loose ends

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Unfinished details, incomplete business. For example, We've not quite finished the project; there are still some loose ends. This expression alludes to the ends of a rope or cable that should be fastened. [Mid-1800s] Also see at loose ends.

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Words nearby loose ends

loosebox, loose cannon, loose change, loose cover, loose end, loose ends, loose-fitting, loose-footed, loose forward, loose head, loose-jointed

How to use loose ends in a sentence

As of Thursday night, the brothers remained on the loose, last seen in northern France.
U.S. Spies See Al Qaeda Fingerprints on Paris Massacre|Shane Harris, Nancy A. Youssef|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The Via Dolorosa ends at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and is marked by nine stations of the cross.
Oops! Jesus’ Last Steps Are in the Wrong Place|Candida Moss|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Has L.A. figured out how to stop the epidemic it set loose on the world?
The Daily Beast’s Best Longreads, Dec 29-Jan 4, 2014|William Boot|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Any restaurant with a sustained fame ends up becoming a set, of sorts, and on that front, Sotto Sotto cinched it.
The Fiery Death of Sotto Sotto, Toronto’s Celebrity Hotspot|Shinan Govani|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

After 18 months of secret talks, the president announces a diplomatic breakthrough that ends the last fight of the Cold War.
Obama Realizes What 10 Presidents Didn’t: Isolating Cuba Doesn’t Work|Christopher Dickey|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Under the one-sixth they appear as slender, highly refractive fibers with double contour and, often, curled or split ends.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Sol laughed out of his whiskers, with a big, loose-rolling sound, and sat on the porch without waiting to be asked.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
She was holding the back of her chair with one hand; her loose sleeve had slipped almost to the shoulder of her uplifted arm.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
Eggs and nestlings were found lying on the bare soil at the inner ends of the burrows; no nesting material was found.
Summer Birds From the Yucatan Peninsula|Erwin E. Klaas
The inner ends of the burrows were enlarged with a depression in the floor, where the eggs were laid.
Summer Birds From the Yucatan Peninsula|Erwin E. Klaas

loose ends

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How to use loose ends in a sentence