Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 701 put the words into (someone`s) mouth - to say/suggest something for someone else, to speak for someone else without his or her permission My friend always wants to put the words into my mouth before I have a chance to speak. put two and two together - to understand or figure something out after learning all the facts I put two and two together and realized why my boss was absent last month. put up a good fight/struggle - to try hard, to struggle hard We put up a good fight but we were unable to win the game. put up a good/brave front - to pretend to be happy, to fool people about one`s feelings My friend always puts up a good front but actually he is very unhappy. put up at a hotel/motel - to stay at a hotel/motel We decided to put up at a hotel and continue our trip the next day. put up money for (something) - to provide money for something The telephone company put up most of the money for the new science center. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 702 put up or shut up - to prove/do something or stop saying it, to bet money on what one says or stop saying it The politician was forced to put up or shut up over his plans to build a new convention center. put up with (someone or something) - to patiently accept or endure someone or something The man makes a great effort to put up with his wife`s complaints. put upon by (someone) - to be made use of to an unreasonable degree I am always put upon by my boss to do more work than the other members of the staff. put weight on - to gain weight My friend has been putting weight on since he stopped working. put words in (someone`s) mouth - to say/suggest something for someone else, to speak for someone else without his or her permission The man always puts words in his wife's mouth which makes her very angry. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 703 . putty in (someone's) hands - to be easily influenced by someone else The children are like putty in the hands of the new teacher. puzzle (something) out - to try to figure something out We spent a lot of time trying to puzzle out a solution to our problems. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 704 Q quake in one's boots - to be afraid, to shake from fear I was quaking in my boots when my boss told me to come to his office. queer as a three-dollar bill - to be very strange The woman is the strangest person that I have ever seen and she is as queer as a three- dollar bill. quick and dirty - fast and cheap, fast and careless The method that the company chose to cut expenses was quick and dirty. quick as a flash - very quickly I was able to get out of the house as quick as a flash and go to work. quick as a wink - very quickly The woman turned around and quick as a wink her purse was stolen. quick as geased lightning - very quickly, very fast The cat climbed up the tree as quick as greased lightning. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 705 quick on the draw - to be quick to respond to something, to be quick to draw a gun and shoot The man is quick on the draw and can answer most questions immediately. quick on the trigger - to be quick to respond to something, to be quick to draw a gun and shoot The man was too quick on the trigger and should have thought more carefully about what he was going to say. quick on the uptake - to be quick to understand something The student is quick on the uptake and understands most scientific theories very quickly. quiet as a mouse - very quiet, shy and silent The little boy was quiet as a mouse as he moved around the kitchen. quite a bit - much or many I had quite a bit of time so I decided to go to the library. quite a few - many The boy has quite a few DVDs at home. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 706 quite a lot - much or many There are quite a lot of chairs in the meeting hall. quite a number - much or many Quite a number of the teachers agreed to use the new textbooks. quite a (something) - definitely something The girl is quite a pianist and everybody loves her. quote a price - to state in advance the charge for doing or supplying something I asked the moving company to quote a price to move our furniture. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 707 R a race against time - a rush to beat a deadline It was a race against time to rescue the miners who were trapped in the mine. rack one`s brains - to try hard to think or remember something I have been racking my brains all day trying to remember the man's name. racked with pain - to be suffering from severe pain The man was racked with pain after he fell from the ladder. rail at (someone) about (something) - to complain loudly to someone about something The customer was railing at the clerk about the bad service. rain cats and dogs - to rain very hard It has been raining cats and dogs all morning. a rain check - a free ticket to an event that replaces a ticket that was cancelled because of rain or for some other reason We received a rain check for the concert that was suddenly cancelled. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 708 a rain check - a promise to repeat an invitation at a later date I did not have time to go to the restaurant with my friend so I decided to take a rain check. rain on (someone's) parade - to spoil someone's plans I tried not to let my friend's bad mood rain on my parade during the concert. rain or shine - no matter whether it rains or the sun shines We plan to go to the beach tomorrow rain or shine. rain (something) out - to spoil something by raining The music festival was rained out yesterday evening. raise Idioms raise a fuss - to make trouble, to cause a disturbance The woman at the restaurant raised a fuss when her meal arrived late. raise a hand against (someone or something) - to hit or threaten to hit someone or something If the man raises a hand against his supervisor the police will be called. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 709 raise a stink about (something) - to make a major issue out of something The small business owners began to raise a stink about the new parking tax. raise an objection to (someone or something) - to object to someone or something My friend raised an objection about including my parents in our travel plans. raise Cain - to create a disturbance, to cause trouble The boys began to raise Cain at the dance and were asked to leave. raise eyebrows - to cause surprise or disapproval It raised eyebrows when the actress appeared at the party with no invitation. raise havoc with (someone or something) - to create confusion or disruption for or against someone or something The bad weather raised havoc with our plans to clean up the area around our house. raise hell with (someone or something) - to make trouble, to behave wildly The woman began to raise hell with her supervisor after she heard about the new policy. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 710 raise one's sights - to set higher goals for oneself Our team is doing very well this year and we are now raising our sights on the city championship. raise one's voice to (someone) - to speak loudly or shout at someone in anger The teacher asked the child not to raise his voice. . to be raised in a barn - to behave crudely like a barnyard animal When the boy did not shut the door his mother asked him if he had been raised in a barn. rake in the money - to make a lot of money My cousin's new pizza franchise has been raking in the money since it opened. rake (someone) over the coals - to scold/reprimand someone My boss raked me over the coals when he heard about the lost sales report. rake (something) off - to take money from something illegally The sales clerk was accused of raking money off of the daily cash sales. . eyebrows - to cause surprise or disapproval It raised eyebrows when the actress appeared at the party with no invitation. raise havoc with (someone or something) - to create confusion or. with her supervisor after she heard about the new policy. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 710 raise one's sights - to set higher goals for oneself Our team is doing very well. report. rake (something) off - to take money from something illegally The sales clerk was accused of raking money off of the daily cash sales.