[take exception to] {v. phr.} To speak against; find fault with; bedispleased or angered by; criticize. There was nothing in thespeech that you could take exception to. Did she take exception tomy remarks about her cooking.
[ring true] {v. phr.} To have a tone of genuineness; soundconvincing. I believed his sob story about how he lost his fortune, because somehow it all rang true.
[get the brush-off] {v. phr.}, {slang} 1. To be paid no attention;not be listened to or thought important. My idea for a party gotthe brush-off from the other children. 2. To be treated in an unkindor unfriendly way; be ignored. Frank and Jane had an argument, sothe next time he telephoned her, he got the … Читать далее
[for the time being] also {literary} [for the nonce] {adv. phr.}For now; for a while; temporarily. I haven’t any note paper, butthis envelope will do for the time being. She hasn’t found anapartment yet; she’s staying with her aunt for the time being.
[front court] {n.} The half of a basketball court that is abasketball team’s offensive zone. The guard brought the ball up tothe front court.
[tell it to the marines] or [tell it toSweeney] {slang} I don’tbelieve you; Stop trying to fool me. John said, «My father knowsthe President of the United States.» Dick answered, «Tell it to themarines.»
[shake down] {v. phr.} 1. To cause to fall by shaking. He shooksome pears down from the free. 2. {informal} To test, practice, getrunning smoothly. The captain shook downhis new ship on a voyage to the Mediterranean Sea. 3. {slang} To getmoney from by threats. The gangsters shook the store owner downevery month.
[disappear] or [evaporate] or [vanish into thin air] {v. phr.} To disappear quickly, without leaving a trace. Money seems to disappear into thin air these days. Jack just vanished into thin air before the meeting had started.
[Simon Legree] {n.}, {informal} A strict person, especially a boss, who makes others work very hard. Don’t talk on the job; the boss isa real Simon Legree. Everybody avoids the foreman. He acts like aSimon Legree.
[as long as] or [so long as] {conj.} 1. Since; because; considering that. As long as you are going to town anyway, you can do something for me. 2. Provided that; if. You may use the room as you like, so long as you clean it up afterward.
[sling hash] {v.}, {slang} To serve food, especially in a cheap, small diner, a drive-in, or short-order restaurant. Jake got a jobslinging hash at the new drive-in restaurant. Jody earned moneyfor college by slinging hash in a restaurant during the summer. Compare: SHORT-ORDER COOK.
[walk out] {v.} 1. To go on strike. When the company would notgive them higher pay, the workers walked out. 2. To leave suddenly;especially to desert. He didn’t say he wasn’t coming back; he justwalked out. — Often used informally with «on». The man walked outon his wife and children. Compare: LEAVE FLAT, LEAVE IN … Читать далее
[lust for] {v. phr.} To physically yearn for; hanker after; wantsomething very strongly. Ed has been lusting after Meg for a verylong time.
[rat race] {n.}, {slang} A very confusing, crowded, or disorderlyrush; a confusing scramble, struggle, or way of living that does notseem to have a purpose. The dance last night was a rat race. It wastoo noisy and crowded. School can be a rat race if you don’t keepup with your studies. This job is a … Читать далее
[sterling character] {n. phr.} A person of irreproachablecharacter; one of the highest professional standards. The nomineefor the Supreme Court must be a sterling character in every possibleway.
[high-and-mighty] {adj.}, {informal} Feeling more important orsuperior to someone else; too proud of yourself. John wasn’tinvited to the party, because he acted too high-and-mighty. Marybecome high-and-mighty when she won the prize, and Joan would not goaround with her any more. Compare: STUCK-UP.
[make a clean breast of] {v. phr.} To admit ; tell allabout ; confess everything. The police caught thehit-and-run driver and he made a clean breast of his crime. Arthurworried because he cheated on the test, and finally he went to theteacher and made a clean breast of it. Compare: OFF ONE’S CHEST.
[catch fire] {v. phr.} 1. To begin to burn. When he dropped a match in the leaves, they caught fire. 2. To become excited. The audience caught fire at the speaker’s words and began to cheer. His imagination caught fire as he read.
[go to the trouble] or [take the trouble] {v. phr.} To make troubleor extra work for yourself; bother. John told Mr. Brown not to goto the trouble of driving him home. Since your aunt took thetrouble to get you a nice birthday present, the least you can do is tothank her. Compare: PUT OUT.
[leaf through] {v. phr.} To scan or glance through a book or otherreading matter. I only had time to leaf through the program beforethe concert started.
[stop over] {v.} To stay at a place overnight or for some othershort time while on a trip elsewhere. When we came back fromCalifornia, we stopped over one night near the Grand Canyon.
[give or take] {v, phr.} To add or subtract. Used with a roundnumber or date to show how approximate it is. The house was builtin 1900, give or take five years.
[strike up] {v.} 1a. To start to sing or play. We were sittingaround the camp fire. Someone struck up a song, and we all joined in. The President took his place on the platform, and the band struckup the national anthem. 1b. To give a signal to start playing. When the team ran on the … Читать далее
[good head on one’s shoulders] {n. phr.} Good sense; good judgment. Jack has a good head on his shoulders; he never drives too fast. Alice is a girl with a good head on her shoulders, she always keepsgood company. George showed he had a good head on his shoulders byrefusing to cheat.
[hang around] {v.}, {informal} 1. To pass time or stay near withoutany real purpose or aim; loaf near or in. The principal warned thestudents not to hang around the corner drugstore after school. Compare: HANG OUT. 2. To spend time or associate, Jim hangsaround with some boys who live in his neighborhood.
[out cold] {adv.} or {adj.}, {informal} Unconscious; in a faint. The ball hit Dick in the head and knocked him out cold for tenminutes. They tried to lift Mary when she fell down, but she wasout cold. Syn.: OUT LIKE A LIGHT. Compare: PASS OUT.
[mum is the word] You must keep the secret; keep silent; don’t tellanyone. — Often used as an interjection. We are planning a surpriseparty for John and mum is the word. «Mum is the word!» the robbercaptain told his men.
[out of one’s hair] {adj. phr.}, {informal} Rid of as a nuisance;relieved of as an annoyance. Harry got the boys out of his hair sohe could study. Compare: OUT OF ONE’S WAY. Contrast: IN ONE’S HAIR.
[wrap up] or [bundle up] {v. phr.} 1. To put on warm clothes; dresswarmly. Mother told Mary to wrap up before going out into thecold. 2. {informal} To finish. Let’s wrap up the job andgo home. 3. {informal} To win a game. The Mets wrapped up thebaseball game in the seventh inning.
[sight-read] {v.} To be able to play music without memorization byreading the sheet music and immediately playing it. Experienced, good musicians are expected to be able to sight-read.
[section gang] or [section crew] {n.} A group of railroad workerswho watch and repair a number of miles of track. The section crewwas called out to fix the broken bridge.
[drag strip] {n.}, {slang} A place where drag races are held. Before the race Paul loaded his racer onto the trailer to take it out of town to the drag strip for the race. Compare: DRAG RACE.
[crack of dawn] {n. phr.} The time in the morning when the sun’s rays first appear. The rooster crows at the crack of dawn and wakes up everybody on the farm.
[to a T] or [to a turn] {adv. phr.} Just right; to perfection;exactly. The roast was done to a turn. His nickname, Tiny, suited him to a T. Compare: TO THE LETTER.
[play up] {v.} To call attention to; talk more about; emphasize. The coach played up the possibilities, and kept our minds off ourweaknesses. The director played up the woman’s glamor to concealher lack of acting ability.
[horn in] {v.}, {slang} To come in without invitation or welcome;interfere. Often used with «on». Jack would often horn in onconversations discussing things he knew nothing about. Lee hornedin on Ray and Annie and wanted to dance with Annie. Compare: BUTT IN.
[be game] {v. phr.} To be cooperative, willing, sporting. When I asked Charlie to climb Mount McKinley with us, he said he was game if we were.
[listen to reason] {v. phr.} To listen to and think about advicethat you are given. Joe was stubborn and would not listen toreason. It will save you a lot of trouble if you will just listento reason.
[photo finish] {n. phr.} A close finish in a race of people oranimals, where the camera must decide the actual result, sometimes bymillimeters. The black horse was declared the winner in a photofinish.
[play the field] {v. phr.}, {informal} To date many differentpeople; not always have dates with the same person. Al had a steadygirlfriend, but John was playing the field. Jim was crazy aboutMary, but she was still playing the field. Contrast: GO STEADY.
[pile-up] {n.} 1. A heap; a deposit of one object on top ofanother. There is a huge pile-up of junked cars in this vacantlot. 2. A large number of objects in the same place, said of traffic. I was late because of the traffic pile-up on the highway.
[come out in the open] {v. phr.} 1. To reveal one’s true identity or intentions. Fred finally came out in the open and admitted that he was gay. 2. To declare one’s position openly. The conservative Democratic candidate came out in the open and declared that he would join the Republican party.
[put one’s house in order] or [set one’s house in order] {v. phr.}To arrange your affairs in good order. Grandfather knew he wouldnot live long and set his house in order. When Mr. Black died, hislawyer helped the widow put her house in order.
[see out] {v.} 1. To go with to an outer door. A polite man seeshis company out after a party. 2. To stay with and finish; not quit. Pete’s assignment was hard but he saw it out to the end.
[run a temperature] {v. phr.} To have a body temperature that isabove normal; have a fever. Jimmy didn’t look ill, although he wasrunning a temperature. We took the baby to the doctor because hewas running a temperature.
[wise guy] {n. phr.}, {informal} A person who acts as if he weresmarter than other people; a person who jokes or shows off too much Bill is a wise guy and displeases others by what he says.
[give of oneself] {v. phr.}, {literary} To give your time andeffort to help others. You should give of yourself sometimes. During World War II, Governor Baldwin gave of himself by sweeping thehalls of a hospital every afternoon.
[come off it] also [get off it] {v. phr.}, {slang} Stop pretending; bragging, or kidding; stop being silly. — Used as a command. «So I said to the duchess…» Jimmy began. «Oh, come off it,» the other boys sneered. Fritz said he had a car of his own. «Oh, come off it,» said John. «You … Читать далее
[get a black eye] {v. phr.} 1. To receive a dark ring around theeye after being hit by someone’s fist or an object. In thefistfight Tom got a black eye from Pete. Sue got a black eye whenshe ran into a tree. 2. To have one’s character denigrated. Ourfirm received a black eye because of … Читать далее
[high sign] {n. phr.}, {informal} A silent signal of recognition, greeting, or warning; an open or secret signal between two persons. — Used with «get» or «give». The Joneses saw us across the hoteldining room and gave us the high sign. John could see that Gracewanted to tell him something, but he got her attention … Читать далее