plate

Related to plate: My Plate

(one's) plate

informal One's schedule of imminent or pressing matters. I'm sorry, I've got too much on my plate at the moment to help with your project. We had an extremely busy period just before the holidays, but our plate is pretty clear now.
See also: plate

the plate

informal In baseball, home base. The batter stepped up to the plate and looked the pitcher square in the eyes. The umpire stooped down and dusted off the plate.
See also: plate
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

plate

verb
See platter
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See:
  • (one's) day on a plate
  • (one's) head on a plate/platter
  • (one's) plate
  • a lot on (one's) plate
  • blue plate special
  • china plate
  • clean (one's) plate (up)
  • clean plate
  • fashion plate
  • full plate
  • give (something) to (one) on a plate
  • gold-plate
  • hand (one) (something) on a plate
  • hand (something) to (someone) on a plate
  • hand someone something on a plate
  • hand something to somebody on a plate
  • hand to on a silver platter
  • have (an amount of) plates spinning
  • have (one's) plate full
  • have a lot on (one's) plate
  • have a lot on one's plate
  • have enough on (one's) plate
  • have enough on your plate
  • have enough, a lot, etc. on your plate
  • have too much on (one's) plate
  • have too much on plate
  • keep (an amount of) plates spinning
  • keep all the plates spinning
  • on (one's) plate
  • on a plate
  • on your plate
  • plate
  • plate, to have a lot/enough on one's
  • plates
  • plates of meat
  • platter
  • serve up on a plate
  • silver plate(s)
  • steal a base
  • step up to the plate
  • the plate
References in classic literature
Now if Barbicane was a great founder of shot, Nicholl was a great forger of plates; the one cast night and day at Baltimore, the other forged day and night at Philadelphia.
From The Earth To The Moon
Faucheux, you will take away with you both the gold and silver plate. I can assign, as a pretext, that I wish it remodelled on patterns more in accordance with my own taste.
Ten Years Later
Even in the rude circumferential rim or wall of wax round a growing comb, flexures may sometimes be observed, corresponding in position to the planes of the rhombic basal plates of future cells.
The Origin of Species
"Well, then, what's the sense in wasting the plates?"
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
And D'Artagnan, with all the marks of mortal disquietude, seized the plate, to read the inscription.
The Man in the Iron Mask
We see Jack Thriftless prancing in the park, or darting in his brougham down Pall Mall: we eat his dinners served on his miraculous plate. "How did this begin," we say, "or where will it end?" "My dear fellow," I heard Jack once say, "I owe money in every capital in Europe." The end must come some day, but in the meantime Jack thrives as much as ever; people are glad enough to shake him by the hand, ignore the little dark stories that are whispered every now and then against him, and pronounce him a good- natured, jovial, reckless fellow.
Vanity Fair
She laughed, and told me I must go out again and try my fortune; it might be that I might meet with another piece of plate.
The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders
Thereupon they got a great sack and filled it with silver plate from the shelves where it would not at once be missed, and they swung the sack between them, and away they went, out of the house, out of the town, and into the friendly shelter of Sherwood Forest.
Robin Hood
One iron plate was moved, a man appeared, uttered an odd cry, and disappeared immediately.
20000 Leagues Under The Sea
She was idly arranging her little morsels of ham in a pattern on her plate. Launcelot Linzie, still more idly, was looking at the pattern.
Miss or Mrs
'Yes, to be sure--Who won the Helter-Skelter Plate, child?'
The Old Curiosity Shop
Besides my plate and family pictures, household furniture of every kind, my own, my children's, and servants' apparel, they carried off about £900 sterling in money, and emptied the house of everything whatsoever, except a part of the kitchen furniture, not leaving a single book or paper in it, and have scattered or destroyed all the manuscripts and other papers I had been collecting for thirty years together, besides a great number of public papers in my custody.
Grandfathers Chair
If these plates are adopted in the Royal Navy our warships will be invulnerable, and therefore invincible.
Fantastic Fables
In old Harris's collection of voyages there are some plates of whales extracted from a Dutch book of voyages, A.
Moby Dick I LXVII
In the dining-room, the table had only dirty plates and empty dishes on it.
Sylvie and Bruno