The canary in the coal mine is a symbol of danger.

Canaries in the coal mine are used to detect dangerous gases.

Canaries in a coal mine are used to detect dangerous gases.

There is something nasty in the woodshed.

He was caught with a bag of Indian hemp.

The children were delighted by the jacks-in-boxes popping up unexpectedly.

The children were excited to play with the jacks-in-the-boxes.

I need to dial it in before the presentation.

I shared my secret with her in confidence.

The door-in-the-face technique is a persuasive strategy that involves making a large request first, which is likely to be rejected, and then following it up with a smaller, more reasonable request.