abide by (something)
- to follow the rules of something
The cleaning staff were forced to abide by the rules of the school.
able to breathe easily again
- to be able to relax and recover from a stressful time
My friend was able to breathe easily again when his company did not go out of business.
able to do (something) blindfolded
- to be able to do something easily and quickly
The car was easy to fix and we were able to do it blindfolded.
able to do (something) standing on one's head
- to be able to do something easily and quickly
The boy is good at fixing his bicycle and he can do it standing on his head.
able to take a joke
- to be able to let others laugh and joke about you
Our boss is not able to take a joke and we must be careful what we say to him.
about time
- to be something that should have happened earlier
"It is about time that you returned that book to me."
about to (do something)
- to be on the point of doing something
She was about to leave when the phone rang.
above and beyond
- to be more than is required
The work that the man did on our house was above and beyond what was required.
above reproach
- to be not deserving of blame or criticism
The actions of the police officer were above reproach.
above suspicion
- to be very honest so that nobody would suspect you
The man's actions are always above suspicion.
absent-minded
- to be forgetful
My grandfather is very absent-minded and often forgets his keys.
according to Hoyle
- doing something strictly by the rules, doing something the usual and correct way
According to Hoyle we are not allowed to use this room but if nobody knows it should be okay.

according to (someone or something)
- as said or told by someone, in agreement with something, in the order of something, in proportion to something
According to our teacher, there will be no class next week.
We did everything according to the terms of our agreement.

acid test
- a test where the conclusions are beyond doubt
The problem was an acid test of our faith in the manager.
acquire a taste for (something)
- to learn to like something
We acquired a taste for classical music during our trip to Europe.
across the board
- equally for everyone or everything
The taxes were increased across the board and everyone had to pay more.
act high and mighty
- to act proud and powerful
The woman always acts high and mighty and nobody likes her.
act one's age
- to behave as a mature person or at least to behave equal to one's age
My friend never acts her age in public.
act up
- to misbehave
The children began to act up during the field trip.
add fuel to the fire
- to make a problem worse, to make an angry person angrier
The company added fuel to the fire when they criticized the angry workers.
add insult to injury
- to make a person who feels bad feel worse, to make a bad situation worse
Our boss added insult to injury when she refused to let us use the telephone as well as the computers during lunch.
add up
- to total up to a certain amount
I began to add up the money that I owed my father.
add up (to something)
- to mean something, to result in something
The things that he said about his boss do not add up.
advise against (something)
- to suggest that something should not be done
We were advised against swimming in the river.
afraid of one's own shadow
- to become frightened easily
The small dog is afraid of his own shadow.


after a fashion
- poorly, barely adequate
The cleaning staff cleaned the room after a fashion but certainly not very well.
after all
- in spite of what has been decided
I decided to take the swimming course after all.
after all
- considering the fact that something happened or is usually assumed
"You don't need to phone him. After all, he never phones you."

after all is said and done
- finally, when everything is settled
After all is said and done the mayor of our city is doing a very good job.
after hours
- after the regular closing or finishing time
The library has a place to leave books after hours.
after the fact
- after something (often a crime) has happened
Although the man said he was sorry, it was after the fact and he had already caused a big problem.
.


against one's will
- to be without a person's consent or agreement
The police took the man to jail against his will.
against the clock
- to be in a hurry to do something before a particular time
We worked against the clock to finish the project.
ahead of one's time
- to have ideas or attitudes that are more advanced than those of others
The ideas of the politician were very much ahead of his time.
ahead of the game
- to do more than necessary
We worked hard all week in order to be ahead of the game on Monday morning.
ahead of time
- early
We started the meeting ahead of time so that we could go home early.
air one`s dirty laundry/linen in public
- to make public something embarrassing that should be kept secret
The dinner party became uncomfortable when the host began to air his colleague's dirty laundry in public.
air one's grievances
- to complain (often publicly)
We spent the meeting airing our grievances to the new supervisor.
air (something) out
- to freshen something by putting it out in the open air
We put the blankets outside in order to air them out.
alive and well/kicking
- to be well and healthy
My aunt is 87 years old and she is very much alive and kicking.



all along
- all the time
I knew all along that my friend would not get the promotion.
all at once
- suddenly, without warning
All at once the fire alarm rang and we had to leave the building.
all day long
- the whole day
She has been sitting and waiting for the mail to arrive all day long.
all ears
- to be eager to listen to someone
"I`m all ears, please tell me about the party."
all for (someone or something)
- to be very much in favor of someone or something
The woman is all for the manager and she never criticizes her.
all in
- to be tired, to be exhausted
I am all in and will go to bed early tonight.
all in a day's work
- to be part of what is expected
It was all in a day's work when the firefighters rescued the cat.
all in all
- in summary, after considering everything
We had a few problems but all in all the meeting was successful.
all in one piece
- safely, without damage
When we moved, our furniture arrived all in one piece.
all manner of (someone or something)
- all types of people or things
There were all manner of people at the party.
all night long
- throughout the whole night
We could hear the people next door talking all night long.
all of a sudden
- suddenly, without advance warning
All of a sudden it became cloudy and began to rain.
all-out-effort
- a very good and thorough effort
We made an all-out-effort to finish our work.
all over but the shouting
- to be decided and finished
It was all over but the shouting for the football fans when their team moved to another city.
all over the place
- everywhere
We travelled all over the place on our holiday.
all right
- okay, satisfactory
She said that it would be all right for me to bring my friend to the party.
all set
- to be ready to begin, to be okay
Everything was all set when the meeting began.
all sweetness and light
- to be very sweet, to be innocent and helpful
The girl is all sweetness and light whenever she does something bad.
all systems go
- everything is ready (originally used when a rocket was launched)
It was all systems go so we began the installation of the new computer system.
all talk (and no action)
- to talk about doing something but never really do it
Our boss was all talk and no action and nothing new was ever done in our department.
all the rage
- to be in current fashion
The new sneakers were all the rage during the summer.
all the time
- continually
My sister asks for money all the time but I do not like to give it to her.
all thumbs
- to have difficulty fixing things or working with one`s hands, to be clumsy
My friend is all thumbs when fixing things around his house.
all to the good
- for the best, for one's benefit
It was all to the good that my sister left her job.

all told
- including everything/everyone, totaled up
All told, there were at least twelve candidates for the job.

.


allow for (someone or something)
- to plan to have enough of something, to plan on the possibility of something
We must allow for enough time to go to the stadium.
along with (someone or something)
- in addition to someone or something
I went to the concert along with my friend.
amount to (something)
- to become successful
The boy will never amount to anything if he does not change his behavior.
amount to the same thing
- to be the same or have the same effect as something
Going by taxi or bus amounts to the same thing. We are still going to be late for the concert.
an arm and a leg
- (to cost) a large amount of money
His new car cost him an arm and a leg.
answer to (someone)
- to explain or justify one's actions to someone
The manager had to answer to the company president about the problems in the office.
any number of (someone or something)
- a sufficiently large number
I had any number of reasons not to buy the computer.
appear out of nowhere
- to appear suddenly, to appear without warning
The dog appeared out of nowhere during our walk on the beach.
apple of (someone`s) eye
- to be someone`s favorite
His youngest daughter is the apple of his eye.
argue for the sake of arguing/argument
- to argue only to be different and to not agree
My friend's brother always argues for the sake of arguing.
arm in arm
- to be linked together by the arms
The young girls walked arm in arm to school.
armed and dangerous
- to have a weapon that may be used (usually by a suspected criminal)
The criminal was armed and dangerous when the police arrested him.
armed to the teeth
- to be armed with many weapons
The police were armed to the teeth during the drug raid.
around the clock
- all day and all night
We worked around the clock to get the store ready to open.
arrive on the scene
- to appear in a certain place
When the fire department arrived on the scene the fire was almost out.

as a last resort
- if everything else fails
As a last resort we decided to borrow some money from my father to buy the car.
as a matter of fact
- actually
As a matter of fact we have been to the history museum many times.
as a result of (something)
- because of something that has happened
As a result of the car accident my friend could not work for several months.
as a rule
- usually, as a habit
As a rule I get up at 70 every morning.
as far as
- to the extent or degree of something
As far as I know the movie will start in a few minutes.
as far as possible
- as much as possible
We went as far as possible with the project before we had to stop.
as good as one's word
- to be dependable in keeping one's promises
My friend is always as good as his word and you can always trust him.

as if
- in the same way that something would be, that
The drink tastes as if it were made with orange juice.
It seemed as if the whole town came to the concert.

as long as
- provided that, on condition that
"As long as you promise to be careful you can borrow my car."
as luck would have it
- by chance
As luck would have it I was able to borrow some clothes to wear to the party.
as one
- as if a group were one person
The crowd stood up as one and began to cheer for the team.

as soon as
- just after something, when
I phoned my friend as soon as I finished dinner.

as such
- the way something is
"As such, I will not be able to approve your application for a loan."
as the crow flies
- by the most direct way, along a straight line between two places
As the crow flies, it is about 6 kilometers between my house and my office.

as to
- with regard to, according to
"As to your question, I will answer it tomorrow."
The players were put into groups as to their ability.

as usual
- most of the time, following the usual pattern
As usual, the girl forgot to bring her book to class.

as well
- in addition, also, too
I plan to take a computer course this summer as well.

as well as
- in addition to
"Please bring your swimming suit as well as your towel."
as yet
- until now, up to the present
As yet, our secretary has not told us about her plans to leave the company.

.


ask for the moon
- to ask for too much
The woman asks for the moon but is never able to get what she wants.
ask for trouble
- to behave in a way that trouble is likely
The boy is asking for trouble if he misses another class.
ask (someone) out
- to ask a person for a date
My friend finally asked out the woman at the bank.
asleep at the switch
- to not be alert to an opportunity
I think I was asleep at the switch. I did not know that the job was available so I never applied for it.
assault and battery
- a criminal charge where one violently attacks and beats someone
The man was arrested for assault and battery after the fight outside of the store.



at a loss
- to be in a state of uncertainity or bewilderment
We were at a loss about what to do with the computer that was having problems.

at a loss (for words)
- to be speechless, to be unable to speak
I was at a loss for words when I finally saw my mother after several years.
at a sitting
- at one time
We finished all of the food at a sitting.
at a stretch
- continuously
My friend sometimes works for three weeks at a stretch.
at all costs
- no matter what, regardless of the cost or difficulty
The company decided to protect their market share at all costs.
at any rate
- anyway
"At any rate whether you go or not, I am not going."
at bay
- at a distance
We were able to keep the dog at bay when we entered the building.
at best
- as the best one can say, in the best view
The doctors told the man that he had ten months at best to live.
at cross-purposes
- to have opposite ways to do something, to have opposing goals
They are at cross purposes and are always arguing about what to do.
at death's door
- to be near death
The young woman was at death's door after the accident.
at ease
- to be relaxed and comfortable
The team felt at ease after the coach talked to them.
at every turn
- everywhere one looks
There was a tour group at every turn when we visited Rome.
at face value
- from outward appearances
The antique table is worth very little money at face value.
at fault
- to be responsible or to be to blame for something
The truck driver was at fault for the terrible accident.
at first
- at the beginning
At first I did not want to go to a movie but later I changed my mind.
at first blush
- when first seen, without careful study
At first blush the man seemed like a good worker but later we had many problems with him.
at hand
- to be close by
I stopped working because I did not have any good tools at hand.
at heart
- basically, fundamentally
She is a very nice person at heart although many people dislike her.
at home
- to be in one`s house
"I`m sorry but I left my money at home. Can you lend me some money?"
(feel) at home
- to feel comfortable and relaxed
I was able to make myself at home while waiting for my friend.
at it again
- to be doing something again
The two boys were at it again and we could hear them fighting.
at large
- to be free, to be uncaptured
The criminal was at large for over three months.
at last
- finally, after a long time
I waited all morning for my friend's call but at last it came.
at least
- no less than
There were at least 60,000 people in the stadium.
at length
- after a long time, in detail
The speaker talked at length before stopping.
at loggerheads with (someone)
- to be having a quarrel with someone, to oppose someone
We have been at loggerheads with the company over their plans to build a new office complex.
at loose ends
- to be restless and unsettled
My friend's mother was at loose ends after her husband died.
at odds (with someone)
- to be in disagreement with someone
The man has been at odds with his boss over his new sales territory.
at once
- immediately
The police came at once when we called them.
at peace
- to be peaceful, to be happy
The woman was relaxed and at peace after her friend's funeral.
at random
- without sequence or order
The members of the team were chosen at random from among the regular players.
at risk
- to be in danger
The children were at risk of getting sick when the disease spread in the school.
at sea
- to be on the sea, to be away on a voyage on the ocean
When my grandfather was a young man he was at sea for several months.
at sea (about something)
- to be confused, to be lost
Most of the class was at sea when the difficult theory was explained.
at sixes and sevens
- to be lost and bewildered
We were at sixes and sevens when we heard that the grocery store would close.
at (someone`s) beck and call
- to be always ready to serve somebody
His eldest daughter is always at his beck and call when he spends an evening at home.
at (someone's) earliest convenience
- as soon as it is convenient for someone
I went to the bank at my earliest convenience to speak to the bank manager.
at (someone's) service
- to be ready to help someone in any way possible
A member of the hotel staff was at our service during our stay.
at stake
- to be able to be won or lost, to be at risk
Much money was at stake during the negotiations for the oil pipeline.


at the appointed time/hour
- at the announced time
We went to meet the legal advisor at the appointed time.
at the bottom of the hour
- on the half hour (10:30, 11:30 etc.)
At the bottom of the hour they opened the store for the customers.
at the bottom of the ladder
- to be at the lowest level of pay and status
I had to start at the bottom of the ladder at my new job.
at the crack of dawn
- when the first light of the day appears
We left for our holiday at the crack of dawn.
at the drop of a hat
- immediately and without any pressure
My friends are willing to help me at the drop of a hat.
at the eleventh hour
- at the last possible moment
The company and union settled the strike at the eleventh hour.
at the end of one`s rope
- to be at the limit of one`s ability to cope
I am at the end of my rope about what to do about my current situation at work.
at the end of the day
- when everything else has been taken into consideration
At the end of the day, it was impossible to continue with our plans to build the house.
at the expense of (someone or something)
- to be to the harm of (someone or something)
The man worked very hard and made much money but it was at the expense of his family life and health.
at the latest
- no later than
The tour was going to start at noon at the latest.
at the present time
- now, at present
At the present time there are no extra helpers available.
at the top of one's lungs
- with a very loud voice
I cried out for my friend at the top of my lungs.
at the top of the hour
- at the exact beginning of the hour (120, 10 etc.)
The radio news always starts at the top of the hour.
at this juncture
- at the present time
We were told that at this juncture there was no point to continue with the meeting.
at this stage of the game
- currently, at the current point in some event
At this stage of the game it was not possible to change the plans for the class trip.
at times
- sometimes, occasionally
At times, our teacher is very nice but at other times she is very mean.
at will
- whenever one wants, freely
The little boy was able to do what he wanted at will.

attend to (someone or something)
- to take care or deal with someone or something
The doctor attended to the other patient before he got to my mother.
attract (someone's) attention
- to cause someone to take notice
- The strange behavior of the man attracted the attention of the police.
augur well for (someone or something)
- to predict good things for someone or something
The poor business conditions do not augur well for the workers in the country.
avail oneself of (something)
- to help oneself by using something that is available
We availed ourselves of the office space to prepare for the school festival.
avenue of escape
- the route along which someone or something escapes
There was no avenue of escape for the group of bank robbers.
avoid (someone or something) like the plague
- to avoid someone or something totally
The girls avoided the new student like the plague.

back and forth
- backwards and forwards, first one way and then the other way
The argument went back and forth before the judge made a decision.


back down (from someone or something)
- to fail to carry through on a threat to do something
The government backed down from their plan to sell the national airline.


back in circulation
- to be available to the public again (a library book)
The books were back in circulation after we returned them to the library.


back in circulation
- to be socially active again (after the breakup of a relationship between two people)
My friend stopped seeing his girlfriend and he is now back in circulation.


back of beyond
- somewhere very remote
Every summer we go to the back of beyond for a camping trip.


back on one`s feet
- to return to good financial or physical health
My friend is back on his feet after his company went out of business.


back out (of something)
- to withdraw from an agreement or promise
The company backed out of the agreement with the foreign firm.


back the wrong horse
- to support someone or something that cannot win or succeed
We backed the wrong horse in the election and our candidate lost badly.


back-to-back
- something follows immediately after something else, two people touching backs
There were two back-to-back games today because of the rain last week.


back to square one
- to go back to the beginning of something
The city was back to square one in their effort to build a new bridge.


back to the drawing board
- to go back and start a project or idea from the beginning
The boss does not like our idea so we must go back to the drawing board.


back to the salt mines
- to return to work or return to something else that you do not want to do
We finished our lunch and went back to the salt mines.


back up (someone or something)
- to support someone or something
The doctor made a mistake and the hospital refused to back him up.


.



bad blood (between people)
- unpleasant feelings between people
There was much bad blood between the three brothers.


bad-mouth (someone or something)
- to say bad things about someone or something
The supervisor has the habit of bad-mouthing her boss.


bag of tricks
- a collection of special techniques or methods
The teacher has a bag of tricks to keep her students occupied.


bail out (of something)
- to abandon a situation, to jump out of an airplane
The plan to buy a summer home with our friends was becoming too expensive so we decided to bail out.


bail (someone) out
- to pay a sum of money that allows someone to get out of jail while waiting for a trial
The singer had to pay much money to bail himself out of prison.


bail (someone or something) out
- to help or rescue someone or something
The government decided to bail out the troubled bank.


balance the books
- to check that all the money in a business is accounted for
The accountant spent several days trying to balance the books of his company.


ball of fire
- an active and energetic person
The woman is a ball of fire and is always busy doing something.


bang/beat one's head against the wall
- to try to do something that is hopeless
I am banging my head against the wall when I try to ask my boss for something.


bank on (someone or something)
- to be sure of someone or something, to count on someone or something
You can bank on my sister to help you.


baptism of fire
- a first experience of something (often difficult or unpleasant)
We went through a baptism of fire when we had to learn how to operate the small business.


bargain for (something)
- to anticipate something, to take something into account
The difficulty of the job was more than I had bargained for.


bargain on (something)
- to plan or expect something
We did not bargain on having heavy rain during our summer birthday party.


barge in on (someone or something)
- to interrupt someone or something, to intrude on someone or something
My sister often barges in on me when I am with my friends.


bark is worse than one`s bite
- someone is not as bad as they sound
"Don`t worry if the boss gets angry - his bark is worse than his bite."


bark up the wrong tree
- to make a wrong assumption about something
The police are barking up the wrong tree in their investigation of the criminal.


base one's opinion on (something)
- to form an opinion from something
I based my opinion on the man's previous work and decided not to give him a job.
batten down the hatches
- to prepare for difficult times, to close the hatches in a boat before a storm
A big storm was coming so we decided to batten down the hatches and stay home.


bawl out (someone)
- to scold someone loudly
The woman bawled out her child in the supermarket.



be a new one on (someone)
- to be something one has not heard before and something that is difficult to believe
It was a new one on me when my friend said that he was studying Russian.


be all ears
- to listen eagerly and carefully
The boy was all ears when the teacher described the circus.
be all things to all people
- to be everything that is wanted by all people
The politician tries to be all things to all people and it is difficult to know what she really believes.
be curtains for (someone or something)
- to be the end or death for someone or something
It was curtains for my old car when it finally broke down last week.
be game
- to be ready for action or agreeable to participate in something
All of the students were game to go to the science exhibition.
be into (something)
- to be interested or involved in something
My friend is very much into music and writing songs.


be of the persuasion that (something) is so
- to believe that something is true or exists
My grandfather is of the persuasion that it is more important to work than to go to school.


be off
- to leave or depart
I plan to be off very early tomorrow morning to go to the airport.


be off to a bad start
- to start something under bad circumstances
The production of the play was off to a bad start when the lights did not work.


be off on the wrong foot
- to start something under bad circumstances
I tried to talk to my new neighbor but it seems that we are off on the wrong foot already.


be that as it may
- even if what you say is true
"Be that as it may, we are not going to permit the school dance to take place."


be the case
- to be true, to be an actual situation
"I do not care if it was the case last year, this year we will do things differently."
be the death of (someone)
- to be the ruin/downfall/death of someone (often used for some kind of problem)
The woman said that her young son's bad behavior would be the death of her.


be to blame
- to be responsible for something bad or unfortunate
He is not to blame for breaking the computer.
.



bear/hold a grudge (against someone)
- to continue to be angry at someone, to resent someone
The woman continued to bear a grudge against her friend for many years.
bear fruit
- to yield or give results
The girl's hard work began to bear fruit when she won the dance contest.
bear in mind
- to consider that something is so
We have to bear in mind that the child is only three years old when he does something bad.
bear one's cross
- to carry or bear a burden
Raising three children on her own was the way that the woman had to bear her cross.
bear (someone or something) in mind
- to remember and think about someone or something
We had to bear in mind that the child was only three years old.
bear (something) out
- to prove that something is right
The man's constant lateness bore out the fact that he could never continue with one job for a long time.
bear the brunt of (something)
- to withstand the worst part or the strongest part of something
The small island bore the brunt of the tropical storm.
bear with (someone or something)
- to be patient with someone or something, to endure someone or something
We had to bear with our teacher as she explained the material to the new students.
beat a hasty retreat
- to retreat or withdraw very quickly
The soldiers beat a hasty retreat when the guerrillas attacked them.


beat a path to (someone's) door
- to come to someone in great numbers
The customers beat a path to the door of the computer game store.


beat around the bush
- to speak indirectly or evasively
"Stop beating around the bush and give us your final decision."


beat one's brains out
- to work very hard (to do something)
We beat our brains out in order to think of a name for the new magazine.


beat one's head against the wall
- to waste one's time trying to do something that is hopeless
I was beating my head against the wall to try and convince my friend to come to the restaurant.


beat (someone) to the punch/draw
- to do something before others
My friend beat me to the punch and arrived at the interview first.


beat (something) into (someone's) head
- to force someone to learn something
The teacher thinks that she must beat the material into the heads of the students.


beat the clock
- to finish something before the time is up
The basketball team worked hard to beat the clock and win the game.


beat the living daylights out of (someone)
- to beat someone severely
The two men beat the living daylights out of the man at the gas station.


beat the rap
- to escape conviction and punishment (for a crime)
The man beat the rap and did not have to go to jail.


beat the tar out of (someone)
- to beat someone severely
The older boy beat the tar out of the young boy in the schoolyard.


beat up (someone)
- to harm someone by hitting or beating them
The young boys beat up one of the older students.


.



becoming on/to (someone)
- to make someone look good
The red dress looked very becoming on my girlfriend.


(no) bed of roses
- a situation that is happy and comfortable (usually used in the negative)
The new job was very difficult and certainly no bed of roses.


(have a) bee in one`s bonnet
- to have an idea that continually occupies one`s thoughts.
My friend has a bee in her bonnet about going to Europe next year.


beef up (something)
- to make something stronger
The police beefed up the security around the convention site.


before long
- soon
I had to wait a few minutes but before long my friend arrived to meet me.


beg the question
- to invite the question that follows
The purchase of the expensive car begged the question of where the man got the money.


beg to differ with (someone)
- to politely disagree with someone
"I'm sorry but I beg to differ with you about what happened."


begin to see the light
- to begin to understand (something)
My sister began to see the light and decided to leave her boyfriend.


behind closed doors
- in secret
The meeting to settle the dispute took place behind closed doors.


behind in/on (something)
- to be late with something
I was behind in my studies and stayed home all weekend to study.


behind schedule
- to fail to do something by the time on the schedule
The trains were behind schedule because of the accident early in the morning.
behind (someone`s) back
- without someone`s knowledge, secretly
The man is very angry because his friend borrowed his car behind his back.


behind the scenes
- privately, out of public view
The diplomats worked behind the scenes to try and solve the crisis.


behind the times
- to be old-fashioned
My aunt is behind the times.


belabor the point
- to spend too much time on a point of discussion
I tried not to belabor the point but I needed to explain things in detail for everyone to understand.


below average
- to be lower or worse than average
The amount of rain was below average during the winter.


belt (something) out
- to sing/play a song with lots of energy
The man stood up and belted out several old songs.


bend (someone's) ear
- to talk to someone (maybe annoyingly)
I did not want to go into my supervisor's office and have him bend my ear for a long time.


bend over backwards (to do something)
- to try very hard to do something
"I will bend over backwards to help you get a job in this company."


bent on doing (something)
- to be determined to do something
The young boys were bent on buying the old car to fix it up.


beside oneself (with something)
- to be very upset or excited about something
The boy was beside himself with joy after winning the contest.


beside the point
- to be not relevant to the subject that you are considering or discussing
"What you are saying is beside the point. We are not talking about salary now."


best/better part of (something)
- to be almost all of something
We spent the best part of a day trying to fix the vacuum cleaner.


bet on the wrong horse
- to misjudge a coming event, to misread the future
I think that he bet on the wrong horse by investing all of his money into the new stock.


bet one's bottom dollar
- to be very certain about something
I would bet my bottom dollar that my friend will be late for the movie.


better off
- to be in a better situation than before
He would be better off if he sold his old car and bought a new one.


between a rock and a hard place
- to be in a very difficult position
We were between a rock and a hard place in our effort to solve the problem.


between the devil and the deep blue sea
- to be in a very difficult position
The mayor was between the devil and the deep blue sea when he tried to keep the two groups happy.


betwixt and between
- to be undecided, to be between two decisions
We were betwixt and between in our effort to try and decide which school to send our child to.


beyond a shadow of a doubt
- to be completely without doubt
Everyone believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that the man had stolen the money.


beyond measure
- to be more than can be measured
The man's love for his city was beyond measure.


beyond one's depth
- to be beyond one's ability, to be in deep water
The apartment manager was beyond her depth in her effort to manage the apartment.


beyond one's means
- to be more than one can afford
The expensive boat was very much beyond our means.


beyond the pale
- to be outside the bounds of acceptable behavior
What they are doing is totally unacceptable and beyond the pale.


beyond words
- to be more than one can say
Our love for our new baby is beyond words.


bid adieu to (someone or something)
- to say good-bye to someone or something
Everybody gathered to bid adieu to the popular supervisor.


bide one`s time
- to patiently wait for an opportunity to occur.
The man is biding his time as he waits to become president of the company.


big frog/fish in a small pond
- an important person in a less important place
The woman was a big fish in a small pond when she moved to the small town.


big of (someone)
- to be generous of someone
It was very big of the man to share his house with the other people.


big shot
- an important and powerful person
The man is a big shot in the oil and gas industry.


bird in hand is worth two in the bush
- something that you already have is better than something that you might get
A bird in hand is worth two in the bush so we decided to sell the car to our neighbor rather than wait to get a higher price.


birds and the bees
- human sex and reproduction
The father tried to tell his son about the birds and the bees.


birds-eye view
- a view from high above, a brief look at something
We had a birds-eye view of the playing field from our seats high up in the stadium.


birthday suit
- a completely naked body
The little boy was running down the street in his birthday suit.


bite off more than one can chew
- to try to do more than one is able to do
I bit off more than I can chew by agreeing to do another assignment.


bite one's nails
- to be nervous or anxious about something
The children were biting their nails as they waited for the results of the test.


bite one's tongue
- to try not to say something that you really want to say
I had to bite my tongue and not tell our boss what had happened.


bite (someone's) head off
- to speak angrily to someone
I am afraid to speak to my teacher when she is in a bad mood because she may bite my head off.


bite the bullet
- to endure a difficult situation, to face a difficult situation bravely
I have decided to bite the bullet and begin to study for my Master`s degree.


bite the dust
- to be killed, to break down, to be defeated
I think that my car will bite the dust soon.


bite the hand that feeds you
- to harm or turn against someone who does good things for you
He is biting the hand that feeds him when he criticizes and fights against his boss.


bitter pill to swallow
- an unpleasant fact that one must accept
Losing the election was a bitter pill to swallow for the candidate.


black out
- to faint or pass out
Suddenly the young woman blacked out while she was standing in front of the computer.


black sheep of the family
- the worst member of a family
The boy was the black sheep of the family and nobody liked him.


blast off
- to shoot into the sky (used for a rocket)
The rocket blasted off at noon.


blaze a trail (in something)
- to create or develop a new area of study
The soccer player blazed a trail for the other players to follow with his unique way of playing soccer.


bleep (something) out
- to replace a word in a radio or television broadcast with a musical tone (often used to bleep out a bad word)
The remarks of the coach were bleeped out during the television interview.


blessing in disguise
- something that turns out to be good but which seemed to be bad at first
The elderly woman was in very much pain and it was a blessing in disguise when she quietly passed away.


blind leading the blind
- someone who does not understand something but tries to explain it to others
It is like the blind leading the blind to watch the man try to explain how to operate the new computer.


blood, sweat and tears
- signs of great personal effort
We put much blood, sweat and tears into building the small cabin.


blow a fuse
- to burn out a fuse, to become angry
We quickly replaced the old fuse when our house blew a fuse last night.
My friend blew a fuse when I told him that I had lost his book


blow one`s own horn
- to praise oneself
My friend is always blowing his own horn and is very annoying at times.


blow one's top/stack
- to become very angry
The customer blew his stack when they refused to exchange his purchase at the store.


blow over
- to die down, to calm down
The problem with the lost invoices has blown over and everybody is happy again.


blow (someone) away
- to overcome someone emotionally
The performance was so wonderful that it blew me away.


blow (someone's) cover
- to reveal someone's true identity or purpose
The police blew the officer's cover by mistake.


blow (someone's) mind
- to overwhelm or excite someone
The beauty of the African wildlife parks blew my mind during our holiday.


blow (someone or something) off
- to avoid someone, to not attend something
We blew off the chance to go to the general meeting.


blow (something)
- to fail at something, to ruin something
I think that I blew the final math exam last week.


blow (something) out of all proportion
- to make a bigger issue about something than it really is
The problem was very small but the manager blew it out of all proportion.


blow the lid off (something)
- to reveal something (often a wrongdoing)
The government investigation blew the lid off the illegal activities.


blow the whistle (on someone)
- to report someone's wrongdoing to the police or other authorities
The employee blew the whistle on the illegal practices of the company.


blow to smithereens
- to explode into tiny pieces
The gas tanker was blown to smithereens during the accident.


blow up (at someone)
- to get angry, to lose one's temper
The passenger who was waiting in the line blew up at the ticket agent.


blow up in (someone's) face
- to be ruined while one is working on it (a plan/project etc.), to explode suddenly
The secret plan blew up in our face when we discovered that everybody already knew about it.


.



blue blood
- someone from a noble or aristocratic family
The art exhibition attracted many of the blue bloods in the town.
blue in the face
- to be exhausted and speechless
You can argue with him until you are blue in the face but you will never change his mind.


bog down
- to slow down, to become stuck
I quickly became bogged down with all of the work that I had to do.


boggle (someone's) mind
- to confuse or overwhelm someone
The amount of waste in the city program really boggles my mind.


boil down to (something)
- to reduce something to its essential or main part
The reason that we could not go on a holiday boiled down to the fact that we did not have enough money.


bone of contention
- a reason for quarrels, the subject of a fight
The family cottage was a major bone of contention after the father died.


bone up (on something)
- to study or review (something)
I decided to take a course at night to bone up on my Spanish.


boot out
- to make someone leave, to get rid of someone
The boy was booted out of high school for smoking on the school grounds.


bore (someone) stiff/to death
- to bore someone very much
Most of the guests at the wedding were bored stiff with the long speeches.


born out of wedlock
- to be born to an unmarried mother
The young mother had two children born out of wedlock.


born with a silver spoon in one`s mouth
- to be born rich, to have more than everything that you need since birth
The boy was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and has never worked in his life.


boss (someone) around
- to keep telling someone what to do
The little girl always wants to boss her friends around.


bottle (something) up
- to hold one's feelings inside of you
My aunt bottles up all of her feelings and has much stress because of it.


bottom line
- the result or final outcome of something, the last figure on a financial statement
Although I do not want to buy a new car, the bottom line is that I need a car for work.


bottom out
- to reach the lowest point
The stock market bottomed out at its lowest level in many months.


bound and determined
- to be determined
The man's wife is bound and determined to visit her sister this summer.


bound for somewhere
- to be on the way or planning to go somewhere
My friend was bound for college when I last met him.


bound to (do something)
- to be certain to do something
"If you ask your father he is bound to try and help you with your problem."


bow and scrape
- to be very humble and subservient
I was forced to bow and scrape to get some money from my parents.


bow out
- to quit, to resign from something
I wanted to join the tour but at the last minute I had to bow out.


bowl (someone) over
- to surprise or overwhelm someone
The salesman bowled me over with his energetic sales talk.
brand-new
- absolutely new
I was finally able to buy a brand-new car.


break a habit
- to end a habit
My sister worked very hard to break her habit of eating too much chocolate.


break a law
- to fail to obey a law
The young man broke the law when he drove his friend's car without a proper license.


break a record
- to set a new record that is better than an old one
The team tried hard to break a record during the last week of the season.


break camp
- to close down a campsite and move on
We decided to break camp and begin on our journey.


break down
- to lose control of one's emotions
The woman broke down while the lawyer questioned her at the trial.
break down
- to stop working because of mechanical failure
The car broke down on the lonely road and nobody knew about it.


break down (something)
- to analyze something
We must break down these figures for further study.


break down (something)
- to divide into parts, to separate into simpler substances
We tried to break down the sentence for further study.
The sugar began to break down soon after it was swallowed.


break even
- to have income equal to expenses
After only a few months our business began to break even and we started to make money.


break fresh/new ground
- to deal with something in a new way
The researchers were able to break fresh ground in their search for a cancer cure.


break ground for (something)
- to start digging the foundation for a building
The hospital will break ground for the new building soon.


break in (someone or something)
- to train someone to do a job, to make something the right size or feel comfortable by wearing or using it
It took me a long time to break in my new shoes.


break into tears
- to start crying suddenly
The woman broke into tears when she heard the bad news.


break loose (from someone or something)
- to get away from someone or something that is holding you
The horse broke loose from the rope and began running through the town.


break one's word
- to not keep one's promise
The young child promised his parents that he would not break his word.


break out in a cold sweat
- to perspire from fever or anxiety
I usually break out in a cold sweat when I have to make a speech.


break out in (something)
- to erupt in a rash or pimples
The girl always breaks out in a rash when she eats shrimp.


break out of (something)
- to escape from something
Several prisoners tried to break out of prison last month.


break (someone's) fall
- to lessen the impact of a falling person
The baby fell out of the window but thankfully the bushes broke her fall.


break (something) down
- to explain something to someone in simple terms
My teacher broke down the scientific theory so that the class could understand it easily.


break (something) to (someone)
- to tell bad news to someone
The man broke the bad news to his sister.


break the back of (something)
- to reduce the power of something
The company tried very hard to break the back of the union.


break the bank
- to win all the money at a casino gambling table
The man did not break the bank but he did win a lot of money.


break the ice
- to relax and start a conversation in a formal situation
Nobody was enjoying the party until the host was able to break the ice.


break the news (to someone)
- to tell someone some information first
He is planning to break the news about his transfer tomorrow.


break up
- to separate, to divide into groups or pieces, to put an end to something
Nobody wanted to break up their groups.
We usually break up into small groups during our class.


break up with (someone)
- to end a relationship with someone
My niece broke up with her boyfriend last June.


.



breath of fresh air
- a fresh and imaginative approach to something
The manager's coaching style was a breath of fresh air compared to that of the previous coach.


breathe down (someone's) neck
- to watch someone closely, to try to make someone hurry
The supervisor is always breathing down the necks of the employees.


breathe easy
- to relax after a stressful situation
I was able to breathe easy after I found my lost wallet.


breathe one's last
- to die
The woman breathed her last several days after she became ill.


brew a plot
- to make a plot
The generals in the small country were brewing a plot to take control of the government.


bright and early
- very early
The woman likes to get up bright and early every morning.


bright-eyed and bushy-tailed
- to be eager and cheerful
Everybody was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when we started out on the trip.


brimming with (something)
- to be full of some kind of happy behavior
The children were brimming with energy on the morning of the festival.





bring about (something)
- to make something happen
The two company presidents worked hard to bring about the joining of their two companies.


bring around (someone)
- to bring someone for a visit
I asked my friend to bring his new girlfriend around for a visit.


bring down the house
- to cause much laughter in the audience
The comedian brought down the house with his jokes about the lost dog.


bring home the bacon
- to work and earn money for your family
My friend is bringing home the bacon for his family and is very busy.


bring home the importance of (something) to (someone)
- to make someone fully realize something
I was unable to bring home the importance of arriving early for the meeting.


bring some new facts to light
- to discover some new facts, to make some new facts known
The lawyers were able to bring some new facts to light in the trial of the killer.


bring (someone) into line
- to persuade someone to agree with you
The woman was able to bring the other members of the committee into line.


bring (someone) to
- to wake someone up, to bring someone to consciousness
The medical doctor tried to bring the small boy to after he fell into the swimming pool.


bring (something) home to (someone)
- to cause someone to realize the truth of something
The dry conditions are bringing home to the farmers the importance of saving water.


bring (something) into question
- to raise a question about something
The actions of the government bring into question their interest in the case.


bring (something) off
- to make something happen
The students tried hard to bring off a successful dance to collect money for their club.


bring (something) on
- to cause something to develop rapidly
I do not know what brought on his anger but you should avoid him until he calms down.


bring (something) to a head
- to cause something to reach a point where a decision or some action is necessary
The accident will bring the issue of safety to a head during the next meeting.


bring (something) to (someone's) attention
- to make someone aware of something
There was a mistake in the textbook which the student brought to the teacher's attention.


bring to mind
- to recall something
Her acting brought to mind some of the great actresses of the past.


bring up
- to introduce a subject into a discussion
They brought up the subject at the meeting but nobody wanted to talk about it.


bring up
- to raise or care for a child
My sister is bringing up three children.


bring up the rear
- to be at the end of the line or in the last position
The runner from the other school was bringing up the rear in the school relay race.


.



to be broad in the beam
- to have wide hips or large buttocks
The woman in the store was broad in the beam.
to be broke
- to have no money
I spent all of my money on my holiday and now I am broke.


brush up on (something)
- to review something that one has already learned
I am going to brush up on my English before my trip to New York.


a brush with the law
- a brief encounter or experience with the police because of a crime
The man had a brush with the law when he was young but now he is totally honest.


buck for (something)
- to aim/try for a goal
The soldier was bucking for a promotion.


buckle down (to something)
- to begin to work seriously at something
I have to buckle down and study or I will fail the exam.


bug (someone)
- to irritate or bother someone
The boy's rude behavior is beginning to bug me.


build a fire under (someone)
- to stimulate someone to do something
We keep trying to build a fire under our friend but he refuses to study or look for a job.


build castles in the air/in Spain
- to make plans that are impossible
The girl is always building castles in the air and none of them have any chance to succeed.


build (something) to order
- to make something especially for a customer
The family wanted to build their kitchen table and chairs to order.


build up (someone or something)
- to make someone or something bigger or stronger, to promote something
The woman is always trying to build up her boss which makes her very well-liked by him.


build up to (something)
- to lead up to something
Things were building up to be a very serious situation.


bull in a china shop
- someone who is clumsy and upsets other people or plans
Our boss was like a bull in a china shop when I saw him at the meeting last week.


bump into (someone)
- to meet someone by chance
I bumped into my friend at the department store yesterday.


bump off (someone)
- to kill someone
The criminal gang bumped off the leader of the other gang.


bundle of nerves
- a very nervous or anxious person
The woman has become a bundle of nerves after looking after her three children.
bundle up
- to put on warm clothes, to dress warmly
We bundled up and went for a walk in the park.


burn a hole in one`s pocket
- to stimulate someone to spend money quickly
I got paid today and the money is burning a hole in my pocket.


burn down
- to burn completely (usually used for buildings)
My neighbor`s house burned down last night.


burn one`s bridges behind one
- to do something that makes going back impossible
He burned his bridges behind him and is unable to work in the same industry again.


burn (oneself) out
- to become very tired and almost sick from doing something for a long time or because of working too hard
After working long hours for many months the woman finally burned herself out.


burn (someone) in effigy
- to burn a dummy that represents a hated person
The crowd of people burned the Prime Minister in effigy.


burn the candle at both ends
- to work or play too hard without enough rest
The man has been burning the candle at both ends with his work and he is now sick.


burn the midnight oil
- to study until very late at night
We burned the midnight oil for three nights in order to study for the exam.


burn up
- to burn completely (usually things and not buildings)
The uniforms burned up in the fire.


.



burst at the seams
- to explode with pride or laughter, to be full to the breaking point
The train was bursting at the seams as it entered the station.


burst in on (someone or something)
- to enter a room and interrupt someone or some activity
The woman burst in on the meeting just as it started.


burst into flames
- to catch fire suddenly
The curtains burst into flames after touching the small stove.


burst into tears
- to begin to cry suddenly
The parents burst into tears of happiness when their daughter graduated.


burst onto the scene
- to appear suddenly in some location
The young singer burst onto the scene when she was a teenager.


burst out laughing
- to begin to laugh suddenly
We burst out laughing when the man screamed after seeing the mouse.


burst with joy
- to be full of happiness and ready to burst
My grandmother burst with joy when she saw her new baby granddaughter.


burst with pride
- to be full of pride and ready to burst
The girl's parents were bursting with pride at the graduation ceremony.
bury/hide one`s head in the sand
- to refuse to see something, to face or know something unpleasant
He always buries his head in the sand and never wants to hear about family problems.


bury the hatchet
- to stop arguing and become friendly with someone
He buried the hatchet with his brother and they are now friendly again.


business as usual
- to continue as usual
It was business as usual for the small stores soon after the fire destroyed the shopping area.


busman's holiday
- a holiday where you spend your time doing the same thing that you would do if you were working
The doctor felt that he was on a busman's holiday when everyone at the meeting began to ask him about their medical problems.


but for (someone or something)
- if it were not for someone or something
The man would have easily got the new job, but for the fact that he was not honest about his previous experience.


butt in (on someone or something)
- to interrupt someone or something
I do not like that woman because she always butts in on our conversations while we are talking.


butter (someone) up
- to flatter someone
He is trying to butter up his boss so that he can leave early on Friday.


button one's lip
- to become quiet
I decided to button my lip rather than give my opinion of our supervisor.


buy a pig in a poke
- to buy something without seeing it or knowing if it will be satisfactory
It is like buying a pig in a poke if you buy that car without first inspecting it.


buy off (someone)
- to bribe someone
The union tried to buy off the politician.


buy (something) for a song
- to buy something cheaply
We were able to buy the boat for a song.


buy (something) on credit
- to buy something now and pay for it later
We decided to buy the computer on credit because we did not have much money.


buy (something) sight unseen
- to buy something without seeing it first
My sister made a big mistake when she bought the used car sight unseen.





by a mile
- by a great distance
The runner won the race by a mile.


by a whisker/hair
- just barely, by a very small amount
The marathon runner won the race by a whisker.


by all accounts
- from all reports, from what everyone is saying
By all accounts the new manager is a very good person.


by all appearances
- apparently, according to what one sees
By all appearances the small car was the cause of the accident that killed two people.


by all means
- certainly, yes
"By all means, I will come to dinner next week."


by and by
- before long, after some time has passed
By and by all of the family moved back to the city.


by and large
- on the whole, considering everything
By and large we had a good meeting even though it was very short.


by any means
- by any way possible
We decided to try to find a computer to use by any means.


by chance
- without planning
By chance I saw my father's friend in the supermarket.
by far
- greatly, by a great margin
He is by far the smartest person in his company.


by fits and starts
- irregularly, with many stops and starts
By fits and starts the company was finally able to begin business.


by hook or by crook
- in any way necessary
My sister wants to go to Italy this year by hook or by crook.


by leaps and bounds
- rapidly, by large movements forward
The construction of the new airport is progressing by leaps and bounds.


by means of
- with the use of something
We were able to enter the old building by means of a small window in the back.


by no means
- absolutely not
By no means will I permit my child to play with the new video game.


by the book
- according to the rules
The police officer does everything by the book when he arrests someone.


by the day
- one day at a time
My father was very sick but now he is getting better by the day.


by the dozen
- twelve at a time
We usually buy bottles of water by the dozen.


by the handful
- in measurements equal to a handful
We were eating fresh blueberries by the handful.


by the hour
- after each hour, one hour at a time
We had to pay for our parking space by the hour.


by the month
- one month at a time
The rent for our apartment is paid by the month.


by the same token
- similarly, moreover
"By the same token, I don't want to go downtown again today."


by the seat of one's pants
- by luck and with very little skill
I was able to complete the course by the seat of my pants.


by the skin of one`s teeth
- by a very small margin, barely
I arrived at the train station and was on time by the skin of my teeth.


by the sweat of one`s brow
- by hard work
He managed to make enough money to buy the farm by the sweat of his brow.


by the way
- incidentally
"By the way, could you please bring your computer tomorrow."


by the week
- one week at a time
We rented the car by the week.


by the year
- one year at a time
The contract for the garbage pickup is renewed by the year.


by virtue of (something)
- because of something
My father got his new job by virtue of his volunteer work in the community.


by way of (something)
- as a substitute for something, as a form/example of something
By way of introduction the man gave everyone his business card.


by way of (something or somewhere)
- passing through or by a place
We drove to the airport by way of the small town.


by word of mouth
- by speaking rather than writing
We learned about the party by word of mouth.

__________________
"A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done."

calculated risk
- an action that may fail but has a good chance to succeed
The company took a calculated risk when they opened a new store in a very quiet area.





call a meeting
- to request that a meeting be held
The board of directors will call a meeting for next week.


call a meeting to order
- to officially start a meeting
The president called the meeting to order at 70 PM.


call a spade a spade
- to speak bluntly
The supervisor called a spade a spade when he criticized the employee for being lazy.


call for (someone)
- to come and get someone
"Could you please come and call for me before you go to the game."


call for (someone or something)
- to require something, to need the services of someone
Our problems with the toilet call for a good plumber.


call it a day/night
- to quit work and go home
I called it a day and decided to go home early.


call it quits
- to stop, to finish
I called it quits and went home for the day.


call of nature
- the need to go to the toilet
The driver stopped his truck to answer the call of nature.


call off (something)
- to cancel something
The game was called off because of the rain.
call on (someone)
- to visit someone
I plan to call on my brother during my holidays.
call on (someone)
- to ask someone to participate in something or contribute something
The teacher called on me three times to answer questions in the class.


call out to (someone)
- to shout to someone
We called out to our friend at the concert but she did not hear us.


call (someone) in
- to ask someone for help, to call for special advice
We called in a special doctor to look at the patient.


call (someone or something) into question
- to dispute or cast doubt upon someone or something
The lawyer called the man's statement about his neighbor into question.


call (someone) names
- to call a person unpleasant names
The children began to call the new student names.


call (someone) on the carpet
- to call someone before an authority to be scolded or reprimanded
The salesman was called on the carpet by his boss for losing the big sale.


call (someone`s) bluff
- to challenge someone to prove that what they are saying is true
I decided to call the man's bluff and I asked him to show me the evidence.


call (something) in
- to collect something for payment, to withdraw something from circulation
The bank decided to call in the business loan.


call the shots
- to be in charge, to give orders
The vice-president is now calling the shots and is in control of the company.


call up (someone)
- to telephone someone
My friend said that he will call up his parents tomorrow night.
.



calm down
- to relax
The woman finally calmed down after the accident.
cancel (something) out
- to destroy the effect of something
The overeating by the girl cancelled out the benefits of her exercise.
can of worms
- a complicated situation or problem
The lawsuit opened up a can of worms for the company.


can't do anything with (someone or something)
- to be unable to manage or control someone or something
My sister is always complaining that she can't do anything with her daughter.


can`t see the forest for the trees
- to be unable to understand the whole picture of something because you are only looking at small parts of it
He has no understanding of most problems because he can't see the forest for the trees.


can't stand/stomach (someone or something)
- to dislike someone or something very much
My uncle cannot stand his daughter's boyfriend.


card up one`s sleeve
- a plan or argument that is kept back to be used later if needed
I think that our boss has a card up his sleeve and he will be able to help us later.


cards are stacked against (someone)
- luck is against someone
The cards have been stacked against the young boy since he was born.


(in) care of (someone)
- (send something) to one person at the address of another person
I sent the parcel to my sister in care of her friend at the university.
carrot and stick
- a reward or a threat of punishment at the same time
The trade negotiators took a carrot-and-stick approach to the automobile talks.
carried away
- to lose one's control or judgement due to strong feelings
I got carried away and yelled at my friend for losing my textbook.





carry a lot of weight with (someone or something)
- to be very influential with someone or a group of people
The man's education and experience carry a lot of weight in the university.


carry coals to Newcastle
- to bring something of which there is plenty, to duplicate something (Newcastle is a town in England where there is a lot of coal)
Bringing extra food to the farmer`s picnic was like bringing coals to Newcastle.


carry on
- to continue, to keep doing something as before
We were permitted to carry on with the party after we talked to the apartment manager.
carry (something) out
- to put something into action, to accomplish something
The move to the new headquarters was carried out with few problems.
carry over (something)
- to save for another time or location
The store will carry over the sale until next week.
carry the ball
- to be in charge of something
The vice-president was forced to carry the ball while the president was away.
carry the day
- to win or be successful
His fine performance in our company carried the day for us.
carry the torch
- to show loyalty to a cause or a person
The man has been carrying the torch for the candidate for a long time.


carry the weight of the world on one's shoulders
- to appear to be burdened by all the problems of the world
My aunt feels that she is working too hard and that she is carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.


carry through with (something)
- to put a plan into action
The company carried through with its plan to open a new factory.
.



a case in point
- an example that proves something or helps to make something clear
What the man said is a case in point about what I have been saying all year.


a case of mistaken identity
- an incorrect identification of someone
It was a case of mistaken identity when the police arrested the wrong person.


cash-and-carry
- a system where you pay cash for some goods and then carry them away
The supermarkets in our city always operate on a cash-and-carry basis.


cash cow
- a good source of money
His new business is a cash cow and he is making much money.
cash in (something)
- to exchange something for money
We decided to cash in the coupons because we needed some money.
cash in on (something)
- to make a lot of money at something
The small city cashed in on their success after the winter Olympics.
cash on the barrelhead
- to pay cash to buy something
It was cash only at the store and we were forced to pay cash on the barrelhead for everything.





cast around/about for (someone or something)
- to look for someone or something
We have been casting around for a new file clerk in our company.


cast aspersions on (someone)
- to make insulting remarks about someone
The woman is always casting aspersions on her colleagues at work.


cast doubts on (someone or something)
- to cause someone or something to be doubted
The first witness at the trial cast doubts on the testimony of the main witness.


cast in the same mold
- to be very similar
The two sisters were cast in the same mold and were almost identical.


cast one's lot in with (someone)
- to join with someone and accept whatever happens
The woman cast her lot in with the company and worked hard to keep the business going.


cast one's vote
- to vote
We arrived early to cast our vote in the election.


cast pearls before swine
- to waste something valuable on someone who does not appreciate it
Giving the woman the gold earrings was like casting pearls before swine.
cast the first stone
- to be the first to blame someone
The man was the one to cast the first stone and now he is fighting with his neighbor.
.



castles in the air
- daydreams
My sister is always building castles in the air and is very unrealistic.
cat burglar
- a burglar who enters a building by climbing a wall etc.
Our stereo was stolen when a cat burglar entered our apartment.
cat gets one`s tongue
- the inability to say something
I think that the cat got our supervisor's tongue. She has not said anything since the meeting started.



catch-22
- a situation which contradicts itself, a paradoxical situation
It was a catch-22 situation and if I went to work there would be problems but if I did not go to work there would also be problems.
catch a cold
- to become sick with a cold
I caught a cold because of the rain and the cold weather.
catch-as-catch-can
- in any way possible
We are in the middle of moving house so our meals are catch-as-catch-can.


catch fire
- to begin to burn
We were very careful that the wooden house would not catch fire.


catch forty winks
- to get some sleep
I was very tired so I stopped my car in order to catch forty winks.


catch on
- to understand something, to learn about something
I was finally able to catch on and understand the math problem.
catch on
- to become popular
Recently ballroom dancing has begun to catch on with many people.
catch one`s breath
- to stop to rest and regain one`s normal breathing
After running from the station it took a moment to catch my breath.
catch (someone`s) eye
- to attract someone`s attention
I tried to catch my friend's eye but she did not notice me.


catch some Z's
- to get some sleep
I needed to catch some Z's after working hard all weekend.


catch sight of (someone or something)
- to see someone or something briefly
The police caught sight of the robber and began to chase him.


catch (someone) in the act of (doing something)
- to catch someone doing something illegal or private
The police caught the politician in the act of taking money from the business owner.


catch (someone) napping
- to find someone asleep, to find someone unprepared for something
The boss caught the employee napping and became very angry.


catch (someone) off balance
- to surprise someone who is not prepared
We were caught off balance when we discovered that our business license was no good.


catch (someone) off guard
- to catch a person at a time of carelessness
I was caught off guard when the teacher asked me about my homework.


catch (someone) red-handed
- to find someone in the middle of doing something wrong
The clerk caught the boy red-handed when he was stealing the candy.
catch up with (someone or something)
- to become even with someone (in a race or in schoolwork etc.)
I think that it is too late to catch up with the rest of the class now.


.



caught in the middle/cross fire
- to be caught between two opposing people or groups so it is difficult to remain neutral
I was caught in the middle when my friend and his girlfriend had a big fight.


caught short
- to not have enough of something (usually money) when you need it
I was caught short last month and could not pay my credit card bill.


caught unaware
- to be surprised and unprepared for something
Everybody was caught unaware by the sudden change in government policy.


cause a stir
- to cause people to become agitated and alarmed about something
The soccer player caused a stir when he began to criticize the referee.


cause eyebrows to raise
- to shock people
I caused eyebrows to raise when I decided not to accept the award from my company.


cause tongues to wag
- to give people something to gossip about
My sister caused tongues to wag when she came to the party without her husband.


cave in
- to weaken and be forced to give something up
The company caved in to the union`s demand for more money.


chalk (something) up to (something)
- to recognize something as the cause of something else
We were able to chalk our success up to our new boat.


chalk up (something)
- to record something
The stock prices of the company chalked up a big increase last week.


champ at the bit
- to be ready and anxious to do something
Everybody was champing at the bit to start writing the test.


chance (something)
- to risk doing something
We did not want to chance driving during the storm so we stayed home.


chance upon (someone or something)
- to find someone or something by chance
I chanced upon a very interesting book during my research.


change hands
- to be transferred from one person to another
The small business changed hands many times during the last several years.


change horses in midstream
- to make new plans or choose a new leader in the middle of an important activity
The company changed horses in midstream and totally changed their policy.


change of heart
- a change in the way one feels about something
The woman had a change of heart and decided to let her child go to the circus.


change of pace
- the addition of some variety to one's life
We decided to go to the lake for a change of pace and to get away from our busy schedules.


change of scenery
- a move to a different place where things are different
My sister and her husband have decided to move because they want a change of scenery.


change one`s mind
- to change one`s decision
My friend changed his mind and said that he would not go to the movie tonight.


change one`s tune
- to make a change in one`s story/statement/opinion/policy
Our supervisor has changed his tune recently and agrees that we need to do things differently.


change the subject
- to begin talking about something different
I tried to change the subject when my friend began to talk about the money that I owed him.


in charge of something
- to be responsible for an activity or group of people
Our teacher is in charge of selling tickets for the school dance.


cheat on (someone)
- to be unfaithful to someone
The man began cheating on his wife which was the cause of their divorce.


cheek by jowl
- side by side, in close intimacy
The fans entered the stadium cheek by jowl.


(have the) cheek to do something
- rudeness, impudence
The woman had the cheek to tell me that she was sick and could not come to work today.


cheer (someone) on
- to encourage someone who is trying to do something
Everybody came to the stadium to cheer on the home team.


cheer (someone) up
- to make a sad person happy
We took our friend to a nice restaurant to cheer her up.


chew out (someone)
- to scold someone roughly
The teacher chewed out the student for talking in class.


chew the fat
- to chat
The two men were chewing the fat in front of the house.


chicken feed
- a small amount of money
The man sold his car for chicken feed because he needed the money.


chicken out (of something)
- to stop doing something because of fear
I chickened out of jumping into the lake from the high diving board.


(one's) chickens have come home to roost
- one's words or acts come back to cause trouble for a person
Her chickens came home to roost and now she must take responsibility for what she did.


chilled to the bone
- very cold
I was chilled to the bone when I came in out of the rain.


chime in
- to join in a song or conversation
We were having a nice conversation until our friend chimed in and started complaining about everything.
chip in
- to contribute or pay jointly for something
We chipped in and bought our father a birthday present.
chip off the old block
- a person who looks or acts like one of his parents
The boy is a chip off the old block and acts exactly like his father.
chips are down
- the time when one faces the greatest obstacles
When the chips are down the boy goes to his father for advice and encouragement.


chisel (someone) out of (something)
- to cheat someone to get money
My friend tried to chisel his brother out of some money.


choke (someone) up
- to make someone cry or become overemotional and speechless
I became choked up when I heard the story of the boy's illness.


choke (something) off
- to force something to an end/stop
The government was able to choke off the flow of money to the criminal gang.


circle the wagons
- to set up a defense against an enemy
The management team began to circle the wagons as the accounting scandal became worse.


claim a life
- to take the life of someone
The accident on the freeway claimed the life of two people.


clam up
- to stop talking
The girl clammed up when her boyfriend entered the room.


clamp down on (someone or something)
- to become strict with someone or about something
The police plan to clamp down on drivers who drive too fast.


clean bill of health
- the assurance that an animal or person is healthy
The astronaut was given a clean bill of health before he began training.
clean slate
- a record that shows no bad behavior or other problems or past bad acts
The man started off with a clean slate after he lost his previous job.


clean up one's act
- to improve one's performance
The mayor will have to clean up his act if he wants to get elected again.



clear of (something)
- to be not touching something
We checked that the ladder was clear of the electrical wires before we painted the house.


clear out (of somewhere)
- to leave, to get out (usually quickly or abruptly)
We cleared out of the building as soon as our class was over.


clear out (something)
- to clean somewhere, to remove something
We cleared out the room before we could start painting.


clear sailing
- to be an easy situation
It was clear sailing when we finished work and began our journey.


clear (someone's) name
- to prove that someone is not guilty of something
The man tried very hard to clear his name regarding his past criminal activity.


clear the air
- to calm down and remove bad feelings
We had a big argument but now it is time to clear the air.
clear the decks
- to clear away things and prepare for action, to get out of the way
"Let`s clear the decks and get everyone out of the house so that we can begin work."


clear the table
- to remove the dishes and eating utensils from a table
After we finished eating we quickly cleared the table.


clear up (something)
- to solve or explain (a problem etc.)
We finally cleared up the problem that we were having with our computers.
.



cliffhanger
- a sports event/movie/election where the outcome is uncertain until the very end
The playoff game was a cliffhanger and the most exciting game of the year.
climb the wall
- to be so bored that you become anxious and frustrated
The woman began to climb the wall after only a few days at her new job.
clip joint
- a low-class business where people are cheated
The men went into a clip joint near the bus station and had to pay a lot of money.
clip (someone`s) wings
- to limit someone`s activities or possibilities
The company decided to clip the manager's wings and took away his expense account.


cloak-and-dagger
- involving secercy and plotting
The agents were involved in cloak-and-dagger diplomacy over the spy scandal.





close at hand
- to be within reach
The day that the new coach would be chosen was now close at hand.


close call/shave
- an accident that almost happens but does not happen
I had a close call this morning when the truck almost hit me.


close in on (someone or something)
- to overwhelm or surround someone or something
The soldiers quickly closed in on the enemy position.


close one's eyes to (something)
- to ignore something
The teacher closed her eyes to the misbehavior of the students.


close ranks
- to come together for fighting, to unite and work together
The political parties closed ranks and stopped arguing among themselves.


close the books (on someone or something)
- to put an end to something (like the books in accounting records)
The owners of the team closed the books on the idea of building a new stadium.


close to home
- to be near to someone`s personal feelings/wishes/interests
My statement about the woman's work habits hit close to home and she became very quiet.


close to (someone)
- to be fond of someone
The boy is very close to his grandfather.


.



cloud up
- to become cloudy
It began to cloud up and soon started raining.


clue (someone) in
- to inform someone about something
We tried to clue the principal in about why the students were absent.


the coast is clear
- no danger is in sight, no one can see you
When the coast is clear we will try to enter the building.


cock-and-bull story
- a story that is not true
The boys gave us a cock-and-bull story about the tire marks in front of our house.


cog in the machine
- a small and unimportant part of a large organization
The employees felt like they were only cogs in the machine so the atmosphere at the company was not very good.


cold comfort
- no comfort at all
The government offered money to the victims of the fire but it was cold comfort to those who had lost their families.


cold fish
- a distant and unfeeling person
The man was a cold fish and cared little about his family.


cold snap/spell
- a sudden short period of cold weather (usually in winter)
The cold snap lasted for five days.


cold turkey
- abruptly and without medical aid (to stop using heroin or other drugs)
The woman stopped using drugs cold turkey and became very sick.





come a cropper
- to fail
The man came a cropper in the chess tournament and that is why he is sad.


come a long way
- to make great progress
The manager has come a long way and has learned many things about his new company.


come about
- to happen
Everybody believes that the plans for the new community center will never come about.


come across (someone or something)
- to find something or meet someone by chance
I came across an interesting story in the newspaper last week.


Come again.
- Please repeat or say that again.
"Come again. I did not hear you the first time."


come alive
- to brighten up and become active
The girl finally came alive and began to enjoy the party.


come along
- to make progress, to thrive
The work on our new house is coming along very well.


come around
- to finally agree to something, to return to consciousness or wake up
My father finally came around and agreed to let me go to Germany to study.


come as no surprise
- to not be surprising
It came as no surprise when the government decided to have an election.


come away empty-handed
- to return without anything
Nobody came away empty-handed at the end of the birthday party.


come back
- to return to the place where you are now
My cousin came back from her holidays last week.


come back (into fashion)
- to become popular again
Recently bell-bottom pants have come back into fashion.


come back to (someone)
- to return to one`s memory
The strange events of last year are slowly coming back to me.


come between (two people)
- to disrupt the relationship between (two people)
The mother's constant interfering finally came between the man and his wife.


come by (something)
- to get/obtain/acquire something
My aunt came by a lot of money recently and is now enjoying her life.


come clean
- to tell the truth
The president of the company was forced to come clean and tell what really happened to the business.


a come-down
- a lowering in status/income/influence/energy
Her new job is a come-down from her last one and she is not very happy.


come down hard on (someone)
- to scold or punish someone severely
The police have been coming down hard on drunk drivers recently.


come down in the world
- to lose one's social position
My father came down in the world when he decided to change jobs.


come down to earth
- to stop imagining or dreaming
My friend has finally come down to earth and is seriously looking for a job.


come down to (something)
- to be reduced to something
The man's decision about the job came down to how it would affect his family.


come down with (something)
- to become sick with a cold etc.
My mother came down with a cold so was unable to attend the dinner.
come from (somewhere)
- to be a native of a place
Several of the new students come from Mexico.


come from far and wide
- to come from many different places
The people came from far and wide to hear the new band.


come from nowhere
- to come as a surprise and with no warning
The truck came from nowhere as we were driving along the road.


come full circle
- to be completely opposite from one`s starting point
The university has come full circle with its policy on foreign students.


come hell or high water
- no matter what happens
Come hell or high water I plan to go to the concert next week.


come home to (someone)
- to become apparent to someone
It suddenly came home to the young family that their house had been destroyed in the fire.


come in handy
- to be useful or convenient
I think that the small hammer will come in handy to fix the desk.


come into (some money)
- to get possession of some money, to inherit some money
The man came into a lot of money which he donated to charity.


come into fashion
- to become fashionable
My sister says that although bell-bottom pants have come into fashion again she will never wear them.


come into one`s own
- to begin to perform or work well because of good circumstances
The player has come into his own as a basketball player since he changed positions.


come of age
- to be old enough to vote/marry/sign legal contracts etc.
When the members of our class came of age everyone started to vote.


come off
- to be successful, to happen
The party came off without any problems so everyone was very happy.


come on!
- please, hurry, go faster
"Come on, I only have a few minutes before I must go."
"Come on, stop doing that."


come on strong
- to overwhelm others with a strong personality
The man came on too strong during the job interview and was unable to get the job.


come on the scene
- to appear in a certain area or place
When the new DVD player came on the scene everybody wanted one.


come out ahead
- to improve one's situation
Although our new car was expensive, we came out ahead as it is very cheap to operate.


come out for (someone or something)
- to announce one's support for (someone or something)
The mayor recently came out for legal gambling in the city.


come out in the wash
- to work out all right
Everything came out in the wash as the students worked out their problems.


come out of left field
- to come from an unexpected place
The manager's new idea came out of left field and we have no idea what it means.


come out of nowhere
- to appear suddenly
The eagle came out of nowhere and captured the small mouse.


come out of one's shell
- to become more friendly or sociable
My sister's little boy came out of his shell and began to talk to everybody around him.


come out of the blue
- to appear suddenly (as if from the sky)
My idea for making money suddenly came out of the blue.


come out of the closet
- to reveal one's secret interests, to reveal that one is gay
Nobody was surprised when my cousin came out of the closet.


come out with (something)
- to say something, to make something known
The child has recently come out with many strange and funny expressions.


come over
- to come for a visit
My friend is going to come over for a visit next week.


come over
- to change sides
The politician supports the opposition but we hope that he will soon come over to our side.


come (someone's) way
- to come to someone
A small blue car came my way while I waited on the highway.


come through
- to do what one is expected to do (often under difficult circumstances)
My friend will always come through when we need his help.


come to
- to regain consciousness
The woman came to a few hours after the accident.


come to do/feel (something)
- to begin/learn to do or feel something
At first I disliked the girl but recently I have come to accept her.


come to a bad end
- to have a disaster, to die
The man and his family came to a bad end when they moved to the country.


come to a dead end
- to be unable to go any further
We kept driving on the dirt road until we came to a dead end.


come to a head
- to come to a point where a problem must be solved
The issue came to a head and everyone was forced to talk about the problem.


come to an end
- to stop, to finish
When the story came to an end both of the children had fallen asleep.


come to a pretty pass
- to develop into a bad or difficult situation
Things came to a pretty pass and nobody knew what to do about the problem.


come to a standstill
- to stop
The circus came to a standstill when the elephant escaped from his cage.


come to blows
- to begin to fight
The two men came to blows when they were trying to fix the car.


come to grief
- to have a bad accident or disappointment
The man has recently come to much grief because of his son`s problems with the police.


come to grips with (something)
- to struggle (successfully) with an idea or problem
The woman has finally come to grips with her husband`s gambling.


come to life
- to become alive or lively
The party came to life when the host and hostess entered the room.


come to light
- to be discovered, to become known
It has come to light that the company recently lost millions of dollars.


come to mind
- to enter into one's consciousness
Nothing came to mind when I tried to remember the names of the actors.


come to nothing/naught
- to end in failure
All of my efforts to help my sister find a job came to nothing.


come to one`s senses
- to begin to think clearly or act sensibly
He came to his senses and decided to buy a cheap car rather than an expensive one.


come to pass
- to happen, to occur
I do not know what will come to pass but for now the company has many financial problems.


come to terms with (someone or something)
- to reach an agreement with someone, to accept something
We finally came to terms with the bank and were able to buy the house.


come to the fore
- to come into an important place or position, to come to the front
Several members of the class came to the fore and decided to take important positions in the club.


come to the point
- to be direct
His speech was interesting but he never really came to the point.


come true
- to actually happen
The young girl is working hard to make her dreams come true.


come unglued
- to lose emotional control
The woman came unglued when she learned that she had lost her job.


come up
- to happen unexpectedly
I know that I will not be able to go to the party if something comes up.


come up in the world
- to improve one's status or situation in life
I knew that I had come up in the world when I was invited to dinner with the president of our company.


come up smelling like roses
- to look good after a difficult or bad time
Everybody in the company looked bad except for my friend who came up smelling like roses.
come up with (something)
- to produce or find a thought/idea/answer
I tried to come up with a name for the new magazine.


come what may
- no matter what might happen
Come what may I was determined to go to Spain for my holidays.


come with the territory
- to be expected under the circumstances (like something that comes with a sales territory)
The fact that the man has no free time comes with the territory with his work as a news reporter.


.



commit (something) to memory
- to memorize something
I worked hard to commit the names to memory.


common touch
- a friendly manner with everyone
He has a common touch and everyone likes him a lot.


con (someone) out of (something)
- to trick someone out of money or something valuable
The man on the street corner tried to con the woman out of some money.


confide in (someone)
- to tell secrets or personal matters to someone
I usually confide in my friend when I have a problem.


conk out
- to fall asleep quickly with great fatigue
As soon as we returned from the hike I conked out in front of the TV.


conspicuous by one's absence
- to have one's absence noticed
The teacher was conspicuous by her absence and everyone asked where she was.


contradiction in terms
- a statement that seems to have a contradiction
It was a contradiction in terms for the woman to pretend that she had no money while living in a mansion.


contrary to (something)
- in spite of something
Contrary to what everybody thought, my friend had already quit his job.


control the purse strings
- to be in charge of the money
My mother always used to control the purse strings in our family.


cook one`s goose
- to ruin one`s chances
The girl cooked her goose and has no chance of getting the new job.


cook (something) up
- to invent something, to plan or plot something
I do not know what kind of plan she is cooking up but it should be quite interesting.


cook the books
- to cheat in bookkeeping
The accountant was fired when someone discovered that he was cooking the books.


cool as a cucumber
- to be very calm and brave, to be not worried or anxious
The woman was as cool as a cucumber when her canoe turned over in the river.


cool off/down
- to let one's anger die away
When the basketball players began to cool down they were allowed to play again.


cool one`s heels
- to be kept waiting
The man was forced to cool his heels in the waiting room before his boss would talk to him.
cop a plea
- to plead guilty to a crime in order to get a lesser penalty
The man was forced to cop a plea when the evidence against him became too strong to dispute.
cop out
- to avoid doing something that you were planning to do
My friend copped out from our plan to go to to the beach for the day.
a copycat
- someone who copies another person`s work or actions
The little boy was accused of being a copycat by the other children.


cost a pretty penny
- to cost a lot of money
I believe that my aunt's new coat cost a pretty penny.


cost an arm and a leg
- to cost too much
The new motorcycle cost my brother an arm and a leg.


cough up
- to give something unwillingly
The man finally coughed up enough money to pay for the bicycle.


could do with (someone or something)
- to want or need someone or something
I could do with a new computer now that mine is getting old.


count noses
- to count people
After the teacher finished counting noses everyone got on the bus.


count on (someone or something)
- to depend on someone or something
You can count on our boss to do everything right.
count one`s chickens before they`re hatched
- to assume that something will be successful before it is certain
"Don`t count your chickens before they`re hatched. You are spending your money and you do not have a job yet."


count (someone) in
- to include someone in something
I know that my friends will count me in if they go to the zoo.


count (someone) out
- to exclude someone from something
"Please count me out of your plans to go skiing for the weekend."


a course of action
- the procedures that will be followed to do something
We decided on our course of action before we told our boss about our decision.


cover a lot of ground
- to deal with much information or facts, to travel a great distance
We covered a lot of ground in our history class at school.


cover for (someone)
- to make excuses for someone, to cover someone's errors
I covered for my friend when the boss saw that she was away from her desk.


cover for (someone)
- to do someone else's work
We always cover for each other when someone at work is sick.


cover one`s tracks
- to hide where one has been, to hide what one has done
The man was trying to cover his tracks but it was easy to see where he had been.
cover up (something)
- to hide something wrong or bad
They tried to cover up the facts regarding the illegal election campaign funds.
cozy up to (someone)
- to try to be extra friendly to someone
I do not know what my neighbor wants but recently he has been trying to cozy up to me.


crack a book
- to open a book to study
I did not crack a book until the last week of classes.


crack a joke
- to tell a joke
The man was a lot of fun at the party because he was always cracking jokes.
crack a smile
- to let a smile show on one`s face
Our boss never cracked a smile during the meeting.
crack down on (someone or something)
- to enforce laws or rules strictly
The school principal decided to crack down on people running in the halls.
crack of dawn
- daybreak, early in the morning
We got up at the crack of dawn to go fishing.


crack the whip
- to try to make someone work hard or obey you by threatening them
We had to crack the whip in order to get the job finished before the weekend.


crack up
- to burst into laughter
I cracked up when the man started talking about the incident with the taxi driver.


crackpot
- an eccentric person with ideas that do not make sense to others
The man is a crackpot and you never know what he will do next.


cramp one`s style
- to limit one`s talk or action
Working in the new department is beginning to cramp my style.


crank (something) out
- to produce or make something
I was able to crank out two very good papers before the end of the year.


crash and burn
- to fail spectacularly
We did not want to crash and burn so we were very careful about how we proceeded with the project.


crash the gate
- to enter someplace without a ticket or without paying
Many people did not have a ticket for the concert so they decided to crash the gate.


crazy about (someone or something)
- to like someone or something very much
My sister is absolutely crazy about rap music.


cream of the crop
- the best
When our company hires new employees we always look for the cream of the crop.


create a stink
- to make a big issue out of something
The woman decided to create a stink when she found the bad product at the supermarket.


create an uproar
- to cause a sensation
The referees created an uproar when they asked the star player to leave the game.


creature comforts
- things that make people comfortable
We had no creature comforts during our trip to South America.


a credit to (someone or something)
- to be invaluable or beneficial to someone or something
The doctor was a credit to the hospital where he had trained.


the creeps
- a strong feeling of fear or disgust
I get the creeps every time that I see a spider or snake.


creep up on (someone or something)
- to crawl quietly toward someone or something
The thief crept up on the elderly woman in the supermarket.


crocodile tears
- a show of sorrow that is not real
The man said that he was very sorry but his tears were only crocodile tears.


crop up
- to appear or happen unexpectedly
I will meet him early next week unless something crops up that keeps me busy.


cross a bridge before one comes to it
- to think and worry about future events or problems before they happen
We should not worry about that problem now. We can cross that bridge when we come to it.


cross one`s heart and hope to die
- to promise that what you are saying is true
"I promise that I will pay back the money next week. Cross my heart and hope to die."


cross one`s mind
- to think of something, to occur to someone
It crossed my mind that I would see him in the evening so I did not need to phone him.


cross out (something)
- to eliminate something by drawing a line through it
I crossed out my name from the list of volunteers.


cross swords with (someone)
- to have an argument with someone
I do not want to cross swords with the head teacher again.


cross the Rubicon
- to do something where you cannot go back (Julius Ceasar crossed the Rubicon and made a fight with the Roman Senate inevitable)
The man crossed the Rubicon when he began on a course that he could never turn back from.


cross to bear/carry
- something that you must do or continue with even though you are suffering
Looking after my sister`s children is my cross to bear.


crux of the matter
- the central issue of a matter
The crux of the matter is that we no longer have enough money to go on a holiday.


cry bloody murder
- to scream like something very serious has happened
The woman cried bloody murder when the young man tried to steal her purse.


cry out for (someone or something)
- to need someone or something badly, to lack something
The new room that we built cries out for new furniture.
The baby cried out for her mother.


cry over spilt milk
- to cry or complain about something that has already happened
"Don`t cry over spilt milk. You can never change the past."


cry uncle
- to admit defeat or that you have lost
He finally had to cry uncle when the other wrestler pinned him to the mat.


cry wolf
- to warn of danger that is not there
The man has been crying wolf for many years and now nobody believes him.


crying need for (someone or something)
- a desperate need for someone or something
There is a crying need for nurses in the local hospital.


a crying shame
- a very unfortunate situation
It was a crying shame that the class trip to Spain was cancelled.


cue (someone) in
- to tell someone what is going on
I did not know what to do until somebody cued me in on what was happening.


(not one`s) cup of tea
- (not) something that one enjoys
It is not my cup of tea so I think that I will stay home and not go to the art gallery.


curiosity killed the cat
- being nosy and interested in the business of other people may cause someone trouble
"Don`t keep asking so many questions. Remember curiosity killed the cat."


curl up and die
- to retreat and die
I wanted to curl up and die when I saw my old boyfriend at the party.


curry favor with (someone)
- to flatter someone to get his or her help or friendship
Our boss has been working hard to curry favor with the other members of the committee.





cut a fine figure
- to look good
I plan to cut a fine figure when I go to the job interview next week.


cut a wide swath
- to attract a lot of attention
The man cuts a wide swath when he enters a room.


a cut above (someone or something)
- a little better than someone or something
The new principal is a cut above the previous one.


cut across
- to cross or go through something instead of going around it
We decided to cut across the field because we were in a hurry to get to school.


cut and run
- to leave as quickly as possible
We cut and run as soon as we had finished delivering the goods.


cut and dried
- to be previously decided, to be prearranged
The decision was cut and dried and nobody asked for our opinion.


cut back on (something)
- to use fewer or use less of something
We were forced to cut back on the number of people who were invited to the party.


cut both ways
- to serve both sides of an argument
What the man said cuts both ways and we should carefully think about it.


cut class
- to not go to class
I cut class last week and went to a movie.


cut corners
- to economize
We will have to cut corners in order to save money for our holiday.


cut down on something
- to use less of something
Recently the man has cut down on his smoking in order to become more healthy.


cut from the same cloth
- to share a lot of similarities
The two cousins were cut from the same cloth and were similar in every way.


cut no ice with (someone)
- to have no influence on someone
The excuses of the girl cut no ice with her teacher or the principal.


cut off one`s nose to spite one`s face
- to make things worse for oneself because one is angry at someone else
The man is cutting off his nose to spite his face. Taking revenge on his neighbor will only cause him more problems.


cut one's eyeteeth on (something)
- to have done something since one was very young
The man cut his eyeteeth on fixing bicycles and he is now an expert.


cut one's losses
- to reduce one's losses
We decided to cut our losses and sell our business before it lost too much money.


cut out for (something)
- to have a talent for something, to be suited for something
I do not think that I am cut out for all of the travelling that is required for this job.


cut out (something)
- to eliminate something
My cousin decided to cut out chocolate in order to lose weight.


cut out the deadwood
- to remove unproductive people from a job
The company began to cut out the deadwood and fired many people.


cut (someone) a check
- to write a check to someone
We cut the man a check for the work that he had done.


cut (someone) down to size
- to prove that someone is not as good as he or she thinks
I cut my colleague down to size when I criticized what he had said at the meeting.


cut (someone) in
- to give someone a share of something
I cut my friend in on the profits from selling the computers.


cut (someone) off
- to stop someone from saying something, to disconnect someone on the phone
I tried to tell my father about the accident but he cut me off before I had a chance.


cut (someone) to the quick
- to hurt someone's feelings very badly
The woman cut her friend to the quick when she criticized her new clothes.


cut the mustard
- to reach the required standard for something
The man does not cut the mustard and he will never be able to work here.


cut to the chase
- to get to the important matter of something
The lawyer cut to the chase and was able to get all of the information quickly.

__________________
"A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done."

daily grind
- the everyday work routine
My father is tired of the daily grind of working and will retire soon.


dance to a different tune
- to change one's behavior or attitude
Our boss began dancing to a different tune when his head salesman decided to quit.


dance with death
- to do something that is very risky
The teenagers were dancing with death when they began to race their cars.


dare (someone) to do (something)
- to challenge someone to do something
The little boy dared his friend to throw a rock at the window.


dark horse
- a political candidate who is little known to the general public
The woman candidate was a dark horse but she won the election easily.


darken (someone's) door
- to visit someone or somewhere
The man has never darkened the door of the library in his town.


dash off
- to leave quickly
We dashed off as soon as the concert ended.


dash off (something)
- to do or finish something quickly
I plan to dash off a letter before I go to work.


date back to (a previous time)
- to go back to a previous time
The old building dates back to 1850.


Davy Jone's locker
- the bottom of the sea (as a grave)
When the boat sank all of the crew members went to Davy Jone's locker.


dawn on (someone)
- to become clear or occur to someone
It finally dawned on me why my friend was angry.


day after day
- everyday
Day after day the woman goes to the school to meet her child.


day and night
- all of the time
We worked day and night to finish the project before the end of the month.


day in and day out
- regularly, all of the time
My father goes to that restaurant for lunch day in and day out and he never gets tired of it.


day-to-day
- daily, everyday
The president was not involved in the day-to-day running of the university.


daylight robbery
- the extreme overcharging of money for something
The amount of money which they charged for the gasoline was daylight robbery.


days running
- several days in a row
There were concerts at the auditorium for six days running.





dead ahead
- to be directly ahead
There was a truck dead ahead so we put on the car brakes suddenly.


dead as a doornail
- to be very dead
The man was as dead as a doornail after the car accident.


dead center
- the exact middle
I easily hit the target dead center.


dead duck
- a person or a thing in a hopeless situation
The man is a dead duck and he has no hope of recovering his former position.


dead end
- the end of a road, an impasse
The negotiations between the players and the owners have come to a dead end.


dead in one's/its tracks
- to be stopped exactly where someone or something is at the moment
The police stopped the robber dead in his tracks.


dead letter
- a piece of mail that cannot be delivered or returned to the sender
The letter with no return address went back to the post office as a dead letter.


dead loss
- a total loss
The money that I gave to my friend is a dead loss and none of it will be returned.


dead on one's feet
- to be exhausted
I was dead on my feet after working all day in my garden.


dead set against (something)
- to be determined not to do something
The parents are dead set against their son going to Europe for a year.


dead tired
- to be very tired, to be exhausted
I was dead tired so I went to bed when I got home.


dead to the world
- to be sleeping soundly
The little boy was dead to the world when his father took him out of the car.


dead wrong
- to be totally wrong
I was dead wrong in my calculations to build the table.


deadbeat
- a person who never pays his debts
There is a new government policy to penalize deadbeat fathers.


deadpan
- an expressionless or emotionless face
My friend had a deadpan expression when he told us the story.


.



deaf and dumb
- to be unable to hear or speak
The man was deaf and dumb and could not communicate with the woman on the train.


deal in (something)
- to buy and sell something
The man has been dealing in antiques for many years.


deal with (someone)
- to act in a specific way toward someone, to do business with someone
The company is planning to deal with the late employee soon.


deal with (something)
- to be concerned with something, to take action about something
We will deal with the boxes tomorrow.


decide in favor of (someone or something)
- to determine the winner of something, to decide who is right
The city decided in favor of building a new bridge over the river.


decked out
- to be dressed in fancy clothes
My sister was decked out in her best clothes for the party.


deem it to be necessary
- to believe that something is necessary
The judge deemed it to be necessary to postpone the trial for a week.


deep-six (something)
- to throw away something, to dispose of something
I decided to deep-six the videos as I did not want them any longer.


deep water
- serious trouble or difficulty
The boy will be in deep water if he does not tell us where he spent the money.


deliver the goods
- to do a good or successful job of something
He is the best manager that we have had. He knows how to deliver the goods.


desert a sinking ship
- to leave a situation or place when things become difficult or unpleasant
Many employees decided to desert a sinking ship when their company began to have problems.


devil of a job
- a very difficult job
Everybody thought that unloading the truck was a devil of a job.


devil-may-care attitude
- an unworried attitude, an attitude where one does not care what happens
The man has a devil-may-care attitude to his job and nothing bothers him.


diamond in the rough
- a good person or thing that is hidden by a rough exterior
The man is a diamond in the rough and a very gentle person under his harsh exterior.


die down
- to come slowly to an end, to grow weaker
When the sound of the music died down we were able to go to sleep.


die in one's boots
- to die fighting
The soldiers died in their boots after fighting very hard.


the die is cast
- something has been decided and you cannot change the decision
The die is cast and now that we have sold our house we must move.


die laughing
- to laugh very loud and hard
We almost died laughing when we saw the comedy at the theater.


die off
- to die one after another until the number is small
The house plants began to die off as soon as we moved to a new apartment.


die out
- to die or disappear slowly until gone
The campfire slowly died out and we went to bed.


dig in
- to begin eating
"Let`s dig in and eat before the food gets cold!"


dig one's heels in
- to refuse to change one's course of action or opinions
Our boss dug his heels in and refused to give us time off.


dig one's own grave
- to be responsible for one's own problems
My sister dug her own grave when she fought with her boss. Now she is having many problems at work.


dig some dirt up on (someone)
- to find out something bad about someone
The newspaper worked hard to dig some dirt up on the politician.


dig (someone or something) up
- to make an effort to find someone or something
I tried to dig up some blankets for my friend when he stayed at our house.


dig (something) out
- to locate something
I dug out last year's income tax forms to look at.


a dime a dozen
- common, easy to get and of little value
Used books are a dime a dozen and it is dificult to sell them.


dip into (something)
- to borrow from a supply of something
We had to dip into our savings to get enough money for a holiday.


dirt cheap
- to be extremely cheap
The denim jackets were dirt cheap so I decided to buy two of them.


a dirty look
- a look that shows dislike or disapproval
The boy's mother gave the boy a dirty look when he began to run in the kitchen.


dirty work
- unpleasant or uninteresting work
I refused to do the dirty work which my friend wanted me to do.


dish out (food)
- to serve food from a large bowl or plate
I began to dish out the food when the guests arrived.


dish out (criticism)
- to criticize someone roughly, to treat someone roughly
Our supervisor likes to dish out criticism to others but he does not like to hear criticism about himself.


divide and conquer
- to split an opposing side into two groups so that you can win against them
The government was trying to divide and conquer the opposition parties.


divide (something) fifty-fifty
- to divide something into two equal parts
We divided the money that we won fifty-fifty.





do a double take
- to look again in surprise at someone or something
The girl did a double take when she saw her old boyfriend with another woman.


do a job on (someone or something)
- to harm or damage someone or something
We really did a job on the bookcase that we were trying to move.


do a land-office business
- to do much business in a short time
The children are doing a land-office business by selling the cold drinks next to the stadium.


do a number on (someone or something)
- to hurt or damage someone or something
The students did a number on the spectator stands during the soccer game.


do a snow job on (someone)
- to deceive or confuse someone
The salesman tried to do a snow job on me but I did not believe him.


do an about-face
- to suddenly reverse one's opinion
We had to do an about-face on our decision to permit drinking coffee in the library.


do away with (something)
- to stop something, to get rid of something
The company decided to do away with their policy of working one weekend a month.


do credit to (someone)
- to add to someone's reputation
The woman's graduation thesis did credit to her hard work and patience.


do in (someone)
- to make someone tired, to exhaust someone
I was done in by the time that I finished the marathon.


do in (something)
- to ruin/destroy something
The boy quickly did in the new shoes that he had received for his birthday.


do justice to (something)
- to do something well, to represent something accurately
The painting of my grandfather does not do justice to his extremely good looks.


do one`s best
- to try to do something as well as one can
I tried to do my best on the exam.
do one`s bit/part
- to share in a group project by contributing one`s time and effort
Our teacher did his bit to help plan for the party.


do one's duty
- to do one's job or what is expected of one
The guard was only doing his duty when he began to ask the customer questions.


do one`s thing
- to do what one wants to do and enjoys doing
My friend enjoys doing his thing when and where he chooses.


do or die
- to make a great effort
It was do or die for the man when he started his new job.


do (someone) good
- to be good or beneficial for someone
It will do me good to go on a holiday.


do (someone) out of (something)
- to cheat someone out of something
The man was worried that the company would do him out of the large bonus that he was expecting.


do (someone's) bidding
- to do what someone else wants
The principal was able to get the head teacher to do his bidding with the other teachers.


do something rash
- to take drastic action (usually without thinking)
My friend is extremely angry and she may do something rash.


do the dishes
- to wash and dry dishes
We did the dishes soon after eating dinner.


do the honors
- to perform the duty of a host (when serving a drink etc.)
"Would you like to do the honors and pour everybody a drink?"


do the trick
- to work well, to achieve a good or desired result
I think that the new piece of equipment should do the trick and solve our problem.


do time
- to spend time in prison
The man was doing time when we first heard about him.


do with (someone or something)
- to be acquainted/involved/associated with someone or something
I did not have anything to do with the meeting this year.


do with (something)
- to benefit from (something)
I have been working hard all day so now I could do with a cold drink.


do without (something)
- to manage without something
We will have to do without sugar if there is none.


do wonders
- to produce excellent results
If you begin to do some exercise it will do wonders for your health.


.



dog and pony show
- a display or demonstration of something
The politicians put on a dog and pony show to make everyone forget about the scandal.


dog-eat-dog
- to be ready or willing to fight and hurt others to get what you want
It is a dog-eat-dog world in the advertising and public relations business.


dog in the manger
- someone who prevents others from doing what he does not want them to do (from Aesops Fables)
The girl was a dog in the manger when she cancelled the dinner because she could not attend.


doll (oneself) up
- to dress in fancy clothes
She was all dolled up for the party at the downtown hotel.


dollar for dollar
- considering the cost
Dollar for dollar, going to the mountains for a holiday is a good deal.


done for
- to be ruined/defeated/dying
I think that our team is done for this season.


done in
- to be tired, to be exhausted
I was done in so I went to bed early.


done to a T
- to be cooked just right
The steaks were done to a T and everybody was very happy with them.


done with (something)
- to be finished using something
I was done with the computer so I let my sister use it.


doomed to failure
- to be certain to fail
The policy of the school was doomed to failure because nobody would support it.


a dose of one's own medicine
- the same kind of treatment that one gives to other people
The man got a dose of his own medicine when his boss began to treat him the same way that he treated others.


double back
- to turn back from where you are going or where you have been
We decided to double back from the arena and return home for a few minutes.


double-check (something)
- to check again to be sure that something is correct
I double-checked the price of the airplane ticket.


double-cross (someone)
- to deceive someone, to promise one thing and then do another
The man tried to double-cross his partner but was caught and sent to jail.


double-talk
- talk or words that appear to mean something but do not
The speaker gave the audience much double-talk and nobody knew what he wanted to say.


double up
- to share a room with someone
The passengers had to double up in hotel rooms when the plane landed because of the weather.


a doubting Thomas
- someone who needs strong proof to believe something
My friend is a doubting Thomas and you must tell him many times before he will believe something.





down and dirty
- unfair/nasty/sneaky
The team decided to get down and dirty in order to try and win the tournament.


down and out
- to have no money
My friend has been down and out before but usually he can find a job.


down at the heels
- to be shabby, to be poorly dressed
The man looked down at the heels after he was fired from his job.


down for the count
- to be finished for now
The boxer was down for the count but everybody expected him to get up and fight again.


down in the dumps
- to be unhappy
The girl has been down in the dumps since her boyfriend moved away.


down on one's luck
- to be unlucky, to have no money
The man was down on his luck and did not even have a place to live.


down on (someone)
- to be critical of someone, to be angry at someone
The girl is down on her friend but I do not know the reason.


down one`s alley
- to be suited to one`s tastes and abilities
Computers are down my alley so I am sure that I will be interested in the job.


down the drain
- to be wasted or lost
My uncle is throwing money down the drain when he goes to the horse races.


down the hatch
- to swallow a drink or eat something
The captain says down the hatch whenever he gives the sailors a drink.


down the line
- straight ahead, in the future
There will be many changes in our company down the line.


down the tubes
- to be ruined/wasted
All of our plans went down the tubes after my friend refused to join us.


down to earth
- to be sensible and practical
My mother is very down to earth.


down to the last detail
- considering all of the details
We fixed up everything on the boat, right down to the last detail.


down to the wire
- to be nearing a deadline, to be running out of time
We went down to the wire but we were able to finish the job on time.


down with (an illness)
- to be ill, to be sick at home
My sister was down with a cold so she could not go out for a few days.


.



drag in (someone or something)
- to insist on bringing someone or something into a discussion
Th employee always drags in his personal problems when we talk about his job performance.


drag on
- to pass very slowly, to make something longer
The speech was dragging on so we decided to leave early.


a drag on (someone)
- a burden to someone
The problems at work were a drag on my friend and he became sick because of them.


drag one`s feet/heels
- to act slowly or reluctantly
The man has been dragging his feet about whether or not to take the job.





draw a blank
- to get no response to something, to get a negative result
The manager drew a blank when he went to the head office to get information about the merger.


draw a line betwen two things
- to separate two things
We must draw a line between using the internet for work and using it for personal use.


draw blood
- to make a wound that bleeds, to anger someone
The politician was very careful not to draw blood during the debate.


draw fire
- to receive criticism for something
The government began to draw fire when they announced changes in the health care system.


draw fire
- to be a target, to attract or provoke shooting
The soldiers drew fire when they entered the small village.


draw in one`s horns
- to spend less money
The company is not doing well so everybody must draw in their horns.


draw interest
- to appear interesting and attract someone's attention
The singers drew much interest when they performed at the festival.


draw interest
- to earn interest when money is deposited in a bank
The money that we put in the bank draws interest every month.


draw lots/straws
- to choose from a group of things to decide who will do something
We decided to draw lots to see who would wash the dishes.


draw (someone) out
- to make a person talk or tell something
The girl was very quiet but we were able to draw her out and she began talking.


draw the line (at something)
- to set a limit for something
We have to draw the line somewhere to limit the costs of the party.


draw to a close
- to end
The tournament was drawing to a close and everybody was going back to their homes.


draw up (something)
- to put something in writing
They were able to draw up the contract while we were waiting.


.



dredge (something) up
- to uncover something unpleasant and remind people about it
The newspaper is always trying to dredge bad things up about the government.


dress (someone) down
- to scold someone
The supervisor took the clerk into her office to dress her down.


dressed to kill
- to wear one`s finest clothes
The woman was dressed to kill when I saw her at the concert last week.


dressed to the nines/teeth
- to be dressed elegantly
The movie stars were dressed to the nines during the awards ceremony.


dress up
- to put on one`s best clothes
I decided to dress up for dinner at the restaurant.


drive a hard bargain
- to conclude a bargain without making any concessions
Although the man drives a hard bargain, I like doing business with him.


drive at (something)
- to try/want to say something
I do not know what the man was driving at in his speech.


drive (someone) up a wall
- to irritate or annoy someone greatly
My neighbor's constant complaining is driving me up a wall.


drive (something) home
- to make something clearly understood
The high price of gasoline drove home to us the necessity of driving less.


the driving force behind (someone or something)
- the motivating force behind someone or something
The potato farmers were the driving force behind the efforts to get people to eat more potatoes.





drop a bombshell
- to announce some shocking news
The government dropped a bombshell when they announced that they were going to close the hospital.


drop a hint
- to casually make a hint or suggestion about something
The clerk dropped a hint that he wanted to transfer to the new department.


drop around
- to come for a visit
My friend plans to drop around for a visit tomorrow.


drop back
- to move or step backwards, to retreat
During the hike my foot began to get sore so I decided to drop back and rest for awhile.


drop by
- to visit someone
My uncle dropped by after work for a visit.


drop by the wayside
- to give up or fail before the finish of something
Many runners dropped by the wayside during the marathon.


drop dead
- to die suddenly
The bus driver dropped dead while driving the bus.


Drop dead!
- Go away!, to stop bothering someone
I told my brother to drop dead when he came into my room and now he is angry at me.


drop everything
- to stop doing what you are doing
When the fire alarm rang we dropped everything and went outside.


drop in (on someone)
- to make a short or unplanned visit to someone
I decided to drop in on my friend after I finished work for the day.


drop in one's tracks
- to collapse from exhaustion
The runner dropped in his tracks during the last part of the race.


drop in the bucket
- a small amount
The money that my friend repaid me was a drop in the bucket compared to what he owes.


drop names
- to mention the names of famous people as if they were your friends
Nobody likes the girl because she is always dropping names when she meets her friends.


drop out of (something)
- to quit school or a course of some kind
I dropped out of the class after three months.


drop (someone) a line
- to write or mail a note or letter to someone
My friend promised that she would drop me a line when she gets to Singapore.


drop the subject
- to stop talking about something
My friend was getting angry while we were talking about money so I decided to drop the subject.


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drown one`s sorrows
- to drink alcohol or do something to forget one`s problems
The man is in the bar drowning his sorrows with a drink.


drown (someone) out
- to make so much noise that it is impossible to hear someone
The team captain was drowned out by the cheering fans.
drum up (something)
- to encourage something by making an effort
The company was able to drum up a lot of business during the summer.


drum (something) into (someone's) head
- to make someone learn something by force
The teacher worked hard to drum the formulas into the heads of the students.


dry run
- an attempt or rehearsal for something
The marriage ceremony was on Saturday so we had a dry run on Thursday night.


dry up
- to become dry
The river began to dry up early in the summer.


duck soup
- easy, effortless
"How was the test last week?"
"It was duck soup - no problem at all."


dumb bunny
- a stupid gullible person
He is a dumb bunny and you never know what he will do next.


Dutch auction
- an auction where you start off with a high price and then reduce it
They always sell the flowers at a Dutch auction at the downtown market.


Dutch courage
- unusual or artificial courage (often because of alcohol)
The man was full of Dutch courage when he began to criticize his boss.


Dutch treat
- a meal/movie etc. where each person pays his or her own way, to contribute equally to something
When he goes out with his girlfriend it is always a Dutch treat as he does not have much money.


Dutch uncle
- someone who gives you advice like a parent or relative would
My friend is like a Dutch uncle and he is always giving me advice about how I should act.


duty bound (to do something)
- to be forced by duty or honor to do something
I was duty bound to talk to my friend about the money that I had lost.


dwell on (something)
- to think or talk about something all the time
I wish that my friend would not dwell on his personal problems.


dyed-in-the-wool
- permanent, stubborn
My father is a dyed-in-the-wool conservative and will never change.


dying to (do something or go somewhere)
- to be very anxious to do something or go somewhere
I am dying to go and visit my friend in the country.