city (redirected from the City)

(You) can't fight city hall.

Fig. There is no way to win in a battle against a bureaucracy. Bill: I guess I'll go ahead and pay the tax bill. Bob: Might as well. You can't fight city hall. Mary: How did things go at your meeting with the zoning board? Sally: I gave up. Can't fight city hall.

See also: fight

city slicker

someone from the city who is not familiar with country ways. Them city slickers think we're stupid just because we talk different. The city slicker didn't know the first thing about fishing for trout.

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cardboard city

an area of a large city where many people without a home sleep outside

Usage notes: Cardboard is a type of thick, stiff paper used to make the type of boxes that people living outside sometimes sleep in to keep warm.

Young people come to the capital full of hope and end up in cardboard city.