conjunction
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
... or wherever (= used to emphasize that you are talking about any place and not a specific place )
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Dublin people dress more individually than people in London or wherever.
A dozen or so (= about 12 )
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A dozen or so cars were parked near the entrance.
and/or above
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officers of the rank of Major and above
and/or above
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free medical care for pensioners aged 65 and above
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Prize winners must have gained marks of 80% or above.
and/or below
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free travel for children four years old and below
and/or below
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officers of the rank of captain and below
and/or under
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Children aged 12 or under must be accompanied by an adult.
better or worse
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I wasn’t sure whether his behaviour was getting better or worse.
confirm or deny
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Managers have so far refused to confirm or deny reports that up to 200 jobs are to go.
Deal or No Deal
for some reason (or other) ( also for some unknown reason ) (= for a reason that you do not know )
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For some reason she felt like crying.
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For some unknown reason, the curtains were always drawn.
if...or not
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I’m not sure if this is the right road or not.
knows a thing or two (= knows a lot )
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My cousin knows a thing or two about golf.
like it or lump it
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It’s the law so you can like it or lump it .
little or no
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Many of the students speak little or no English.
little or nothing (= almost nothing )
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He knew little or nothing about fixing cars.
no ifs, ands, or buts
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He is the best player – no ifs, ands, or buts about that.
of one sort or another (= of various different sorts )
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Quite a large number of them suffered injuries of one sort or another.
or alternatively
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You can relax on the beach or alternatively try the bustling town centre.
or, even worse
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The business could become less profitable or, even worse , could close down.
or not
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No one knows if the story is true or not .
or over
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Almost 40% of women are size 14 or over .
or some such
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She needs to see a psychiatrist or some such person.
or somebody
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‘Who can we get to babysit?’ ‘I’ll call Suzie or somebody .’
or someone
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Have Brooks or someone fax this to New York right away.
or somewhere (= or a similar place )
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We could meet for dinner at Giorgio’s or somewhere .
or thereabouts
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These houses were built in 1930 or thereabouts .
or worse still
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Suppose Rose, or worse still , Peter had seen the photograph?
person or persons unknown
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murder by person or persons unknown
Rose d'Or, the
some sth or other/another
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Just give him some excuse or other.
somehow or other
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Maybe we could glue it together somehow or other .
the time or the inclination
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Teachers simply do not have the time or the inclination to investigate these matters.
trick or treat
true or false
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Please decide whether the following statements are true or false.
(whether) by fair means or foul (= using unfair methods if necessary )
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They were determined to achieve victory, by fair means or foul.
whether or not
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There were times when I wondered whether or not we would get there.
whether...or not
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Look, Kate, I’m calling the doctor, whether you like it or not .
whether...or not
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I didn’t know whether to believe him or not .
whether...or
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She was uncertain whether to stay or leave.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
(come) rain or shine
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Burrow runs two miles, rain or shine, everyday.
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Every morning at about 5am, come rain or shine, James Zarei leaves his South Croydon home on his morning run.
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He seldom drinks alcohol, never touches drugs, and runs six miles every morning, rain or shine.
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I kid you not: each year rain or shine, Californian Poppy.
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Scores of rambling and cycling clubs headed remorselessly for the Dales each weekend, come rain or shine.
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The working week began every Monday, rain or shine.
(in) one way or another/one way or the other
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One way or another, Roberts will pay for what he's done.
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As you grow older, some of those uncertainties - such as whether or not you are lovable - are settled one way or another.
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But the fact is that the way we live our lives often assumes a belief about them, one way or another.
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In one way or another, all these therapies seem to have an effect on the electrical balances of the body.
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In one way or another, the representatives will be compared with the total client system.
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In one way or another, whatever happened, instinct told him that they would both survive.
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Many others were involved in small business issues one way or another.
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My gut feeling is that one way or another Congress will pull through.
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Then one way or another he would have to deal with Capshaw.
(on) sale or return
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All are on full sale on January 23-Knave sale or return from Blackhorse.
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All available goods may be taken on a sale or return basis. 9.
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Booksellers normally order books on a sale or return basis.
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This may be on a sale or return agreement without asking for payment.
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What is the position, though, where the buyer resells the goods on sale or return terms?
(whether you) like it or not
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You're going to the dentist, whether you like it or not.
... or bust!
... or so
... or something
... or what
... or/and whatever (else)
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And the same thing applies to people who have collections of quite valueless things: baskets, keys, hats or whatever .
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And then they go and tell their friends that it's either good or bad or whatever .
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I was feeling like I had to wrap things up and get dinner for the kids, or whatever .
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It favors close-up pictures and whatever can be seen in the immediate foreground.
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Learning about landscape design, you know - using natural features, hills or rivers or whatever - and improving on it.
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Politics, sexuality or whatever , must be a framework to build on, not a rigid cage which restricts change.
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There was a swift flow of air through the room, and whatever it was moved and sat down on the chair.
a matter of life and/or death
a year/a week/a moment/an hour etc or two
an either-or situation
beg, borrow, or steal
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The designers would beg , borrow, or steal in order to get the show ready.
believe it or not
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Well, believe it or not, we're getting married.
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And so, believe it or not, he puts on the magic shoes and limps off to the funeral.
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But, believe it or not, neither are the networks.
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Lives in the next village, believe it or not.
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Name's Virginia, believe it or not.
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Now this happened to me again, believe it or not, a year or two later.
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She put on her pale-blue linen Jaeger dress and, believe it or not, a little hat.
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The eventual headliners, believe it or not, were Mud.
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This week, believe it or not, another, almost identical saga began.
by fair means or foul
by hook or by crook
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The police are going to get these guys, by hook or by crook.
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If she set her mind on something, then she had to acquire it, by hook or by crook.
can't make head or/nor tail of sth
come hell or high water
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Come hell or high water, he'd never missed a race and he wasn't going to miss this one.
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I'll be there in time. Don't worry. Come hell or high water.
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I said I'd do it, so I will, come hell or high water.
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My father felt I should stay in my marriage come hell or high water.
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She'd come this far to say her piece and say it she would, come hell or high water.
common or garden
do or die
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From now on it was do or die.
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I learnt in the South Bronx and the way you're taught there is a do or die situation.
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It was do or die for me.
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No words, no threats, no waste of energy, just a grim determination to do or die.
double or quits
either ... or
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A little more cloak and a soup on more dagger. Either that, or he should never try this again.
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Few can afford either the calories or the cost of frequent trips to these gourmet candy stores.
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For better rates you must operate your account either by post or via the Internet.
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Madame, you see, never assumed either ignorance or experience.
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Rhubarb with either mint or lemon balm makes a tart, savoury jelly to serve with lamb.
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The cases seem either petty or arcane, the investigations tedious or motivated by politics.
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Theodora suspected that this was not an exercise that either the Bishop or the Archdeacon had had to perform before.
for better or (for) worse
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The reality is that, for better or worse, the world of publishing has changed.
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All five, for better or worse, have received recent votes of confidence from their respective general managers or team presidents.
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And for better or worse, the new interactivity brings enormous political leverage to ordinary citizens at relatively little cost.
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And the consequences could be even more startling, for better or for worse.
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Decisions made in any of these places can hit our pocketbooks and our peace of mind, for better or for worse.
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He has toted the ball and the expectations, for better or worse.
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He was her husband ... for better or worse, he was her husband.
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Medical students in prolonged contact with junior doctors learn attitudes by example, for better or for worse.
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Today we know for better or for worse that cops, like doctors and priests, are merely human.
funny peculiar or funny ha-ha?
give or take a few minutes/a penny/a mile etc
go trick or treating
it's all or nothing
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The deal is all or nothing.
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It's all or nothing and being strong enough to take the flak if things go wrong.
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It's all or nothing with her.
it's now or never
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Twoflower, I thought, it's now or never.
kill or cure
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The spring Budget, therefore, will be kill or cure.
like it or lump it
make or break
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A scholarly opinion can make or break a picture, as in the case of a Saraceni which we sold in 1989.
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He also said the board has the power to make or break a project.
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It could make or break with vibration or thermal expansion as the machine warmed up.
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It was make or break for us.
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Not only does it influence whether or not you fork out the requisite 65p, it can make or break a band.
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Royal watchers say the 47-year-old prince recognizes it is make or break time for him personally.
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Though generally they are only out by one grade, that can be make or break for some.
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Whether for dress or athletics, the fit of the shoe can also make or break a pair of feet.
more or less
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"Did they have what you were looking for at the hardware store?" "Yes, more or less."
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There were 50 people there, more or less.
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This report says more or less the same thing as the previous one.
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What she says is more or less true.
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Alexei was a mining engineer in the Kuzbas, but he had more or less refashioned himself into a translator.
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And then I was using it more or less daily for years ....
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As things are, it's more or less useless.
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Lesbians, being women, were more or less ignored as in-consequential so long as they were quiet about their sexuality.
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Look also for R Centauri, a red Mira-type variable more or less between the Pointers.
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Some programs will let you set the size of the buffer to keep more or less text.
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The Trilogy helped create this new man of labor, who is more or less a paralegal.
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This time she saw pebbles laid out over the whole of the surface, more or less evenly spaced.
night or day/day or night
no rhyme or reason
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It claims that there is no rhyme or reason to stock-market investment.
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There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the colors.
not for love or/nor money
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I can't get a hold of that book for love nor money.
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And you still can't get a good daily woman now to clean, not for love or money.
not in any shape or form
not in any way, shape, or form
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I am not responsible for his actions in any way , shape, or form.
not know whether to laugh or cry
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When the whole cake fell off the table, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
not know whether you are coming or going
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Andre's so in love he doesn't know whether he's coming or going.
once or twice
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Once or twice, he thought about calling his parents, but then decided not to.
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And you have once or twice, haven't you?
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Even he himself had had to beat it into the ground once or twice as one did a snake.
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He'd been smashed on booze once or twice, but this was different.
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He played for Northern Ireland once or twice.
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He swallowed hard once or twice.
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He was some one I would probably sleep with once or twice and then maybe become friends with afterward.
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If needed, this can be repeated once or twice.
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They merely mentioned it once or twice as a divine possibility.
one ... or another
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At least 50 percent of the Soviet budget in one form or another goes to the military defense complex.
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Besides, he got his point across, one way or another , and usually in Chicago style.
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It featured more than five locos in steam at one time or another .
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Other speakers adapt to far more, perhaps to most of them, at one time or another .
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Some twenty percent of all Oscar-winning actors, actresses and directors have been married to each other at one time or another .
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The plates slide toward one direction or another and, inevitably, their ridges move off the hot spots that found them.
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Three, in one form or another , are still in the budget bill passed by Congress and vetoed by President Clinton.
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To enhance our chances of making such discoveries many of us use maps of one kind or another .
one or two
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"Do you have any Bob Dylan albums?" "Yes, one or two."
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I only know the names of one or two of the new students.
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There are one or two things I'd like to ask you about.
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There are one or two things to sort out before I leave.
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We've had one or two problems with the car but nothing serious.
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Accommodation Accommodation is in one or two bedroom apartments, about 300 to 400 yds from the sailing beach.
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Eventually, this area should be able to support one or two satellite offices.
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For the tall man, the lie should be one or two degrees more upright.
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In one or two places, Jasper had to pull me up between the rocks.
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Let us start with one or two fundamentals.
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Ten of the 13 previous meetings between the Braves and Marlins were decided by one or two runs.
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The statements should be listed, one or two sentences for each.
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There were one or two escapees from within his group, however.
or anything
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And when they came back they wouldn't have an excuse or anything .
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Clothing can not be washed, or anything else done...
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He's not my boyfriend or anything , but he looks after me.
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I have my idols, too, but they tend to be real people, not film stars or anything .
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It was great, and then it was two months before a video came out or anything .
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Just one lone ancestor standing in the spotlight without anyone or anything else the current generation can blame.
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Not esquire, sir, lord or anything like that.
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Tony didn't have time to waste booking him as a support act or doing a club circuit or anything like that.
or else
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Get me my money by next week or else .
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It must be important, or else he wouldn't have called at 3 a.m.
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They must have thought everything was safe, or else they would have warned us.
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All the characters would find decisions much easier if evil were unquestionably either just Boethian or else just Manichaean.
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He seemed to want to help them or else his plan was much deeper than they knew.
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He thought you had to be a model or a dancer, or else something in showbiz.
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He was bright and alive, and made those around him live more vividly or else move on.
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He would make that clear, or else he would have no part in the raid.
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Some of them continued to pursue him, or else Orestes thought that they did.
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The bolder innovation comes direct by rescript from the emperor or else is a result of his influence.
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The old masters merely dammed streams and created lakes to break up the landscape or else reflect its beauty.
or otherwise
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I can't see any advantage in changing my job - financially or otherwise .
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Advisedly or otherwise , the Regent Douglas was doing as he had part-proposed.
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Every haulier, wittingly or otherwise , will become involved to some extent in Customs 88 procedures.
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I too wanted to stand, silent or otherwise , upon that peak in Darién.
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Many factors contribute to the effectiveness or otherwise of the various techniques.
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Prizes must be accepted as offered, there can be no alternative awards, cash or otherwise .
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Regional variations - Gallican or otherwise - were disapproved, whether liturgical, theological or pastoral.
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Space is devoted in the final chapter to considerations of the mentalism, or otherwise , of metrical structures.
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The lower limit to transition even for very large disturbances is provided by the growth or otherwise of slugs.
or rather
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But he'd had that last night - or rather , in the small hours of the morning.
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But puberty, or rather the onset of menstruation, changed all that.
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Here comes the post, or rather the copter.
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I was usually the active partner, or rather it was usually I who initiated a kiss or an embrace.
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It is fear, or rather fears, that I want to speak about in this book.
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It is related to the hedgehog, or rather it belongs to the same family of insectivores.
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It was really my doing, or rather my drawings, that had brought us to this brink.
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Now I have asked Deborah whether I may speak with her son or rather listen to him.
plus or minus
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Dealings take place at the price quoted plus or minus days' accrued interest.
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It is consistent to within a value of plus or minus one, which is quite acceptable for a rough bound.
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The margin of error is plus or minus one percent.
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The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.
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Total return is interest earnings plus or minus any change in principal value.
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Typical instructions in this class increment or decrement an accumulator; here the implied value is plus or minus one.
put up or shut up
rightly or wrongly
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Rightly or wrongly, most employees regard annual raises as just cost-of-living increases.
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But, rightly or wrongly, Eden's tenure in Downing Street is remembered as a single-issue premiership.
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His unexpected presence may be interpreted, rightly or wrongly, as a deed deliberately intended to express his courage or defiance.
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Many men believed, whether rightly or wrongly, that the locals could find out about operations before they themselves did.
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Other people concluded, rightly or wrongly, that the problems were limited to vaccine coming from Cutter.
sb can take it or leave it
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As for the moody magnetism Method actors devote all their energy trying to perfect, Allen can take it or leave it.
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To others, they can take it or leave it.
shape up or ship out
sink or swim
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Some people advocate leaving the jobless to sink or swim.
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A case of sink or swim.
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But it is a collective machine because they all sink or swim with her.
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It was sink or swim as a classroom teacher.
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Now it was sink or swim.
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Only one person really cared whether he sank or swam, and he was far off in Paris.
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She had been thrown in at the deep end and it was a question of sink or swim.
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The Ohio bank does not leave its newcomers to sink or swim by themselves.
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When a promising apprentice loses his claim it is usually sink or swim time.
something/someone/somewhere etc or other
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Almost all our citizens are indicted for something or other .
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Calls himself Jack something or other .
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He did it not because he liked people that night but to make a moral point about something or other .
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Iris is off somewhere or other for the next few days.
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It was decided by someone or other that we would stay out at Lima with the grunts.
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Later on, we were on another job, looking after a defence minister from somewhere or other .
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Nineteen fifty something or other convertible.
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Somebody else got a chocolate something or other .
sooner or later
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Sooner or later this would end up in the papers, and I would be out of a job.
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He is worried that sooner or later his business will fail.
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I'm sure Brian will turn up sooner or later.
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She's bound to find out sooner or later.
stand or fall by/on sth
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But the argument must stand or fall on its merits.
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For the government, acceptance of central planning did not stand or fall on the issue of nationalisation.
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It seems that this is a case that will stand or fall on its own particular facts.
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Mr Karimov knows that he will stand or fall on his ability to stave off economic collapse.
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The school has an outstanding and deserved reputation, which will stand or fall by the testimony of its pupils.
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The storyline was always going to stand or fall by the performance of Tim Guinee as Lazar.
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The success of the new News at Ten will stand or fall on his relationship with the seven million plus viewers.
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Their case would stand or fall on her reliability.
take/bring sb down a peg (or two)
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No harm in taking Evans down a peg .
teach/show sb a trick or two
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Experienced teachers can teach new teachers a trick or two.
to a greater or lesser extent
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All of us, to a greater or lesser extent, have been doing this all our lives.
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All polite exchanges are conventional to a greater or lesser extent.
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All societies differentiate and, to a greater or lesser extent, allocate unequal rewards on the basis of age.
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Both historians proceed to a greater or lesser extent by way of discussion of great photographers.
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Different professional institutions may define to a greater or lesser extent the modes and their mix.
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In these cases A is to a greater or lesser extent unclear, ambiguous.
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They also, to a greater or lesser extent, existed outside mainstream, predominantly male controlled, hierarchical structures.
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With every formal organisation there exists, to a greater or lesser extent, a complex informal organisation.
which came first, the chicken or the egg?
win or lose
▪
Win or lose, the future looks bright for Jones.
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Aside from team coordination, tactics play a huge part in determining whether you are on the winning or losing side.
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Dole is going to win or lose the election on his own.
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I may win or lose, but the way of life is easy and it loves me.
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The machines nauseate me whether I win or lose.
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They decide whether you win or lose.
without fear or favour
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He had some home truths to impart and presented them without fear or favour.
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Now near retirement after a long career in product development, Mr Dulude can presumably act without fear or favour.
without let or hindrance
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Instead of the passport opening frontiers to the traveller without let or hindrance, it has become the means of international surveillance.
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It should flow easily, though not too swiftly, through the manholes, without let or hindrance.
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The willingness to thin the office staff without let or hindrance.
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Truth, however tawdry or trivial, may be told without let or hindrance from libel laws.