Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 571 not move a muscle - to remain perfectly motionless I was told to not move a muscle while the dentist was working on my teeth. not much of (something) - to be rather bad, to be not so good It is not much of a hotel but I think that it will be okay for one night. not on your life - definitely not "May I borrow your car?" "Not on your life." not one iota - not even a tiny bit There is not one iota of truth in what that man is saying about me. not one's place - not one's role to do something It is not my place to tell other people what they should do with their free time. not see past/farther than the end of one's nose - to not care about the future or about what is happening elsewhere or to other people My friend cannot see farther than the end of her nose and is not interested in the lives of other people. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 572 not set foot (somewhere) - to not go somewhere We did not set foot in the old factory that we passed on our hike. not show one's face - to not appear We asked the man to not show his face at our restaurant if he was not going to behave properly. not sleep a wink - to not sleep at all I am tired today because I could not sleep a wink last night. not so hot - to be not very good I have been feeling not so hot lately because I had a cold last week. not (someone's) cup of tea - to be not something that one likes Classical music is not her cup of tea so she did not go the the concert with the others. not take no for an answer - to not accept someone's refusal My aunt would not take no for an answer when I said that I would not eat dinner at her house. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 573 not tell a (living) soul - to not reveal something to anyone I did not tell a soul about what happened during the fight with my friend. not touch (something) with a ten-foot pole - to consider something completely undesirable or uninteresting That car is dangerous and I would not touch it with a ten-foot pole. not up to scratch/snuff - to be not adequate My uncle's golf game is not up to scratch and he always gets a bad score. not with it - to be not able to think clearly My grandmother was not with it today and we were not able to have a very good visit. not worth a dime - to be worthless Our old sofa is not worth a dime so we put it in the garbage. not worth a hill of beans - to be worthless Anything that our supervisor says is not worth a hill of beans so nobody trusts him. not worth a plugged nickel - to be worthless His promise to pay back the money is not worth a plugged nickel. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 574 not worth mentioning - to be not important enough to require a comment The problem that we had with the former manager was not worth mentioning so we did not say anything to anybody. not worth one's while - to be not worth bothering with It is not worth my while to go downtown if it is only to do one small thing. not worth the trouble - to be not important enough to require a comment or to do something It was not worth the trouble to repair the old stove so we threw it in the garbage. nothing Idioms nothing but skin and bones - to be very thin or emaciated The young man was nothing but skin and bones when he returned from the camping trip. nothing but (something) - to be only something There were nothing but people who played wind instruments at the music camp. nothing doing - I will not do it, certainly not "Nothing doing. I am not going to stay and work late again this evening." Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 575 nothing down - to not require a down payment The young couple purchased the house with nothing down. nothing if not (something) - without doubt, certainly He is nothing if not punctual. He has never been late in his seven years with this company. nothing of the kind - to be nothing like that My boss thought that my comments were complaints but I told him that they were nothing of the kind. nothing short of (something) - to be more or less the same as something It was nothing short of a miracle that the young man survived the car accident. nothing to choose from - no choice There was nothing to choose from when we went to the shoe sale in the late afternoon. nothing to complain about - everything is all right I told my boss that I had nothing to complain about regarding my job. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 576 nothing to it - to be easy There was nothing to it and I was able to fix the television in about ten minutes. nothing to sneeze at - to be something that you should take seriously and respect His new salary is nothing to sneeze at. nothing to speak of - not many, not much "Were there any problems that you found during the house inspection." "Nothing to speak of. Everything seemed to be fine." nothing to write home about - nothing exciting or interesting happened "Did anything interesting happen during your holiday." "Nothing to write home about," I replied. . now and then - occasionally I like to go to that restaurant now and then. now or never - at this time and no other It was now or never so the young man asked his girlfriend to marry him. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 577 nowhere near - not nearly There were nowhere near enough chairs for all of the people who planned to come to the meeting. null and void - to be canceled, to be worthless The credit card was null and void and I was unable to use it on my holiday. a number of things or people - an indefinite number of things or people There were a number of reasons why I did not want to study at my father's university. number one - oneself, one`s own interests He is always looking out for number one and will never do anything for other people. nurse a grudge - to keep a feeling of dislike toward someone My old boyfriend is still nursing a grudge toward me even after three years. nurse (someone) back to health - to give someone care to restore him or her to good health My mother spent several weeks with my grandmother to try and nurse her back to health. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 578 nuts about (someone or something) - to be enthusiastic about something He has been nuts about cars ever since he was a little boy. nuts and bolts (of something) - the basic facts about something The nuts and bolts of the housing loan were carefully discussed by the bank and their client. nutty as a fruitcake - to be very crazy The woman who lives next door to us is nutty as a fruitcake. nuzzle up to (someone or something) - to nestle or cuddle against someone or something (especially with your nose or face) The puppy nuzzled up to his owner as he slept on the sofa. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 579 O occur to (someone) - to come into someone's mind (an idea or thought) It occurred to me that I will not be able to meet my friend on Saturday because I have to go to the airport to meet someone else. ocean(s) of (something) - a very large amount of something There was oceans of food at the party. odd man out - an unusual person or thing I always feel that I am the odd man out when I go with my coworkers to a restaurant. (the) odd (something) - an extra or spare something, one or two of something We saw the odd interesting bird on our hike through the mountains. an oddball - a person who does not act like other people The man is an oddball and nobody at his company likes to work with him. odds and ends - a variety of small items (sometimes remnants of something) We made games for the children from odds and ends that we found around the house. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 580 an odor of sanctity - an atmosphere of excessive holiness or piety There was an odor of sanctity surrounding the chambers of the judge at the courthouse. of Idioms of age - to be old enough to be allowed to do something (vote,drink etc.) When my cousin came of age we had a big party for him to celebrate. of age - to be fully developed, to be mature Rapid transportation came of age when the first jets were built. of all the nerve - How shocking! Of all the nerve for my friend to ask me for more money when she never repaid me what she had already borrowed. of all things - Imagine that! "Of all things," the woman said when the post office worker told her that her package was too large for delivery. of benefit to (someone) - to be good for someone, to be a benefit to someone Another meeting to solve the problem would be of no benefit to myself so I decided not to attend. . ocean(s) of (something) - a very large amount of something There was oceans of food at the party. odd man out - an unusual person or thing I always feel that I am the odd man out when. for the children from odds and ends that we found around the house. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 580 an odor of sanctity - an atmosphere of excessive holiness or piety There was an odor of. enough to be allowed to do something (vote,drink etc.) When my cousin came of age we had a big party for him to celebrate. of age - to be fully developed, to be mature Rapid transportation