bow (redirected from adds another string to bow)

another string to your bow (British & Australian)

an extra skill or qualification which you can use if you cannot use your main one. If you can teach English as well as yoga, it's another string to your bow.

See also: another, string

bow and scrape

to try too hard to please someone in a position of authority. It's embarrassing to see staff bowing and scraping to the new Prime Minister. (often in continuous tenses)

See also: scrape

fire a shot across someone's/the bows (slightly formal)

if you fire a shot across someone's bows, you do something in order to warn them that you will take strong action if they do not change their behaviour. Airline staff have fired a warning shot across the company's bows by threatening strike action if higher pay increases are not offered.

See also: across, fire, shot

have [a lot of/a few/several etc.] strings to your bow (British & Australian)

another string to your bow - an extra skill or qualification which you can use if you cannot use your main one. She's a trained counsellor and she does pottery classes in the evenings - she has several strings to her bow.

See also: few, lot, several, string

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bow down (to someone/something)

to obey someone or something. The old man expects me to bow down to him, but I won't do it.

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of bow down (= to show obedience or respect by bending the head down or the body forward)

See also: down

bow out (of something)

to not to do something you said you would do. An accident forced Billy to bow out of the show just before the first performance.

bow to something

to accept something without really wanting to. The government says it will not bow to pressure to allow untested drugs to be used.

a shot across the bow

a warning to stop doing something. The lawsuit is a shot across the bow to businesses that are competing unfairly.

Etymology: based on the military practice of aiming a shot across the bow (= a small explosion in front of a ship) to force it to stop

See also: across, shot