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24 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Achilles' heel
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vulnerable spot or weak point
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Armageddon
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vast, decisive battle
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Bell the Cat
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do a daring, risky deed for the sake of others
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Between Scylla and Charybdis
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between two equally difficult alternatives, neither of which can be avoided without incurring the other
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Carry Coals to Newcastle
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take something to a place where it is plentiful and not needed; do something superfluous
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Catch 22
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paradox in an order or regulation that makes people victims of its provisions, regardless of what they do
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Crocodile tears
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false tears; insincere show of grief
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Cross the Rubicon
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take a decisive, irrevocable step
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Cry Wolf
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give alarm without occasion; give a false alarm
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Dog in the manger
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person who prevents others from using something he or she cannot use or does not need
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Fifth Column
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subversive group of civilians working secretly within their own country to turn it over to an invading enemy
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Fourth Estate
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reporters; the press; journalism
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Freudian slip
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slip of the tongue by which it is thought a person unintentionally reveals his or her true feelings
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Hobson's choice
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choice of taking what is offered or nothing at all
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Hoist with one's own petard
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blown up with one's won bomb; victimized by one's own schemes
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Juggernaut
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massive, irresistible force crushing everything in its path
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Last Straw
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final test of patience or endurance
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Midas touch
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talent for making money in any enterprise one engaged in
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Murphy's Law
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satirical maxim stating that if anything can go wrong, it will
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Open Sesame
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any means or formula that works like magic to help one achieve a desired end
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Pandora's box
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source of extensive unforeseen troubles
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Parkinson's Law
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satirical maxim about the lack of productivity, stating that work expands to fill the time available for its completion; also, that the number of subordinates increases regardless of the amount of work produced
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Pyrrhic victory
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victory achieved at ruinous cost
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sour grapes
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disparagement of something that one does not or cannot have
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