Fall at the first fence - If something falls at the first fence, it goes wrong or fails at the first or an early stage.
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Fall at the first hurdle - If something falls at the first hurdle, it goes wrong or fails at the first or an early stage.
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First come, first served - This means there will be no preferential treatment and a service will be provided to those that arrive first.
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First out of the gate - When someone is first out of the gate, they are the first to do something that others are trying to do.
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First port of call - The first place you stop to do something is your first port of call.
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If at first you don't succeed try try again - When you fail, try until you get it right!
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Which came first the chicken or the egg? - This idiomatic expression is used when it is not clear who or what caused something.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
OE. first, furst, AS. fyrst,; akin to Icel. fyrstr, Sw. & Dan. förste, OHG. furist, G. fürst, prince; a superlatiye form of E. for, fore,. See For Fore, and cf. Formeer Foremost
In literature:
When he made his first plunge, he had prided himself on indulging an heroic impulse.
"The Manxman A Novel - 1895" by Hall Caine
The first side then sends out a second player to "cover" their first man.
"Games for the Playground, Home, School and Gymnasium" by Jessie H. Bancroft
To Leon was assigned the first watch; for Leon was a courageous boy, and it was not the first time he had taken his turn in this way.
"Popular Adventure Tales" by Mayne Reid
Neosho, First, 4.56; C. E. of First, 2.
"The American Missionary - Volume 52, No. 1, March, 1898" by Various
The first point recognized was called Cape Colnett, after one of the volunteers who saw it first.
"Celebrated Travels and Travellers" by Jules Verne
Waterville, First, 25; First, C. E., 2.
"The American Missionary - Volume 52, No. 2, June, 1898" by Various
Being in the first battle; and "fleshing the sword" alludes to the first time the beginner draws blood with it.
"The Sailor's Word-Book" by William Henry Smyth
When he entered that little frame house the infantile Charles had made his first entrance on the stage of life.
"Charles Frohman: Manager and Man" by Isaac Frederick Marcosson and Daniel Frohman
Post of first sergeant, quartermaster sergeant and musicians.= The first sergeant is never assigned as a guide.
"Manual of Military Training" by James A. Moss
L. First, you must put yourselves together, as close as you can, in the middle of the grass, and form, for first practice any figure you like.
"The Crown of Wild Olive" by John Ruskin
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In poetry:
The first retainer
he gave to her
was a golden
wedding ring.
"A Marriage" by Robert Creeley
nevertheless
I see for a moment
that's not it: it is
the First Things.
"Seeing For A Moment" by Denise Levertov
Within the sheltered ground
I thought the first to be;
But there my love I found
A-picking flowers for me.
"Song" by Jean Froissart
Mind in its first formation,
While in its plastic state,
Receives primal impressions
Which make it vile or great.
"Needs And Powers" by Jared Barhite
By the rock near the wave,
Where her first kiss she gave,
On the greensward, to me,—
Something I see!
Is it she?
"May Song II" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
I hear the tread of pioneers
Of nations yet to be;
The first low wash of waves, where soon
Shall roll a human sea.
"On Receiving An Eagle's Quill From Lake Superior" by John Greenleaf Whittier
In news:
The company, which has locations in London and Montreal, opened its first US outpost in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter this summer, and attracted more than 200 new clients in its first eight weeks.
13 First Avenue, at First Street.
Straight from the fun-fact department: The 49ers are the only team with a first-year NFL head coach and a first-year NFL offensive coordinator.
Around 60% of new grads leave their first job within the first year.
KALKASKA — Grayling moved a step closer Friday night to its first Lake Michigan Conference football title — and first perfect regular season.
WESTLAKE, OH On April 12, 2012, first graders from Norcross Elementary First grade students and Nordson volunteers celebrate the environment School, Norcross, GA, and volunteers from Nordson Corp.
Gretna 's Conner Shedeed picks up a first down in the first half.
"Tracy would be the first to tell you that the first week he struggled a little bit," Groce said.
First Baptist Academy quarterback Corey Todd makes a run for yardage during the first quarter of Friday nights match-up against St John Neumann.
Cable network Baby First will be putting moms first, at least during the cabler's primetime lineup.
The Washington Mine was the first gold quartz mine in Shasta County and was the first patented mine in California.
First Donnie Walsh hired a coach who played professionally in Italy and speaks the language fluently, and then with his first draft pick he looked over to Italy and selected 6-foot-8 forward Danilo Gallinari.
The Fed will hold its first-ever quarterly briefing, and new data will likely reveal sluggish economic growth for the first quarter.
Tony Gwynn Jr didn't make his first appearance as a Dodger in the city that made his dad famous until the bottom of the ninth, but he was central to the Dodgers' 11-inning 4-2 victory, completed almost exactly 24 hours after the first pitch.
Using a bootstrap analysis of currently discovered exoplanets, we predict the discovery of the first Earth-like planet to be announced in the first half ...
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In science:
First we need to rewrite W in a more compact form.
Derivation-Simple Algebras and the Structures of Generalized Lie Algebras of Witt Type
First we prove the “only if” part of the theorem.
Determinantal random point fields
First observation is that due to points symmetry we may simplify problem by considering particular relation between points.
Random triangle problem: geometrical approach
First we will consider the case in which q > 2.
On the existence of absolutely simple abelian varieties of a given dimension over an arbitrary field
First we will give an upper bound for #I (q , n).
On the existence of absolutely simple abelian varieties of a given dimension over an arbitrary field
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