alter

alter beyond (all) recognition

To change so much or so dramatically as to now be completely unfamiliar or unrecognizable. She had shown me some early drafts, but her final copy was really altered beyond all recognition.
See also: alter, beyond, recognition

alter ego

1. Another name or identity that one assumes. He's a clean-cut accountant during the week, but on the weekend he indulges in hedonistic pursuits as his alter ego "Jack."
2. A separate or different aspect or element of one's personality, identity, or psyche. For such a quiet woman, she has a rage and temper at times that is like some alter ego.
3. A close, inseparable friend of very similar attitudes and interests. My girlfriend and I are so similar, we are like each other's alter ego.
4. A person who acts as a substitute for or copy of another person; a doppelgänger. Due to his increasingly failing health, the dictator's son has been running the country for the past month, essentially as his alter ego.
See also: alter, ego

alter out of (all) recognition

To change so much or so dramatically as to now be completely unfamiliar or unrecognizable. She had shown me some early drafts, but her final copy was really altered out of recognition.
See also: alter, of, out, recognition

change beyond (all) recognition

To change so much or so dramatically as to now be completely unfamiliar or unrecognizable. I wouldn't have recognized her if she hadn't introduced herself—she's really changed beyond all recognition since we were kids!
See also: beyond, change, recognition

change out of (all) recognition

To change so much or so dramatically as to now be completely unfamiliar or unrecognizable. I wouldn't have recognized her if she hadn't introduced herself—she's really changed out of recognition since we were kids!
See also: change, of, out, recognition

circumstances alter cases

proverb Unique circumstances can spur unconventional action. I know offering such a big refund isn't protocol, but it's for the CEO's grandmother, and circumstances alter cases.
See also: alter, case, circumstance
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

Circumstances alter cases.

Prov. In unusual situations, people are allowed to do unusual things. Cashier: I'm sorry, this store does not accept personal checks. Customer: But I need this medicine, and I don't have any cash. I've shopped at this store for fifteen years. Surely you can trust me this once. Cashier: Well, all right. Circumstances alter cases.
See also: alter, case, Circumstance
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

change, alter, etc. beyond/out of (all) recogˈnition

change, etc. such a lot that people do not recognize you, it, etc: I went back to Birmingham after 20 years and it had changed beyond all recognition. She had changed beyond all recognition since I last saw her.
See also: beyond, of, out, recognition
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • alter beyond (all) recognition
  • alter out of (all) recognition
  • change, alter, etc. beyond/out of recognition
  • recognition
  • change beyond (all) recognition
  • change out of (all) recognition
  • a copy
  • copy
  • unknown country
  • turn the tables
References in periodicals archive
It is down to Franz's alter, Zack, 14, to chose the ice-cream flavour
Couple have more than 400 personalities between them - and struggle with everyday tasks because they're 'all fighting to be heard'; EXCLUSIVE: Kai, 27, and Franz, 26, both have a severe mental condition known as dissociative identity disorder which means they often switch between different personalities
Kabir Bedi: Deeply saddened by the passing of Tom Alter, a wonderful person, terrific actor on stage and screen, lover of Urdu poetry.
Tom Alter death: Bollywood says farewell
The first work they created was originally a poetry book that was re-titled "The Book of Altered Poetry and Art."
Literary art
To establish an ADA claim a student-athlete must show: he has a disability, the defendant is subject to the ADA, and that he was denied the opportunity to participate in or benefit from services or accommodations on the basis of his disability and that reasonable accommodations could be made that do not fundamentally alter the nature of the defendant's services or accommodations.
An overview: individuals with disabilities and the interscholastic athletic program
All the students submitted ideas for new laws, and Alter said he was struck by the idea for the cold beer ban.
Missouri legislator seeks to ban sales of cold beer
This team discovered that exposure during lactation to the herbicide 2,4-DBE (the butyl ester of 2,4-D) can alter brain production of 5-HT and its metabolite, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), in adulthood (Bortolozzi et al.
A case for revisiting the safety of pesticides: a closer look at neurodevelopment
This ensures that no one can remove or alter the data without copying the original.
The admissibility of digital photographs in criminal cases
One consequence of trauma is altered immune response, resulting in an inability to fight infection.
Preventing aspiration pneumonia in at-risk residents
The bottom line here is simple: The American people are being asked to alter the Bill of Rights to achieve one of the political goals of TV preachers and their ecclesiastical allies.
Marriage vow: don't let Falwell and company amend the constitution
1980)); or (2) a transaction in which T fails to completely liquidate and new T becomes T's alter ego; see Telephone Answering Service Co., Inc., (TASCO), 63 TC 423 (1974), aff'd, 546 F2d 423 (4th Cir.
Letter rulings flirt with limits of liquidation-reincorporation doctrine
And it does make sense that Microsoft should be allowed to alter the code in its operating systems in response to security concerns (or potential concerns).
Microsoft will abandon Java in 2004. (First in/First out: Stub Files)
This inconsistency could potentially alter a recipe with disastrous results.
Head cheese. (Back to Basics)
Newsweek's November 5th issue, for instance, features an ambivalent article by Jonathan Alter entitled "Time to Think About Torture." The piece suggests that, just maybe, we should seriously consider doing "something to jump-start the stalled investigation of the greatest crime in American history." Nothing so radical as "cattle prods or rubber hoses, at least here in the United States," Alter hastens to reassure his readers.
Talking of Torture. (Insider report)
Alter Construction Company, an affiliate of The Alter Group, has completed the construction of a 13,800 square foot, singlestory automotive sales and service facility for Land Rover Hoffman Estates in Hoffman Estates, IL.
Land Rover Gets a New Home
The special rule would not apply if a taxpayer establishes that the classification as a disregarded entity does not materially alter the tax consequences of the extraordinary transaction.
Comments on changes in entity classification: special rule for certain foreign eligible entities