method in one's madness

Fig. a purpose in what one is doing, even though it seems to be crazy. What I'm doing may look stran
ge, butthere is method in my madness. Wait until she finishes; then you'll see that she has method in
her madness.

Not playing with a full deck

lacking in intellectual ability. (Many other variants.) Tom: Joe thinks he can build a car out of old milk j
ugs. Mary: I think Joe's a fewbricks short of a load. Ever since she fell and hit her head, Jane's been a
few bricks short of a load, if you know what I'm saying. Bob'snice, but he's not playing with a full deck
. You twit! You're two bricks shy of a load.

on the same page

thinking in a similar way Louisa said she called the meeting to make sure everybody's on the same pa
ge.
Usage notes: usually said about efforts made to solve a problem

Pull the plug

to put an end to someone's activities or plans. (Based on pull the plug (on something) {2}.) The mayo
r was doing a fine job untilthe treasurer pulled the plug on him. David pulled the plug on Fred, who wa
s taking too long with the project.

queer somebody's pitch

to spoil someone's chances of doing something She queered my pitch by asking for promotion before
I did.

The last straw

final difficulty in a series; the last little burden or problem that causes everything to collapse. (From the
image of a camel beingloaded down with much weight. Finally, at some point, one more straw will be
too much and the camel's back will break.) When our bestplayer came down sick, that was the straw t
hat broke the camel's back. We hoped to make the playoffs, but lost all the rest of ourgames. When s
he showed up late a third time, that was the straw that broke the camel's back. We had to fire her.

zero tolerance
absolutely no toleration of even the smallest infraction of a rule. Because of the zero tolerance rule, th
e kindergartner was expelled fromschool because his mother accidentally left a table knife in his lunch
box.

Wear your heart on your sleeve

to make your feelings and opinions obvious to other people John's always worn his heart on his sleev
e, so there's no doubt who he'll be supporting.