alter

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alter ego

1. Another name or identity that one assumes. He's a clean-cut accountant during the week, but on the weekend he indulges in hedonistic pursuits as his alter ego "Jack."
2. A separate or different aspect or element of one's personality, identity, or psyche. For such a quiet woman, she has a rage and temper at times that is like some alter ego.
3. A close, inseparable friend of very similar attitudes and interests. My girlfriend and I are so similar, we are like each other's alter ego.
4. A person who acts as a substitute for or copy of another person; a doppelgänger. Due to his increasingly failing health, the dictator's son has been running the country for the past month, essentially as his alter ego.
See also: alter, ego

circumstances alter cases

Unique circumstances can spur unconventional action. I know offering such a big refund isn't protocol, but it's for the CEO's grandmother, and circumstances alter cases.
See also: alter, case, circumstance

change beyond (all) recognition

To change so much or so dramatically as to now be completely unfamiliar or unrecognizable. I wouldn't have recognized her if she hadn't introduced herself—she's really changed beyond all recognition since we were kids!
See also: beyond, change, recognition

change out of (all) recognition

To change so much or so dramatically as to now be completely unfamiliar or unrecognizable. I wouldn't have recognized her if she hadn't introduced herself—she's really changed out of recognition since we were kids!
See also: change, of, out, recognition

alter beyond (all) recognition

To change so much or so dramatically as to now be completely unfamiliar or unrecognizable. She had shown me some early drafts, but her final copy was really altered beyond all recognition.
See also: alter, beyond, recognition

alter out of (all) recognition

To change so much or so dramatically as to now be completely unfamiliar or unrecognizable. She had shown me some early drafts, but her final copy was really altered out of recognition.
See also: alter, of, out, recognition

Circumstances alter cases.

Prov. In unusual situations, people are allowed to do unusual things. Cashier: I'm sorry, this store does not accept personal checks. Customer: But I need this medicine, and I don't have any cash. I've shopped at this store for fifteen years. Surely you can trust me this once. Cashier: Well, all right. Circumstances alter cases.
See also: alter, case, Circumstance

change, alter, etc. beyond/out of (all) recogˈnition

change, etc. such a lot that people do not recognize you, it, etc: I went back to Birmingham after 20 years and it had changed beyond all recognition. ♢ She had changed beyond all recognition since I last saw her.
See also: beyond, of, out, recognition
References in periodicals archive ?
2002) confirmed the ability of CPF to alter the activity of another nuclear transcription factor in cortical neurons, the [Ca.
There are numerous opportunities during gestation where insecticides and products from several other chemical classes can alter the purpose of a cell, tissue, organ, or system function in the brain or CNS, much like the discoveries presented for CPF.
This team discovered that exposure during lactation to the herbicide 2,4-DBE (the butyl ester of 2,4-D) can alter brain production of 5-HT and its metabolite, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), in adulthood (Bortolozzi et al.
A case for revisiting the safety of pesticides: a closer look at neurodevelopment
Future experiments will also need to be made to determine if chronic exposure to lower concentrations of environmental estrogens elicit detrimental effects, and if chronic exposure to these compounds alters the differentiation of neural crest-derived structures such as the sensory and sympathetic ganglia, which arise at later developmental stages.
Our data indicate not only that acute exposure to these environmental estrogens induces deleterious effects on early vertebrate development but also that different environmental estrogens may alter the fate of a specific cell type via different mechanisms.
Endogenous and environmental estrogens have been shown to alter apoptosis; however, most studies demonstrating effects of environmental estrogens have been performed on cell lines, and some of the studies that have been performed on intact embryos indicate the effects of these toxicants are limited to reproductive tissues (Weber et al.
Environmental estrogens alter early development in Xenopus laevis. (Research)
Environmental Protection Agency at 13 ng/kg--was high enough to alter rats' behavior; the researchers extrapolated that a 10% change in the rats' behavior was noted at maternal TCDD exposures of 7-8 ng/kg.
Slowing the Rat Race
The meeting was convened to guide future research by applying this knowledge of calcium channel biology to further our understanding of how toxicants and mutations alter channel functions.
There are two fundamentally different mechanisms whereby neurotoxicants might alter calcium channel function: by direct interaction with channel subunits (e.
Some non-coplanar PCBs impair the function of the ryanodine receptor and alter intracellular calcium regulation.
Calcium Channels: Critical Targets of Toxicants and Diseases
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