Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 131 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. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 132 . 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. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 133 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. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 134 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. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 135 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. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 136 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. dispose of (something) - to discard something, to destroy something, to get rid of something We must dispose of our old sofa before we buy a new one. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 137 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 Idioms 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. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 138 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. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 139 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. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 140 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 some 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. . 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. . 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. - 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