/tags/idioms/ Recent bookmarks tagged #idioms Mon, 02 Nov 2026 08:24:54 +0000 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Heath_Robinson In the UK, the term "Heath Robinson" has entered the language as a description of any unnecessarily complex and implausible contraption, similar to "Rube Goldberg" in the U.S.<br/> <p><strong>Tags:</strong> #contraptions #idioms</p> Thu, 27 Jan 2011 15:08:10 +0000 linkding-ssg:bookmark:15470 contraptions idioms http://www.markbernstein.org/May10/BitterEnd.html "It turns out that the “bitter end” of a rope is the end you secure or bend to the bitts of a ship, while the other end secures the anchor. If you are hoping to anchor in very deep water, you pay out more and more line and hope that the anchor will hit the sea floor. Instead, your line runs out all the way to the bitter end, and then you are up a creek without a paddle. Thanks, W.H. Smyth, The Sailor’s Word Book, 1867."<br/> <p><strong>Tags:</strong> #bitterend #idioms #language</p> Tue, 01 Jun 2010 12:01:43 +0000 linkding-ssg:bookmark:13446 bitterend idioms language