short shrift
get short shrift
give short shrift
Little or no attention. Usually used with get or give.
In books about jobs, women's work is consistently given short shrift.
slap together
throw together
To make in a hurry and without care.
Bill and Bob threw together a cabin out of old lumber.
The party was planned suddenly, and Mary threw together a meal out of leftovers.
To put in with other people by chance.
The group of strangers was thrown together when the storm trapped them on the highway.
Bill and Tom became friends when they were thrown together in the same cabin at camp.
stick together
To remain close together in a situation.
Stick together in the cave so that no one gets lost.
The gang stuck together after the game.
Bill and Bob stick together in a game or in a fight.
tell one where to get off
tell one where to head in
To talk angrily to; speak to or answer with rough language; scold.
Bob told Ted to get out of his way. Ted told Bob where to get off.
Mary laughed at Barbara's hairdo. Barbara told Mary where to head in.
the picture
get the picture
The way things are or were; the facts about something; the situation; what happened or happens.
Where does Susan come into the picture.
When you are looking for a job your education enters into the picture.
Old Mr. Brown is out of the picture now and his son runs the store.
After the fight on the playground, the principal talked to the boys who were watching, until he got the whole picture.
the works
get the works
give one the works
Everything that can be had or that you have; everything of this kind, all that goes with it.
When the tramp found $100, he went into a fine restaurant and ordered the works with a steak dinner.
Rough handling or treatment; a bad beating or scolding; killing; murder. Usually used with get or give.
The boy said that Joe was going to get the works if he ever came back to that neighborhood again.
The newspaper gave the police department the works when they let the burglars get away.
The gangster told his friend he would give him the works if he double-crossed him.
there is more than one way to get a pig to market
there is more than one way to flay a fox
there is more than one way to skin a cat
There are always new and different ways to accomplish a difficult task. A proverb.
"'How did you get Tommy to study so hard?" Eleanor asked. "I simply disconnected the television set," Tommy's mother answered. "There's more than one way to get a pig to market."
third degree
get the third degree
A method of severe grilling used to extract information from an arrested suspect.
"Why give me the third degree?" he asked indignantly. "All I did was come home late because I had a drink with my friends."