put down
put him down with a sharp retort
put down the gossip
he has the annoying habit of putting down others under the guise of offering constructive criticism
one in a million
Thanks for all the help you’ve given me. You’re one in a million.
a chance in a million
Though Mrs. Busssman fully acquainted with this story, she thought that there was a chance in a million that she might be right. A few days later, she sent a boy to the workman to ask him if his name was Hans Bussman. Needless to say, the man’s name was Hans Bussman and he really was Franz’s long-lost brother. - Lesson 36 A chance in a million, New Concept English Book 3: Developing Skills
as every schoolboy/schoolchild knows
As every schoolboy knows, the earth revolves around the sun.
hammer out
In the year from 1925 to 1927, they were hammering out a mathematically logical physics to describe how the quantum world operated (quantum mechanics) and struggling to come up with a sensible explantion for why the quantum world behaved as it did (quantum theory). They succeeded at one but fumbled the other. - The Quantum Ten, by Sheilla Jones
alma mater
Ehrenfest recalled his first meeting with Schrödinger, back in 1912 at the Boltzmann library in the University of Vienna, his old alma mater. - The Quantum Ten, by Sheilla Jones
at sea
I said we had to do two things. First is to be a bastion. The second is to be a beacon – an example to a world at sea. - Building Canada together: Prime Minister Carney delivers remarks at the Citadelle of Québec
snowed in
The road was snowed in.
How to survive if you’re snowed in during a winter storm
Don’t wait until you’re snowed in to order a shovel — get one now. — Amanda Tarlton, USA TODAY, 23 Dec. 2020