plural of chose; things.

state of affairs, situation

nature of things, nature of the beast, order of things

order of things, nature of things, nature of the beast; grand scheme of things, grand scheme, big picture

first of all, first

(informal) to get down to business, to get down to brass tacks, to get down to the nitty-gritty

it's one of those two things; there are two possibilities, there are two possible scenarios; you have two options; you choose(: either ... or)

that's the least one can do, it's nothing at all

by force of circumstances, inevitably

to think big