out of some place. In this usage, the preposition "of" is used after "out" when the place is specified; a noun or pronoun can be used between "nose" and "out" if the verb is used transitively. I think you'll have enough room to get out of the parking spot—just nose the car out a little bit at a time to be sure. I nosed out of the house to get away from the party without anyone noticing. She nosed the motorcycle quietly out of the shed so as not to wake her parents.
2. To defeat someone by a narrow margin, thus knocking them out of the competition or contest. A noun or pronoun can be used between "nose" and "out." The underdogs managed to nose out the former champions in a thrilling last-minute victory. After a late surge in the polls, Mayor Smith nosed out the Michigan senator many assumed would be the party's nominee.
3. To locate something through the use of one's nose. A noun or pronoun can be used between "nose" and "out." The dog was able to nose out the stash of drugs. The suspect may be in hiding, but these bloodhounds will nose him out.
4. To discover something that had been hidden through careful and thorough investigation. A noun or pronoun can be used between "nose" and "out." If anyone will be able to nose out the truth, she will. Scientists believe they have nosed out the genes responsible for giving one's face its particular shape.
See also: nose, out
polarize (one group of people) into (two groups of people)
To cause a group of people to divide into two opposing or contrasting groups. The issue has polarized the country into two bitterly divided camps—those in favor of the legislation, and those against it. The controversial CEO tends to polarize employees into a group that loves him and a group that hates him.
See also: group, of, polarize
splinter group
A group, organization, or movement of people that separates or departs from a larger group due to having divergent ideas, ideology, goals, plans, etc. The splinter group consists of radicals who broke from the orthodox church to form a new ministry based on religious extremism. The group of politicians, lobbyists, and activists had the ambition of becoming a new political party, but they never grew into anything more than a minor splinter group that dissipated after the following election season.
See also: group, splinter
the hearts and minds of (the members of some group)
The intellectual and emotional mindset of the members of some group, translated into trust, support, etc. The movie is critically acclaimed, but it remains to be seen whether it will capture the hearts and minds of the moviegoing public.
See also: and, heart, member, mind, of
Today, we are all (some group of people)
Used to indicate that everyone in a given population feels empathy for and stands in solidarity with another group or population of people, typically due to some tragedy or hardship they have experienced. Everyone in the world has watched in horror as the earthquake devastated the Sumatra region like nothing we have ever seen before. Today, we are all Indonesian.
See also: all, group, of, we
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
group someone or something around someone or something
to gather people or things around people or things. The photographer grouped the wedding party around the bride for the picture. The photographer then grouped them around the cake.
See also: around, group
group someone or something together
to gather people or things together. Try to group all the smokers together at one table. Steve grouped all the dictionaries together.
See also: group, together
group something under something
to classify something under some category. They have now grouped the fungi under their own families. We should group all the older ones under a separate category.
See also: group
nose out (of something)
to move cautiously out of something or some place, nose first. She nosed out of the little room, hoping she hadn't been observed. She nosed out quickly and stealthily.
See also: nose, out
nose someone or a group out
to defeat someone or something by a narrow margin. (Alludes to a horse winning a race "by a nose.") Karen nosed Bobby out in the election for class president by one vote. Our team nosed out the opposing team in last Friday's game.
See also: group, nose, out
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
nose out
1. Defeat by a narrow margin, as in She barely nosed out the incumbent. This expression, alluding to a horse's winning with its nose in front, has been used figuratively since the mid-1900s.
2. Discover, especially something hidden or secret, as in This reporter has a knack for nosing out the truth. This usage alludes to following the scent of something. [Early 1600s]
See also: nose, out
splinter group
A part of an organization that breaks away from the main body, usually owing to disagreement. For example, Perot's supporters at first constituted a splinter group but soon formed a third political party . This idiom alludes to the noun splinter, a fragment of wood or some other material that is split or broken off. [Mid-1900s]
See also: group, splinter
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
ginger group
a highly active faction within a party or movement that presses for stronger action on a particular issue.informalAn old horse dealer's trick (recorded from the late 18th century) to make a broken-down animal look lively was to insert ginger into its anus. From this developed the metaphorical phrase ginger up , meaning ‘make someone or something more lively’; in the early 20th century the term ginger group arose, to refer to a highly active faction in a party or movement that presses for stronger action about something.
1970 New Society The appearance of ginger groups to fight specific proposals, is not necessarily a bad thing—particularly if the established bodies aren't prepared to fight.
See also: ginger, group
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
nose out
v.
1. To defeat someone or something by a narrow margin: We nosed out the opposing team for the win. In the last inning, we took the lead and nosed them out.
2. To perceive or detect someone or something by or as if by sniffing: The police dogs nosed out the drugs hidden in the car. The criminals left very few clues, but the police were still able to nose them out.
See also: nose, out
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
group-grope
n. a real or imagined group of people engaged in sexual activities. That party turned into a hopeless group-grope.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
- a committee is a group of men who keep minutes and waste hours
- you can't dance at two weddings at once
- you can't dance at two weddings at the same time
- you can't sit in two chairs at once
- you can't sit in two chairs at the same time
- for the long haul
- he travels (the) fastest who travels alone
- He travels fastest who travels alone
- stick at nothing
- a race against time