prime the pump

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Idioms and Phrases

Encourage the growth or action of something, as in Marjorie tried to prime the pump by offering some new issues for discussion . In the late 1800s this expression originally was used for pouring liquid into a pump to expel the air and make it work. In the 1930s it was applied to government efforts to stimulate the economy and thereafter was applied to other undertakings.

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April 17, 2024axolotl

[ak-suh-lot-l ]

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

primers prime time

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