Словарь американских идиом (8000 единиц) - неизвестен Автор

[from under] See: OUT FROM UNDER, PULL THE RUG OUT FROM UNDER.

[from way back] <adv. phr.> From a previous time; from a long time ago. * /They have known one another from way back when they went to the same elementary school./

[front] See: IN FRONT OF.

[front and center] <adv.>, <slang> Used as a command to a person to go to someone who wants him. * /Front and center, Smith. The boss wants to see you./

[front court] <n.> The half of a basketball court that is a basketball team's offensive zone. * /The guard brought the ball up to the front court./

[front office] <n.>, <informal> The group of persons who manage a business; the officers. * /The front office decides how much the workers are paid./

[frown upon] <v. phr.> To look with disfavor upon somebody or something. * /Everybody in her family frowns upon her attachment to him./

[fruitcake] See: NUTTY AS A FRUITCAKE.

[fry] See: OTHER FISH TO FRY, OUT OF THE FRYING PAN INTO THE FIRE, SMALL FRY.

[fuck around] <v. phr.>, <vulgar>, <avoidable> 1. To be promiscuous. * /John fucks around with the secretaries./ 2. To play at something without purpose, to mess around. * /He doesn't accomplish anything, because he fucks around so much./

[fuck off] <v. phr.>, <vulgar>, <avoidable> 1. Go away! * /Can't you see you're bothering me? Fuck off!/ 2. To be lazy. * /John said "I don't feel like working, so I'll fuck off today."/ Compare: BEAT IT, GOOF OFF.

[fuck up] <v. phr.>, <vulgar>, <avoidable> To make a mess of something or oneself. * /Because he was totally unprepared, he fucked up his exam./ * /He is so fucked up he doesn't know whether he is coming or going./

[fuck-up] <n.>, <vulgar>, <avoidable> A mess; a badly botched situation. * /What a fuck-up the dissolution of the USSR created!/

[fuddy-duddy] <n.> A person whose ideas and habits are old-fashioned. * /His students think Professor Jones is an old fuddy-duddy./

[fuel] See: ADD FUEL TO THE FLAME.

[full] See: HAVE ONE'S HANDS FULL, IN FULL SWING, TO THE FULL.

[full blast] <adv.> At full capacity. * /With all the research money at their disposal, the new computer firm was going ahead full blast./

[full-bodied] <adj.> Mature; of maximum quality. * /The wines from that region in California have a rich, full-bodied flavor./

[full-fledged] <adj.> Having everything that is needed to be something; complete. * /A girl needs three years of training to be a full-fledged nurse./ * /The book was a full-fledged study of American history./

[full of beans] <adj. phr.>, <slang> 1. Full of pep; feeling good; in high spirits. * /The football team was full of beans after winning the tournament./ * /The children were full of beans as they got ready for a picnic./ 2. also [full of prunes] Being foolish and talking nonsense. * /You are full of prunes; that man's not 120 years old./

[full of it] See: FULL OF THE OLD NICK.

[full of oneself] <adj. phr.>, <informal> Interested only in yourself. * /Joe would be a nice boy if he would stop being so full of himself./ Compare: BIG HEAD.

[full of prunes] See: FULL OF BEANS(2).

[full of the moon] <n. phr.>, <literary> The moon when it is seen as a full circle; the time of a full moon. * /The robbers waited for a dark night when the full of the moon was past./ Contrast: DARK OF THE MOON.

[full of the Old Nick] or [full of the devil] or [full of it] <adj. phr.>, <informal> Always making trouble; naughty; bad. * /That boy is full of the Old Nick./

[full tilt] <adv.> At full speed; at high speed. * /He ran full tilt into the door and broke his arm./

[fun] See: MAKE FUN OF.

[fun and games] <n.>, <slang>, <informal> 1. A party or other entertaining event. 2. Something trivially easy. 3. Petting, or sexual intercourse. 4. (Ironically) An extraordinary difficult task. * /How was your math exam? (With a dismayed expression): - Yeah, it was all fun and games, man./

[fun house] <n.> A place where people see many funny things and have tricks played on them to make them laugh or have a good time. * /The boys and girls had a good time looking at themselves in mirrors in the fun house./

[funny bone] <n.> 1. The place at the back of the elbow that hurts like electricity when accidentally hit. * /He hit his funny bone on the arm of the chair./ 2. or <informal> [crazy bone] Sense of humor; understanding jokes. * /Her way of telling the story tickled his funny bone./

[fur] See: MAKE THE FUR FLY.

[furious] See: FAST AND FURIOUS.

[fuse] See: BLOW A FUSE.

[fuss] See: KICK UP A FUSS.

[fuss and feathers] <n.>, <informal> Unnecessary bother and excitement. * /She is full of fuss and feathers this morning./

G

[gab] See: GIFT OF GAB or GIFT OF THE GAB.

[gaff] See: STAND THE GAFF.

[gain ground] <v. phr.> 1. To go forward; move ahead. * /The soldiers fought hard and began to gain ground./ 2. To become stronger; make progress; improve. * /The sick man gained ground after being near death./ * /Under Lincoln, the Republican Party gained ground./ Contrast: LOSE GROUND.

[gallery] See: PLAY TO THE GALLERY.

[gallon] See: TEN-GALLON HAT.

[gallows' humor] <n. phr.> Bitter joke(s) that make fun of a very serious matter, e.g. death, imprisonment, etc. * /When the criminal was led to the electric chair on Monday morning, he said, "Nice way to start the week, eh?"/

[game] See: AHEAD OF THE GAME, LOVE GAME, NAME OF THE GAME, PLAY THE GAME, AT --- STAGE OF THE GAME.

[game at which two can play] <n. phr.> A plan, trick, or way of acting that both sides may use. * /Rough football is a game two can play./ * /Politics is a game at which two can play./

[game is not worth the candle] <literary> What is being done is not worth the trouble or cost; the gain is not worth the effort. * /I don't want to walk so far on such a hot day. The game is not worth the candle./

[game is up] or <slang> [jig is up] The secret or plan won't work; we are caught or discovered. * /The game is up; the teacher knows who took her keys./ * /The jig's up; the principal knows the boys have been smoking in the basement./ Compare: FAT IS IN THE FIRE.

[gang] See: ROAD GANG, SECTION GANG.

[gang up on] or [gang up against] <v. phr.>, <informal> To jointly attack someone, either physically or verbally; take sides in a group against an individual. * /The class bully was stronger than all the other boys, so they had to gang up on him to put him in his place./ Compare: LINE UP(4b).

[garbage down] <v. phr.>, <slang> To eat eagerly and at great speed without much regard for manners or social convention. * /The children garbaged down their food./

[garden apartment] <n.> An apartment with a garden near it. * /The couple live in a garden apartment./

[garment] See: FOUNDATION GARMENT.

[gas] See: STEP ON IT or STEP ON THE GAS.

[gasket] See: BLOW A FUSE or BLOW A GASKET.

[gas up] <v.>, <informal> 1. To fill the gasoline tank of. * /The mechanics gassed up the planes for their long trip./ 2. To fill the tank with gasoline. * /The big truck stopped at the filling station and gassed up./

[gate] See: GET THE BOUNCE or GET THE GATE, GIVE THE BOUNCE or GIVE THE GATE.

[gate crasher] See: CRASH THE GATE.

[gather] See: ROLLING STONE GATHERS NO MOSS.

[gather in] <v.>, <informal> To catch. * /The end gathered in the pass and went over for a touchdown./

[gauntlet] See: RUN THE GAUNTLET, THROW DOWN THE GAUNTLET.

[gay nineties] <n.> The years between 1890 and 1900; remembered as a happy exciting time. * /Ladies wore large hats in the gay nineties./ * /Picnics were popular in the gay nineties./

[gaze] See: CRYSTAL GAZING.

[gear] See: HIGH GEAR, SLIP A COG or SLIP A GEAR, THROW OUT OF GEAR.

[geese] See: FOX AND GEESE.

[gee whiz] <interj.>, <informal> Used as an exclamation to show surprise or other strong feeling. Rare in written English. * /Gee whiz! I am late again./

[general] See: IN GENERAL.

[generation gap] <n.>, <informal>, <hackneyed phrase> The difference in social values, philosophies, and manners between children and their parents, teachers and relatives which causes a lack of understanding between them and frequently leads to violent confrontations. * /My daughter is twenty and I am forty, but we have no generation gap in our family./

[generous to a fault] <adj. phr.> Excessively generous. * /Generous to a fault, my Aunt Elizabeth gave away all her rare books to her old college./

[George] See: LET GEORGE DO IT.

[get] See: GIVE AS GOOD AS ONE GETS, EARLY BIRD CATCHES THE WORM or EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM, GO-GETTER, TELL ONE WHERE TO GET OFF.

[get about] See: GET AROUND(1b).

[get a black eye] <v. phr.> 1. To receive a dark ring around the eye after being hit by someone's fist or an object. * /In the fistfight Tom got a black eye from Pete./ * /Sue got a black eye when she ran into a tree./ 2. To have one's character denigrated. * /Our firm received a black eye because of all the consumer complaints that were lodged against our product./

[get a break] <v. phr.> To receive a stroke of luck. * /Bill got a break when he won the lottery./

[get across] <v.> 1. To explain clearly, make (something) clear; to make clear the meaning of. * /Mr. Brown is a good coach because he can get across the plays./ Syn.: PUT ACROSS. 2. To become clear. * /The teacher tried to explain the problem, but the explanation did not get across to the class./

[get after] <v.>, <informal> 1. To try or try again to make someone do what he is supposed to do. * /Ann's mother gets after her to hang up her clothes./ 2. To scold or make an attack on. * /Bob's mother got after him for tracking mud into the house./ * /The police are getting after the crooks in the city./

[get ahead] <v.> 1. <informal> To become successful. * /Mr. Brown was a good lawyer and soon began to get ahead./ * /The person with a good education finds it easier to get ahead./ 2. To be able to save money; get out of debt. * /In a few more years he will be able to get ahead./ * /After Father pays all the doctor bills, maybe we can get a little money ahead and buy a car./

[get a load of] <v. phr.>, <slang> 1. To take a good look at; see (something unusual or interesting.) - Often used to show surprise or admiration. * /Get a load of that pretty girl!/ * /Get a load of Dick's new car!/ Compare: LOOK OVER. 2. To listen to carefully or with interest, especially exciting news. - Often used as a command: /Get a load of this: Alice got married yesterday!/

[get along] also [get on] <v.> 1. To go or move away; move on. * /The policeman told the boys on the street corner to get along./ 2. To go forward; make progress; advance, * /John is getting along well in school. He is learning more every day./ Syn.: GET AHEAD. 3. To advance; become old or late. * /It is getting along towards sundown./ * /Grandmother is 68 and getting along./ 4. To get or make what you need; manage. * /It isn't easy to get along in the jungle./ * /We can get along on $100 a week./ Compare: DO WITHOUT(2), GET BY, MAKE DO. 5. To live or work together in a friendly way; agree, cooperate; not fight or argue. * /We don't get along with the Jones family./ * /Jim and Jane get along fine together./ * /Don't be hard to get along with./

[get a fix] or [give a fix] <v. phr.>, <slang>, <drug culture> To provide (someone) with an injection of narcotics. * /The neighborhood pusher gave Joe a fix./ Contrast: GET A FIX ON.

[get a fix on] <v. phr.>, <informal> Receive a reading of a distant object by electronic means, as by radar or sonar. * /Can you get a fix on the submarine?/ Contrast: GET A FIX.

[get a grip on] <v. phr.> To take firm control of something. * /If Tim wants to keep his job, he had better get a grip on himself and start working harder./ Contrast: LOSE ONE'S GRIP.

[get a head start on] <v. phr.> To receive preliminary help or instruction in a particular subject so that the recipient is in a favorable position compared to his or her peers. * /At our school, children get a head start on their reading ability thanks to a special program./

[get a kick out of] <v. phr.> To be greatly thrilled; derive pleasure from. * /Tom and Many get a kick out of playing four hands on the piano./

[get a line on] <v. phr.> To receive special, sometimes even confidential information about something. * /Before Bill accepted his new position, he got a line on how the business was being run./

[get a move on] <informal> or <slang> [get a wiggle on] <v. phr.> To hurry up; get going. - Often used as a command. * /Get a move on, or you will be late./

[get a raise] <v. phr.> To receive an increment in salary. * /Because of his good work, Ted got a raise after May 1./

[get a rise out of] <v. phr.>, <slang> 1. To have some fun with (a person) by making (him) angry; tease. * /The boys get a rise out of Joe by teasing him about his girl friend./ 2. <vulgar>, <avoidable> To be sexually aroused (said of males) * /Jim always gets a rise out of watching adult movies./

[get (all) dolled up] See: DOLL UP.

[get along] or [on in years] <v. phr.> To age; grow old. * /My father is getting along in years; he will be ninety on his next birthday./

[get an earful] <v. phr.>, <informal> To hear more (of usually unwelcome news) than one expects or wishes to hear. * /I asked how Tim and his wife were getting along, and I certainly got an earful./ Contrast: SAY A MOUTHFUL.

[get around] <v.> 1a. To go to different places; move about. * /Mary's father really gets around; Monday he was in Washington; Wednesday he was in Chicago; and today he is in New York./ * /Fred broke his leg, but he is able to get about on crutches./ 1b. or [get about] To become widely known especially by being talked about. * /Bad news gets around quickly./ 2a. <informal> To get by a trick or flattery what you want from (someone). * /Mary knows how to get around her father./ 2b. <informal> To find a way of not obeying or doing; escape from. * /Some people try to get around the tax laws./ * /John did not weigh enough to join the Navy, but he got around that; he drank a lot of water before his physical examination./

[get around to] <v.> To do (something) after putting it off; find time for. * /Mr. Lee hopes to get around to washing his car next Saturday./

[get at] <v.> 1. To reach an understanding of; find out the meaning. * /This book is very hard to get at./ 2. To do harm to. * /The cat is on the chair trying to get at the canary./ Compare: GET BACK AT. 3. To have a chance to do; attend to. * /I hope I have time to get at my homework tonight./ Compare: GET TO(2). 4. To mean; aim at; hint at. * /What was Betty getting at when she said she knew our secret?/ * /What the teacher was getting at in this lesson was that it is important to speak correctly./ Syn.: DRIVE AT. Compare: GET ACROSS.