You pulled on a chain and by some miracle of simple machinery the metal door ratcheted open with a satisfying flourish that appealed to Shelly's sense of drama.
Polymeric ratchets open up new avenues for the fields of digital fluidics and flexible device fabrication.
If parents shape the linguistic environment of their offspring, and if we all shape the linguistic environments of our conspecifics (merely by talking to them!) then the possibility of a 'linguistic ratchet effect' is clearly open.
For the grownups in the room, direct talks can ratchet down tensions and open up space within Iran for the human rights and democracy movement to flourish.
Even some inside the Obama administration, like defense secretary Ash Carter, seem open to ratcheting up the tension with Russia, which, by the way, the sprawling defense industry is also openly rooting for.
It's all very "Finding Nemo," or maybe losing Nemo, because the impact of this visual chaos — ratcheted up by an open kitchen that is a distraction too many — can be to give you a maritime migraine and tug your focus from the edible fish that are the purpose and point of the project.
If this back channel stays open as tensions ratchet down, what might happen after the world accepts a nuclear North Korea?
The socket set must have a ratchet wrench, extensions and an open wrench set.
Armenia could ratchet up the confrontation by opening an airport in Stepanakert, the capital of the disputed territory, or by responding overwhelmingly to cease-fire violations.
The plan is similar to the model originally proposed by Turnbull in 2009 when he was opposition leader, and to the sort of scheme that could evolve from existing Coalition policy if the government "ratchets up" the baselines, leaving open some prospect of bipartisanship in the bitterly-contested policy area.
