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For more material and information, please visit Tai Lieu Du Hoc at www.tailieuduhoc.org NTC’ S American IDIOMS Dic tionary For more material and information, please visit Tai Lieu Du Hoc at www.tailieuduhoc.org This page intentionally left blank. For more material and information, please visit Tai Lieu Du Hoc at www.tailieuduhoc.org The Most Practical Reference for the Everyday Expressions of Contempor ary American English NTC’ S American IDIOMS Dic tionary third edition Richard A. Spears, Ph.D. For more material and information, please visit Tai Lieu Du Hoc at www.tailieuduhoc.org Copyright © 2000 by The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. 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McGRAW-HILL AND ITS LICENSORS MAKE NO GUAR- ANTEES OR WARRANTIES AS TO THE ACCURACY, ADEQUACY OR COMPLETENESS OF OR RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED FROM USING THE WORK, INCLUDING ANY INFORMA- TION THAT CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE WORK VIA HYPERLINK OR OTHERWISE, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. McGraw-Hill and its licensors do not warrant or guarantee that the func- tions contained in the work will meet your requirements or that its operation will be uninterrupted or error free. Neither McGraw-Hill nor its licensors shall be liable to you or anyone else for any inac- curacy, error or omission, regardless of cause, in the work or for any damages resulting therefrom. McGraw-Hill has no responsibility for the content of any information accessed through the work. Under no circumstances shall McGraw-Hill and/or its licensors be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive, consequential or similar damages that result from the use of or inability to use the work, even if any of them has been advised of the possibility of such damages. This limitation of lia- bility shall apply to any claim or cause whatsoever whether such claim or cause arises in contract, tort or otherwise. DOI: 10.1036/0071389881 abc McGraw-Hill For more material and information, please visit Tai Lieu Du Hoc at www.tailieuduhoc.org 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 For more material and information, please visit Tai Lieu Du Hoc at www.tailieuduhoc.org This page intentionally left blank. For more material and information, please visit Tai Lieu Du Hoc at www.tailieuduhoc.org vii 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. For more material and information, please visit Tai Lieu Du Hoc at www.tailieuduhoc.org 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 ᮀ 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 . NTC’s American Idioms Dictionary viii For more material and information, please visit Tai Lieu Du Hoc at www.tailieuduhoc.org ix Ter ms and Sy mb ols [ ] 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.> ᮀ (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 head is 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 ) . For more material and information, please visit Tai Lieu Du Hoc at www.tailieuduhoc.org . NTC’s American Idioms Dictionary x For more material and information, please visit Tai Lieu Du Hoc at www.tailieuduhoc.org xi About This Dictionary NTC’s American. Euphemisms, and NTC’s Dictionary of Folksy, Regional, and Rural Sayings and Eliza- beth Kirkpatrick in NTC’s English Idioms Dictionary. About This Dictionary xiii