1.   Basically, the expression means to use your wits to assess what you are being told.

2.   As you can guess, the expression means to be forced to do something extremely disagreeable.

3.   Derivations are a secondary issue, though, as long as we all agree on what the expressions mean now.

4.   In the Paducah example, the expression simply means that most people know each other directly or indirectly through others.

5.   The expression means to follow the rules and fulfill your obligations.

6.   We can never be sure what their expressions mean.

7.   In Japanese diplomacy, such an expression means it would be virtually impossible.

8.   The expression means that India has the strength to declare it will not be the first to resort to nuclear weaponry, he said.

9.   The expression means that India has the military strength to declare it will not be the first to resort to nuclear weaponry, he said.