pick up the pieces

pick up the pieces idiom
Redeem a bad situation, restore matters to normal, as in Once fighting ended, the task force picked up the pieces and restored democracy. [Late 1800s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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