NTC’ S American IDIOMS Dictionary This page intentionally left blank. NTC’ S American IDIOMS Dictionary The Most Practical Reference for the Everyday Expressions of Contemporary American English third edition Richard A. Spears, Ph.D. abc McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2000 by The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. 0-07-138988-1 The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: 0-8442-0274-6. All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. 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DOI: 10.1036/0071389881 Contents To the User vii Terms and Symbols ix About This Dictionary xi Dictionary 1 Phrase-Finder Index 447 Appendix 621 McGraw-Hill's Terms of Use This page intentionally left blank. To the User All languages have phrases or sentences that cannot be understood liter- ally. Even if you know the meaning of all the words in a phrase and under- stand all the grammar of the phrase completely, the meaning of the phrase may still be confusing. Many proverbs, informal phrases, and common say- ings offer this kind of problem. A phrase or sentence of this type is said to be idiomatic. This dictionary is a collection of the idiomatic phrases and sentences that occur frequently in American English. The third edition contains more than one thousand idiomatic expressions not listed in the second edition and a number of new features that provide additional con- venience and simplicity. Using the Dictionary 1. Start by looking up the complete phrase that you are seeking in the dic- tionary. Each expression is alphabetized under the first word of the phrase, except the words a, an, and the. After the first word, entry heads are alphabetized letter by letter. For example, in so many words will be found in the section dealing with the letter i. Entry phrases are never inverted or reordered like so many words, in; words, in so many; or many words, in so. Initial articles—a, an, and the—are not alpha- betized and appear in a different typeface in the entry. In the entry heads, the words someone or one stand for persons, and something stands for things. These and other generic expressions appear in a dif- ferent typeface. 2. If you do not find the phrase you want, or if you cannot decide exactly what the phrase is, look up any major word in the phrase in the Phrase- Finder Index, which begins on page 447. There you will find all the phrases that contain the key word you have looked up. Pick out the phrase you want and look it up in the dictionary. 3. An entry head may have one or more alternate forms. The entry head and its alternates are printed in boldface type, and the alternate forms are preceded by “and.” Two or more alternate forms are separated by a semicolon (;). 4. Many of the entry phrases have more than one major sense. These senses are numbered with boldface numerals. vii NTC’s American Idioms Dictionary 05. Individual numbered senses may have additional forms that appear in boldface type, in which case the and and the additional form(s) follow the numeral. 06. The boldface entry head (together with any alternate forms) is usu- ally followed by a definition or explanation. Explanations are enclosed in angle brackets (< and >), and explain or describe the entry head rather than define it. Definitions take the form of words, phrases, or sentences that are semantic equivalents of the entry head. Alternate definitions and restatements of the definitions are separated by a semicolon (;). These additional definitions are usually given to show slight differences in meaning or interpretation. Sometimes an alter- nate definition is given when the vocabulary of the first definition is difficult. 07. Some entries include instructions to look up some other phrase. For example: scarcer than hen’s teeth Go to (as) scarce as hen’s teeth. 08. A definition or explanation may be followed by comments in paren- theses. These comments tell about some of the variations of the phrase, explain what it refers to, give other useful information, or indi- cate cross-referencing. 09. Some definitions are preceded by additional information in square brackets. This information makes the definition clearer by supplying information about the typical grammatical context in which the phrase is found. 10. Sometimes the numbered senses refer only to people or things, but not both, even though the entry head indicates both someone or some- thing. In such cases, the numeral is followed by “[with someone]” or “[with something].” 11. Examples are introduced by a (cid:1) or a T and are in italic type. The T introduces an example containing two elements that have been trans- posed, such as a particle and the object of a verb. This is typically found with phrasal verbs. 12. Some entry heads stand for two or more idiomatic expressions. Paren- theses are used to show which parts of the phrase may or may not be present. For example: (all) set to do something stands for all set to do something and set to do something. viii Terms and Symbols [....] enclose a partial entry that is followed by an instruction about where to find the whole entry or a comment. For instance, [heart stands still] Go to one’s heart stands still. <....> enclose a description of or explanation about an entry head rather than a definition. For instance, Finders keepers(, losers weepers). <a phrase said when something is found.> (cid:1) (a box) marks the beginning of an example. T (a box containing a “T”) marks the beginning of an example in which two elements of the phrase, usually a particle and an object, are trans- posed. and indicates that an entry head has variant forms that are the same or similar in meaning as the entry head. One or more variant forms are preceded by and. entry block is the body of an entry starting with a boldface word or phrase type and running to the next boldface word or phrase. entry headis the first phrase or word, in boldface type, of an entry block; the phrase or word that the definition explains. go to means to turn to the entry head indicated. see also means to consult the entry head indicated for additional infor- mation or to find expressions similar in form or meaning to the entry head containing the see also instruction. Type Styles Entry heads are printed in boldface type, e.g., Join the club! Variable parts of an entry are printed in condensed type, e.g., just the same (to someone). Entry heads being referred to as cross-references are printed in sans serif type, e.g., get the short end of the stick. Variable parts of cross-references are printed in light condensed type, e.g., ease off (on someone or something). ix