cog


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a cog in the machine

Someone or something that is functionally necessary but of small significance or importance within a larger operation or organization. I'm tired of working in this thankless IT support job. I don't want to be just a cog in the machine anymore! Oh, I'm but a cog in the machine—it took the whole team to get this product to market so quickly. They don't care about us interns at all. We're just cogs in the machine, doing all the printing and copying without any recognition whatsoever.
See also: cog, machine

a cog in the wheel

Someone or something that is functionally necessary but of small significance or importance within a larger operation or organization. I'm tired of working in this thankless IT support job. I don't want to be just a cog in the wheel anymore! Oh, I'm but a cog in the wheel—it took the whole team to get this product to market so quickly. They don't care about us interns at all. We're just cogs in the wheel, doing all the printing and copying without any recognition whatsoever.
See also: cog, wheel

a small cog in a large machine

Someone or something that is functionally necessary but of small significance or importance within a larger operation or organization. I'm tired of working in this thankless IT support job. I don't want to be just a small cog in a large machine anymore! Oh, I'm but a small cog in a large machine—it took the whole team to get this product to market so quickly. They don't care about us interns at all. We're just small cogs in a large machine, doing all the printing and copying without any recognition whatsoever.
See also: cog, large, machine, small

a small cog in a large wheel

Someone or something that is functionally necessary but of small significance or importance within a larger operation or organization. I'm tired of working in this thankless IT support job. I don't want to be just a small cog in a large wheel anymore! Oh, I'm but a small cog in a large wheel—it took the whole team to get this product to market so quickly. They don't care about us interns at all. We're just small cogs in a large wheel, doing all the printing and copying without any recognition whatsoever.
See also: cog, large, small, wheel

cog in the machine

Someone or something that is functionally necessary but of small significance or importance within a larger operation or organization. I'm tired of working in this thankless IT support job. I don't want to be just a cog in the machine anymore! Oh, I'm but a cog in the machine—it took the whole team to get this product to market so quickly. They don't care about us interns at all. We're just cogs in the machine, doing all the printing and copying without any recognition whatsoever.
See also: cog, machine

cog in the wheel

Someone or something that is functionally necessary but of small significance or importance within a larger operation or organization. I'm tired of working in this thankless IT support job. I don't want to be just a cog in the wheel anymore! Oh, I'm but a cog in the wheel—it took the whole team to get this product to market so quickly. They don't care about us interns at all. We're just cogs in the wheel, doing all the printing and copying without any recognition whatsoever.
See also: cog, wheel

slip a cog

To become mentally unbalanced, disturbed, or confused. Usually used humorously or facetiously. Sorry, I must have slipped a cog, because I have no idea what I was talking about just now. Grandpa, I think you've slipped a cog—I've never heard of that movie and I can't find it anywhere online!
See also: cog, slip
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

cog in the wheel

Also, cog in the machine. One who holds a minor but necessary post in a large organization, as in Frank knew he was just a cog in the wheel of this giant corporation. This term alludes to the role of the mechanical cog, one of the teeth on a wheel or gear that, by engaging other teeth, transmits or receives motion. Used figuratively since about 1930, it sometimes is put as small cog in a large wheel, emphasizing a person's lack of importance.
See also: cog, wheel

slip a cog

Also, slip a gear or one's gears . Lose one's ability to reason soundly or make correct judgments, as in She must have slipped a cog or she would never have gone out barefoot in December, or What's the matter with him? Has he slipped his gears? These slangy usages allude to a mechanical failure owing to the cog of a gear or a gear failing to mesh. The first dates from about 1930, the variant from the 1960s.
See also: cog, slip
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

cog in the wheel (or machine

) a person who plays a small mundane (perhaps vital but generally unacknowledged or unappreciated) role in a large enterprise.
See also: cog, machine, wheel
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

a cog in the maˈchine/ˈwheel

(informal) a person who plays a small part in a large organization or plan: The firm tries hard to make its employees feel that they are more than simply cogs in the wheel.
See also: cog, machine, wheel
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
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References in periodicals archive ?
Second, just as in physics, the COG refers to the thing that holds the enemy's force together or, in a manner of speaking, that serves as a focal point.
The CoG determination method can be summarized as follows: for a given suspension point, the body frame components of the upward local vertical can be computed starting from the inclinometer readings.
Beginning in 2008, a half-dozen evaluations of the ADF's application of COG analysis were published, mostly written in response to conceptual developments appearing in U.S.-based publications.
Although the findings render it very probable that COG fixations can indeed be regarded as a correlate for more efficient perceptual encoding, the evidence for that claim is still quite indirect: firstly, because the comparisons relied on different groups of individuals that already differed in the central performance measure (experts versus novices) and second, because the effects of more efficient coding during COG fixations were not independently assessed.
Pearson correlation coefficients, corrected for the effects of range restrictions, revealed only a moderately strong correlation between the GAMA IQ and the WJ-R COG Broad Cognitive IQ (r = 48; p < .01) and a strong correlation between the GAMA IQ and the WJ-R COG Fluid Reasoning score (r = .60, p < .01).
COG E-commerce gives its customers all the tools they need to upload pictures, edit descriptions, set prices and postage, track orders and manage goods.
"The new diesel locomotive is more likely to aid in the preservation of the current steam engines by offsetting the rising cost to operate them," said AI LaPrade, chief mechanical engineer at the Cog Railway.
In order to find the CoG, one must first define it.
Although a qualifying small taxpayer may use the small business simplified overall method to apportion COGS and deductions between DPGR and non-DPGR at the entity level, (33) the default rule appears to remain that other passthrough entities may not make such allocations at the entity level.
COGS must be allocated to qualifying property using one of these methods:
provides a mindscape panoramic view of how the broken cogs on the cosmic wheel still rock and reel with the rest of the world."
Some account for a high percentage of SG & A costs in the SG & A cost category, while others may account for considerable SG & A headcount and cost in the cost of goods sold (COGS).
A March 16 report to Council of General Synod (CoGS) citing a "worrisome" decline in contributions from dioceses led to the passing of three resolutions the following day calling for a rethink of the church's structures, the way it is funded by the dioceses and its plans for ministry and mission.
The Tax Court held that a medical marijuana dispensary was required to calculate its cost of goods sold (COGS) using the rules of Sec.