[zoom in] {v. phr.} 1. To rapidly close in on. The fighter planes zoomed in on the enemytarget. 2. To make a closeup of someone or something with a camera. The photographer zoomed in on the tiny colibri as it hovered over alovely tropical flower.
[lead by the nose] {v. phr.}, {informal} To have full control of;make or persuade to do anything whatever. Many people areeasily influenced and a smart politician can lead them by the nose. Don’t let anyone lead you by the nose; use your own judgment and dothe right thing.
[turn up one’s toes] {v. phr.}, {slang} To die. One morning thechildren found that their pet mouse had turned up his toes, so theyhad a funeral for him. Compare: PUSH UP THE DAISIES.
[stand to reason] {v. phr.} To seem very likely from the knownfacts. If you have a driver’s license, it stands to reason you candrive. Joe is intelligent and studies hard; it stands to reasonthat he will pass the examination.
[give a wide berth] {v. phr.} To keep away from; keep a safedistance from. Mary gave the barking dog a wide berth. Jackgave a wide berth to the fallen electric wires. After Tom got Bobinto trouble. Bob gave him a wide berth.
[look at] {v.} To have a way of thinking or feeling toward; thinkabout something in a certain way. Is he a hero or a villain? Thatdepends on how you look at it. Depending on how you looked at it, the tea party could be called a pleasure or a bore.
[keep body and soul together] {v. phr.} To keep alive; survive. John was unemployed most of the year and hardly made enough money tokeep body and soul together. Compare: KEEP THE WOLF FROM THE DOOR.
[back up] {v.} 1. To move backwards. The train was backing up. 2. To help or be ready to help; stay behind to help; agree with and speak in support of. Jim has joined the Boy Scouts and his fatheris backing him up. The principal backs up the faculty. Jim told us what had happened … Читать далее
[half a loaf is better than none] or [half a loaf is better than nobread] Part of what we want or need is better than nothing. — Aproverb. Albert wanted two dollars for shoveling snow from thesidewalk but the lady would only give him a dollar. And he said thathalf a loaf is better than … Читать далее
[out of gas] {adv. phr.} 1. Out of fuel. Be sure you don’t run out of gas when you go on a long distance tripby car. 2. Rundown; depleted of energy; in poor physical condition. Mary said she had to take a break from her job as she was runningtotally out of gas.
[crackpot] {n.}, {attrib. adj.}, {informal} 1. {n.} An eccentric person with ideas that don’t make sense to most other people. Don’t believe what Uncle Noam tells you — he is a crackpot. 2. {attrib. adj.} That’s a crackpot idea.
[laugh one out of] {v. phr.} To cause another to forget his Herworries and sorrows by joking. Jack was worried about gettingairsick, but his son and daughter laughed him out of it.
[brown-bagger] {n.}, {slang}, {informal} A person who does not go to the cafeteria or to a restaurant for lunch at work, but who brings his homemade lunch to work in order to save money. John became a brown-bagger not because he can’t afford the restaurant, but because he is too busy to go there.
[stake a claim] {v. phr.} 1. To claim ownership of land by drivingstakes to show boundaries. The gold hunters staked claims in theWest. 2. {informal} To claim a person or thing as your own by somesign. Usually used with «on». George staked a claim on Dianne bygiving her his class ring.
[make haste] {v. phr.} To move fast; hurry. — Rarely used inspeaking. The dog wriggled into one end of the hollow log, and therabbit made haste to get out the other end. Mary saw that she hadhurt Jane’s feelings, and made haste to say she was sorry. Compare:MAKE TRACKS.
[high gear] {n. phr.}, {informal} Top speed; full activity. Production got into high gear after the vacation. An advertisingcampaign for the new toothpaste promptly moved into high gear.
[pull out] {v. phr.} 1. To withdraw; leave unceremoniously. Thedefeated army hastily pulled out of the occupied territories. 2. Toleave. The train pulled out of Grand CentralStation just as the foreign students got there. 3. To remove byorder; evacuate. Napoleon pulled his beaten troops out of Russia.
[bolt from the blue] {n. phr.} Something sudden and unexpected; an event that you did not see coming; a great and usually unpleasant surprise; shock. We had been sure she was in Chicago, so her sudden appearance was a bolt from the blue. His decision to resign was a bolt from the blue. Compare: OUT … Читать далее
[on the run] {adv.} or {adj. phr.} 1. In a hurry; hurrying. Janecalled «Help!» and Tom came on the run. Modern mothers are usuallyon the run. 2. Going away from a fight; in retreat; retreating. The enemy soldiers were on the run.
[dead tired] {adj. phr.}, {informal} Very tired; exhausted; worn out. She was dead tired at the end of the day’s work. Compare: DEAD ON ONE’S FEET.
[take by the scruff] {v. phr.} 1. To assert authority over aperson. Tim’s mother took him by the scruff and told him to getcleaned up. 2. To punish a person. The boss took us by the scruffwhen he found us chatting idly by the coffee machine. 3. To assumefirm control over a job or a … Читать далее
[give it the gun] or [give her the gun] {v. phr.}, {slang} To gunor speed up a motor; make a car, airplane, or something driven by amotor go faster. The race driver gave it the gun. The speedboatpilot gave her the gun. Compare: STEP ON IT.
[on the blink] {adj. phr.} Faulty; malfunctioning; inoperative. I need to call a competent repairman because my computer is on theblink again.
[hands-off] {adj.}, {informal} Leaving alone, not interfering;inactive. The United States told the European governments to followa hands-off policy toward Latin America. I did not approve of hisactions, but I have a hands-off rule in personal matters, so I saidnothing.
[start something] {v. phr.}, {informal} To make trouble; cause aquarrel or fight. John is always starting something. Jack likesto play tricks on the other boys to start something. Compare: MAKESOMETHING OF.
[burst into tears] {v. phr.} To suddenly start crying. Mary burst into tears when she heard that her brother was killed in a car accident.
[all shook up] also [shook up] {adj.}, {slang} In a state of great emotional upheaval; disturbed; agitated. What are you so shook up about?
[trick of the trade] {n. phr.}, {usually in plural}, {informal} 1.A piece of expert knowledge; a smart, quick, or skillful way ofworking at a trade or job. Mr. Olson spent years learning thetricks of the trade as a carpenter. Any one can learn how to hangwallpaper, but only an expert can show you the tricks … Читать далее
[to advantage] {adv. phr.} So as to bring out the good qualitiesof; favorably; in a flattering way. The jeweler’s window showed thediamonds to advantage. The green dress showed up to advantage withher red hair.
[charge up] {v. phr.} 1. To submit to a flow of electricity in order to make functional. I mustn’t forget to charge up my razor before we go on our trip. 2. To use up all the available credit one has on one’s credit card. «Let’s charge dinner on the Master Card,» Jane said. «Unfortunately … Читать далее
[stir up] {v.} 1. To bring into being, often by greatexertion or activity; cause. It was a quiet afternoon, and Johntried to stir up some excitement. Bob stirred up a fight betweenTom and Bill. Compare: WHIP UP. 2. To cause to act;incite to action or movement; rouse. The coach’s pep talk stirredup the team to … Читать далее
[fish fry] {n.} An outdoor party or picnic at which fish are friedand eaten. The guests at the fish fry caught and cooked their ownfish.
[showgirl] {n.} One who works as an entertainer in a bar ornightclub, musical show, etc. Several famous Hollywood starsactually started their careers as showgirls.
[sharp as a tack] {adj. phr.} 1. Very neatly and stylishly dressed That new boy always looks sharp as a tack in class. 2. Veryintelligent; smart; quick-witted. Tom is sharp as a tack; he got100 on every test.
[ball of fire] {n.}, {informal} A person with great energy and ability; a person who can do something very well. He did poorly in school but as a salesman he is a ball of fire. The new shortstop is a good fielder but certainly no ball of fire in batting. Compare: HOT NUMBER, HOT ONE.
[he laughs best who laughs last] A person should go ahead with whathe is doing and not worry when others laugh at him. When he succeedshe will enjoy laughing at them for being wrong more than they enjoyedlaughing at him. — A proverb. Everyone laughed at Mary when she waslearning to ski. She kept falling … Читать далее
[piecework] {n.} Work paid for in accordance with the quantityproduced. Al prefers working on a piecework basis to being on aregular salary because he feels he makes more that way.
[mind one’s p’s and q’s] {v. phr.} To be very careful what you door say; not make mistakes. When the principal of the school visitedthe class the students all minded their p’s and q’s. If you wishto succeed you must mind your p’s and q’s. Syn.: WATCH ONE’SSTEP.
[come out] {v.} 1. {Of a girl:} To be formally introduced to polite society at about age eighteen, usually at a party; begin to go to big parties, In society, girls come out when they reach the age of about eighteen, and usually it is at a big party in their honor; after that they … Читать далее
[ants in one’s pants] {n. phr.}, {slang} Nervous over-activity; restlessness. Jane can not sit still; she has ants in her pants. You have ants in your pants today. Is something wrong?
[get the jitters] {v. phr.} To become very nervous or excited. Ialways get the jitters when I sit in an airplane that’s about to takeoff.
[be my guest] {v. phr.} Feel free to use what I have; help yourself. When Suzie asked if she could borrow John’s bicycle, John said, «Be my guest.»
[take on the chin] {v. phr.} To gracefully accept criticism. It’s good to be able to tell people what they do wrong, but it isequally important to be able to take it on the chin when they tell youwhat you have done wrong.
[down east] or [Down East] {n.} The northeast coastal part of the United States and part of Canada; especially: the coastal parts of Maine. Many people in Boston like to go down east for their summer vacation. Compare: I WOULDN’T DO IT FOR A FARM DOWN EAST.
[miss the boat] also [miss the bus] {v. phr.}, {informal} To failthrough slowness; to put something off until too late; do the wrongthing and lose the chance. Mr. Brown missed the boat when hedecided not to buy the house. In college he didn’t study enough sohe missed the boat and failed to pass. Ted could … Читать далее
[four-leaf clover] {n.} A small green plant with four leaves whichmany people think means good luck because clover plants usually havethree leaves. John has a four-leaf clover in his pocket. He thinkshe will have good luck now.
[I’m telling you] {informal} It is important to listen to what I amsaying. Marian is a smart girl but I’m telling you, she doesn’talways do what she promises.
[cut to pieces] {v. phr.} 1. To divide into small parts with something sharp; cut badly or completely. Baby has cut the newspaper to pieces with scissors. 2. To destroy or defeat completely. The soldiers were cut to pieces by the Indians. When Dick showed his book report to his big sister for correction, she … Читать далее
[ball] See: BASE ON BALLS, CARRY THE BALL, FLY BALL, FOUL BALL, GET THE BALL ROLLING, SET THE BALL ROLLING, START THE BALL ROLLING, GOPHER BALL, GROUND BALL, HAVE A HALL, HAVE SOMETHING ON THE BALL, JUMP BALL, KEEP THE BALL ROLLING, LONG BALL, ON THE BALL, PASSED BALL, PLAYBALL.
[step out] {v. phr.} 1. To go out, particularly socially, as on adate. Paul said to Sylvia, «You look so dressed up tonight — youmust be stepping out, eh?» 2. To leave for a short period during thework day to go to the lavatory or to get a cup of coffee. «May I speak to … Читать далее