Definition of can-can in English English dictionary
- The can-can is a dance in which women kick their legs in the air to fast music. can-can dancers from the Moulin Rouge
- CAN
- ceric ammonium nitrate
- CAN
- Consistent and asymptotically normal, a statistic estimator Tn(X1, X2, ..., Xn) is CAN (consistent and asymptotically normal) if
- CAN
- Campus area network
- CAN
- The Andean Community of Nations
- GI can
- trash cans that are galvanized
- GI can
- used to refer sardonically to shells fired by the German Army in World War I
- a cat can look at a king
- Alternative form of a cat may look at a king
- a golden key can open any door
- Sufficient money can accomplish anything
- aerosol can
- A canister whose pressurized contents may be released as an aerosol when a button is pressed
- all-you-can-eat
- Offering unlimited food to a diner at a restaurant for a fixed price for as long as he or she continues to eat
JT's serves all-you-can-eat prime rib on Wednesday nights for $18.99.
- all-you-can-eat
- Offering unlimited service for a fixed price per time period
Nokia has unveiled its all-you-can-eat Comes With Music package for the United Kingdom.
- an offer one can't refuse
- An offer from one side in any transaction with the results of failing to accept so unattractive that the other side is almost guaranteed to accept
- an offer one can't refuse
- An offer from one side in any transaction with terms so attractive that the other side is almost guaranteed to accept
- as best one can
- In the best possible way, given the circumstances
We tried to make our lives comfortable as best we could.
- beer can
- A lightweight metallic can containing beer
There were empty beer cans stacked to the ceiling.
- before you can say Jack Robinson
- Very quickly. Quicker than you expect
You have to be careful in that area. They'll have your wallet before you can say Jack Robinson.
- beggars can't be choosers
- When resources are limited, one must accept even substandard gifts
- bite off more than one can chew
- To try to do too much; to take on or attempt more than one is capable of doing
I think I bit off more than I could chew when I agreed to paint this house by myself.
- booze can
- A nightclub or bar, especially one which operates illegally or is otherwise disreputable
The establishment was operating as a booze can serving drinks well after hours, Mammoliti said.
- can
- To shut up
Can your gob.
- can
- To preserve, by heating and sealing in a can or jar
They spent August canning fruit and vegetables.
- can
- To know how to; to be able to
Can you remember your fifth birthday?.
- can
- A tin-plate canister, often cylindrical, for preserved foods such as fruit, meat, or fish
- can
- toilet, bathroom
- can
- To know
- can
- headphones
- can
- To fire or dismiss an employee
The boss canned him for speaking out.
- can
- A more or less cylindrical vessel for liquids, usually of steel or aluminium
- can
- to discard, scrap or terminate (an idea, project, etc.)
He canned the whole project because he thought it would fail.
- can
- May; to be permitted or enabled to
Can I use your pen?.
- can
- buttocks
- can
- A container used to carry and dispense water for plants (a watering can)
- can I buy you a drink
- Indicates the speaker wishes to buy the interlocutor a drink, in a bar
- can I come in
- Indicates that the speaker is asking for permission to enter a room
- can I use your phone
- Indicates that the speaker needs to communicate with someone via the interlocutor's telephone, if it is available
- can buoy
- a truncated conical buoy, normally painted red and white, and numbered with even numbers, used to show the port side of a channel; the starboard side is marked with a conical buoy
- can buoys
- plural form of can buoy
- can do with
- To need; to want; to benefit from
- can do without
- To say that something is not wanted because it makes the situation worse than it was, or is simply very annoying
I can do without your moaning all the time. I've got enough problems as it is!.
- can it
- To silence; to quit doing something; to put an end to something
Can it, you two! I'm trying to work.
- can man
- A firefighter whose task is to haul a fire extinguisher
Douglas Oelschlager was the can man, bringing up extinguishers.
- can of corn
- An easily caught fly ball
He hits a can of corn to left.
- can of worms
- A troublesome situation; an issue whose resolution is difficult or contentious, but not necessarily complex
Calling her the greatest person who ever lived would definitely open a can of worms.
- can of worms
- A complex, troublesome situation arising when a decision or action produces considerable subsequent problems
If I give her a promotion which she doesn't deserve, it will open up a whole can of worms with the other employees.
- can opener
- A device used to open tin cans, usually by slicing the lid off
- can openers
- plural form of can opener
- can you tell us
- A prefix indicating a polite request
Can you tell us how you will motivate your students to learn?.
- can'st
- Old second-person singular form of can
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree! Much pleasure thou can'st give me.
- can't
- cannot; is unable to; does not have the ability to
I can't quite get it to work.
- can't
- To forbid, not permit
You can't enter the hall without a ticket.
- can't help
- Not able to avoid a situation, or stop something from happening
I can't help crying whenever I see Romeo and Juliet.
- can't wait
- To eagerly anticipate; to find it unbearable to wait for a forthcoming pleasurable event
I can't wait for that party on Friday.
- can't've
- Cannot have
They can't've seen us yet or they would have come over to say hello.
- can-do
- confident and willing to get a job done
It is important to approach each day with a smile on your face and a can-do attitude.
- can-opener
- An implement for opening metal cans
- cancan
- To dance the cancan
- carry the can
- To take responsibility, especially in a challenging situation
You could reasonably argue that Brown himself should carry the can for much of the regulatory failure of the banks.
- catch-as-catch-can
- ad hoc, or in any way possible
- catch-as-catch-can
- of a form of amateur freestyle wrestling (catch wrestling)
In Lancashire and the north of Ireland, the catch-hold or catch-as-catch-can system still finds favour.
- catch-as-catch-can
- intermittent; only when possible or when the opportunity presents itself
Which being done, the Women run in the dark to catch as catch can ; and whatever Lot they light on,.
- don't drive faster than your guardian angel can fly
- Driving (a vehicle) very fast is a dangerous act
- from can see to can't see
- From the time when it is barely light enough to see until there is no light remaining whatsoever: from sunup to sundown, from dawn to dusk
- garbage can
- A receptacle, usually roughly cylindrical and wider at the top then at the bottom, which serves as a place to discard waste materials
- how can you sleep at night
- A rhetorical question, used to tell someone that they should feel guilty about something
- if you can't beat them, join them
- If your adversaries are stronger than yourself, it is better to join the adversaries
- if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen
- If you cannot handle the pressure, you should not be in a position where you have to deal with it
- it can't be helped
- It's inevitable. There is no alternative
- kick the can
- A particular game played by children, similar to tag
How about kick the can? Ben suggested, spotting an empty beer can on the sidewalk.
- kick the can down the road
- To defer something
- kick-the-can
- A particular game played by children, similar to tag
If we were playing kick-the-can, it'd get everyone out of jail and make life hell for whoever's it..
- lading-can
- A tin can (containing two or three quarts) used for taking hot water out of a boiler; a piggin
- money can't buy happiness
- Money can buy external things, but true happiness comes from inside
- more than one can poke a stick at
- occurring in abundance; of a large quantity; many
Check out this shop! They have more kinds of carpet than you can poke a stick at!.
- more than one can shake a stick at
- occurring in abundance; of a large quantity; many
Any English High Street has more Indian Restaurants than you can shake a stick at.
- more than you can shake a stick at
- Alternative form of more than one can shake a stick at
- no can do
- It's not possible
- one can run but one can't hide
- There is nothing someone can do to evade something
You can run but you can't hide.
- one can't hold two watermelons in one hand
- do not attempt to take on more than you can handle
- open a can of whoop ass
- A good-humored threat of physical harm
Chan stars in his first all-American production as chan as Hong Kong Detective Inspector Lee, a noble, innocent and caring police officer who can really bust open a can of whoop-ass when given the chance.
- so quiet one can hear a pin drop
- Said during a lull in a normally bustling place or scene, or as the result of a sudden dramatic or tense moment
- spray can
- A pressurized canister that ejects its contents from a nozzle when a button is pressed; used especially for paint
- spray-can
- Attributive form of spray can
spray-can whipped cream.
- those who can't do, teach
- One who fails is likely to become a teacher. (Refers to common trend of teachers having low wages)
- tin can
- a destroyer
- tin can
- a container, usually cylindrical, made out of sheet metal coated with tin, or aluminum
- tip the can
- A children's game similar to hide and seek, with the addition of a target such as a flag
- tomato can
- An inferior fighter in the sport of boxing; The insinuation is that an up and coming fighter takes on a "tomato can" to burnish his reputation and record
- tomato can
- A boxer who "takes a dive" or loses a fight on purpose
- trash can
- A receptacle which serves as a place to discard waste materials
- two can play at that game
- Alternative form of two can play that game
- two can play that game
- The tactics and/or strategies of an enemy can be used against him
- watering can
- A utensil for watering plants, consisting of a container with a handle and long spout, the spout sometimes being fitted with a perforated nozzle
- what can I say
- Said to express that you do not have any information of nor opinion on of the topic being discussed
- where can I pee
- advise me as to where I may relieve myself
- you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink
- You can show someone how to do something, but you can't make them do it
- you can say that again
- That is very true
- you can talk
- used when someone receives criticism for something by someone else who is guilty of the same thing
- you can't always get what you want
- It is not always possible to get what is wanted
- you can't fight city hall
- Nothing can be done to change the situation, because it is a governmental decision
I see they're going to build the airport after all. I suppose you can't fight city hall.
- you can't get a quart into a pint pot
- Expression said to indicate that what is being discussed is not possible
They've asked me to get to New York by five o'clock, but you can't get a quart into a pint pot!.
- you can't judge a book by its cover
- It is not possible to make reliable judgments about things or people by considering external appearances alone
- you can't make a silk purse of a sow's ear
- It is not possible to produce something refined, admirable, or valuable from something which is unrefined, unpleasant, or of little or no value
- you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs
- In order to achieve something, it is inevitable and necessary that something should be destroyed
- you can't polish a turd
- Something inherently bad cannot be improved
- you can't run with the hare and hunt with the hounds
- You can't have it both ways
- you can't say fairer than that
- That is good, reasonable, or fair; one cannot hope for a better decision or outcome
- you can't teach an old dog new tricks
- It is almost impossible to change people's habits or traits or mindset
- you can't tell a book by its cover
- Alternative form of you can't judge a book by its cover
- can't
- {f} not able, unable, not capable
- can
- Campus Area Network (network) A network which encompasses interconnectivity between floors of a building and/or buildings in a confined geographic area such as a campus or industrial park Such networks would not require public rights-of-way and operate over fairly short distances (see LAN, MAN, WAN)
- can
- to know, be skillful in
- can I help you
- may I assist you, can I do something to help
- can't stand
- not able to suffer, cannot endure
- trash can
- A special folder in the Macintosh operating system where deleted files are sent when the user sends the command to delete them They reside in the trash can until the user gives the command to permanently erase them, thus giving the user the chance to recover any information accidentally deleted
- what can I say
- i have nothing to say, i am out of words
- can't
- Can't is the usual spoken form of `cannot'. Contraction of cannot
- can
- {v} to be able, to havepower
- can
- {n} a vessel for liquids, a kind of cup
- You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink
- (deyim) you can give someone the opportunity to do something, but you cannot force them to do it
- open a can of worms
- (deyim) Start a situation that will be terrible
- Can Can dance
- risque dance characterized by high kicking and leaping (popular in 19th century France)
- cancan
- A trick where one leg is brought over the seat, so that both legs are on one side
- cancan
- A high-kicking chorus line dance originating in France
- cancan
- a high-kicking dance of French origin performed by a female chorus line
- cancan
- A rollicking French dance, accompanied by indecorous or extravagant postures and gestures
- cancan
- {i} bawdy dance from 19th century France
- cancan
- a fast dance in which a line of women kick their legs high into the air
