Midwestern Phrase Review Online version Midwestern by Anna Dailey 1 Phrase 1 2 Phrase 2 3 Phrase 3 4 Phrase 4 5 Phrase 5 6 Phrase 6 7 Phrase 7 "Put lipstick on the pig" Make superficial changes to something bad/ugly in a fruitless effort to improve it "That makes as much sense as government cheese" That makes no sense "Let's talk in the back 40" Let's talk in private "You, me and the fence post" Just between us "A pig in a poke" An offer that is foolishly accepted without first being examined "Make hay while the sun is shining" Seize the day "[To tell someone] how the cow ate the cabbage" To tell someone the unvarnished truth