1gulland daphne hinds howell david the penguin dictionary of

P E N G U I N REFE RENCE T H E P E N G U IN D IC T IO N A R Y O F E N G L IS H ID IO M S Daphne Gulland was born in 1953 She was educated at Fidelis Grammar School in London In 1975 she graduated with Honours in English and German at Bedford College, University of London For many years she has been engaged in research into the origins of the most common idioms in the language, breaking new ground with her system of categorization for The Penguin Dictionary o f English Idioms She is married with four children Her hobbies are gardening, walking, reading and history David Hinds-Howell was bom in 1916 He was educated at Marlborough College, and obtained a Master of Arts degree in philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University in 1938 After practising as a barrister, he had a long and distinguished career as director of the Hillcrest School of English (1952-1981) and as a teacher of English at advanced and intermediate level He died in 1995 THE P E N G U IN D ICTIONARY OF ENGLISH IDIOMS DAPHN E M G U L L A N D A ND DAV ID HINDS-HO W ELL P E N G U I N BOOKS PENGUIN BOOKS Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London W C 2R ORL, England Penguin Putnam Inc., 375 Hudson Street, N ew York, New York 10014, U S A Penguin Books Australia Ltd, Ringwood, Victoria, Australia Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M 4V 3B2 Penguin Books India (P) Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi - 110 017, India Penguin Books (N Z ) Ltd, Cnr Rosedale and Airborne Roads, Albany, Auckland, N ew Zealand Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London W C 2R ORL, England www.penguin.com First published 1986 Reprinted with revisions and an additional category 1994 18 Copyright © Daphne M Gulland and David Hinds-Howell, 1986,1994 All rights reserved Translated into Greek by Agricultural Cooperative Publications, Athens, Greece Printed in England by Clays Ltd, St Ives pic Typeset in Linotron Times Except in the United States o f America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way o f trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form o f binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser PREFACE The Penguin Dictionary o f English Idioms will be of absorbing interest to foreign and native speakers of English alike Its aims are twofold: to provide a wide selection of the most commonly used idiomatic phrases in the English language; and, with the help of copious examples taken from real life, to offer guidance on the most effective way to use them The English language is rich in idioms, and although it is possible to converse correctly in non-idiomatic English, a student with only a super­ ficial knowledge of English idioms will find himself at a serious disadvan­ tage in his reading, and even more so when he takes part in discussions and debates Finding idioms in a general dictionary is a slow and laborious task, so it is hoped that this dictionary of idioms will provide assistance in a practical and interesting way What then is an idiom? We would define an idiom as a combination of words with a special meaning that cannot be inferred from its separate parts The examples that follow will help to make the matter clear: ‘John couldn’t say boo to a goose!’ On the face of it, this is a very strange thing to say Of course it is quite possible to say boo to a goose, but who would want to such a thing? However, the statement has an idiomatic meaning, namely that John is so timid that he wouldn’t dare to make even the mildest protest, however badly he was treated Clearly, it is impossible to deduce this meaning from the separate words in the sentence above In other words, the meaning of the whole is different from the parts The sentence then has two meanings - a literal meaning which means very little, and a metaphorical one which is the idiom ‘Shall we go Dutch?’ Unlike the first example, this one has no literal meaning at all, only an idiomatic one: ‘I suggest that you pay for your meal, and I’ll pay for mine?’ Again, it is impossible to infer the meaning of the idiom from the separate words in the question Every idiom belongs either to the first group or to the second as described above Traditionally, dictionaries of idioms present idiomatic expressions in alphabetical order; but we believe that the aims we have set ourselves can be achieved more efficiently by categorizing idioms, i.e by grouping them round a limited number of key-words and putting them in the appropriate categories For example, the first category, Colours (see the list of Categories on page 9), contains 14 different colours: red, blue, green, yellow, white, white and black, black, brown, grey, purple, scarlet, pink, golden and silver Each of these colours (key-words) is used to form an idiom or idioms The key-word ‘red’, for instance, is included in 13 idioms, H OW TO U SE TH E IN D E X as in ‘to paint the town red’, ‘a red rag to a bull’, ‘to see red’, and so on All the ‘red’ idioms make up a group ‘Colours’ itself, the name of the category, makes up a group of 17 idioms, as in ‘to see someone in his true colours’, ‘with flying colours’, and so on The total number of groups make up the complete category with altogether 130 idioms The same principle applies to the remaining 33 categories Categorizing idioms in this way has a number of important advantages over the alphabetical system First, idioms that include the same key-word will be concentrated in greater numbers than is possible with the alphabeti­ cal system For instance, there are 37 idioms in the ‘dog’ group, 88 idioms in the ‘hand’ and 47 in the ‘heart’ groups By concentrating idioms in such large numbers, the reader is in a position to make a systematic study of all the idioms in a given group, and to compare and distinguish them in a way that would not be possible were they scattered over a whole dictionary Secondly, categorizing makes it possible to introduce idioms in a coherent, logical order instead of the arbitrary, inconsequential order of the alphabet; and this makes for more interesting reading for students who like to browse through a dictionary Finally, the use of categories will enable students to complete their study of a selected category with the minimum of effort, since all the items in which they are interested have already been assembled for them The student is, of course, free to start wherever he wishes As he proceeds through this D ictionary, category by category, he will find his knowledge of idioms growing until finally he has acquired a mastery of the subject HOW TO USE THE INDEX We have provided an Index of idioms at the back of the Dictionary The order of the idioms in the Index is strictly alphabetical When you look an idiom up in the Index, look for it first under the noun, if there is one If there are two or more nouns, look for the idiom under the first noun If there are no nouns, then look for it under the first verb; if there is no verb, then under the first adjective Please note that if the idiom has two nouns standing next to each other, it will be indexed under both nouns, even if the first noun is a possessive, e.g ‘the lion’s share’ will be indexed under both ‘lion’s’, and ‘share’ Also note that idioms are not indexed under pronouns, e.g ‘one’, ‘som eone’, ‘any­ one’, ‘on eself, ‘h im self, etc., or the verb ‘to be’ Every idiom has a reference consisting of two numbers divided by a HOW TO USE THE INDEX stroke, e.g 000/0 The first number of the pair, 000, refers to the page on which the idiom you are looking for appears; the second number, 0, refers to the actual idiom: ‘to be too big for one’s boots’ Here are some more idioms for you to look up, followed by the correct answers which you can check for yourself: ‘to sail against the wind’ There is one noun in this idiom, namely ‘wind’, so it will appear under ‘wind’ with the reference number 180/6 ‘to pull the rug from under one’s feet’ There are two nouns in this idiom, so it will be indexed under the first noun of the two, ‘rug’, with the reference number 152/5 ‘to read the riot act’ In this idiom there are two nouns, ‘riot’ and ‘act’, that stand next to each other The idiom can therefore be found in the Index under either of them The reference number for this idiom is 231/14 ‘at arm’s length’ There are two nouns in this phrase, one next to the other, so this idiom can be found in the Index under ‘arm’s’ (a possessive) or ‘length’, with the reference number 91/13 ‘to someone proud’ There is no noun here, but there is the verb ‘to do’, so this idiom will appear under ‘do’ in the Index with the reference number 119/10 ‘fair, fat and forty’ As this phrase contains no noun or verb, it will appear under an adjective There are, however, three adjectives, so, according to our rule, the phrase will appear under the first adjective, ‘fair’, with the reference number 219/16 ‘Nobody’s poodle’ ‘Nobody’ is a pronoun (which we have excluded) so the idiom will appear under ‘poodle’ which has the reference number 54/13 A number of variations on the idioms are listed in the Index; these appear immediately under the appropriate entry in the text When an idiom bears a close relation to one in a different category, it is given a cross-reference at the end of the note and the reader can follow this up, if he wishes, for further information Apart from this, no crossreferences are used and, once the reader has obtained the reference number of the idiom he is looking for from the Index, he can be sure of finding the idiom required without being referred to other parts of the Dictionary A number of proverbs have been included when the content of the proverb is idiomatic, as for example: ‘Charity begins at home’, and ‘D on’t look a gift-horse in the mouth’ We hope that our readers will find as much interest in learning and using these idioms as we have had in collecting them Daphne Gulland David Hinds-Howell 1986 CATEGORIES COLOURS 15 Colours 15, Red 16, Blue 17, Green 18, Yellow 18, White 18, White and Black 19, Black 20, Brown 21, Grey 21, Purple 21, Scarlet 21, Pink 22, Golden 22, Silver 22 ELEM EN TS 24 Element 24, Air 24, W ater 25, Fire 26, Flame 26, Earth 26, Mud 27 W EATHER 28 W eather 28, Rain 28, Snow 28, Ice 28, Chill 29, Shivers 29, Flood 29, Fog 29, Ray 29, Cloud 29, Squalls 30, Wind 30, Storm 31, Thunder 32, Lightning 32 TIM E 33 Time 33, Year(s) 34, Season 35, The Seasons 35, Months 35, Days of the Week 35, Day 35, Daylight 37, Yesterday 37, Night 37, Hour 37, Moment 37, Age 38, Date 38, Clock 38, By-gones 39 L IFE AND DEATH 40 Life 40, Live 41, D eath 42, Die 42, Dead 42, Spirit 43, Heaven 43, God 44, Angel(s) 44, Hell 44, Devil 45 TREES AND FLOW ERS 46 Flowers 46, Rose 46, O ther Flowers 46, The Garden 47, Thorn 47, The Farm 47, Hay 48, Straw 48, Cud and Seed 48, Clover 49, Grass, Reeds and Weeds 49, Roots 49, Trees 49, Bush and Hedge 50, Wood 50, Log and Branch 51, Stick 51, Leaf 51 ANIMALS 52 Animal 52, Creature 52, Beast 52, Pet 52, Dog 52, Poodle 54, Pup 54, Cat 54, Kitten 56, Pussy 56, Horse 56, Mare, Ass, Mule and Donkey 57, Cow, Bull and Calf 58, Sheep and Lamb 58, Goat 59, Pig and Guinea-pig 59, Sow, Swine and Hog 59, Rat and Lemming 60, Rabbit and Hare 60, Fox 60, Wolf 61, Stag 61, Beaver, Badger, Ferret and Weasel 61, Opossum 61, Hedgehog and Mole 61, Bat 62, Frog 62, Snake 62, Turtle 62, Whale 62, Dragon 62, Crocodile 62, Rhinoceros and Elephant 63, Camel 63, Kangaroo 63, Monkey and Ape 63, Lynx and Leopard 63, Lion 63, Tiger 64, Bear 64 BIRDS 65 Bird(s) 65, Feather and Wing 65, Nest 66, Robin, Lark and Swallow 66, Jay, Magpie and Cuckoo 67, Crow 67, Pigeon and Dove 67, Hen 67, Cock 67, Chicken 68, Duck 68, Goose 69, Turkey 69, Swan, Stormy Petrel, Coot and Albatross 69, Kingfisher 70, Parrot 70, Peacock, Phoenix and Dodo 70, Owl 70, Hawk and Eagle 70, Vulture 71, Ostrich 71 10 CATEGORIES FISH 72 Fish 72, Mackerel 73, Herring 73, Eel 73, Sardines 73, Fry 73, Caviare 73, Oyster 73, Whelk 73, Crab 73, Shark 73 10 INSECTS 74 Worm 74, Spider 74, Fly, Butterfly and Moth 74, Bee, Drone and Wasp 74, Bug 74, Flea, Nit and Leech 75, Snail 75, Limpet and Cricket 75, Locust 75 11 BODY 76 Head 76, Hair 79, Face 79, Eye 81, Eyelid 83, Eyebrow 83, Nose 83, Ear 84, Mouth 85, Jaw 86, Whisker 86, Lip 86, Tooth 87, Teeth 87, Tongue 88, Throat 89, Cheek 89, Chin 90, Neck 90, Shoulder 91, Arm 91, Elbow 92, Wrist 92, Hand 92, Palm 97, Fist 97, Thumb 97, Finger 98, Quick 99, Knuckle 99, Chest 99, Breast 99, Bosom 99, Belly 99, Lap 100, Back 100, Bottom 101, Hip 101, Leg 102, Knee 102, Foot 102, Feet 103, Heel 105, Toe 105, Brain 106, Nerve 106, Vein 107, Flesh 107, Skin 108, Bone 108, Skeleton 109, Marrow 109, Sinew 109, Limb 109, Muscle 109, Blood 110, Heart 111, Stomach 113, Gall 113, Bile 114, Spleen 114, Gut 114, Kidney 114, Liver 114, Body 114, Figure 114 12 MIND 115 Mind 115, Mental 116, Wit(s) 117, Sense(s) 117, Reason 117, Conscience 117, Moral, Err and Fault 118, Character 118, Purpose, Desire, Willing, Will 118, Wise, Wiser 119, Courage, Bold and Virtue 119, Kindness, Kindly, Generous 119, Proud, Pride 119, Cruel, Mercies, Pity 119, Grace 120, Patience, Faith and Charity 120, Happy, Humour, Bored 120, Fancy and Dream 121, Love 121, Hate and Fury 121, Shame, Crying, Doubt 122, Fear, Afraid, Scare 122, Sorrow, Grief and Misery 122, Suffer and Woe 123, Dumps and Damper 123, Joy and Hope 123, Feelings 123 13 ILLNESSES AND AILM ENTS 125 Blind 125, Deaf 125, Dumb 125, Lameness 126, Fever and Colds 126, Infections 126, Other Afflictions 126, Aches 127, Pains 127, Sores 128, Madness 128, Illness 128, Medicine and Health 129 14 RELATIONS 130 Relations 130, Family 130, Marriage 130, Kindred 130, Wife 130, Father 131, Daddy 131, Mother 131, Child 132, Baby 132, Son 132, Daughter 133, Brother 133, Twin 133, Cousin 133, Grandmother 133, Aunt 133, Uncle 133, Bachelor 133, Widow 134 15 TOWN AND AROUND 135 Town 135, Street 135, Road 135, Dead End 136, Way 136, Lane 138, River 138, Bridge 138, Avenue 138, Tower 138, Exhibition 138, Museum 138, Public House 139, Market 139, Hill 139, Track 140, Path 140, Pitch 140, Transport and Traffic 141 16 THE HOUSE 142 House 142, Home 143, Wall 143, Stone 143, Brick 144, Roof 144, Tile 145, Chimney, Gutter, Drain and Pipe 145, Pillar and Pedestal 145, Comer 145, Door 146, Hinge 11 CATEGORIES 146, Key 146, Bell 146, Window and Shutter 146, Floor 147, Corridor and Stairs 147, Gate and Fence 147, Rooms 148, Hall 148, Kitchen 148, Cellar 148 17 FURNITURE AND HOUSEHOLD ARTICLES 149 Furniture 149, Bed 149, Pillow and Bolster 149, Blanket 149, Table 149, Chair and Armchair 150, Seat 150, Stool 151, Bench 151, Desk 151, Cupboard 151, Shelf 151, Drawer 151, Curtain 151, Carpet 151, Rug 152, Picture and Frame 152, Candle 152, Cup and Mug 153, Bottle and Crystal 153, Plate, Dish and Saucer 153, Knife and Fork 153, Spoon 153, Sieve 154, Pot 154, Pan 154, Grill 155, Poker 155, Bucket 155, Broom and Brush 155, Sink and Basin 155, Tap 155, Sponge and Soap 155, Peg 156, Handle 156 18 FOOD 157 Milk 157, Cream 157, Cheese 157, Eggs 157, Butter 158, Fat 158, Bread 158, Loaf 159, Sandwich 159, Toast 159, Crumb 159, Honey and Syrup 159, Jam 159, Sugar and Sweets 160, Cake, Pancake, Bun and Biscuit 160, Pudding 161, Porridge 161, Spaghetti 161, Meat 161, Soup, Sauce and Gravy 162, Salt 162, Pepper and Mustard 163, Pickle 163, Ginger 163, Fruit 163, Orange and Lemon 164, Apple 164, Banana 164, Gooseberry 164, Raspberry 164, Grape 164, Plum, Cherry and Peach 164, Prune 165, Fig 165, Vegetables 165, Bean 165, Pea 165, Other Vegetables 165, Nut and Peanut 166, Tea 166, Wine 166, Beer 167, Meal and Picnic 167, Bite and Eat 167, Taste 167 19 CLOTHES 168 Shoe 168, Boot 168, Sock 169, Stocking 169, Dress 169, Skirt 169, Frock 169, Petticoat 169, Frills 170, Apron 170, Pants 170, Trousers 170, Shirt 170, Suit 170, Jacket 170, Tie 171, Collar 171, Cuff 171, Brace 171, Belt 171, Cloak 171, Gown 172, Coat 172, Glove 172, Gauntlet 172, Hat 173, Cap 173, Bonnet 174, Veil 174, Wig 174, Bloomer 174, Sleeve 174, Button 175, Pocket 175, Purse 176, Bag 176, Suitcase 176, Rag 176, Cloth 177, Silk 177, Linen 177, Cotton and Wool 177, Patch and Sew 177, Thread 178 20 SHIPS 179 Ship 179, Boat 179, Sail 180, Beam 180, Board 180, Other Parts of the Ship 180, Berth, Tack and Leeway 181, Coast and Sea 181, Canoe, Barge and Ark 181, Wreck 182 21 THE WORLD AND ITS PLACES 183 World 183, Place(s) 184, In London 184, In England 185, In Scotland 185, In Ireland 185, In Belgium 186, In Italy 186, Other Countries in Europe 186, In the East 186, Imaginary Places 187 22 LANGUAGES AND NATIONALITIES 188 Language 188, English 188, Welsh 189, Dutch 189, Other Nationalities 189 12 picture I NDEX picture, a perfect picture 152/7; put some­ one in the p 152/6; the p of health 150/8 pie, as sweet as pie 161/2; eat humble p 160/16; p in the sky 160/15 piece, a museum piece 138/10; a nasty p of work 226/7; a p of cake 160/8; a p of Jesuitry 194/12; a p of skirt 169/11; give someone a p of one’s mind 116/15 pieces, thirty pieces of silver 245/2 pig, a male chauvinist pig 59/7; a p in a poke/buy a p in a poke 59/11; eat like a p 59/8; like a stuck p 59/5; p it 59/9 pigs, pigs in clover 59/10 pig-headed 59/6 pigeon, pluck a pigeon 67/9 pigeon-hole, to pigeon-hole 67/8 pill, a bitter pill to swallow 129/2; sugar the p 160/2 pillar, a pillar of society 145/9; from p to post 145/8 pillow, pillow talk 149/7 pilot, a sky pilot 233/2; a p scheme 233/4; drop the p 233/3 pimples, goose pimples 69/9 pincer, a pincer movement 205/6 pinch, feel the pinch 124/3; take with a p of salt 162/14 pink, pink of condition/in the p 22/3; p of perfection 2 /2 ; to p 2 / pins, not to give two pins for someone 216/14 pipe-line, in the pipe-line 145/7 Pipsqueak 196/11 pistol, hold a pistol to someone’s head 210/2 pitch, at fever pitch 126/5; queer some­ one’s p 140/12 pity, more’s the pity / place, a place in the sun 184/10; all over the p 184/4; come to the right p 184/14; fall into p 184/12; in p., out of p 184/3; keep someone in his p 184/5; know a p like the back/palm of one’s hand 69/11; know one’s p 184/9; not to be one’s p to 184/8; put a p on the map 223/11; put someone in his p 184/6 places, in high places 184/13 plague, a plague on both your houses 126/ 1 ; avoid like the p 126/10; p someone 126/9 292 pot-boiler plan, shelve a plan 151/8 plate, be handed something on a plate 153/10; enough on one’s p 153/9 play, a cloak and dagger play 171/16; as good as a p 258/8; child’s p 132/2; foul p 248/7; p along with 247/15; p down 247/11; p fast and loose 247/17; p hard to get 247/12; p havoc with 248/3; p it cool 248/2; p one person off against another 248/5; p oneself in 247/9; p safe 247/13; p someone up 247/10; p upon someone’s feelings, sympathy, etc 248/6; p up to 247/14 played, played out 247/16 player, an unseeded player 48/18 players, seeded players 48/18 pleading, special pleading 230/9 plum, a plum role/job 164/17; land a p job 164/17 poacher, the poacher turned gamekeeper 234/8 pocket, have someone in one’s pocket 175/ 14; in p., out of p 175/7; line one’s p 175/8; pick someone’s p 175/9; p some­ thing 175/11 point, a Blimpish point of view 198/2; hammer a p home 211/14 points, win on points 250/6 poker, a poker face 256/1; as stiff as a p 155/3 policy, ostrich policy 71/3; the stick and carrot p 165/17 policies, blood and iron policies 1 /2 ; Robin Hood p 196/12 politics, parish pump politics 227/11; shop floor p 236/17 poll, a straw poll 48/7; rig the p 201/5 poodle, nobody’s poodle 54/13 position, jockey for position 235/12; the key p 146/15 possession is nine points of the law 218/17 possum, play possum 61/14 pot, a pot hunter 154/12; a p of money 154/10; a p shot 154/11; go to p 154/4; in the melting p 154/8; keep the p boil­ ing 154/6; p 154/14; take p luck 154/5; the p calling the kettle black 154/9 pots, have pots of money 154/10 pot-belly 99/14 pot-boiler 154/7 potato ransom I NDEX potato, like a hot potato 165/18 pound, have one’s pound of flesh 107/15 powder, keep one’s powder dry 207/10; not worth p and shot 207/11 power, Black Power 21/6; flower p 46/1; more p to your elbow 92/5; the p be­ hind the throne 200/4 praises, sing someone’s praises 239/12 prejudice, without prejudice 232/3 presence, presence of mind 116/16 press, a good/bad press 240/4; a p cam­ paign 240/6; the gutter p 240/5 pride, be someone’s pride and joy 123/5; pocket one’s p 175/13; p of place 184/ 11; swallow one’s p 119/12 priest, high priest 227/6; unfrock a p 169/ 19 primrose, the primrose path 46/14 prince, the prince of liars 199/7 print, the small print 232/2 profession, the oldest profession 227/2 profile, keep a low profile 223/12 promises, promises are like pie-crust 161/3 proof, the proof of the pudding is in the eating 161/4 proposal, put a proposal on the table 150/ 2; shelve a p 151/8 prose, purple prose 21/16 providence, tempt providence 44/4 prune, to prune 164/3 prunes, prunes and prisms 164/4 p ’s, mind one’s p ’s and q ’s 240/13 public, give public airing to something 24/11; in the p eye 82/22; out of the p purse 176/6 pump, the parish pump/parish p politics 227/11 pumpkin, the pumpkin has not turned into a coach 166/7 Punch, as pleased as Punch 197/2 punch, beat someone to the punch 250/4 punches, pull one’s punches 250/3 pup, sell someone a pup 54/14 puppy, a puppy, a young p 54/15; p love 54/17 puppy-fat 54/16 purple, born in the purple, marry into the p., raised to the p 21/15 purposes, at cross-purposes 118/10 purse, dig (deep) into one’s purse 176/4; out of the public p 176/6; put up a p 176/5; you cannot make a silk p out of a sow’s ear 59/13 purse-proud 176/1 purse-strings, hold the purse-strings 176/ 2; loosen one’s p 176/3 pussy-foot, to pussy-foot 56/5 put, put someone wise to 119/1 pyjamas, the cat’s pyjamas 56/1 Q quarrel, patch up a quarrel 177/12 quarter, have a bad quarter of an hour 214/10; no q was given 214/11 queen, queen it 199/6 Queen Anne, as dead as Queen Anne/ Q.A is dead’ 193/15 Queen’s, Q ueen’s English 188/9 Queer Street, in Queer Street 135/12 question, a question of time 34/13; beg the q 236/3; the million/64 million dollar q 244/7; the q of the hour 37/20 questions, fire off questions 26/4 queue, jump the queue 141/2 quick, cut to the quick 99/2 quick-witted 117/1 R R ’s, the three R ’s 217/16 rabbit, produce/pull the rabbit out of the hat 60/9 rabbits, breed like rabbits 60/10 race, a race against time 34/9; the rat r 60/6 rag, a red rag to a bull, like a red r to someone 16/3; like a wet r 176/15; the local r 176/13 rags, from rags to riches 176/17; glad r 176/16 rag-tag, the rag-tag and bob-tail 176/14 rage, all the rage 121/15 rain, as right as rain 30/7; come r or shine 28/10 rake, as thin as a rake 2 /6 ; r in 2 /8 ; r up 212/7 rake-off 212/9 rank, pull rank 234/1 ranks, break ranks 234/3; close r 234/2 ransom, a king’s ransom 199/4 293 rap I NDE X rap, give someone a rap on the knuckles 99/6; ‘take the r ’ 99/6 rash, a rash of new (ideas, etc.) 127/3 raspberry, give a raspberry 164/13 rat, a rat 60/5; smell a r 60/7; the r race 60/6 rats, like rats leaving the sinking ship 179/5 ray, a ray of hope, not a r of hope 29/10 razor, Occam’s razor 198/4 reaction, a knee-jerk reaction 102/14 read, to read something into 221/13 reason, it stands to reason 117/13; listen to r 117/12; no earthly r 27/5 reasons, a hundred and one reasons 220/4 record, a track record 140/6; on the r., off the r 240/7 recovery, stage a recovery 258/3 red, in the red 16/12; see r 16/6 Reds, ‘Reds under the bed’ 16/4 ‘redbrick’ 144/17 red-handed 16/1; catch red-handed 16/1 red-letter, a red-letter day 16/8 red light, see the red light 16/10 red-light, red-light district 16/9 redneck 17/1 reed, a broken reed 49/10; a r shaken by the wind 49/11 refusal, give the first refusal 216/3 regulation, a blanket regulation 149/11 rein, on a tight rein 252/4 relations, poor relations 130/1; r are rather strained 130/2 removed, once/twice removed 216/8 republic, a banana republic 164/10 reputation, live on one’s reputation/name 41/7; live up to one’s r 41/6 respecter, no respecter of persons 231/2 retreat, beat a retreat 204/11; make a tac­ tical r 204/12 reward, a measly reward 127/2 rhyme, without rhyme or reason 117/14 riband, blue riband 17/10 ribbon, blue ribbon 17/10 riches, from riches to rags 176/17 ride, ride roughshod over someone 251/ 10; take for a r 251/9 right, right royal 0 / right-hand, right-hand man 93/7 rings, run rings round someone 253/3 riot, read the riot act 232/1 294 Rubicon Rip van Winkle 196/5 Ritz, You are not at the Ritz! 185/6 river, sell down the river 138/2 road, ‘His road to Damascus’, ‘Her r to Damascus’ 187/5; one for the r 135/15; take to the r 135/16; the royal r to 199/13 roads, all roads lead to Rome 186/4 road-hog 60/2 robbery, daylight robbery 37/9 robin, a round robin 66/10; Who killed Cock R.? 66/11 Robin Hood, Robin Hood policies 196/12 rocket, get a rocket 233/9 rod, kiss the rod 224/7; make a r for one’s own back 1 /8 ; rule with a r of iron 224/6; Spare the r and spoil the child 132/3 rogue, a rogue elephant 63/2 Roland, give a Roland for an Oliver 193/12 role, cast someone in the role of the villain 258/10 Rome, fiddle while Rome burns 186/3; R was not built in a day 186/2; When in R , as the Romans 189/15 roof, hit the roof/go through the r 144/19; raise the r 144/18 room, have a room bugged 75/2; not r to swing a cat 55/8; prefer someone’s r to his company 148/1 roost, rule the roost 6 / root, root and branch 49/18; take r 49/14 roots, grass roots 49/6; grow/put down r 49/15; have its r in 49/14 ropes, know/show someone the ropes 181/ rose, the English rose 46/5; the white r 46/13 roses, gather life’s roses 46/9; not all r 46/12; r in her cheeks 46/6; r., r all the way 46/7; strewn with r 46/8 rosebuds, ‘G ather ye rosebuds while ye may!’ 46/10 roulette, Russian roulette 190/4 round, win a round 250/5 round-table, a round-table conference 150/4 row, not worth a row of beans 165/12 rubber-neck, to rubber-neck 90/15 Rubicon, cross the Rubicon 186/7 rug I NDE X rug, pull the rug from under one’s feet/ under one 152/5 rule, a hard and fast rule 224/5; r of thumb 97/7; the golden r 22/8; the r of law 229/7; work to r 226/3 run, give someone a run for his money 242/14; have a r for one’s money 242/ 15; have the r of the house 142/19; in the long r., in the short r 253/4; on the r 253/13; r down 253/9; r someone/ something close 253/14; r someone down 253/10 runner-up 253/11 running, in/out of the running for 253/8; make the r 253/7 rush, rush hour 37/22 rut, in a rut 238/1 S sabre, rattle the sabre/s rattling 208/10 sack, to sack/get the s 238/3 sackcloth, in sackcloth and ashes 177/2 saddle, remain in the saddle 252/3; s with/ be saddled with 252/2 safety, safety in numbers 214/8 sail, sail into someone 180/4; s through 180/2 sails, strike one’s sails 180/7; trim one’s s 180/5 sailing, plain sailing 180/3 sailor, a sailor has a wife in every port 232/13; be a good s./a bad s 232/12 sake, for the sake of old times/for old times’ s 33/6 salad, salad days 166/6 salami, salami tactics 162/1 Sally, an Aunt Sally 133/11 salt, above/below the salt 162/11; an old s 163/4; eat s with 162/12; rub s in a wound 163/1; s away 162/13; the s of the earth 163/3; worth one’s s., not worth one’s s 163/2 Sam, Uncle Sam 133/12 Samaritan, a good Samaritan 190/14 sandwich, a sandwich course 159/8; a s man 159/9; s between/in between 159/7 sardines, like sardines 73/4 sauce, don’t give me any of your sauce! 162/9; What is s for the goose is s for the gander 69/11 service saucer, a flying saucer 153/13 scale, on a Napoleonic scale 197/9 scapegoat 59/3 scarecrow 67/7 scared, scared stiff 2 / scatterbrained, be scatterbrained 106/3 scene, come on the scene 257/11; make a s 257/9; set the s for 257/10 scenes, behind the scenes 257/8 scheme, a cock-eyed scheme 68/5; a hare­ brained s 106/2; a pilot s 233/4; ham­ mer out a s 211/15 school, a different school of thought 221/4; a hard s 221/2; the old s tie 171/1 screen, the silver screen 23/1 screw, give the screw another turn 211/3; have a s loose 211/4; put a s./the screws on someone 211/3; s something out of a person 211/3; tighten the s 211/3 sea, at sea/all at s 181/12; dead s fruit 163/13; s change 181/11 sea-legs, find one’s sea-legs 181/13 season, in season 35/3; out of s 35/3; the silly s 35/5 seat, a hot seat 150/14; a s of'learning 150/18; keep a s warm for someone 150/15; lose one’s s 150/17; take a back s 150/16; the s of the trouble 150/19 second, a good/bad second 216/17 second-guess, to second-guess 216/20 second-rate 216/16 see, see double 217/4; s (everything) in black and white / ; s red 16/6 seed, run/go to seed 48/16 seeds, sow the seeds 48/17 seeded, seeded players/seeds 48/18 seedcorn, eat the seedcorn 49/1 seen, be seen dead in 43/6 self, one’s second self 216/18 send, send someone down 232/5 sense, a sense of loss 117/10; horse s 56/15; s of proportion 117/11; sixth s 218/8 senses, bring someone to his senses 117/9; come to one’s s 117/9; out of one’s s 117/8 sentence, a fractured sentence 126/4 sepulchre, a whited sepulchre 18/12 service, a back-up service 0 /8 ; pay lip s 87/1; yeoman s 235/11 295 sesame I NDE X sesame, an open sesame 47/1 session, a brainstorming session 106/5 set, make a dead set at 42/13 seven-league, seven-league boots 218/10 seventeen, sweet seventeen 219/9 sew, sew up 178/2 shadow, be afraid of one’s own shadow 122/9 shame, a crying shame 2 /2 ; put (some­ one) to s 122/3; S on you! 122/1 Shangri-la, like Shangri-la 187/11 share, bullish/bearish of a share 64/12; the lion’s s 64/3 shark, a shark 73/11 sheep, as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb 58/15; count s 58/13; separate the s from the goats 58/16; the black s (of the family) / sheep’s, cast/make sheep’s eyes at some­ one 58/11 sheet, as white as a sheet 19/3; the s anchor 181/4 shelf, be on the shelf 151/7 shell, come out of one’s shell 62/10 shelve, shelve (a plan or proposal) 151/8 shepherd, to shepherd 234/6; s one’s flock 234/7 shilling, cut off with a shilling 244/5 ship, go down with the ship 179/6; spoil a s for a ha’porth of tar 179/4; the s of the desert 179/7; when my s comes home 179/2 ships, ships in the night/s that pass in the night 179/3 shipshape, all shipshape 179/1 shirt, a stuffed shirt 170/9; keep one’s s on 170/5; put one’s s on something 170/6; without a s to one’s back 170/7 shirty 170/10 shivers, give one the shivers 29/6 shock, brace yourself for a shock 171/8 shoe, where the shoe pinches 168/1 shoes, a dead man’s shoes 168/4; in another’s s 168/5; shake in one’s s 168/6; step into another person’s s 168/3 shoe-string, on a shoe-string 168/2 shoot, shoot down 204/16; s off 251/2 shop, all over the shop 236/15; come to the wrong s 236/13; to s 236/10; s around 296 simplicity 236/18; s floor, s floor politics 236/17; shut up s 236/14; talk s 236/11; the other s 236/12 shoplifting 236/16 short-handed 92/19 shot, a long shot 208/16; a Parthian s 190/12; a pot s 154/11; a s across the bows 180/14; a s in the arm 209/4; a s in the dark 209/1; have a s 209/5; like a s 208/15 shots, call the shots 209/3; no more s in the locker 209/2 shot-gun, a shot-gun marriage 130/11 shoulder, a shoulder to cry on 91/11; give it to someone straight from the s 91/5; give somebody the cold s 91/6; put one’s s to the wheel 91/10; s out 91/3; straight from the s 91/5 shoulders, carry/have on one’s shoulders 91/2; have broad s 91/8; rub s with 91/7 show, a show of hands 96/9; floor s 147/9; get the s on the road 257/5; give the s away 257/3; good s 257/4; it’s a bad s 257/4; s willing 118/12; steal the s 257/ 1; the s must go on 257/2 show-down 257/7 shrift, give someone short shrift 227/12 shutters, put up the shutters 147/3 Shylock, a Shylock 196/7 side, born the wrong side of the blanket 149/10; brush to one s 155/8; come down on the right/wrong s of the fence 147/15; err on the right s 118/6; know which s one’s bread is buttered 159/3; laugh on the other s of one’s face 80/16; look on the black s 20/7; on the father’s/ m other’s s 131/9; on the right s of the law 229/8; on the s of the angels 44/10; on the wrong s of the law 229/8; the other s of the coin 243/4; the wrong/ right s of fifty 2 / side-show, only a side-show 257/6 sight, a sight for sore eyes 128/5; at first s 216/1; second s 217/3 silence, a deafening silence, the s was deafening 125/11 silk, take silk 177/4; you cannot make a s purse out of a sow’s ear 59/13 Simon, a simple Simon 193/4 simplicity, Spartan simplicity 190/8 sin speech I NDE X sin, live in sin 41/14 sins, for one’s sins 229/1; the seven deadly s 218/9; the s of the fathers are visited on the sons 131/6; the s of the flesh 107/18 sinews, the sinews of water 109/10 sing, sing (slang) 239/13 single-handed 214/9 sink, a sink of iniquity 155/12; it’s s or swim 252/9 sir, ‘Yes, Sir, yes, Sir, three bags full!’ 217/15 situation, a Catch-22 situation 219/13; a David and Goliath s 194/4 six, hit for six 218/5; s of one and half a dozen of the other 218/3; s of the best 218/6 sixes, at sixes and sevens 218/4 sixties, the Swinging Sixties 220/2 skate, skate over 250/8 skates, put/get one’s skates on 250/7 skeleton, a skeleton at the feast 109/6; a s in the cupboard 109/5; a s key 109/7; s staff/crew, etc 109/8 sketch, a thumb-nail sketch 97/14 skin, a banana skin 164/9; a s like a rhi­ noceros 63/1; be all s and bones 108/8; be in someone else’s s 108/6; be thickskinned, have a thick s 108/10; escape by the s of one’s teeth 108/4; escape with a whole s 108/3; get under one’s s 108/7; goose s 69/9; jump out of one’s s 108/5; save one’s s 108/2; s alive 108/ 13 skin-deep 108/9 skin-flint 108/12 skinned, be thick-skinned 108/10; be thinskinned 108/11 skip 253/2 skirt, a skirt/a piece of s 169/13; s round 169/15 skirts, hide behind a woman’s skirts 169/ 12; run after anyone in s 169/14 sky, be a sky pilot 233/2 slap, a slap in the face 80/11; a s on the wrist 92/9 slate, wipe the slate clean 223/14 slave, white slave traffic 19/8 sledgehammer, take a sledgehammer to crack a nut 2 / sleeve, laugh up one’s sleeve 174/15; no­ thing up my s 175/1 sleight, sleight of hand 96/10 slice, a slice of the cake 160/10 slip, a slip of the tongue 88/17 slow-witted 117/1 Smarty-boots 168/12 smile, wipe the smile off someone’s face 80/12 snail’s, at a snail’s pace 75/7 snake, a snake in one’s bosom 62/6; a s in the grass 62/5; scotch the s 62/7 snakes, Snakes and Ladders 62/8 sneezed, not to be sneezed at 126/6 snook, cock a snook at 68/3 snow, pure as the driven snow 28/12 snowed, be snowed under 28/13 soap, soap opera 156/3; soft s 156/2 soap-hox, soap-box oratory 156/4 socialist, a pink socialist 22/4 sock, put a sock in it 169/3; s a person 169/2 socks, pull up one’s socks 169/1 Sodom, Sodom and Gomorrah 186/12 soft-pedal 239/3 soil, dress the soil 169/10 soldier, come the old soldier 233/5; s on 233/6 soldiers, soldiers of fortune 233/7 son, a natural son 133/1; a s of a bitch 133/1; his father’s s 132/16; s of the soil 132/18; the prodigal s 132/17 song, buy/sell for a song, go for a s 239/15; make a s and dance about 239/16 sore, be sore about 128/3 sores, open old sores 128/7 sorrow, more in sorrow than in anger 122/12 sorrows, drown one’s sorrows 122/13 soul, the Russian soul 190/3 soup, in the soup 162/6; s up 162/7 spade, call a spade a s 212/4 spadework, the spadework 212/5 spaghetti, spaghetti junction 161/6 spanner, throw a spanner in the works 212/10 sparrow, a cock sparrow 68/4 spasms, work in spasms 126/16 spectacles, rose-coloured spectacles 15/9 speech, a maiden speech 0 / 297 speed I NDEX speed, at breakneck speed 90/13 spick, spick and span 179/8 spinner, a money spinner 242/4 Sphinx, like a Sphinx 196/2 spirit, be with someone in spirit 43/9; in the right s 43/11; s away 43/12; the moving s 43/10; the s is willing but the flesh is weak 107/19 spirits, animal spirits 52/3; kindred s 130/ 12 spit, dead spit/s and image of 43/4; s and polish 233/12 spleen, filled with spleen 114/2 sponge, sponge on someone 156/1; throw up the s 155/15 spoon, born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth 23/3; need a long s 154/1; the wooden s 153/20 spoons, count one’s spoons 154/2 spoon-fed 153/19 sport, a bad sport, a good s 247/7 spot, a sore spot 128/4; have a blind s, for 125/3; rooted to the s 49/16 sprat, a sprat to catch a mackerel 73/1 spring-clean 35/6 spur, on the spur of the moment 37/23 spurs, win one’s spurs 252/7 squalls, look out for squalls 30/7 square, all square 223/7; a s deal 223/4; a s meal 167/4; back to s one 215/14; on the s 223/8 stable, lock the stable door after the horse has bolted 57/4 staff, skeleton staff 109/8 stag, a stag party 61/9 stage-fright 257/12 stage-manage 258/2 stage-whisper 258/1 stalemate 254/10 stand, Custer’s last stand 198/1; s up and be counted 222/5 stare, a stony stare 144/4 starry-eyed 82/19 start, a head start 76/2 state, in a sorry state 122/14 steam, run out of steam 253/12; work off s 226/6 steel, use cold steel 208/11 steeplejack, climb like a steeplejack 192/2 298 streak step-mother, the wicked step-mother 131/ 17 stick, a big stick 51/5; a dry old s 51/4; any s will serve to beat a dog with 53/5; in a cleft s 51/7; the s and carrot policy 165/17 sticks, as cross as two sticks 51/9; s of furniture 51/10 stick-in-the-mud 27/9 stiff-necked 126/14 stiletto, stiletto heels 208/9 sting, with a sting in its tail 127/10 stitch, a stitch in time saves nine 218/14 stocking, a Christmas stocking 169/4 stomach, a strong stomach 113/10; have no s for 113/11; on an empty s 113/14; to s 113/13; turn the s 113/12 stone, cast the first stone 144/9; leave no s unturned 144/1; s cold 144/7; s deaf 144/6 stone’s, (only) a stone’s throw 144/2 stones, break stones 144/3 stonewall, to stonewall 143/20 stony-broke 144/5 stool, the stool of repentance 151/3 stools, fall between two stools 151/1 stool-pigeon 152/2 stop, a long stop 249/8 stops, pull out all the stops 239/2 storm, a storm in a tea-cup 32/4; bow before the s 32/3; ride the s 32/2; take by s 32/1; weather the s 30/4 story, a cock and bull story /2 ; a hairraising s 79/3; a hairy s 79/2; a tall s 240/9; cap a s 174/8; kill a s 240/10; sit on a s 240/8 strain, be a strain on one’s nerves 106/17 strait-jacket, in a strait-jacket 170/13 strait-laced 170/14 strategist, an armchair strategist 150/11 straw, a straw bid 48/8; a s in the wind 48/14; a s poll/vote 48/7; clutch at a s 48/10; not to care/give a s 48/12; not to give a s for 48/12; not worth a s 48/11; the last s 48/13 straws, draw straws 48/9; not to care two s 48/12 streak, like a streak of lightning 32/7; show a yellow s 18/10 stream teeth I NDEX stream, swim with/against the stream 252/ street, grub street 135/13; not in the same s 135/9; right up my s 135/14 streets, go on the streets 135/7; s ahead of 135/8; take to the s 135/6 strength, muster up one’s strength 233/14 strike, a lightning strike 32/8; a wild-cat s 56/2; s dumb 125/13 string, a second string to one’s bow 216/ 12; harp on the same s 238/12 strings, pull strings 259/9; two s to one’s bow 216/12 stroke, put one off one’s stroke 250/10 struck, be struck dumb 125/13 struggle, an uphill struggle 205/10 study, a brown study / stumped, be stumped 249/12 style, cramp someone’s style 126/15 stymie, to stymie/be stymied 249/13 success, dizzy with success 127/7 sugar, a sugar daddy 131/11 suit, birthday suit 170/11; follow s 255/12; one’s longs 255/11 suitcase, a suitcase economy 176/12 summer, an Indian summer 35/7 sums, one’s sums, get one’s s right 222/2 Sunday, Sunday best 35/16 superiors, ape one’s superiors 63/13 supper, sing for one’s supper 239/14 support, moral support 118/4 surgery, hold a surgery 232/9 swallow, One swallow doesn’t make a summer 66/15 swans, all your swans are geese 69/13 swan-song 69/16 swear, swear black is white / sweat, by the sweat of one’s brow 83/9 sweep, make a clean sweep 235/5 swim, in the swim 252/10 swine, the Gadarene Swine 187/1 swing, in full swing 256/7 swings, what you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts 256/8 sword, beat one’s sword into a plough­ share 208/2; the s of Damocles/like the s of Damocles hanging over one 195/10 swords, cross swords with 207/13; measure s with someone 208/1 sympathy, a sneaking sympathy 224/3; play upon someone’s s 248/6 syrup, soothing syrup 159/15 T table, drink someone under the table 150/ ; High T 150/5; keep a good 149/14; keep the t laughing 149/13; put on the t 150/2; set the t in a roar 149/13; t manners 149/15; t talk 149/12 tables, turn the tables 150/1 tack, on the right/wrong tack 181/8 tacks, get down to brass tacks 213/6 tactics, salami tactics 162/1 tail, tail wagging the dog 53/20; twist the lion’s t 64/2 tailor’s, like a tailor’s dummy 234/15 tailor-made 234/14 take, not to take kindly to 119/8; t pot luck 154/5 tale, an old wives’ tale 130/14 tales, tell tales out of school 2 / talk, kitchen talk 148/5; pillow t 149/7; table 149/12; the t of the town, it’s the t of the town 135/4 tandem, ride in tandem 251/7 tangent, go off at a tangent 222/9 tap, on tap 155/14 tape, red tape 16/7 target, a sitting target 205/6; bang/plumb on t 205/9 T artar, a Tartar 190/5; catch a T 190/6' taste, give someone a taste of his own medicine 129/1; in bad 1.167/10; in good t 167/10; leave a nasty t in the mouth 85/23 tastes, Bohemian tastes 190/2; have Philis­ tine 190/13 taxes, crippling taxes 126/3 tea, I wouldn’t it for all the tea in China 166/16 tea-leaves, read the tea-leaves 51/15 tears, bored to tears 120/14; shed croco­ dile t 62/15 teens, in one’s teens 219/7 teeth, armed to the teeth 208/14; be kicked in the t 87/19; cast in the t 88/3; cut one’s wisdom t 87/11; draw someone’s t 88/7; fed up to the t./back t 87/18; get 299 tell I NDEX teeth - cont one’s t into 87/15; give t to 87/14; gnash one’s t 88/4; grind one’s t 88/2; grit one’s t 88/5; in the t of 87/17; in the t of the wind 31/3; lie through one’s t 8 / ; milk t 87/10; set the t on edge 88/1; show one’s t 87/13 tell, tell someone where to get off 141/4 ten, ten out of t 218/18; t to one 219/1 tenth, the submerged tenth 219/2 tenterhooks, on tenterhooks 213/3 terror, a holy terror 228/4 Thames, not to set the Thames on fire 185/3 thick-skinned, be thick-skinned 108/10 thieves, as thick as thieves 236/4 thing, first thing 216/2; ‘He doesn’t a t by halves’ 214/13; know a t or two 260/5; not to know the first t about 216/2 thin-skinned, be thin-skinned 108/11 thirteen, thirteen at table 219/8 thirties, the hungry Thirties 219/14 Thomas, a doubting Thomas 192/17 thorn, a thorn in the flesh/side 47/11 thorns, sit on thorns 47/12 thoroughness, Teutonic thoroughness 189/10 thoughts, have second thoughts 217/2 thousand, a thousand and one 220/9 thread, hang by a thread 178/4; lose the t 178/2 threads, pick up the threads 178/3 three’s, three’s a crowd 217/14 throat, force/ram down one’s throat 89/9; jump down one’s t 89/10; slit one’s t 89/12 throats, at each other’s throats 89/11 throw, (only) a stone’s throw 144/2 thumb, stick out like a sore thumb 97/12; t through 97/13; under one’s t 97/6 thumbs, all thumbs/all fingers and t 97/15; give the t down 97/8; give the t up 97/9; twiddle one’s t 97/11 thumb-nail, a thumb-nail sketch 97/14 thunder, as black as thunder 21/4; steal someone’s t 32/5 tickled, tickled pink 2 / tie, the old school tie 171/1 tiger, a tiger 64/7; have/shake a t by the 300 Tom tail 64/10; fight like a t 64/7; paper t 64/8; ride a t 64/9 tight-lipped 87/3 tight-rope, walk a tight-rope 260/7 tile, have a tile loose 145/1 tiles, be (out) on the tiles 145/2 time, a rare time 33/14; a rough t 33/2; bide one’s t 33/12; born before/ahead of one’s t 33/5; (dead) on t 33/20; t 34/8; double t 217/9; fritter away one’s t 33/11; have no t for 34/15; high t 33/1; How t drags! 34/5; kill (the) t 34/6; live on borrowed t 33/19; make t for 34/16; make up for lost t 34/2; mark t 33/13; near her t 34/1; play for t 34/17; pushed/pressed fort 33/17; serve one’s t 34/7; take one’s t 33/10; the t of one’s life 33/3; there’s always a first t for everything 215/19; there’s a t and place for everything 184/7; t hanging on one’s hands 96/14; t is of the essence 33/16; t is running out 33/18; t off 34/3; t on one’s hands 34/4; t out of mind 33/7; t out of number 214/5; time(s) without number 33/15 times, behind the times 33/9; I’ve told you a hundred t 220/5; march/move/keep up with the t 34/18; more t than I’ve had hot dinners 33/8 times’, for old times’ sake 33/6 time-consuming 34/12 time-lag 34/11 time-server 34/10 tin, a (little) tin god 44/2 tin-pot 154/13 tinker, tinker with 235/1 tinker’s, not to care a tinker’s cuss 234/16 ti*>, on the tip of one’s tongue 89/3; t of the iceberg 29/4 tip-toe, go/walk on tip-toe, to 105/18 toast, be as warm as toast 159/10; have someone on 159/11 toes, keep someone on his toes 105/17; tread on someone’s 105/16 toe-hold 105/14 toffee, can’t for toffee 160/4 toffee-nosed 160/3 Tom, a peeping Tom 192/19; T , Dick and Harry 193/3; Uncle T 133/13; Uncle T Cobbleigh and all 133/14 tomboy I NDE X tomboy 193/2 Tommy, Tommy/T Atkins 192/18 tommy-rot 193/1 ton, like a ton of bricks 144/12 tongue, a dirty tongue 89/2; a sharp t 8 /8 ; a silver/silvery t 23/2; a t that runs away with one 88/15; find one’s t 89/6; get one’s t round 88/14; give t to 88/10; have you lost your t 89/5; hold one’s t 88/16; I could have bitten my t off 88/18; keep a civil t in one’s head 8 / 1 ; mother t 131/14; wag one’s t 88/13; with the t in one’s cheek 8 / tongues, set tongues wagging 88/13 tongue-tied 89/4 tools, down tools 1 / tooth, a sweet tooth 87/6; cut a t 87/5; fight t and nail 204/3; long in the t 87/8; red in t and claw 16/5 toothbrush, a toothbrush moustache 155/ 11 tooth-comb, go over with a fine toothcomb 87/7 top, at the top of the tree 50/2; go over the t 205/4; on t of the world 183/13; t of the class 221/5; the t of the ladder237/18 touch, the Midas touch 195/11 tower, a tower of strength 138/8; an ivory 138/7 town, a ghost town 135/5; go to t 135/1; paint the t red 16/2; T and Gown 172/2 toy, toy with 248/8 traces, kick over the traces 248/10 track, a track record 140/6; be on the right/wrong t 140/3; keep t of 140/4; lose t of 140/4; lose (all) t of time 140/4 tracks, cover one’s tracks 140/8; in one’s t 140/7; make t for 140/5 trade, Every man to his trade 237/1; in the t 237/7; in t 237/2; known in the t as 237/8; t in 237/5; t on 237/4; t up 237/6 traffic, shoot the traffic lights 251/1; white slave 19/8 train, join/get on the gravy train 162/10 trample, trample underfoot 103/13 transfusion, blood transfusion 110/14 trash, white trash 19/14 traveller, an armchair traveller 150/13 tread, tread underfoot 103/13 two treadmill, on a treadmill 235/10 tree, a family tree 49/19; bark up the wrong t 50/3; the t is known by its fruit 49/20; up a t./up a gum t 50/1 trial, a sore trial 231/4; a t of strength 231/6; t and error 231/5 trick, a hat trick 173/14; a vanishing t./one of his vanishing tricks 260/1; have a t 260/3; know a t or two 260/5; play a confidence t on 260/6; That should the t 260/2 tricks, be/get up to one’s old tricks again 260/4; monkey t 63/8; the t of the trade 237/3 trigger, trigger off 209/7 trigger-happy 209/6 trimmer 180/5 tripe, talk tripe 161/16 trooper, swear like a trooper 233/8 trot, on the trot 251/12; t out 251/13 trouble, have teething trouble 126/13 trouble-shooter 204/15 trousers, wear the trousers 170/4 trowel, lay something on with a trowel 213/4 truck, have no truck with 139/15 true, true blue 18/1 trump, one’s leading trump 255/2; one’s t card 255/2; play one’s last t 255/16; t up (a charge) 255/14 trumps, come/turn up trumps 255/15 trumpet, blow one’s own trumpet 238/6 trust, Brains Trust 106/7; put not your t in princes 199/9 truth, a home truth 143/11 tune, call the tune 239/8; change one’s t 239/11; out of t with 239/7; to the t of 239/9 tuned, be/not to be tuned in to 239/10 turf, the turf 49/8; t out 49/9 turkey, cold turkey 69/15; talk t 69/14 Turks, Young Turks 189/19 turncoat, be a turncoat 172/6 turtle, turn turtle 62/9 Twenties, the Roaring Twenties 219/11 twinkling, in the twinkling of an eye 82/8 twin-set 133/8 two, put two and t together 216/9; t and t make five in your case 218/1; t and t make four 216/9 301 two’s two’s, two’s company, three’s none 216/10 two-faced, be two-faced 79/13 U U, ‘U ’ and ‘Non-U’ 200/8 uncle, talk to someone like a Dutch uncle 189/5; U Sam 133/12; U Tom 133/13; U Tom Cobbleigh and all 133/14 under-dog 53/9 underfoot, trample/tread underfoot 103/ 13 under-handed 92/17 unscramble 158/6 unseeded 48/18 uphill, an uphill struggle 205/10 upstage, to upstage 258/4 uptake, quick/slow in the uptake 116/21 U-turn, make a U-turn, there will be no U 200/14 V Valentine 193/13 value, at face value 80/8 vegetable, be a vegetable 165/7 veil, draw a veil over 174/12; take the v 174/11 vein, in the same vein 107/7 vengeance, with a vengeance 121/16 Venice, the Venice of the North 186/6 vicar, the Vicar of Bray 227/8 victory, a moral victory 118/5; a Pyrrhic v 205/7 view, a bird’s eye view 65/12; a myopic v of a problem 126/12; a worm’s eye v 74/3 views, air one’s views 24/5; have one’s v coloured by 15/14 villain, the villain of the piece 258/9 vine, wither on the vine 164/16 violet, a shrinking violet 46/18 virtue, make a virtue of necessity 119/6 voice, a plummy voice 164/18 volumes, speak volumes/speak v for 241/ 10 vote, a straw vote 48/7 voter, a floating voter 201/3 vulture, like a vulture 71/2 302 way I NDEX W wagon, on the (water) wagon 25/5 waist, a wasp waist 74/20 wake, in the wake of 179/9 walk, a walk of life 40/1 wall, go to the wall, the weakest go to the w 143/15; like talking to a brick w 144/13; see through a brick w 144/15; up the w 143/16 walls, like the walls of Jericho 187/4; the w of Jericho didn’t fall down in a day 187/3; w have ears 143/17; within these four w 143/18 wallflower 46/19 wand, If I had a magic wand 259/10 war, a cold war 203/5; a shooting w 203/6; a w of nerves 203/4; an old w horse 56/8 wars, in the wars 203/2 war-path, on the war-path 203/3 warning, a may-day warning 35/11 warts, warts and all 127/5 wash, come out in the wash 235/6; ‘That won’t w.!’ 235/7 wasp, a wasp waist 74/20 wasps’, put one’s foot in a wasps’ nest 74/19 water, first water 25/17; hold w 25/11; hot w 25/14; in deep w 25/15; (like) w off a duck’s back 69/1; on the w wagon 25/5; pass w 25/12; pour cold w 25/9; that’s (all) w under the bridge 138/4; the w was stone cold 144/7; tread w 25/13; w down 25/4 waters, fish in troubled/muddy waters 72/ 14 Waterloo, meet your Waterloo 186/1 watershed 25/6 water-tight 25/7 waterworks, turn on the waterworks 25/18 way, by the way 137/13; elbow one’s w through 92/3; find out the hard w 136/ 13; go about something the wrong w 136/7; go all the w with 136/4; go one’s own w 136/9; go out of one’s w to 137/11; go the w of all flesh 108/1; have a w with one 136/10; have come a long w 136/11; have it one’s own w, 137/1; in a bad w 137/16; in a big w 136/12; in a ways I N DE X small w 136/12; in the family w 130/5; know which w the wind is blowing, wait and see which w the wind blows 30/11; look the other w 137/5; make one’s w in the world/make one’s w 183/6; make w for 136/14; no w 137/12; not to know which w to turn 137/17; on its w out 137/6; pave the w for 136/3; pay one’s w 137/7; rub someone up the wrong w 136/6; see one’s w to 137/10; see which w the cat jumps 55/12; stand in some­ one’s w 137/15; there’s more than one w to kill/skin a cat 55/11; thumb one’s w 97/10; a w of life 137/9; w out 136/5 ways, cut both ways 137/3; face both w 80/9; have it both w 137/2; mend one’s w 137/8; set in one’s w 137/4; there are no two w about it 137/14 wayside, fall by the wayside 137/19 weakest, the weakest go to the wall 143/15 weak-kneed 102/15 weapon, a double-edged weapon 207/1 weasel, weasel words 61/13 weather, keep a weather eye open 30/5; make heavy w 28/3; under the w 28/2 weather-cock, change like a weather-cock 30/6 wedding, a Golden Wedding 22/15; a Sil­ ver W 22/16; a white w 18/14 weed, weed out 49/13 weeds, grow/spread like weeds 49/12; widow’s w 134/5 weight, a weight off one’s mind 116/8; not to pull one’s w 250/9; take the w off one’s feet 104/15; worth one’s w in gold 244/11 welcome, a royal welcome 0 / welsh, welsh on someone 189/1 whack, a fair whack 224/10 whacked, be whacked 224/9 whale, the whale of a time, a w of a job/task 62/11 whelk-stall, run a whelk-stall 73/9 whip, have/hold the whip hand 93/13 whipping-boy 225/1 whisker, within a whisker / whiskers, the cat’s whiskers 56/1 whistle, blow the whistle on 239/1; w for it 238/14 wiser white, white or black? 19/15; whiter than w 18/12 whites, the whites of their eyes 19/7 white-collar, a white-collar worker 19/12 white-livered 114/5 white-wash 18/15 wicket, bat on a sticky wicket 249/7 wide-eyed 82/10 widow, a golf widow 134/1; a grass w 134/1; a merry w 134/3 widow’s, the widow’s mite 134/4; widow’s weeds 134/5 widows, not for widows and orphans 134/2 wife, a bachelor’s wife 133/16; a child w 132/5; a w in a thousand 220/8; a w in every port 232/13; like Caesar’s wife 130/15 wild-cat, a wild-cat strike 56/2 will, with a will 118/13; with the best w in the world 183/15 willing, show willing 118/12 willy-nilly 118/14 wind, a fair wind, to wish something or someone a fair w 30/8; close to the w 30/12; get the w up 31/6; get w of 31/8; put the w up 31/6; raise the w 31/10; sail against the w 180/6; second w 31/2; sow the w and reap the whirlwind 31/1; take the w out of someone’s sails 30/13; the w of change 30/10; there is some­ thing in the w., W hat’s in the w.? 31/9; whistle in the w 30/9 wind’s, in the wind’s eye 31/4 windbag 31/12 windfall 31/11 windmills, tilt at windmills 31/14 windward, get to windward of 31/5 window, go window shopping 146/20; w dressing 147/1 wine, a wine lake 158/11; good w needs no bush 166/18; put new w in old bottles 167/1; w and dine 166/17 wing, take someone under one’s wing 66/3 wings, clip someone’s wings 66/4 winks, forty winks 219/15 winter, the Winter of Discontent 35/9 wire, a live wire 41/18 wisdom, cut one’s wisdom teeth 87/11 wise, be wise to 119/1 wiser, none the wiser 119/3 303 wish I N DE X wish, the wish is father to the thought 131/3 wishes, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride 57/7 wit, Rabelaisian wit 197/6 wits’, at one’s wits’ end, drive to his w end 117/7 wits, addle the wits 117/3; frighten some­ one out of his w 117/6; have/keep one’s w about one 117/4; live by/on one’s w 117/5; out of one’s w 117/6; quick w., quick-witted, slow-witted 117/1 witch-hunt 201/9 wives’, an old wives’ tale 130/14 woe, woe betide you 123/2 wolf, a lone wolf 61/4; a w in sheep’s clothing 58/14; cry ‘W ’ 61/6; keep the w from the door 61/5; w (food) down 61/3 wolf-whistle 61/8 wolves, throw to the wolves 61/7 woman, a scarlet woman 21/17 woman’s, hide behind a woman’s skirts 169/12; tied to a w apron-strings 170/2 wonder, a nine-days wonder 218/15 wonders, work wonders 226/4 wood, dead wood 43/2; not to see the w for the trees 50/18; out of the w 50/19; touch w 50/20 wool, pull the wool over someone’s eyes 177/8; wrap someone up in cottom w 177/7 wool-gathering 177/10 woolly-headed 177/9 word, a household w 142/6; a w in season 35/4; a w in the ear 85/2; by w of mouth 86/7; have the last w 232/4; the key w 146/16; a man of his w 261/1; a w to the wise 261/2; as good as one’s w 261/3; to break one’s w 261/4; from the w go 261/5; to give one’s w 261/6; to give the w to 261/7; to go back on one’s w 261/8; to have a w with someone 261/9; to have the last w 261/10; his w is law 261/11; I don’t believe a w of it 261/12; in a w 261/13; to keep one’s w 261/14; to leave w 261/15; mum’s the w 261/16; my w 261/17; my w is my bond 261/18; not the w for it 261/19; not to get in a w edgeways 262/1; to preach the w 262/2; 304 worm to put in a good w for someone 262/3; say the w 262/4; send w 262/5; spread the w 262/6; to take someone at his w 262/7; to take someone’s w for it 262/8; the buzz w is 262/9; the last w in 262/10; the operative w 262/11; upon my w 262/12; the w is 262/13; w came 262/14; w for word 262/15; w of honour 262/16; w perfect 262/17; w splitting 262/18 words, eat one’s words 167/8; fine w but­ ter no parsnips 166/4; play upon w 248/4; put w into someone’s mouth / ; take the w out of someone’s mouth /2 ; the w stick in one’s throat 89/8; weasel w 61/13; a man of few w 262/19; a man of many w 262/19; actions speak louder than w 263/1; to bandy w 263/2; to be lost for w 263/3; big w 263/4; empty w 263/5; famous last w 263/6; hang upon someone’s w 263/7; to have w with 263/8; in other w 263/9; let the w stand 263/10; mark my w 263/11; not in so many w 263/12; not to mince one’s w 263/13; to (adjective) for w 263/14; waste w on someone 263/15; weigh one’s w 263/16; w fail me 263/17 work, all in the day’s work 37/3; have one’s w cut out 226/1; make light w of 226/2; make short w of 226/5; the hatchet w 210/4; w to rule 226/3 worker, a white-collar worker 19/12 workman, it’s a poor workman who quar­ rels with his tools 1 / world, carry the world before one 183/3; come down in the w 183/5; come up in the w 183/5; dead to the w 184/1; someone a w of good 183/12; for all the w as if 183/9; for all the w like 183/9; in a w of one’s own 183/17; it’s a small w 183/1; not for all the w 183/10; on top of the w 183/13; out of this w 183/14; set the w on fire 183/4; take the w as one finds it 183/8; the old w 183/16; the w is mine oyster 73/8; the w to come 184/2 worm, a worm 74/1; even a w will turn 74/4; the w of conscience 74/2; w one* self into another’s favour 74/6 worm’s worm’s, a worm’s eye view 74/3 worship, the worship of Mammon 194/6 wounds, lick one’s wounds 127/17 wreck, a nervous wreck 182/3 wrist-slap, wrist-slap diplomacy 92/9 write, write something/someone off 222/1 writing, the writing on the wall 143/19 wrong-foot, wrong-foot someone 103/6 Young Turks I N DEX Y year, year in, y out 34/19 years, light years away 34/21; not for donkey’s y 58/1; not in a hundred y 220/6; the lost y 35/1; y of discretion 35/2 yellow, be yellow 18/10 yellow-livered 114/5 yeoman, yeoman service 235/11 Young Turks 189/19 305 ... 224/9 the dead spit / spit and image of exactly alike ? ?The twins are the dead spit of each other How you tell them apart?’ in the dead hours of the night/in the dead of night - in the middle of the. .. period of time The phrase is often used of fixed habits ‘Year in, year out, Mr Masters would make his way to his local pub on the stroke of one.’ 20 the man of the year - the most talkedof man of the. .. knowledge of idioms growing until finally he has acquired a mastery of the subject HOW TO USE THE INDEX We have provided an Index of idioms at the back of the Dictionary The order of the idioms in the