stretch of the imagination
Imaginative attempt or effort.
By no stretch of the imagination can I see Al as a successful lawyer.
strike the hour
To mark or toll the hour (said of clocks or bells).
We heard the church clock strike the hour of two.
stuff the ballot box
ballot stuffing
ballot-stuffing
To give more votes to a candidate in an election than there are people who actually voted for him.
It is a crime to stuff the ballot box.
survival of the fittest
The staying alive or in action of the best prepared; often: idea that those living things best able to adjust to life survive and those unable to adjust die out.
Life in the old West was often a case of survival of the fittest.
With changes in the world's climate, dinosaurs died but many smaller animals lived on. It was survival of the fittest.
On the 50-mile hike it was survival of the fittest; only 12 out of 25 Scouts finished.
sweep the city
sweep the country
sweep the nation
sweep the world
To gain great attention or popularity throughout the city, country, etc.
Pavarotti's unmatched tenor voice swept the world in an unprecedented manner.
sweep under the rug
To hide or dismiss casually (something one is ashamed of or does not know what to do about).
In many places, drug abuse by school children is swept under the rug.
swim against the current
swim against the stream
To do the opposite of what most people want to do; go against the way things are happening; struggle upstream.
The boy who tries to succeed today without an education is swimming against the stream.
tail wags the dog
tail wagging the dog
Said of situations in which a minor part is in control of the whole.
Говорится о ситуации в которой незначительная часть чего-либо управляет всем остальным.
He is just a minor employee at the firm, yet he gives everyone orders, a case of the tail wagging the dog.
If you let your children decide on everything, it will be a case of the tail wagging the dog.
Если ты позволишь решать своим детям абсолютно всё, то они скоро начнут управлять тобой.