Example
“Roll the feature out to 5% of users first — that's our canary in the coal mine.”
Dictionary details
Alternate forms
Related idioms
Expressions connected by reviewed component words or topic tags.
band-aid fix
CEFR B2a hasty, temporary solution that patches a symptom without addressing the root cause
feature creep
CEFR B2the uncontrolled growth of new features until a product becomes bloated and hard to use
keep tabs on
CEFR B2to monitor someone or something carefully over time
nip it in the bud
CEFR B2to stop a problem at an early stage
quick and dirty
CEFR B2done rapidly and roughly, with little care for quality or polish
smoke test
CEFR B2a quick, shallow test that checks whether a system's most basic functions work at all
Source methodology
Meanings, register, CEFR, and examples come from the reviewed dictionary record. Expression notes may describe a reviewed present-day word picture or a background note; they are not presented as verified etymology.