be like painting the Forth Bridge
To be such an involved or time-consuming improvement process that it never truly ends. The phrase refers to Edinburgh's Forth Bridge, which once required constant upkeep. Primarily heard in UK. Remodeling our house was like painting the Forth Bridge—once we saw how nice one room looked, we had to redo another! Because there's more articles to read, researching is usually like painting the Forth Bridge When you have an ancient hose that barely works, any quick task, like watering the plants, is like painting the Forth Bridge.
be no oil painting
To be physically unattractive. Jack's a nice guy, he's just no oil painting, you know? A: "Why would anyone want to date me? I'm no oil painting." B: "Hey, now, that's just not true! Plus, you're an incredibly smart, funny, and sweet person!" A: "Isn't that guy over by the bar a cutie?" B: "Did you forget to put your contacts in today? He's no oil painting!"
no oil painting
Physically unattractive. Jack's a nice guy, he's just no oil painting, you know?
paint (one) black
To make someone appear evil, malicious, or ill intentioned. He argued that the film was edited to paint him black, taking his statements out of context and mixing them with ominous music. Though he's been painted quite black by the media, in person he's actually a very pleasant guy.
paint (something) onto (something)
To use paint to create a particular, picture, pattern, or design on something or some surface. Can you paint a big dinosaur onto Timmy's wall? He loves dinosaurs. I'm going to paint a cool fire design onto the side of my car.
paint (something) with a broad brush
To describe or characterize something in very general, vague, or broad terms, ignoring or neglecting to include specific details. When asked about how she would stabilize the economy, the candidate painted her plan with a broad brush, resorting to vague claims about creating jobs and getting people back to work.
paint a (some kind of) picture (of something)
To give an elaborate or detailed description of something that portrays it in a specific way. The board meeting painted a pretty grim picture. If sales don't improve, the company might not have a future. Jonathan always paints an idyllic picture of our childhood, glossing over the bad memories of our father.
paint in
To color or fill in some blank space with paint. A noun or pronoun can be used between "paint" and "in." I brought in a bunch of black-and-white pictures of cartoon characters for the kids to paint in. There's a big streak where the table scraped against the wall. I'll need to paint it in this weekend.
paint on
1. To apply paint onto some surface. I brought in a bunch of pieces of cardboard and scrap paper for the kids to paint on. It's really hard to paint on textured, bumpy walls like this one.
2. To use paint to create a particular, picture, pattern, or design on something. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "paint" and "on." Can you paint a big dinosaur on Timmy's wall? He loves dinosaurs. I'm going to paint a cool fire design on the side of my car.
paint out
To cover something up with paint so as to hide or obscure it. A noun or pronoun can be used between "paint" and "out." Staff were quick to paint out the obscene graffiti on the side of the gymnasium. Someone came by and painted certain words out that were featured on the mural on Main Street.
paint over
To cover something up with paint so as to hide or obscure it. A noun or pronoun can be used between "paint" and "out." Staff were quick to paint over the obscene graffiti on the side of the gymnasium. Someone came by and painted certain words over that were featured on the mural on Main Street.
paint the black
In baseball, to pitch the ball in such a way that it travels over the edge of the home plate and results in a strike. Their pitcher was amazing, painting the black from the beginning of the game right through to the very end.
paint the devil on the wall
To have or offer a negative view of a situation, often when it is excessive or unwarranted. Don't listen to Ed, he's just painting the devil on the wall. Things really aren't as bad as he says.
paint the lily
To add embellishment to something that is already beautiful or outstanding. The phrase comes from Shakespeare's King John: "To gild refined gold, to paint the lily ... is wasteful and ridiculous excess." My wife is so gorgeous that putting her in a fancy gown would just be painting the lily. Why add a filter to your photo of the rainbow? No need to paint the lily.
paint the town (red)
To go out into a city or town and have an enjoyable time, typically by visiting various establishments, such as bars, restaurants, clubs, etc. After our exams finished, we all decided to get dressed up and paint the town red. A: "I was thinking I might go to a museum or the library." B: "Wow, you're really going to paint the town red, huh?"
painting rocks
A task with little value intended primarily to keep one busy. A: "Why are you sorting all this paperwork?" B: "Ugh, I'm painting rocks basically. The boss is just trying to keep me occupied for the next couple of weeks."
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.