steal (redirected from stole thunder)

like stealing acorns from a blind pig

Rur. very easy. Getting Mary to sign the house over to me was like stealing acorns from a blind pig. Tom: Was it hard to fool so many people? Charlie: Nope. It was like stealing acorns from a blind pig.

See also: acorn, blind, like, pig

steal someone's heart

Fig. to capture someone's affections; to cause someone to fall in love with oneself. When I first met him, I knew he would steal my heart away. And he did.

See also: heart

steal someone's thunder

Fig. to lessen someone's force or authority. What do you mean by coming in here and stealing my thunder? I'm in charge here! someone stole my thunder by leaking my announcement to the press.

See also: thunder

steal something from someone or something

to take the property belonging to someone or something without permission; to commit the theft of something from someone or something. Max stole $50 from Henry. Lefty stole an apple from the fruit stand.

steal something off someone

to rob something from someone. I think that guy who walked past me stole my wallet off me! Max stole a lot of money off tourists last season.

steal a base

Fig. to sneak from one base to another in baseball. The runner stole second base, but he nearly got put out on the way. Tom runs so slowly that he never tries to steal a base.

See also: base

steal a glance at someone or something

Fig. to sneak a peek at someone or something. He stole a glance at his brother, who appeared to be as frightened as he was. Karen stole a glance at her watch and yawned.

See also: glance

steal a march on someone or something

to precede someone who has the same goal; to accomplish something before someone else does. Jeff stole a march on all of us when he had his story published. Our competitor stole a march on us and got the big contract.

See also: march

steal away (from someone or something)

to sneak away from someone or something. The thief stole away from the policeman. We stole away from the boring lecture.

See also: away

steal from someone or something

to rob someone or something. You wouldn't steal from a poor man, would you? Max didn't feel bad about stealing from a bank.

steal out of some place

to sneak quietly out of some place. The critic stole out of the theater, unable to endure any more of the abysmal play. I stole out of the lecture and went back to my room.

See also: out, place, some

steal over someone or something 

1. [for a covering of some sort] to move slowly over someone or something. (As with the sun or the shade of a cloud.) The shade stole over the sunbathers and ended their day. Darkness stole over the land.

2. [for a feeling] to spread through someone gradually. A feeling of gloom stole over the crowd. A sense of high excitement stole over the boys as they waited.

steal the spotlight and steal the show Fig.

to give the best performance in a show, play, or some other event; to get attention for oneself. The lead in the play was very good, but the butler stole the show. Ann always tries to steal the spotlight when she and I make a presentation.

See also: spotlight

steal up on someone or something

to sneak up on someone or something. We will steal up on Tony and give him a scare. The fox stole up on the hen and grabbed it.

See also: up

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steal somebody's thunder

to do something that takes attention away from what someone else has done

Usage notes: In the 17th century the writer John Dennis built a machine which made sounds like thunder for one of his plays, but the idea was copied by someone else and used in another play.

I kept quiet about my pregnancy because Cathy was getting married, and I didn't want to steal her thunder.

See also: thunder

steal a march on somebody/something

to spoil someone's plans and get an advantage over them by doing something sooner or better than them The company plans to steal a march on its competitors by offering the same computer at a lower price.

See also: march

steal the show

to get all the attention and praise at an event or performance All the singers were good, but 16-year-old Karine stole the show.

See also: show

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steal somebody's heart

to cause someone to love you He married the beautiful singer who stole his heart while singing the blues.

See also: heart

steal the show

to get all the attention and praise at an event or performance She has a small part, but she steals the show from the lead actors.

See also: show