Murphy
Related to Murphy: Murphy's sign
go see Mrs. Murphy
euphemism, old-fashioned To go to the bathroom to use the toilet. Excuse me, I need to go see Mrs. Murphy for a moment. A: "Where's John?" B: "He just went to see Mrs. Murphy, should be back soon."
See also: go, Murphy, see
going to see Mrs. Murphy
euphemism, old-fashioned Going to the bathroom to use the toilet. Excuse me, I'm just going to see Mrs. Murphy for a moment. A: "Where's John?" B: "He's going to see Mrs. Murphy, should be back soon."
See also: going, Murphy, see
Murphy's law
The axiom that if something can go wrong, it will. The manager always tries to anticipate Murphy's law, having us prepare for anything that could possibly go wrong on a project. Of course the toast landed butter-side down. Murphy's law.
See also: law
visit Mrs. Murphy
euphemism, old-fashioned To go to the bathroom to use the toilet. Excuse me, I need to visit Mrs. Murphy for a moment. A: "Where's John?" B: "He just had to visit Mrs. Murphy, should be back soon."
See also: Murphy, visit
visiting Mrs. Murphy
euphemism, old-fashioned Going to the bathroom to use the toilet. Excuse me, I'm just visiting Mrs. Murphy for a moment. A: "Where's John?" B: "He's visiting Mrs. Murphy, should be back soon."
See also: Murphy, visit
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
Murphy's law
If anything can go wrong, it will, as in We may think we've covered all the details for the benefit, but remember Murphy's law . The identity of Murphy, if ever a real person, is unknown. Some think it alludes to (but was not invented by) a feckless Irishman named Murphy. [c. 1940]
See also: law
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Murphy's law
if anything can go wrong it will.Murphy's law is said to have been the inspiration of a Californian project manager for the firm Northrop, referring to a remark made in 1949 by a colleague, Captain Edward Murphy of the Wright Field-Aircraft Laboratory. In 1955 , Aviation Mechanics Bulletin explained Murphy's Law as ‘If an aircraft part can be installed incorrectly, someone will install it that way’.
See also: law
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
ˌMurphy’s ˈLaw
(humorous) a statement of the fact that, if anything can possibly go wrong, it will go wrong: Of course it had to be the day of my job interview that the car broke down — it’s Murphy’s Law.This expression was named after Edward A. Murphy, Jr., an engineer in the US Air Force.See also: law
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
Mrs. Murphy
n. a bathroom. Whose turn is it at Mrs. Murphy’s?
See also: Murphy
murphy
(ˈmɚfi)1. n. a potato. I spent half my tour of duty peeling murphies.
2. n. a breast. (Crude. Usually plural. Usually objectionable.) She stood about six feet tall and was turned in the light so her murphies stood out in silhouette.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
Murphy's law
If anything can go wrong, it will. This expression appears to have originated in the mid-1900s in the U.S. Air Force. According to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle of March 16, 1978 (cited in the Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang), during some testing at Edwards Air Force Base in 1949 Captain Ed Murphy, an engineer, was frustrated with a malfunctioning part and said about the technician responsible, “If there is any way to do things wrong, he will.”Within weeks his statement was referred to as “Murphy’s Law,” and by about 1960 it had entered the civilian vocabulary and was attached to just about any mistake or mishap. In succeeding decades it became a cliché.
See also: law
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- bathroom
- a friend of Dorothy
- Ye gods and little fishes!
- answer nature's call
- see a man about a horse
- maker
- bio
- bio break
- between jobs
- between projects