rub the fear of God into
Alternative form of put the fear of God into.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“The strict teacher rubs the fear of God into his students.”
“The captain's harsh warning before the storm really rubbed the fear of God into the new crew members.”
“The sudden, thunderous collapse of the market rubbed the fear of God into investors who had previously believed their wealth was entirely secure.”
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bow down before the porcelain god
Synonym of worship the porcelain god (“to vomit into a toilet bowl”).
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call someone everything but a child of God
To call someone many abusive names.
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God forbid
indicating that the occurrence of something is very undesirable
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God forfend
Don't let it be.
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God is in the detail
Expresses the idea that whatever one does should be done thoroughly; i.e. details are important.
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god that failed
A notable let-down or flop; a concept, product, or person that has failed to live up to very high expectations.
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God's eye
A decorative diamond-shaped item woven from yarn, associated with Mexican and Central and South American Native American peoples.
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God's gift
Said of someone with an inflated sense of self-importance, or (occasionally) something that is overvalued.
Last updated August 10, 2026