put your finger in the dyke
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put (one's) finger in the dyke
To make a small effort or action to mitigate the damage or spread of something unpleasant, undesirable, or dangerous. He's putting his finger in the dyke, but he really needs to completely overhaul his monthly expenses to keep from going bankrupt. We can't just keep putting our fingers in the dyke every time there's a security breach—we need to figure out how hackers keep getting into the system.
See also: dyke, finger, put
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
put your finger in the dyke
attempt to stem the advance of something undesirable which threatens to overwhelm you. informalThis expression stems from the story of a small Dutch boy who saved his community from flooding by placing his finger in a hole in a dyke.
See also: dyke, finger, put
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
- in for
- be in for
- be in for something
- get (something) over with
- get it over with
- heave a sigh of relief
- breathe a sigh of relief
- sigh
- sigh of relief