Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 471 leave/let well enough alone - be satisfied with something that is good enough "You should leave well enough alone and be happy with your work schedule the way it is." leave word with (someone) - leave a message with someone I left word with my father to have my mother phone me tonight. . a left-handed compliment - an ambiguous compliment interpreted as offensive He gave her a left-handed compliment when he said that her dyed hair looked nice. a leg man - someone who performs messenger services, an errand boy He was working as a leg man for the motion picture company. not have a leg to stand on - not have a firm foundation of facts, not have the facts to support one`s claims She doesn`t have a leg to stand on with her excuses for not finishing her work. leg work - routine work (that often involves walking) He was forced to do all of the leg work for the meeting because his assistant was sick. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 472 lend an ear (to someone) - listen to someone I was asked to lend an ear to my friend so he could tell me about his problems. lend color to (something) - provide an interesting accompaniment for something The beautiful background to the orchestra helped to lend color to the musical performance. lend (oneself/itself) to (something) - be adaptable to something The small hall does not lend itself to having a very good musical performance. lend (someone) a hand - give someone some help I asked my friend to lend me a hand to move the furniture. less than pleased - not pleased My father was less than pleased when I returned his car three hours late last night. lesser (of the two) - the smaller one of the two We chose the lesser of the two cars when we went to the car rental agency. lesser of two evils - the less bad thing of two bad things The voters had to choose the lesser of two evils when they had to choose between the two candidates for mayor. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 473 let Idioms let alone (something) - not to mention something, to say nothing of something I don`t have enough money to go to a movie let alone go on a holiday. let bygones be bygones - forget about problems that happened in the past "We need to let bygones be bygones and forget about our past differences." let down one`s hair - relax, act freely and naturally Everybody at the party let down their hair and had a good time. let go of (something) - release something He let go of the rope and the suitcase fell off the luggage rack. let go with (something) - shout something out The child let go with a loud scream when he saw the dog. let grass grow under one`s feet - be idle, be lazy, waste time He is always working hard and never lets grass grow under his feet. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 474 let it all hang out - let the truth be known, be open about something She decided to let it all hang out and tell her friend about her problems with her boyfriend. let it go/lay - forget about it, leave it alone "You should let it go and stop worrying about what she did to you last year." let it rip - let something go at full speed, take off all restraints He let it rip and left the shore in the motorboat. let off steam - get rid of your extra energy or strong feelings by doing some activity He was very angry at first but he has let off steam and has calmed down now. let on - to reveal, to inform "Please don`t let on that you saw me at the movie last night." let on - try to make people believe something, pretend He tried to let on that he didn`t want the job but actually he did. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 475 let one's emotions show - be emotional (where it is not appropriate) The mayor let his emotions show when his plan for the new stadium was defeated by the city council members. let oneself go - become less constrained I went to the party and let myself go for the evening. let oneself/something go - not take care of oneself/something The woman has been letting herself go recently and doesn't even bother to comb her hair regularly let out (clothes/a rope) - make clothes longer or looser, allow a rope to slip out little by little I had to go to the tailors to have them let out my sports jacket. We let out the rope as the boat left the shore. let out (some kind of sound) - make some kind of noise or sound The dog let out a strange sound before running out of the house. let out (someone) - dismiss or be dismissed (from class or practice etc.) Everyone was let out of class early yesterday because of the bad weather. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 476 let out (something) - allow to go out or escape I let out our dog this morning and he hasn`t come home yet. let out (something) - allow to be known, tell They let out the details of the restructuring plan late last night so we haven`t had time to talk about them yet. let sleeping dogs lie - don`t make trouble if you don`t have to "You should let sleeping dogs lie and not worry about what your friend said to you last summer." let (someone) down - fail to do as well as expected, disappoint someone He let his parents down when he failed the university entrance exams. let (someone) down easy - tell someone some disappointing news in a way that makes them feel good I will talk to her tomorrow and try and let her down easy about her not getting the promotion. let (someone) go - discharge someone from a job, fire someone The company has decided to let several hundred workers go in order to become profitable again. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 477 let (someone) have it - hit someone hard, scold someone angrily He let the other man have it when they had a fight on the bus. let (someone) have it (with both barrels) - attack someone verbally The woman let her husband have it when he came home late from work without phoning. let (someone) in on (something) - tell someone a secret We let our friend in on our secret plan to sell our apartment and buy a house. let (someone) know (about something) - tell/inform someone about something "Let me know when you are ready to go to the movie." let (someone) off - permit someone to leave a car/train/boat/plane or other transportation The train stopped at a very small town and let the young woman off. let (someone) off (easy) - release someone with little or no punishment The judge let the man off easy because he seemed to be sincere in his apology for his crime. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 478 let (someone) off the hook - excuse someone from a penalty or promise He let me off the hook and I didn`t have to stay after work and help clean the office. let (something) go - pay no attention to something, neglect something She seems to be letting her appearance go since she lost her job. let (something) go - allow something to pass, do nothing about something Although I was angry at his remark I decided to let it go. let (something) loose - set something free, release something being held They decided to let the injured bird loose in the park. let (something) off - discharge (a gun), explode something, release something The children let off many firecrackers during the festival. let (something) pass - let something go unnoticed or unchallenged I didn't like what my friend said to me but I decided to let it pass. let (something) ride - continue without changing a situation We should forget about the recent problems at work and let the whole matter ride. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 479 let (something) slide - neglect something Recently, I have been very busy and I have let some important work slide. let (something) slide by - forget or miss an important time or date I let my girlfriend's birthday slide by without noticing it. let (something) slip by - forget or miss an important time or date We let my parent's wedding anniversary slip by without doing anything at all. let (something) slip (out) - tell a secret by accident I let the date of the wedding slip out by mistake at the dinner party. let the cat out of the bag - reveal a secret "Don`t let the cat out of the bag about the surprise party for our boss." let the chance slip by - lose the opportunity for something My coworker let the chance slip by to learn a lot from his old job. let the chips fall where they may - not worry about the results of your actions I am not going to worry about whether the company will go bankrupt or not. I will let the chips fall where they may. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 480 let things slide - ignore the things that one is supposed to do Recently, I have let things slide and my apartment is very messy. let up - become less or weaker, become slower or stop The rain let up around noon so we were able to go back outside. let up on (someone or something) - stop working too hard, take the pressure off someone or something He was told by his doctor to let up on his work schedule or he will become sick. let well enough alone - leave things as they are I decided to let well enough alone and not ask my supervisor for extra time off. . level (something) at (someone) - direct something (a remark/criticism) at someone My friend began to level criticism at her boss for some of the things that she thought were wrong in the company. level with (someone) - be honest with someone I tried to level with my friend and tell her what I thought about her new hairstyle. . wedding slip out by mistake at the dinner party. let the cat out of the bag - reveal a secret "Don`t let the cat out of the bag about the surprise party for our boss." let the chance. they may. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 480 let things slide - ignore the things that one is supposed to do Recently, I have let things slide and my apartment is very messy. let up -. on (something) - tell someone a secret We let our friend in on our secret plan to sell our apartment and buy a house. let (someone) know (about something) - tell/inform someone about