tent

a camel's nose (under the tent)

A small, seemingly innocuous act or decision that will lead to much larger, more serious, and less desirable consequences down the line. The term refers to an alleged Arab proverb that if a camel is allowed to get its nose inside of a tent, it will be impossible to prevent the rest of it from entering. Some regard legalizing same-sex marriage as a camel's nose under the tent, eventually leading to the destruction of marriage altogether. Not hiring an exterminator at the first sign of termites has proved to be a camel's nose, as much of our woodwork is now destroyed.
See also: nose

big tent

1. noun A group, movement, or philosophy that appeals or caters to, or encompasses, the broadest and most diverse amount of members possible. We pride our church on being something of a big tent, welcoming any and all who wish to join us. The party is trying to establish itself as a big tent, broadening its aims to appeal to the widest amount of voters possible.
2. adjective Appealing or catering to, or encompassing, the broadest and most diverse amount of members possible. Often hyphenated. In my opinion, their big-tent politics, while reaching more people, dilute the potency of their goals.
See also: big, tent

fold (up) (one's) tent

To quit, withdraw, or disengage (from something), especially quietly or discreetly. After allegations of embezzlement, the CEO decided to fold his tent and take an early retirement. You're going to have a lot of setbacks in life, so don't just fold up your tent and go home at the first sign of failure.
See also: fold, tent

morning tent

slang An involuntary erection that a man achieves during sleep and retains upon awakening. An allusion to the involuntary erection pushing the bedsheets upward into a "tent." I rolled over to snuggle my boyfriend, only to bump off of his morning tent. I hate waking up with both a morning tent and an urgent need to pee!
See also: morning, tent

pitch a tent

slang To have an erection while lying naked beneath a sheet, such that the sheet rises like a tent away from one's torso. My husband is always pitching a tent first thing in the morning. Just watching her lying next to me in bed was enough to make me pitch a tent.
See also: pitch, tent

tent out

To sleep in a tent outside. The kids love tenting out during the summer. After two weeks of tenting out in the wilderness, it's nice to be sleeping in my own bed again.
See also: out, tent

Were you born in a tent?

Have you no basic manners? (Usually said after someone has left open a door to the outside.) Shut the door, it's freezing outside! Were you born in a tent?
See also: born
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

pitch a tent

to erect a tent at a campsite. The campers pitched their tent in a clearing in the woods. I pitched my tent next to a large oak tree.
See also: pitch, tent
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

fold one's tent

Quietly depart, as in It's late, so let's fold our tents. This term is a partial quotation of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "The Day is Done" (1844): "And the night shall be filled with music, And the cares that infest the day, Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs, And quietly steal away."
See also: fold, tent
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

a big tent

A big tent is a group such as a political party that includes people with a wide range of opinions. They argue that the party should be a big tent, whose only qualification for membership should be a common belief in lower taxes and smaller government.
See also: big, tent
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

tent out

v.
1. To sleep outdoors in a tent: We tented out in Acadia National Park.
2. To be extended outwards by a prop so as to create a cavity underneath. Used of a layer or sheet of material: The wallpaper is tenting out because of a loose nail.
3. To push out some layer or sheet of material so as to create a cavity underneath: A loose spring in the cushion is tenting the fabric out. We used ski poles to tent out the sides of the tarp.
See also: out, tent
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.

make a mountain

and pitch a tent
n. to have a morning erection that raises the covers; to have an erection that makes a bulge in one’s clothing; to get an erection. Bobby makes a mountain almost every morning. When I was in the hospital, I was afraid I would pitch a tent in the morning.
See also: make, mountain

pitch a tent

verb
See make a mountain
See also: pitch, tent
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

fold our tents, (let us)

Quietly depart, go home. This term comes from Longfellow’s poem “The Day Is Done” (1844): “And the night shall be filled with music, And the cares, that infest the day, Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs, And as silently steal away.” Today it is often used jocularly, as in “Come on, it’s after eleven. Time to fold our tents.”
See also: fold
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • a camel's nose (under the tent)
  • be knocking on the door
  • kick upstairs, to
  • be the best of a bad bunch
  • be the best of a bad lot
  • bishop
  • actress
  • as the actress said to the bishop
  • As the actress said to the bishop...
  • Trojan horse
References in classic literature
the handkerchiefs became tiny tents, and as the travelers looked at them the tents grew bigger and bigger until in a few minutes each one was large enough to contain the entire party.
The Emerald City of Oz
In the darkness he passed, unchallenged, as one of their number, and as they returned from the gates to their respective tents and huts, Mugambi melted into the shadows and disappeared.
For an hour he crept about in the rear of the various huts and tents in an effort to locate that in which his master's mate was imprisoned.
Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar
Rokoff's tent stood almost exactly in the centre of the boma.
To remain in the tent until she should be discovered would be to set at naught all that she had risked to gain her freedom, and so with stealthy step and every sense alert she approached the back of the tent to set out upon the first stage of her adventure.
In his belt her groping fingers came upon the hilt of a long hunting-knife, and with this she cut a hole in the back wall of the tent.
The Beasts of Tarzan
Lord Winter's tent was pitched by the side of the royal marquee, a kind of corridor communicating between the two.
"Lying behind the tent of Lord Leven, I raised it and saw all, heard all!"
Twenty Years After
"The men wint back into the tents like jackals, an' the rest av the night there was no noise at all excipt the stip av the sinthry over the two, an' Scrub Greene blubberin' like a child.
"Just before Revelly, me orf'cer bhoy comes out an' sez: 'Loose those men an' send thim to their tents!' Scrub Greene wint away widout a word, but Peg Barney, stiff wid the cowld, stud like a sheep, thryin' to make his orf'cer undherstand he was sorry for playin' the goat.
Big Drunk Draf
Now the back of the tent drops into place, and all is darkness again--whatever it is is inside the tent with him.
It came from the side of the tent nearest the mountains--the back.
The Return of Tarzan
Monk approached the causeway behind which had disappeared the person he had taken for Digby, and met a patrol who, making the tour of the tents, was going towards headquarters; he was stopped with his companion, gave the password, and went on.
Ten Years Later
He stepped from his tent and almost pushed the strangers about in the direction of the gates.
The Sheik returned to his tent; but he did not enter it.
Son Of Tarzan