A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

cast the first stone • lay the first stone
cast the first stone —be the first to bring an accusation against
a person: Let those of the respectable press who are without
sin, cast the first stone.
lay the first stone —lay the foundation of smth.: It was
Hughes who laid, in 
1
877, the first stone of radiographic prac-
tice by his detailed experiments.
Note:
The expression is not equivalent in meaning to the phrase
make the first step—perform the first move in a course of action
towards attaining a goal: Come, let us make the first step to-
wards our wealth.
casual ward • casualty ward
casual ward —(UK hist.) the division of a workhouse to ac-
commodate vagrants overnight: The next two nights of our
stay were spent in the Notting Hill casual ward.
casualty ward —the ward in a hospital in which accidents
are treated: We were conducted to the casualty ward in which
she was lying.
cat fight • dog fight
cat fight—(coll.)
1
. an altercation between two women typ-
ically involving scratching, etc.: He was recently caught in-
between a horrible cat fight involving his now girlfriend singer
Kelis. 2. a vociferous dispute: A debate at Toronto City Coun-
cil about an affordable housing project turned into an ugly
“cat fight” between two councilors.
dog fight—a close-range aerial combat between aircraft: One
event I do remember is being in the back garden and looking
up and seeing two planes in a dog fight.
cat has nine lives, a • there’s more than one way to
kill a cat
cat has nine lives, a —(saying ) cats can survive things severe
enough to kill other animals: A cat has nine lives, you only
have one. To prevent accidents — think before action.
there’s more than one way to kill a cat (also: there are more
ways than one to kill a cat)— there is more than one method to
do smth.: Their experiments revealed: There’s more than one
way to kill a cat.