U.......................................

ugly duckling
- an ugly or plain child who grows up to be pretty and attractive

She was an ugly duckling when she was a child but now she is very beautiful.

under a cloud
- under suspicion, not trusted
The politician has been under a cloud over the possibility of taking bribes.

under a cloud
- depressed, sad
She has been under a cloud of depression since her cat died.

under cover
- hidden, concealed
The police officer went under cover to look for the drug dealers.

under fire
- being shot at or attacked, under (verbal) attack
The owner of the company is under fire for not paying his employees a fair salary.

under one`s belt
- in one`s experience, memory or possession
When he has more experience as a cook under his belt he will begin to look for
a job.

under one`s belt
- in one`s stomach
After he has a big breakfast under his belt he is ready for work.

under one`s breath
- in a whisper, with a low voice
He was talking under his breath in the movie theater and someone complained.

under one`s nose
- in sight of, in an easily seen or noticeable place
He found his driver`s license right under his nose where he had left it.

under one`s own steam
- by one`s own efforts, without help
He was able to go home under his own steam even though he was feeling
very sick.

under one`s thumb
- obedient to someone, controlled by someone
He is only an assistant salesman but he has his boss under his thumb.

under one`s wing
- under the care or protection of
He took the new employee under his wing to help him in the new job.

under the counter
- secretly bought or sold
The drugs are being sold under the counter although the government has not given its approval.

under the hammer
- up for sale at an auction
The painting went under the hammer and sold for a very high price.

under the table
- in secret and usually illegal
He paid some money under the table in order to get his product exported into the country.

under the weather
- feel ill (but not seriously ill)
He is feeling under the weather so he is going to bed early tonight.

under wraps
- not allowed to be seen until the right time, in secrecy
The new car was still under wraps when the auto show started.

unearthly hour
- absurdly early or inconvenient
We got up at an unearthly hour this morning so we could get ready to go
camping.

until hell freezes over
- forever, for an eternity
He said that he would not talk to his girlfriend again until hell freezes over.

up against
- close to
The ladder was standing up against the tree in the yard.

up against
- confronted with
He was up against a lot of problems when he went to university but recently he is doing very well.

up and about
- recovered from an illness
He has been up and about for a couple of days since he left the hospital.

up for grabs
- available for anyone to try to get, ready to be competed for
The new championship of the city is up for grabs.

up front
- honestly, correctly
He was very up front when giving me the information about the new office.

up in arms
- equipped with guns or weapons and ready to fight, very angry and ready to fight
The villagers were up in arms over the proposal to take some of their land away from them.

up in the air
- not settled, undecided
Whether or not I will be able to go to London is still up in the air.

up one`s alley
- something one is good at or enjoys
Computer programming is right up his alley and he is very good at it.

up one`s sleeve
- kept secretly ready for the right time or for a time when needed
He probably has something up his sleeve and will be able to get a job when he needs one.

upper crust
- richest, most famous or important people in a certain place, the highest class
The private club was full of what looked like the upper crust of the city.

upper hand
- controlling power, advantage
The union members have the upper hand in the negotiations with the company.

ups and downs
- alternate good and bad fortune
He is having a few ups and downs but generally he is doing well.

upset the applecart
- ruin or spoil a plan or idea
Try not to upset the applecart as we have spent a lot of time working on this project.

up the creek
- in trouble
She is up the creek now that she has lost her passport.

up the river/creek with no paddle
- in trouble and unable to do anything about it
I think that we are up the river with no paddle now that our car has run out
of gasoline.

uptight
- worried, irritated, excessively eager or anxious
My sister has been uptight all week because of her exams.

up to
- as far as, as deep or as high as, close to, approaching
The water in the swimming pool came up to my waist.

up to
- doing or planning secretly, ready for mischief
I don`t know what he was up to last night but it was probably something bad.

up to
- depending on
It is up to his wife whether or not he goes to the movie.

up to it/the job
- capable of, fit for, equal to
If he is up to it we should let him drive the truck to the new office.

up to/till/until
- until
Up until last week he had never been inside of a bowling alley.

up to here with
- sick of someone`s continual bad or irritating behavior
I have had it up to here with his always coming late to work.

up to one`s ears in work
- have a lot of work to do
I`d like to go with you but I`m up to my ears in work at the moment.

up to par/scratch/snuff/the mark
- meeting normal standards, equal to the usual level or quality
His work was not up to par and he was asked to leave and look for another job.

up to someone to do something
- be responsible to take care of something
It is up to her to decide when the meeting will start.

(in) up to the chin
- very busy with, deeply involved in something, guilty of
He has been in up to the chin in the project to build a new convention center.

used to

- accustomed to
He is not used to living in such a big city.

use one`s head/bean/noodle/noggin
- think carefully about
You should use your head a little more and try not to make the same mistake again.

use up
- use until nothing is left, spend or consume completely
They used up all of the paper in the copy machine this morning.


V...............................
very well

- agreed, all right
Very well, if you want to go I will go with you.

vicious circle
- unbroken sequence of cause and effect with bad results
He had fallen into a vicious circle of drinking too much and then losing his job and then drinking even more.

vote down
- defeat in a vote
The proposal to extend the opening hours of bars was voted down in the election.

W..........................

wade into
- attack, join in
The football player waded into the fight to protect his teammates.

wait on (someone) hand and foot
- serve in every possible way, do everything for someone
He always waits on his wife hand and foot.

wait table
- serve food
He spent the summer waiting tables at the resort.

wait up for
- not go to bed until someone arrives or something happens
The woman waited up for her daughter to come home.

walk all over someone
- take advantage of someone, win a game easily
They walked all over the other team at the football tournament.

walk away/off with
- take and go away with, take away, steal
Someone walked away with the computer from the library last night.

walking papers
- a statement that one is fired from one`s job, dismissal
He was given his walking papers from his company last week.

walk of life
- way of living, manner in which people live
People from every walk of life came to the concert in the park.

walk on air
- feel happy and excited
She has been walking on air all morning since she heard that she had passed
her exams.

walk out
- go on strike
More than half of the workers at the factory decided to walk out on strike this morning.

walk out
- leave suddenly
Three people walked out of the meeting yesterday.

walk (all) over
- make someone do whatever one wishes, make selfish use of
He tried to walk all over me when I began the job but after I became used to the company he stopped.

walk the floor
- walk back and forth across the floor, pace
He spent the night in the hospital walking the floor while waiting for his wife to have a baby.

walk the plank
- be forced to resign from a job
The vice-president was forced to walk the plank when the new president joined the company.

walk the plank
- be forced by pirates to walk a long plank from the ship out over the water to your death
The pirates seized the small ship and forced the captain to walk the plank.

waltz off with
- to take, get or win easily
My favorite team waltzed off with the championship again last night.

warm one`s blood/heart
- make one feel warm or excited
The sight of the small boy looking after his dog warmed the heart of the people on the street.

warm up
- become friendly or interested
His wife finally warmed up to the idea of going to Italy for a holiday.

warm up
- get ready for a game or other event by exercising or practising
We spent two hours warming up for the game on Saturday.

wash one`s hands of
- abandon, refuse responsibility for
He washed his hands of the problem after they refused to deal with it.

washed up
- no longer successful or needed
The boxer was all washed up and had to retire last year.

waste one`s breath
- speak pointlessly without the desired results
He is very stubborn and you are wasting your breath to try and argue with him.

watch it
- be careful (usually used as a command)
"Watch it! That truck is going very fast and may hit you."

watch/mind one`s P`s and Q`s
- be well-behaved, be careful
The boy was told to watch his P`s and Q`s by his teacher after he caused too many problems at school.

water down
- make weak, dilute
The new policy was a watered down version of the earlier one.

water under the bridge
- something that happened in the past and can`t be changed
It was terrible that your house was robbed but it is water under the bridge now and you must move on.

way the wind blows
- direction or course something may go, what may happen
We will have to see which way the wind blows as far as our plans to go to London or not.

wear and tear
- damage as a result of ordinary use
They put a lot of wear and tear on their car during their long holiday.

wear down
- make something become less useful or smaller or weaker by wearing or aging
Little by little the water wore down the rocks at the edge of the river.

wear down
- exhaust or tire someone out
He was worn down after the meeting that took seven hours.

wear off/away
- remove or disappear little by little by use, time or weather
The name on the front of my passport has worn off from using it too much.

wear on
- anger or annoy, tire
His constant complaining is beginning to wear on my nerves.

wear one`s heart on one`s sleeve
- show one`s feelings openly
He was wearing his heart on his sleeve after the meeting with his boss.

wear out
- use or wear something until it becomes useless
My shoes wore out during my trip to Paris.

wear out one`s welcome
- visit somewhere too long or come back too often so that one is not

welcome anymore
My friend has worn out his welcome at our house as he always comes to visit us without calling first.

wear the pants in a family
- be the boss in a family
She is very strong and seems to be the one who wears the pants in her
family.

wear thin
- become thin from use or the passing of time
The silver dollar had begun to wear thin after it was in use for many years.

wear thin
- grow less or less interesting or believable
His excuses have begun to wear thin after he keeps using the same ones over and over.

weed out
- remove what is unwanted, get rid of
I spent the morning weeding out the clothes that I didn`t need anymore.

weigh on/upon
- be a weight or pressure on someone or something, worry or upset someone
The pressure of her exams has begun to weigh upon my sister.

weigh one`s words
- be careful of what one says
You should weigh your words carefully before you tell him your decision to quit.

well and good
- good, satisfactory
It is well and good that he will go and talk to his supervisor about the problem.

well-heeled
- rich
He seems rather well-heeled and is always wearing expensive clothes and driving a nice car.

well-off
- wealthy
Her parents are well-off and don`t need to worry about money during their retirement.

well-to-do
- having or making enough money to live comfortably
He comes from a rather well-to-do family.

wet behind the ears
- inexperienced, immature
He is a little wet behind the ears and doesn`t know much about the company yet.

wet blanket
- person who discourages others from having fun
He is a wet blanket so we never invite him to any parties.

wet one`s whistle
- have a drink, especially alcohol
They decided to stop at a bar on the way home from work to wet their

whistle.
what about
- about or concerning something
I know that he wants to borrow my tent but what about my sleeping bag.

what have you
- whatever one likes or wants
"I`ll have a blueberry ice cream cone or what have you."

(have) what it takes

- ability for a job, courage
He really has what it takes to be a success at his job.

what`s the big idea
- what is the purpose, what do you have in mind
"What`s the big idea. Why are you using my bicycle?"

what`s up/cooking/doing
- what is happening, what is planned, what is wrong
"What`s up ", he said as he entered the room.

what`s what
- what each thing is in a group, one thing from another
It is hard to tell what`s what at an auction of old furniture.

what`s (up) with
- what is happening/wrong, how is everything
"What`s with the new supervisor? He seems very angry this morning."

what with
- because, as a result of
We wanted to go away for a holiday but what with the move to a new building and the expansion we are too busy to go anywhere.

wheel and deal
- take part in political or commercial scheming
There was a lot of wheeling and dealing going on before they built the new convention center.

when hell freezes over
- never
He said that he would come to an office party when hell freezes over.

when the chips are down
- at the most important or dangerous time, when the winner and loser of a bet or a game will be decided

When the chips are down he will always come and help his friends.

while away the time
- make time go by pleasantly
We spent the afternoon whiling away the time by the river.

(a) while back
- several weeks or months in the past
I saw him a while back but recently I have no idea where he is.

whip up
- make or do quickly or easily
It was very late when we got home last night so we whipped up something to eat very quickly.

whip up
- make active, stir to action
The union leader whipped up the crowd with his speech.

whistle a different tune
- change one`s attitude, contradict previous ideas
He is whistling a different tune now that he has been promoted and has responsibility for the office.

whistle in the dark
- try to stay brave and forget one`s fear
Although he felt very frightened he began to whistle in the dark which helped to calm him down.

white elephant
- a useless possession
They are having a white elephant sale at the school next week.

white lie
- a harmless lie (eg. told for the sake of politeness)
I told her a white lie when I said that I would be too busy to meet her.

white sale
- selling at reduced prices of towels, linens, etc.
We went to the white sale at the department store last Saturday.

whole show
- everything
The new boss always tries to run the whole show.

wide of the mark
- far from the target or the thing aimed at, incorrect
His ideas for the new company were wide of the mark from what everyone expected.

wildcat strike
- a strike not ordered by a labor union but spontaneously by a group of workers
There was a wildcat strike at the factory last night.

will not hear of
- will not allow or consider
My aunt said that she will not hear of us staying at a hotel when we come to see her.

wild goose chase
- absurd or hopeless search
He led them all on a wild goose chase when he told them about the sale at the computer store.

will power
- strength of mind
He has very strong will power and was able to quit smoking easily.

wind up
- end, finish, settle
Let`s wind things up now and then we can all go home.

wind up
- tighten the spring of a machine to make it work or run
Every night before he goes to bed my grandfather winds up his alarm clock.

wind up
- make very excited, nervous or upset
I was really wound up yesterday after work so I couldn`t get to sleep easily.

wing it
- act without preparation
He wasn`t prepared for the examination so he had to wing it.

wink at
- allow and pretend not to know about something (a law or rule being broken)
The librarian always winks at the rule about borrowing a maximum of three books.

winning streak
- a series of several wins one after the other
Our baseball team has been on a winning streak for several weeks now.

win out
- be victorious or successful after hard work or difficulty
We have had a lot of problems with our boss recently but finally we won out and he agreed to listen to our complaints.

wipe out
- remove, kill or destroy completely
The city spends a lot of money trying to wipe out rats near the river.

wipe-out
- a disaster, a calamity
My exams were a total wipe-out. I think that I failed all of them.

wisecrack
- sarcastic or nasty remark
She made a funny wisecrack during the speech which caused the audience to start laughing.

wise guy
- a person who acts as if he were smarter than other people
He always acts like a wise guy when he is in a big group.

wise up to
- finally understand what is really going on after a period of ignorance
He finally wised up to the fact that he was never going to get a promotion in his company.

wishy-washy
- unable to decide, have no definite opinion
He is very wishy-washy and can never make up his mind what he wants to do.

with child
- pregnant, going to have a baby
I think that the new teacher at our school is with child.

with flying colors
- with great or total success
I was able to pass my final exams with flying colors.

within an inch of one`s life
- until one is almost dead
The elderly man was beaten to within an inch of his life.

within reason
- sensible, reasonable
I think that, within reason, you should be able to take as much time off as you want to go to school.

with open arms
- greet someone warmly or eagerly
My aunt and uncle were at the airport to greet us with open arms.

with the best of them
- as well as anyone
He can play soccer with the best of them when he makes the effort.

wit`s end
- not knowing what to do, at the end of one`s mental resources
I have been at my wit`s end all week trying to decide what to wear to the party.

wolf in sheep`s clothing
- a person who pretends to be good but really is bad
He is a wolf in sheep`s clothing and you should be very careful when you have to deal with him.

word for word
- in exactly the same words
I told her word for word exactly what had happened before the accident.

word of mouth
- passing information orally from one person to another
He heard about the new restaurant by word of mouth.

worked up
- feeling excited, angry, worried
He is all worked up about the fact that he wasn`t invited to the party.

work in
- rub in
We spent a long time trying to work the softening cream into the leather.

work in
- slip in, mix in, put in
I was able to work in a part in the play for my best friend.

work into
- force into little by little
He was able to work his foot into his boot but it was still very tight.

work off
- make something go away - especially by working
He was able to work off his hangover and is now feeling much better.

work on/upon
- have an effect on, try to influence or convince
I am working on my boss to let me have some time off this summer.

work one`s fingers to the bone
- work very hard
She has been working her fingers to the bone for years trying to raise her three children.

work out
- end successfully, be efficient
I hope that everything will work out for her when she moves to London next
week.

work out
- solve, find an answer to
I was unable to work out the math problem on the final examination.

work out
- accomplish, arrange, plan
Recently we worked out a unique system for filling out our expenses at work.

work out
- exercise
He spends most weekends working out at the health club.

work over
- beat someone up very roughly in order to intimidate them or get money
The gang worked over the storeowner in order to get some money from him.

work up
- stir up, arouse, excite
He really likes to work up a sweat when he does his exercises.

world is one`s oyster
- everything is possible for one, one can get anything
The world is her oyster now that she has received her MBA from Harvard University.


worse for wear
- not as good as new, worn out
I borrowed my friend`s canoe for a month and it is now beginning to look the

worse for wear.

worth a cent
- worth anything, of any value
His new car is broken down and not worth a cent.

worth one`s salt
- worth what one is paid
He is definitely worth his salt in our company and is one of our best employees.

would just as soon
- prefer to do one thing rather than another
She would just as soon stay at home as go to the movie.

wrap around one`s finger
- have complete control over someone and be able to make them do anything you want
She has her boss wrapped around her finger and can do anything that she wants.

wrapped up in
- thinking only of, interested only in
He is always wrapped up in playing with his computer.

wrap up
- put on warm clothes, dress warmly
She wrapped herself up in her warm clothes and went out.

write off
- remove (an amount) from a business record, cancel (a debt)
The bank was forced to write off a large amount of its debt.

write off
- accept (a loss or trouble) and not worry any more about it
He was forced to write off his bad experience at his old job.

write up
- write or describe in writing, give a full account of
After our trip to Vietnam I spent a couple of weeks trying to write it up for a magazine.

wrong side of the tracks
- the poor side of town
He married a girl who everyone said was from the wrong side of the tracks because he loved her.


Y................................................. ..

yakety-yak
- a lot of talk about little things
We spent the whole evening in a yakety-yak session at my friends.

year-round
- operating all year
We usually spend all summer at a year-round resort in California.

yellow-bellied
- extremely timid, cowardly
He is a yellow-bellied person who is not good to have as a friend.

yellow streak
- cowardice in a person`s character
He has a real yellow streak and will not say anything to defend his friends.

yes-man
- a person who tries to be liked by agreeing with everything said (especially by a boss)
He is a yes-man who will do anything that his boss asks him to do.

you bet/you bet your boots/you bet your life
- most certainly, yes, without any doubt
You bet your life I will be attending the conference next year.

you don`t say
- used to show surprise at what is said
"You don`t say", he said when he heard about the accident on the highway.

you said it/you can say that again
- used to show strong agreement with what another person has said
"You can say that again," I answered when the woman mentioned how hot it was out in the sun.

you`re telling me
- used to show that a thing is so clear that it need not be said
"This restaurant is very expensive and the food is not so good."
"You`re telling me."

You tell`em
- used to agree with or encourage someone in what they are saying
"You tell`em," I yelled out to the politician who was making the speech.


Z..............................
zero hour
- the exact time when an attack or other military action will start
The air force planes waited until zero hour in order to start out on their bombing mission.

zero hour
- the time when an important decision or change is supposed to come
We waited for zero hour and the time when the new computer system was supposed to begin operating.

zero in on
- adjust a gun so that it will hit a target, aim at
The soldiers zeroed in on the target and began to fire their guns.

zero in on
- give one`s full attention to
We spent the morning zeroing in on the problem of what to do with the excess space in our office.

zonk out
- fall asleep very quickly
As soon as I got home last night I immediately zonked out.