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

compete against someone
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kill the goose that lays the golden eggs— destroy a source of
one’s wealth: In their quest to squeeze out every last penny
from the fans, they will kill the goose that lays the golden
eggs.
cool card • cooling card
cool card —(coll.) a person who is impudent in a calm way:
That man is a cool card; he’ll borrow £5 from you and then
ask you to stand him a drink.
cooling card —(dated) smth. that cools one’s enthusiasm: It
would prove a cooling card to many, whose zeal otherwise
would transport them.
cool it • play it cool
cool it—(coll., imper.) stop being angry; calm down: “Cool
it, will you Arthur!” demanded Ford. Arthur would not be
deterred.
play it cool —deliberately behave in a relaxed and unemo-
tional way: John dived for cover, but the cameraman played
it cool, pausing to switch on the camera…
Note: 
The expression is not equivalent in meaning to the phrase
keep one’s cool—retain one’s composure and poise: Mal kept his
cool when Badger admitted there was a problem with the
cargo.
Copper Nose • Old Copper Nose
Copper Nose —(hist.) the name given to Oliver Cromwell,
lord protector of England (
1
599–
1
658): Oliver Cromwell has
a number of “nosey” nicknames —“Copper Nose,” “Ruby
Nose” and “Nosey.”
Note: 
The nickname is apparently related to the expression
copper nose—a red nose caused by the disease “Acne rosacea” or
by drunkenness: He was a short, brawny old gentleman, with
a double chin, a mastiff mouth, and a broad copper nose.
Old Copper Nose—(hist., also: Copper-nose Harry) the name
given to Henry VIII, king of England (
1
49
1
–
1
547): These sil-
ver issues [of coins] were heavily debased, and as a result the
king was referred to as “Old Copper Nose,” because the king’s
nose turned copper-colored when the coin began to wear.