73; ebb; leakage &c (exudation) 295; loss &c 776; wear and tear; waste;
prodigality &c 818; misuse &c 679; wasting &c v.; rubbish &c (useless)
645.
mountain in labor.
V. spend, expend, use, consume, swallow up, exhaust; impoverish; spill,
drain, empty; disperse &c 73.
cast away, fool away, muddle away, throw away, fling away, fritter
away; burn the candle at both ends, waste; squander &c 818.
waste its sweetness on the desert air [Gray]; cast one's bread
upon the waters, cast pearls before swine; employ a steam engine to
crack a nut, waste powder and shot, break a butterfly on a wheel; labor
in vain &c (useless) 645; cut blocks with a razor, pour water into a
sieve.
leak &c (run out) 295; run to waste; ebb; melt away, run dry, dry
up.
Adj. wasted &c v.; at a low ebb.
wasteful &c (prodigal) 818; penny wise and pound foolish.
Phr. magno conatu magnas nugas [Lat.]; le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle
[Fr.]; idly busy rolls their world away [Goldsmith].