S


Meaning of S in English

I. noun

COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES

a bird's/eagle's/crow's etc nest

an abandoned bird's nest

a bird's/eagle's/crow's etc nest

an abandoned bird's nest

a bird's/eagle's/crow's etc nest

an abandoned bird's nest

a blow to sb/sth's credibilty (= something that damages credibility )

The case was a severe blow to the administration's credibility.

a bullet enters sb's chest/brain etc

There was a scar where the bullet had entered his shoulder.

a bullet is lodged in sb's chest/brain etc (= is stuck in that part of the body )

Surgeons are trying to remove a bullet lodged in his neck.

a doctor's prescription

Most of these drugs require a doctor's prescription.

a jury's verdict (= the decision of a jury )

The jury's verdict is final.

a master's degree (= a higher degree for which you study for one or two years )

She's taking her master's degree.

a smoker's cough (= one caused by smoking )

a spider's web (= the network of threads a spider makes )

a summer's day/evening ( also a summer day/evening )

It was a beautiful summer's day.

a tourist/travel/visitor's visa

He applied for a tourist visa.

a traveller's cheque (= a type of cheque that you can exchange for money in another country )

Are you taking some traveller's cheques on holiday?

accept sb's resignation

The Prime Minister reluctantly accepted his resignation.

acknowledge sb's presence (= speak to someone or make a sign to show that you know they are present )

He acknowledged my presence with a quick wave.

Adam's apple

Aladdin's Cave

Her apartment is an Aladdin's Cave of antiques, old books, and fine paintings.

Alzheimer's disease

answer sb's prayer (= respond to a prayer, especially by giving you what you ask for )

One day my prayers were answered.

arouse sb's curiosity (= make someone want to know about something )

New people in the village always aroused our curiosity.

Arthurian legend(s) (= the legends about King Arthur of Britain )

The castle of Camelot plays an important role in Arthurian legend.

A/S level

I’m taking A/S levels in French, Spanish, English, and Maths.

Asperger's syndrome

athlete's foot

autumn mist(s)

The field looked magical in the autumn mist.

bachelor's degree

baker's dozen

banker's card

banker's draft

banker's order

be in sb's possession

The painting has been in the family's possession since then.

be in sb's prayers (= be prayed for )

You are always in my prayers.

be part of sb's/sth's charm

The house is a long way from anywhere and that is part of its charm.

be part of sb's/sth's charm

The house is a long way from anywhere and that is part of its charm.

be tipped as sb's successor (= be said to be a possible or likely successor )

When Tizard was about to retire as chairman, Cockcroft was tipped as his successor.

be/become aware of sb's presence

It was only when I coughed that he became aware of my presence.

blind man's buff

Buck's Fizz

busman's holiday

buyer's market

call for sb's resignation (= publicly ask for it )

After the defeat, there were calls for the coach's resignation.

calm/steady sb's nerves (= make someone feel less worried or nervous )

She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves.

cat's cradle

The searchlights wove a cat’s cradle of light.

cat's paw

change sb's outlook

None of my arguments could change his outlook or behavior.

check your email(s)

The first thing I do every morning is check my email.

check/feel sb's pulse

The nurse left the room after checking the girl's pulse.

children's home

citizen's arrest

Brown made a citizen’s arrest when a youth attempted to rob an elderly woman.

collector's item

The dolls are real collector's items.

come into sb's possession

You have a duty not to disclose confidential information that comes into your possession.

come up to/live up to sb's expectations (= be as good as someone hoped or expected )

The match was boring, and didn't live up to our expectations at all.

competitive sport(s) (= in which people compete and try to win )

Competitive sport teaches valuable lessons which last for life.

confectioner's sugar

confirm sb's suspicions (= show that someone's suspicions were right )

The letter confirmed my suspicions.

confound sb's expectations (= be different to what someone expected, in a way that surprises or confuses them )

The play totally confounds the audience's expectations.

contrary to sb's wishes (= against what someone has said they want )

Contrary to her parents' wishes, she decided not to go to university.

control sb's/sth's movement

Some people have trouble controlling their hand movements.

control sb's/sth's movement

Some people have trouble controlling their hand movements.

crow's feet

crow's nest

dean's list

death's head

defend sb's/sth's honour (= do something to protect it when it is being attacked )

To defend his honour and his business interests, he was prepared to go to court.

defend sb's/sth's honour (= do something to protect it when it is being attacked )

To defend his honour and his business interests, he was prepared to go to court.

delay sb's departure (= make it later )

I decided to delay my departure by a few days.

demand sb's resignation (= ask for it forcefully )

His political opponents demanded his resignation.

devil's advocate

He would play devil’s advocate with anyone.

devil's food cake

director's chair

director's cut

disturb sb's concentration

I couldn't work with the kids around disturbing my concentration.

disturb sb's sleep

Local people said their sleep was being disturbed by the noise from the aircraft.

disturb sb's thoughts

A gentle knock on the door disturbed his thoughts.

doll's house

do/take A/S levels

Down's syndrome

draw on sb's experience

The books have drawn on the experience of practising teachers.

draw on sb's expertise (= expert knowledge and experience )

Now we can draw on the expertise of some of the most talented network engineers.

draw on sb's ideas

We hope that we will be able to draw on these ideas to develop the work further.

draw on sb's knowledge

Fortunately I was able to draw on my own knowledge of the law.

draw on sb's resources

The committee has drawn on the resources and skills of several local people.

driver's education

driver's license

dry cleaner's

dunce's cap

earn sb's gratitude

The useful service she performed raising money has earned our gratitude.

Eve's pudding

evidence/results/data/studies etc suggest(s) that

The evidence suggests that single fathers are more likely to work than single mothers.

exceed/surpass sb's expectations (= be or do better than you hoped or expected )

The holiday exceeded our expectations.

exhaust sb's patience (= make someone lose patience )

He turned away from me, as if I had exhausted his patience.

expose/reveal/show sth's/sb's limitations (= show where something or someone is not very good )

The film shows his limitations as a actor.

expose/reveal/show sth's/sb's limitations (= show where something or someone is not very good )

The film shows his limitations as a actor.

extend/renew sb's visa (= allow a visa to apply to a longer time )

He hoped that his visa might be extended.

fall below/fall short of sb's expectations (= be worse that someone hoped or expected )

Our profits last year fell below expectations.

Father's Day

fire/stimulate sb's imagination (= make someone use their imagination )

The aim of the exhibition is to stimulate people's imagination.

follow/obey your instinct(s) (= do what your instinct tells you to do )

You should obey your instincts when dealing with strangers.

fool's gold

forward/redirect sb's mail (= send it to a new address )

The post office will forward your mail for a limited time.

fulfil/satisfy sb's expectations formal (= be as good as someone hoped or expected )

The band failed to fulfil the fans' expectations.

fuller's earth

gauge sb's mood (= try to decide what someone's mood is )

He looked at her for a moment, trying to gauge her mood.

generate profit(s)

We have the capacity to generate more profit.

gentleman's agreement

go on your instinct(s) informal (= trust your instincts )

I just went on my instincts and refused his offer.

goat's cheese (= made from goat's milk )

God's mercy

Will we still receive God's mercy if we refuse to repent?

grant/fulfil sb's wish (= give someone what they want )

His parents would now be able to grant his wish.

guard's van

hair's breadth

The bullet missed me by a hair’s breadth.

hear sb's prayer

God must have heard my prayers.

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs

Hobson's choice

hurt sb's feelings (= make someone feel upset )

I hope I didn't hurt your feelings.

improve (sb's) health

Doing more exercise will improve your health.

in accordance with sb's wishes formal (= following what someone wants )

In accordance with his wishes, he was buried next to his first wife.

infringe on/restrict sb's liberty (= limit someone's liberty )

Will the new security measures infringe on our liberty?

inspire/command sb's loyalty (= make someone feel loyal to you )

He inspires extraordinary loyalty among his staff.

invade sb's privacy (= try to find out personal things about them, or disturb them when they want to be alone )

She complained that the magazine had invaded her privacy by printing the photos.

invite comment(s) (= ask people to give an opinion )

The website invites comments from people who visit it.

It's a shame about

It's a shame about the weather.

it's no exaggeration to say that ... (= used to emphasize that something is really true )

It's no exaggeration to say that residents live in fear of the local gangs.

Jehovah's Witness

Jobseeker's Allowance

King's Counsel

King's English

king's evidence

know sb's strengths

It's important to know your strengths as well as your weaknesses.

lady's man

learner's permit

legionnaire's disease

lift the burden from sb's shoulders

If I deal with the all the practical problems, that will lift the burden from your shoulders.

lighten sb's mood (= make someone feel happier )

The sun was streaming in the window, but it did nothing to lighten his mood.

Lord's Prayer

lower sb's expectations (= make someone expect less success, money etc )

If you can't afford your dream home, you may have to lower your expectations.

mama's boy

You’ve got to stand up for yourself, stop being such a mama’s boy.

master's degree

match/suit sb's mood

The terrible weather matched her mood.

meet sb's objections (= change something so that someone will no longer object )

He altered the plans to meet the objections of community leaders.

men's room

mother's boy

Mother's Day

mourn sb's death (= feel very sad after someone has died )

The entertainment world was last night mourning the actor's death.

mummy's boy

Murphy's law

New Year's Day

New Year's Eve

Noah's ark

notice sb's presence

If he had noticed her presence, he gave no sign.

old people's home

Pandora's box

The report could open up a Pandora’s box of claims from similar cases.

Parkinson's disease

parson's nose

philosopher's stone

pique sb's curiosity (= make someone want to know about something )

Something she said had piqued his curiosity.

plant a kiss on sb's cheek/forehead etc (= to kiss someone on their cheek etc )

Stephen planted a kiss on his daughter’s forehead.

ploughman's lunch

potter's wheel

private member's bill

professional sport(s) (= which people are paid to do )

The kind of money involved in professional sport makes cheating inevitable.

protect sb's liberty

The right to vote is one of the most powerful means we have to protect our liberty.

protect sb's privacy

Names have been changed to protect the privacy of those involved.

prove sb's guilt/innocence

There was no way she could prove her innocence.

provoke protest(s)/an outcry

Not surprisingly, the new rules have provoked protests from gun owners.

The crackdown provoked an international outcry.

Queen's Counsel

Queen's English

Queen's evidence

raise sb's expectations (= make someone expect more success, money etc )

Having raised expectations, the government failed to live up to its promises.

reading/writing etc material(s)

Videos often make good teaching material.

reflect/capture sb's mood (= show what someone is feeling )

His comments reflected the national mood.

reject/turn down sb's resignation

Initially, his resignation was rejected.

He offered his resignation but it was turned down by the Prime Minister.

respect sb's privacy (= not invade their privacy )

Show teenagers that you respect their privacy by knocking on their bedroom door.

restrict/hinder sb's movement (= make movement more difficult )

Clothes should not be so tight that they restrict your movement.

return sb's deposit formal (= give it back to them )

Your deposit will be returned to you when you leave the flat.

S & L

S & M

saint's day

satisfy sb's appetite/hunger

They don't get enough food to satisfy their appetite.

satisfy sb's aspirations (= provide the things that someone hopes to get )

The new government failed to satisfy the aspirations of the people.

satisfy sb's cravings (= satisfy a strong desire )

I needed to satisfy my cravings for chocolate.

satisfy sb's curiosity (= find out something that you want to know )

I decided to call him in order to satisfy my curiosity.

satisfy sb's curiosity (= let someone know something they want to know )

I had to read the letter, just to satisfy my curiosity.

satisfy sb's wants (= provide the things that someone wants )

We work hard to satisfy customers' wants.

say/whisper sth into sb's ear

He whispered something into his wife's ear.

sb's level of anxiety

Patients experience high levels of anxiety at time of admission to hospital.

sb's overriding concern (= much more important than anything else )

An artist's overriding concern is to achieve the highest standard possible.

sb's ability to cope

The bears' survival will depend on their ability to cope with a changing environment.

sb's absence from work/school

You will be entitled to sick pay in respect of any absence from work through sickness.

sb's acceptance speech (= when they accept a political job, a prize, or an award )

In his acceptance speech, he paid tribute to his wife.

sb's active vocabulary (= the words they can use )

Children of this age have an active vocabulary of about 1,000 words.

sb's arch-rival (= their main or strongest rival )

McDonald's and its arch-rival Burger King

sb's bedroom/office window

From his bedroom window he could see two men having an argument.

sb's biggest competitor (= sb's main competitor, especially in business )

The company's biggest competitor is in financial trouble.

sb's biological/natural parents

Most children are reared by their natural parents.

sb's birth parents (= the ones who are biologically related to them )

Only half the children who are adopted wish to discover their birth parents.

sb's blood type/group (= one of the different types of human blood )

What blood type are you?

sb's body temperature

His body temperature was high and he was dehydrated.

sb's brand of humour (= the type of jokes, funny stories etc that a particular person likes or tells )

Their brand of humour isn't to everyone's taste.

sb's breadth of knowledge (= when you know a lot about all the different parts of something )

They lack his breadth of knowledge about the industry.

sb's calculations are right/correct/accurate

Fortunately his calculations were accurate.

sb's calculations are wrong/inaccurate

Some of our calculations were wrong.

sb's central concern

Our organization's central concern is to help people at all levels of society.

sb's chance of success

They have a good chance of success.

sb's childhood home

Her childhood home was in North Dakota.

sb's childhood/teenage years

the home in which she spent her childhood years

sb's closest competitor ( also sb's nearest competitor British English ) (= sb's main competitor )

He had five times as many votes as his nearest competitor.

sb's cupped hand (= in the shape of a cup )

Hamil shook the dice in his cupped hand.

sb's daily calories (= that someone eats every day )

Americans get 22% of their daily calories from snacks.

sb's deep gratitude ( also profound gratitude formal )

My only emotions afterward were relief and deep gratitude.

sb's dream of glory

His dreams of glory were shattered when he lost to Federer.

sb's earliest memory

My earliest memory is of being bitten by a dog.

sb's ears pop (= the pressure in them changes suddenly, for example when you go up or down quickly in a plane )

My ears finally popped when the plane landed.

sb's ears stick out (= they are noticeable because they do not lie flat against someone's head )

If my hair is too short, you can see that my ears stick out.

sb's eternal/undying gratitude (= used to emphasize how extremely grateful you are )

The doctors who saved my daughter have my undying gratitude.

sb's excitement grows (= it increases )

Her excitement grew as the day of the wedding came nearer.

sb's extended family (= including not only parents and children, but also grandparents, aunts etc )

She gets a lot of help from her extended family.

sb's eyes light up (= become excited )

His eyes lit up when I mentioned the word money.

sb's eyes twinkle/dance with mischief (= they show that someone wants to cause trouble, play tricks etc )

Leo nodded, his eyes shining with mischief.

sb's eyesight fails

He's over 80 now, and his eyesight is beginning to fail.

sb's eyesight gets worse/deteriorates

Your eyesight gradually deteriorates with age.

sb's face is dark/red/purple with rage

His face went purple with rage.

sb's face is twisted/contorted with rage

Mike's usually calm face was contorted with rage.

sb's family background

He comes from a stable family background.

sb's family home (= where someone's family live and where they lived as a child )

Her family home is in a village outside Derry.

sb's final destination ( also sb's ultimate destination formal )

At around 1pm we arrived at our final destination.

sb's first/initial impulse

Her first impulse was to turn and walk away.

sb's first/initial instinct

His first instinct was to try and hide.

sb's first/main task

Their first task was to rebuild the wall.

sb's first/second/last etc appearance

This is the band's last appearance in the UK before a 46-date tour of Europe.

sb's free hand (= the hand someone is not already using )

Amy was stroking the dog with her free hand.

sb's front/back teeth

Some of his front teeth were missing.

sb's golf swing (= the way someone moves a golf club when hitting the ball )

Keith's been working on improving his golf swing.

sb's grasp of reality (= their understanding of reality )

They portrayed her as a sick woman with only a tenuous grasp of reality.

sb's gut instinct informal (= someone's first instinct )

Her gut instinct about Jimmy had been right.

sb's hand grabs/grasps sth (= take and hold something firmly )

He felt Connor's hand grasp his shoulder.

sb's hand grips sth (= hold something firmly )

Her hands gripped the steering wheel very tightly.

sb's hand holds sth

His other hand was holding his mobile phone.

sb's hand tightens

Her hand tightened on the knife handle.

sb's hand touches sth

Daniel's hand touched mine.

sb's hands shake/tremble

His hands trembled as he lifted the cup.

sb's health deteriorates (= gets worse )

Her health deteriorated rapidly.

sb's health improves

Her health improved slowly after she came home from hospital.

sb's hearing gets worse ( also sb's hearing deteriorates )

The medication seemed to make her hearing get worse.

sb's hearing goes (= someone becomes unable to hear )

His hearing has gone in one ear.

sb's home/native city (= where they were born or grew up )

He said that he never wanted to leave his home city.

sb's ideal weight (= what someone should weigh, according to their height and body type )

She weighs about 10lbs more than her ideal weight.

sb's immediate family (= closest relations )

What if one of your immediate family were disabled?

sb's immediate successor (= the person who has their job or position next )

Valentinian's immediate successor, Petronius Maximus, was killed in 455.

sb's immense gratitude (= being very grateful )

He would like everyone to know about his immense gratitude for all their work.

sb's inaugural speech (= their first one in an important political job )

He said all the right things in his inaugural speech.

sb's intended destination (= where someone is trying to go )

Strong winds blew the yacht several miles away from its intended destination.

sb's kind invitation

It gives me great pleasure to accept your kind invitation.

sb's last will and testament formal (= sb's will )

sb's left/right ear

She is deaf in her right ear.

sb's main/biggest concern

My main concern is my children.

sb's main/chief competitor

The company's main competitor is Vodaphone.

sb's main/chief opponent

Who was her main opponent for the presidential nomination?

sb's main/chief rival

Who is the champion's main rival?

sb's membership expires/lapses (= it comes to an end )

We will send you a letter when your membership is about to expire.

sb's mental outlook (= how you feel about the things in your life )

Exercise can help improve your mental outlook.

sb's moment of glory

The team's only moment of glory came in the second half of the game.

sb's mood changes

Then his mood changed, and he laughed.

sb's mood improves

By the next morning, her mood had improved.

sb's moral/ethical outlook (= beliefs about what is right and wrong )

Their ethical and moral outlook concerning terrorism is the complete opposite of mine.

sb's nearest/closest rival (= the one that is closest to beating them )

She finished 7.1 seconds ahead of her nearest rival.

sb's nerve breaks (= someone loses the courage to do something or continue something )

The police hoped his nerve would break and he'd give himself away.

sb's nerve fails (him/her) (= someone suddenly loses the courage or confidence to do something )

At the last moment, her nerve failed her.

sb's nerves are on edge (= they feel nervous or worried about what might happen )

His nerves were on edge as he entered the dark room.

sb's nerves are stretched (to breaking point) (= they feel very nervous or worried )

Her nerves were stretched almost to breaking point as she waited.

sb's nerves are tattered/frayed/shattered (= they feel very nervous or worried )

Everyone's nerves were frayed by the end of the week.

sb's nose is running (= liquid is coming out )

She was crying hard and her nose was running.

sb's official capacity (= someone's official position or duty )

He spent Wednesday in Washington acting in his official capacity as Senate majority leader.

sb's official duties (= the things someone does as part of their job or position )

the royal family's official duties.

sb's only worry

My only worry was that she wouldn't like it.

sb's only/one hope

My only hope is that someone may have handed in the keys to the police.

sb's only/sole concern

Rick's only concern was having a good time at the weekend.

sb's passive vocabulary (= the words they can understand but do not use )

Your passive vocabulary is much larger than your active vocabulary.

sb's patience is rewarded (= they get what they were hoping and waiting to get )

After two hours, their patience was rewarded and they saw the bird.

sb's patience is wearing thin (= they are becoming angry )

People's patience is wearing thin as the queues for visas get longer.

sb's patience snaps (= they suddenly show their anger )

Celia's patience snapped when he dropped a second glass of wine on the carpet.

sb's personal appearance

Teenagers are very conscious of their personal appearance.

sb's personal income

Average personal incomes rose by about 5% last year.

sb's personal possessions

We were told that we could take only a few personal possessions with us.

sb's physical resemblance to sb

People often commented on his physical resemblance to his father.

sb's pockets are bulging (= they are very full )

Tony's pockets were bulging with loose change.

sb's political career

He is facing the biggest decision of his political career.

sb's popularity rating (= how popular someone is according to a poll )

His popularity rating dropped quite dramatically after the events of last year.

sb's popularity soars (= increases by a large amount )

Opinion polls showed that his popularity had soared to a record level.

sb's present/immediate concern

Her two immediate concerns were to find a home and a job.

sb's primary/chief/principal concern

The president said his primary concern was the welfare of the American people.

sb's pulse beats

His pulse began to beat with a fierce rhythm.

sb's pulse quickens (= starts to beat faster )

He heard a footfall in the passage outside and felt his pulse quicken.

sb's pulse races (= beats very quickly )

His long fingers brushed hers, sending her pulse racing.

sb's real parents (= their biological parents )

I was thrilled to have found my real parents.

sb's religious outlook

The Puritans' religious outlook affected every aspect of their lives.

sb's retirement years

He enjoyed his retirement years in Wales.

sb's right to privacy

Children feel more comfortable when parents respect their right to privacy.

sb's sick bed (= the bed where a sick person is lying )

He left his sick bed to play in the game.

sb's sincere gratitude

First, I must express our sincere gratitude for all you have done.

sb's social life (= activities that involve being with other people for pleasure )

Teenagers enjoy an active social life.

sb's state of health

Your choice of exercise must depend on your general state of health.

sb's stomach churns (= they feel sick because they are nervous or frightened )

Her stomach was churning with anxiety.

sb's stomach lurches/tightens (= it suddenly feels tight because they are frightened )

Her stomach lurched at the thought of leaving Millfield.

sb's stomach rumbles (= it makes a noise because they are hungry )

She felt her stomach rumble.

sb's target weight (= the weight someone is trying to be )

I've reached my target weight.

sb's teeth chatter (= hit together quickly because someone is cold or afraid )

My teeth began to chatter, and I regretted leaving my jacket behind.

sb's visa expires/runs out (= it ends )

I had 14 days to leave the country because my visa had expired.

sb's waist/chest/leg etc measurement

What is his waist measurement?

sb's wish comes true

His wish came true when he was called up to play for England.

sb's word of honour (= a promise based on strong moral beliefs )

I give you my word of honour that you will not be harmed.

sb's worldly possessions literary (= everything they own )

Over his shoulder hung a bag which contained all his worldly possessions.

sb's worst nightmare (= the worst possible situation )

The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease was farming's worst nightmare.

sb's youthful appearance

She was no longer a young woman, despite her youthful appearance.

sb's/sth's honour is at stake (= someone may lose their honour )

French people believed that the country's honour was at stake over the incident.

sb's/sth's honour is at stake (= someone may lose their honour )

French people believed that the country's honour was at stake over the incident.

sb's/sth's odd/strange appearance

Children sometimes stared at him because of his odd appearance.

sb's/sth's odd/strange appearance

Children sometimes stared at him because of his odd appearance.

sb's/sth's physical appearance

If you want to improve your physical appearance, eat well and exercise.

sb's/sth's physical appearance

If you want to improve your physical appearance, eat well and exercise.

sb's/sth's strength lies in sth

The show's strength lies in the fact that it appeals to all ages.

sb's/sth's strength lies in sth

The show's strength lies in the fact that it appeals to all ages.

sb’s chance(s) of survival

He knew that his chances of survival were small.

seller's market

sense sb's presence (= be aware that someone is present without seeing them )

The man sensed his presence at once and turned sharply.

settle sb's stomach (= to stop it feeling uncomfortable )

The doctor gave me some tablets to settle my stomach.

settle/soothe sb's nerves (= make someone feel less worried or nervous )

She hoped that a cup of tea would soothe her nerves.

shape sb's future

Your boss is the one who writes your evaluations, recommends you for promotions and shapes your future.

share sb's disappointment

We all shared her disappointment in failing to get the job.

share sb's optimism (= feel the optimism that someone else feels )

After so many problems, I found it hard to share his optimism.

shepherd's pie

ship's chandler

solve sb's difficulties

You can't solve your difficulties by running away.

State's evidence

steal sb's glory (= do something that makes you more admired than someone else who is doing something similar )

Collins is wonderful, but Shaw steals all the glory with his magnificent performance.

sth's actual existence

Poaching now threatens the animal's actual existence.

sth's continued existence

The city's continued existence is threatened by rising water levels.

sth's mere existence (= just the fact that something exists )

The mere existence of a contract does not guarantee that you will be paid.

sth's popularity declines

As fashions changed, their popularity declined.

sth's very existence

The university's very existence is at stake.

strengthen sb's hand (= make them more powerful )

The controversy has strengthened the hand of her critics.

strengthen sb's position

They have strengthened their position by their performance in the recent local elections.

strengthen sb's resolve (= make them more determined )

Other people's doubts only strengthened my resolve to start my own business.

suit sb's mood

You can adjust the colour of the lighting to suit your mood.

suit sb's needs/requirements

The building has been adapted to suit the needs of older people.

suit sb's pocket (= cost as much as they feel they can pay )

The choice is wide, with something to suit everyone's pocket.

suit sb's purpose

It suited her purpose to let him believe the lie.

suit sb's style

Choose a racket that suits your style of play.

suit sb's taste

Users can customize the home page to suit their personal tastes.

sweat stands out on sb's forehead (= there are drops of sweat on sb's forehead )

Sweat stood out on Ian's forehead.

take sb's pulse (= count the beats of their pulse )

Remember to take your pulse at intervals while you are exercising.

take up sb's invitation/take sb up on their invitation (= accept someone's invitation )

I decided to take them up on their invitation to dinner.

tax/copyright/divorce etc law(s)

an accountant who knows about tax law

teacher's pet

terminate sb's membership (= stop someone being a member )

His membership was terminated for 'unprofessional conduct'.

test sb's nerve (= test whether someone will have the courage to do something difficult )

The next few days would test their nerve to the limit.

that's nonsense (= used to emphasize that something is not true )

That’s nonsense. I never said that at all.

that's not the point

We'd earn a lot of money, but that's not the point.

the driver's seat

He climbed into the driver's seat.

the early 1920s/1970s etc (= 1920–23, 1970–73 etc )

He lived in London in the early 1980s.

the early 1920s/1970s etc (= 1920–23, 1970–73 etc )

He lived in London in the early 1980s.

the open plain(s)

On the open plains of east Africa are zebras, antelopes, and gazelles.

the over-30s/50s etc (= people who are more than a particular age )

a social club for the over-60s

the secret of sb's success (= what makes them successful )

A visitor asked Connie the secret of her success with growing roses.

the vast/great plain(s)

Beyond lay the vast plains of the Central Valley.

the world's population

Sixty percent of the world's population live in areas that are at risk from sea-level rises.

threaten sb's liberty

The government should not be so strong that it threatens individual liberty.

three R's

trace sth's evolution (= find the origins of when an animal, plant etc began or where it came from )

Anthropologists can trace the evolution of plants and animals by examining fossils.

trace sth's evolution (= find the origins of when something began or where it came from )

The show traced the evolution of black American music from gospel through soul to hip-hop

traveller's cheque

trust your instinct(s) ( also rely on your instincts ) (= believe that your instincts are correct )

I've trusted my instincts in the past and they've usually been right.

try/test/tax sb's patience (= make it difficult for someone to continue to be patient )

The guy at the desk was beginning to try my patience.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

with sb's permission

With your permission, I'd like to talk to your son alone.

women's lib

women's movement

women's room

women's studies

writer's block

writer's cramp

COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS

■ NOUN

corporation

Many people think that they can enjoy the losses generated by an S corporation simply by investing in an S corporation.

When do you want an S corporation ?

A maximum of seventy-five shareholders. S corporations may not have more than Seventy-five shareholders.

Likewise, if you intend to reward your employees with preferred stock, an S corporation will not work.

One corporation elected to be an S corporation at a time when it had a second class of stock.

People end up with less basis in their S corporations than they expected once they start to borrow from a bank.

Service businesses and retail establishments are often more suitable for S corporations because you get paid as you perform the work.

■ VERB

market

Underlying that, however, was a U. S . market that rose too far too fast without a correction.

The effects of the U. S . market decline were felt most yesterday by mutual funds that invest in technology stocks.

Gateway 2000, which saw shipments grow by almost 29 percent to finish sixth in the U. S . market .

It no longer exports a model called the Eunos Presso to the U. S . market .

The move also puts them closer to the U. S . market , reducing shipping costs.

Foreign banks have been eager to enter the U. S . market for loans.

trade

One month it is the U. S . trade deficit, the next month the consumer price index.

Technology issues, including Microsoft, were some of the most active stocks in U. S . trading today.

Dash was doing his patriotic bit to fund the U. S . trade deficit.

PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

(and) what's more

These detergents are environmentally friendly; what's more , they're relatively cheap.

What's more , the price of a mobile home often includes appliances.

All stylishly embossed with your club's emblem. What's more , each item carries an equally attractive price tag.

And what's more it's clean.

And what's more it's encouraging people to be brief and efficient.

And what's more , I can always teach.

And what's more , scarce a word out of you.

And what's more , they're free!

The company is perceived through its design, is judged by it. What's more , people buy design rather than function.

Yes, it had a heater and, what's more , you could even have air conditioning and automatic transmission.

(and) what's more

(hard/hot/close) on sb's heels

(have) sb's blood on your hands

But I already have too much blood on my hands.

Dad with blood on his hands.

He hated to see her with blood on her hands.

I want him to know he has my son's blood on his hands.

Republicans spent eight years trying to prove President Clinton had blood on his hands.

There's blood on my hands, mine or hers I don't know.

There was blood on his hands and I thought he'd had an accident.

(have/drop) a word in sb's ear

A word in the ear of the Weatherfield constabulary.

His resolve ends when again he wakes at dawn with prophetic words in his ears.

If I were you I'd drop a quiet word in her ear before it's too late.

Mixed blessings' A word in your ear.

(it's a) small world

"I graduated from St. John's." "Really? So did my brother. Small world."

(it's been) nice meeting/talking to you

(it's) a bit thick

(it's) my pleasure

"Thanks for coming." "My pleasure ."

(it's) no/small/little wonder (that)

(it's) the business

A company owned and run by Mr and Mrs Bunch carried on the business of purchase and resale of bulk butter.

He ran the business part time until last January.

If the receipt is distributed to shareholders as dividends then the capital base of the business has been eroded.

In the business world, it is felt that this is the degree of flexibility that is required.

Melrose Petroleum is the general partner and manages the business .

Richard Sackville of Buckhurst, in the business of making shot, was a major landowner with 200 marks a year.

The business is effectively recession proof, if anything it probably does better when times are hard.

The proceeds will be used to fund research and development and to expand the business .

(on) Shanks's pony

(right) under sb's nose

Pat's car was stolen, almost from under his nose .

(send sb on) a fool's errand

(straight/right) from the horse's mouth

(that's a) good idea/point/question

(that's a) good question!

"Does the program allow you to do that?" "That's a good question - I don't know."

(that's/it's) always the way!

(the word) failure/guilt/compromise etc is not in sb's vocabulary

(there's) many a true word spoken in jest

(there's) no hurry

You can get it sometime when you visit - there's no hurry .

(there's) nothing to it

(widow's) weeds

Bob's your uncle!

God is in his heaven, all's right with the world

God's gift to sb/sth

John thinks he's God's gift to tennis.

I am not sb's keeper

I'm not Janey's keeper .

I'll have sb's guts for garters

I'll wring sb's neck

When Dean gets home, I'm going to wring his neck.

I'm/he's/she's like ...

He was like , huh?

I asked him if he thought Liz was cute, and he's like , yeah, definitely.

We were like , oh no!

If I should die, think only this of me:/That there's some corner of a foreign field/That is forever England

It's one thing to ... it's (quite) another to

Job's comforter

What's your/his etc problem?

a big girl's blouse

a bit of how's your father

a buyer's/seller's market

a chink in sb's armour

Perhaps spotting a chink in Clinton's armour, the Republicans have further accused him of stirring up feeling against the war.

Perhaps there was a chink in the Tuer armour?

The film-makers used a chink in the technological armour to record the candidates in their unguarded, uncensored private moments.

a crack in sb's voice

He noticed the crack in her voice as she tried to continue.

a day's march/two weeks' march etc

a dog's dinner

a dog's life

a figment of sb's imagination

These two men actually lived; they weren't figments of some writer's imagination.

But don't take my word for it; this is not a figment of the journalistic imagination.

It had vanished as silently as if it had been only a figment of her imagination.

Nearly three years after work had begun, the dam was still a figment of the imagination.

Neither one was a figment of his imagination.

The carpet is a figment of the imagination: an oriental pattern of light and shadow projected on the floor.

The Ghost of Banquo is more than a figment of Macbeth's imagination: it stands in some way in relation to his conscience.

The gymslip Lolita is not entirely a figment of the male imagination.

The ugly rectory is a figment of my imagination, for there was never such a building on Wood Green.

a good night's sleep

All you need is a good night's sleep.

Night before 1 Try to ensure a good night's sleep. 2 Alleviate any anxiety if possible.

a king's ransom

a lump in/to sb's throat

Even the Station Commander had a lump in his throat.

For a moment she said nothing, she just swallowed as if there were a lump in her throat.

Kathleen swallowed a lump in her throat, Ben coughed discreetly and Jack busied himself at the X-ray box.

Melanie felt a lump in her throat; it was a touching and whole-hearted welcome.

That thought brought a lump to my throat, tears to my eyes.

There was a lump in her throat as she gazed down on the gaunt features.

When she finished Charlie found that he had a lump in his throat.

a man's man

He was a Vietnam veteran, a man's man who liked to hunt and ride his motorcycle.

He looks offended when I tell him he is perceived as a man's man .

a millstone round/around sb's neck

This particular heritage may be a millstone around the neck of scientific natural history.

a nod's as good as a wink

a snap of sb's fingers

What else? exclaimed Papa with a snap of his fingers.

a stone's throw from sth/away (from sth)

a thorn in sb's side

Gino was a thorn in their side.

The man has been a thorn in our side since the day he arrived three weeks ago.

a turn-up for the book(s)

a who's who of sth

From Seles down, the list of competitors reads like a who's who of international tennis players.

In fact, it really is a who's who of international canoe touring.

Its guest-list read like a who's who of the great and the good.

O'Hara's list of friends reads like a Who's Who of abstract expressionism.

The mill's chequered history is almost a Who's Who of eminent local individuals and families of clothiers.

a wolf in sheep's clothing

If ever there was a wolf in sheep's clothing this Bill is it.

a/sb's penchant for sth

act for sb/act on sb's behalf

against sb's wishes

He became a dancer against the wishes of his family.

all's fair in love and war

Ah, come on; all's fair in love and war, Cameron.

all's well that ends well

allay (sb's) fear/concern/suspicion etc

But he failed to allay fears that he will be a fatally flawed candidate when pitted against President Bush next autumn.

In an attempt to allay these concerns, Rhone and other staff members met with citizens from the rehabilitation area several times.

In this way he can discuss current information with his wife and help to allay her fears.

Kelly argues that the removal of the requirement to aid decision-makers would allay fears.

Margaret came from a wealthy family, and Richard was anxious to allay any suspicion that he had married for money.

Sly had to allay their suspicions and stop them probing any further.

Some Alliance supporters made statements that did little to allay such fears.

The virtual extinction of the dragon sister tutor should also help to allay your fears.

an Aladdin's Cave

an Englishman's home is his castle

an attempt on sb's life

an/the answer to sb's prayers

Excel 4 has the answer to my prayers in the Scenario Manager.

If so, a 100 per cent mortgage may look like the answer to your prayers .

If so, Lands' End may have the answer to your prayers .

She, she is the answer to my prayers .

The letter seemed to be the answer to her prayers .

To Jacqueline this was the answer to her prayers .

and that's flat!

appeal to sb's better nature/sense of justice etc

as is sb's wont

As was his wont , Churchill drank scotch with water, but no ice.

Organic causes were ruled out so, as is his wont , he sat down and talked to her.

ask/beg sb's pardon (for sth)

I am ashamed of it myself, and for this reason I stoop to beg your pardon .

I ask you to pardon me.

In 1182, he asked formally for pardon , prostrating himself before Barbarossa.

at His/Her Majesty's pleasure

at a snail's pace

at sb's bidding

at sb's disposal

Hadden has some of the best medical advice in the country at his disposal .

at sb's expense

Louis kept making jokes at his wife's expense .

Several state senators traveled to Asia at taxpayers' expense .

at sb's heels

at sb's instance

at sb's instigation

Shepard lied to investigators at the instigation of his direct superior officer.

attract/catch/get sb's attention

baker's

bang/knock sb's heads together

He caught hold of the two nearest him and knocked their heads together, kicked two more and grabbed the ringleaders.

She'd just box a few ears, knock a few heads together like she did with the Rattries, and chase them off.

barber's

bask/bathe in sb's/sth's (reflected) glory

A less ambitious painter would have been content merely to bask in the glory that his canvases had earned him.

And, on occasions like last Sunday's Baftas, bathe in reflected glory . % % % Overreaction?

His boss sat on the forty-first floor and was still basking in the reflected glory of his minion.

I certainly don't want to bask in any reflected glory .

Nigel went on for years basking in the glory of his first book.

She would have basked in the reflected glory of their marriages; she could have boasted of her sons-in-law for ever more.

be (a figment of) sb's imagination

All that is left to connect us to the past is the imagination .

My subject was landscape and imagination .

No, it was just my imagination running riot.

Puny appeared thoughtful, or was it his imagination ?

The real limit to whatever ingenious notions and ideas we may develop is our own imagination .

Thoughts are things; imagination is experience.

Was it his imagination , or could he really feel the beginnings of a headache?

Yet it was not all imagination .

be a mug's game

be after sb's blood

be all in a day's work

be an insult to sb's intelligence

It is an insult to our intelligence.

be anybody's guess

It's anybody's guess where he's disappeared to.

And how many days and weeks and years made up a duration was anybody's guess .

Disenfranchised voters are believed to number at least 100,000 - though why the lenders want their business is anybody's guess .

How often, when and where women-only units would see active service is anybody's guess .

It is anybody's guess as to how the sale will fare.

Strangely, what may happen at the taking of the sample itself seems to be anybody's guess .

What the Spice Girls' eight-year-old girl fans make of this is anybody's guess .

Whether the idea will catch on is anybody's guess .

Which came first is anybody's guess , but the two are now working together to make the patient even more ill.

be at death's door

His skin was so pale, he looked like he was at death's door.

be at each other's throats

Congress and the President have been at each other's throats for so long that it's a wonder they can agree on anything.

Lisa and Nicole were at each other's throats the whole trip.

be at sb's beck and call

I have never liked to be at anybody's beck and call.

She was always rushing around at her mother's beck and call.

I had to be at his beck and call, night and day.

be at sb's side/stay by sb's side/not leave sb's side

be beyond sb's power (to do sth)

I am afraid that is beyond my powers .

So he adopted the simple expedient of not opening it until it was beyond his power to act on it.

The taxpayer, it said, had not established that it was beyond his powers to obtain the information.

Then they discovered that this was beyond their power .

Unfortunately, I think it may be beyond my powers as a programmer to set up such a counterfeit world.

be breathing down sb's neck

I'm already really busy today, and now Paul's breathing down my neck saying he wants the Paris deal completed.

I can't work with you breathing down my neck.

We'd better start sending out those letters soon -- I've had the sales manager breathing down my neck about it all week.

He would be breathing down your neck all the time.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats are breathing down his neck.

Maybe the Assistant Commissioner's wife was breathing down Maxham's neck.

The staff is breathing down your neck.

be in sb's gift

All appointments to military and administrative posts were in the gift of the Grand Prince.

Bishoprics were in the royal gift and, as sizeable landed endowments, they were like fiefs.

How much control had the monarch over appointments to offices which legally were in his gift ?

It has run Bavaria for 30 years and the state premiership is in its gift .

Sunday morning, Rice was in a hotel gift shop.

be in sb's good books

I think I'm back in Corinne's good books again.

be in sb's good/bad books

be in sb's line

Do not put fluffy rugs in front of open fires, where they are in the direct line of sparks.

He was in a line of three cars.

My father thinks they should be in curved lines .

The Law Society too was in the firing line .

The name is in the first field because it is in the first line . 8.

They were in a straight line but when Boris clapped his paws they began to march.

This is in fact the line which Berger then developed.

be in sb's pocket

His hands were in his pockets .

His own left hand, he discovered, was in his trouser pocket .

Police suggested Profeta may have been planning another killing as the king of clubs was in his pocket .

The dilaudid tabs were in the pocket of her cardigan.

The door from the kitchen into the main hall was always double-locked, and the key was in Billy's pocket .

The keys are in your pocket .

be in sb's power

He'll do whatever I tell him to do. He's completely in my power .

He is worried his son will be entirely in his ex-wife's power .

Data from the 1990 census indicate exactly how crucial higher education is in determining earning power .

I most heartily wish it may be in my power to serve and save so much innocence, beauty and merit.

I shall be in his power .

It was in their power to make and break military reputations; men gave of their best in front of them.

They were in her power and at her discretion in all ways - how she loved them.

They were in the power of these dragons.

We must do whatever is in our power to convince them not to marry until they are old enough to know themselves.

be in your 20s/30s/40s etc

A black man, believed to be in his 30s, was shot after being confronted by police.

Diller assembled about 25 executives, most of whom were in their 20s and early 30s.

He may be in his 40s, but this guy still can rock Arizona.

I am in my 30s and married, but I am beginning to think the young men are not always to blame.

Most of the victims were in their 20s and 30s, he said.

My buyer can be in his 20s or 60s.

People who are in their 40s and 50s will like it also, because this is about two kids from their generation.

The man police are looking for is in his 20s, of Afro Carribean appearance and powerfully built.

be in/at/to the forefront of sb's mind/attention etc

The risks of a court case also have to be in the forefront of your mind.

This meant that fund-raising news and any other news about the deaf was in the forefront of everyone's attention.

be in/under sb's charge

Soldiers under Bensen's charge say he was a harsh but fair commander.

Hell, those goons were in complete charge , with their car caravans, squealing their tires around, intimidating people.

It had no idea if the private hospitals were in turn charging their patients.

Local organisers are responsible both for the academic and technical staffing of a vehicle whilst it is in their charge .

Pain and anger were very much part of the proceedings, as they always are in McGovern's charged dramas.

Perhaps Elena thought that if she was in sole charge she could make a proper tyrant out of him.

The Producer would still be in overall charge , but his or her role was now far more strategic than tactical.

There will again be Joint and Several liability as there was in Community Charge .

When al Molqi took off, he was under the charge of Roman Catholic charity workers.

be in/within sb's power (to do sth)

Data from the 1990 census indicate exactly how crucial higher education is in determining earning power .

I most heartily wish it may be in my power to serve and save so much innocence, beauty and merit.

I shall be in his power .

It is within your power to concentrate on selected aspects of your work environment and ignore others.

It was in their power to make and break military reputations; men gave of their best in front of them.

They were in the power of these dragons.

We must do whatever is in our power to convince them not to marry until they are old enough to know themselves.

be living in a fool's paradise

be no/nobody's fool

Perhaps he was, she was nobody's fool .

be on a razor/razor's edge

be on sb's back

Aunt Mimi was always on his back about him "wasting time playing that silly guitar".

Nick knew that the coach would be on his back if he missed another training session.

The boss has been on my back about that report.

By this time the Confederates had formed into columns and were on the march back to Corinth, Mississippi.

He must be on his way back by now.

Her eyes opened; she was on her back .

His father was on his back night and day.

Instead of automated leisure, enforced unemployment was on its way back .

Seeing that stately building on a hill and knowing the respirator center was on the back with the water view heartened me.

The afternoon papers are on the back seat and he reads them until the limousine stops in front of a funeral home.

Their other project, meanwhile, is on the back burner.

be on sb's case

Dad's always on my case about getting a job.

And Rathbone would be on the case , with his bloodhound and magnifying glass.

And the National Guard were on the case now.

Around 50 police officers are on the case .

But Jack MacFarland was on the case .

First you are on this case , then you are off.

I dreamed I was on a case .

In fact there was not much of a feeling that anyone was on my case at all.

be on sb's tail

be putty in sb's hands

be sb's for the asking

It can be had for the asking .

Liverpool was taking a beating, and rumours were free for the asking on every street corner and in every food queue.

The men we pass on the street look me over, as if I too might be available for the asking .

These data are there for the asking , and they can provide a shortcut to long hours of interviews and observations.

Tomatoes are free for the asking , sacks of tomatoes are thrust on you after church.

be sb's lucky day

"Look at the size of the fish I caught!" "It must be your lucky day!"

Anyway, that day was obviously a lucky day.

But it was Swindon's lucky day.

Friday used to be considered a lucky day for weddings in Gerrnany.

It was not her lucky day.

Read the stars in the magazines and the paper: Today is your lucky day.

be the apple of sb's eye

Ben was always the apple of his father's eye.

He was the apple of her eye, the salt of her earth, the source of her strength - her everything.

Lucy's son was the apple of her eye, work her raisond'être.

be the bee's knees

I think that show is just the bee's knees.

be the centre of sb's universe

be the dog's bollocks

be the last thing on sb's mind

Marriage is the last thing on my mind right now.

be to sb's liking

I hope everything in the suite was to your liking , sir.

After deciding that a paper looks, feels and smells to your liking , a few other factors should be considered.

Congressional Republicans have made an increase in the debt ceiling contingent on a balanced budget agreement to their liking .

However, with the two medium-sized potatoes and a spoonful of carrots, she found this also quite to her liking .

Joining the group for 12 laps of grassy field surrounding the track, I found their easy pace to my liking .

Need I add that impairment is more to my liking than good health?

She found herself praying that this batch would be more to his liking than the last.

The second half is more to her liking .

This may be to your liking so it is worth experimenting with three, four and five rises.

be two/five/ten etc years sb's junior

His wife's name was Sarah; she was five years his junior , and she predeceased him by ten months.

The 42-year-old princess married Commander Tim Laurence, who is five years her junior , just before Christmas.

be two/five/ten etc years sb's senior

be under sb's thumb

Meg's really got Darren under her thumb .

He was showing her that she was under his thumb .

Judges are under the thumb of the bureaucracy.

be wearing your teacher's/salesman's etc hat

be where it's at

Forget the business struggle: the busyness battle is where it's at .

This is where it's at .

be worth sb's while (to do/doing sth)

And finally the Soft Sell - it will always be worth your while to invest in a stout umbrella!

Controversy really begins when there are varying views as to whether a house is worth saving.

Dardis assured Bernstein that it would be worth his while to fly down to Miami again.

However, rather than getting upset about this it spurs her on to try harder to show that they are worth watching.

I had to make her see that the exercise was worth her while.

If he! ital! is! off! going to fight, he wants it to be worth his while.

It could be worth your while.

The try is to be worth five points while the drop goal will count for two points.

be/live in each other's pockets

be/run in sb's blood

It seemed to be in his blood .

It would be in his blood in minutes.

Psychic awareness ran in my blood .

be/stand in sb's light

Could you move to the left a little? You're standing in my light .

Edouard examined the jewellery carefully, standing in the north light of the atelier's large window.

He stood in the light from the nearest pillar.

I stand in a light mist of rain.

Now that they stood in the light , Jehan could see that both of them were blackened by grime and oil.

beat a path to sb's door

People are going to beat a path from all over to play these golf courses.

beginner's luck

behind sb's back

Do you think people are talking about you behind your back ?

He agrees with his boss to his face, but then criticizes him behind his back .

His name is Mr McLeod, but his students call him "Big Nose'' behind his back .

I'm not happy about you going behind my back like that. You should have told me.

I'm sure the other girls are talking about me behind my back .

I thought you were my friend. Now I find you've been talking about me behind my back .

People laughed at him behind his back .

bend sb's ear

bend to sb's will

The world was bending to my will at last.

besmirch sb's honour/reputation

beyond sb's wildest dreams

The business has succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.

But for vast numbers of children in the developing world, such gifts are beyond their wildest dreams.

It is riches beyond my wildest dreams and well worth fighting the Second World War for.

It was a world beyond my wildest dreams; one I had only seen on celluloid in the cinema at Fontanellato.

Our mission reaps rewards far beyond our wildest dreams!

Route 66 Magazine, a three-year-old quarterly, is growing beyond the wildest dreams of its publisher, Paul Taylor.

Six years ago, Dexter and Birdie Yager had succeeded in their business beyond their wildest dreams.

The cartel succeeded beyond its wildest dreams: by last month the price was brushing $ 30.

To the contrary, we succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.

bite/snap sb's head off

A geek is a carnival performer who bites the heads off live chickens and snakes.

He had no right to bite the head off one of his staunchest friends.

I could have bitten her head off.

Just to bite their heads off.

Not two minutes in his company and she was biting his head off.

The gusts are becoming malevolent, snapping the heads off the waves like daisies.

This Katherine bites the heads off rag-dolls and threatens her sister Bianca with a pair of pinking shears.

You could trust him not to take the mickey, or to turn round and bite your head off.

blacken sb's name/character/reputation

block sb's view

block sb's way/path/exit/escape etc

blood rushes to sb's face/cheeks

blow sb's head off

Depressed, he blows his head off.

He held a loaded air pistol to her stepfather's neck and threatened to blow his head off.

If I ever get you alone, I am going to blow your head off.

It would come in a box and it would blow your head off.

She also told the court that he'd heard he'd threatened to blow his head off.

Then he saw himself tripping over the gun and blowing his head off.

blow sb's mind

blow up in sb's face

It was kind of funny watching the presentation blow up in Harry's face.

Kristin knew that if anyone found out, the whole thing could blow up in her face.

Auditors some-times miss big potential problems that blow up in the face of bondholders.

But I also fear that this encryption stuff is so powerful it could blow up in my face.

Having opted for a formation that he thought would beat Leicester, David O Leary saw it blow up in his face.

Liable blow up in their faces.

Not only could be, but would be, and the whole thing would blow up in my face.

Nothing of its kind had ever been done before, and it could have blown up in his face.

When the clothes iron blows up in your face.

blow your/sb's brains out

Hunting rabbits with hawks is surely better than blowing their brains out with shotguns.

In a few years you will blow your brains out, a bankrupt.

The bullet took him right between the eyes, blowing his brains out through the back of his head.

There was a mercury pool for losers to reflect in while they blew their brains out.

box sb's ears

break (sb's) serve

But once she had consolidated the break and served out for the set she was unable to summon the same assertiveness.

He gave Edberg no chance of breaking him, serving four stunning aces and a massive percentage of first services.

No surprise breaks of serve, no marathon games.

There was a point where I broke her serve for 5-5.

break sb's concentration

I never listen to music when I'm working - it breaks my concentration.

break sb's heart

It'll break your father's heart if you tell him you're quitting the team.

It breaks my heart that his career has been ruined.

It really broke his heart when she told him it was over.

It would break her heart to leave the lovely old stone house where she'd lived for so long.

When Annie left him, it broke his heart.

break sb's power

break sb's spirit

bring a smile to sb's lips/face

He and Stapleton can associate to their hearts' content and that's something to bring a smile to his face.

It brought a smile to her lips.

Nothing was more likely to bring a smile to his face than being told he was talked about.

She invented a hundred little things to make him happy, to bring a smile to his face.

The thought brought a smile to his face.

Their screams of horror and cries for mercy only brought a smile to my face.

We thank him profusely, and manage to bring a smile to his face.

bring sth to sb's attention

It was one of the other students who brought your misbehaviour to my attention .

The case brought sexual harassment to the public's attention .

The reviews provide a way for companies to bring their trade concerns to the attention of the government.

Californian neuroscientist John Lilly may have done most to bring Ketamine to our attention .

Hu brought this to my attention .

In order to encourage the internal generation a ideas, senior management must provide a clear mechanism for bringing ideas to their attention .

Kramer brought it to his attention years ago.

So many people were bringing it to my attention I figured something had to go my way.

The computer flags any bodies that have moved during the observing session and brings them to the attention of the operator.

There've always been plenty of kindly brother officers to bring it to my attention .

We first brought it to your attention in January last year and we were delighted with your response.

bring tears to sb's eyes

His dumb loyalty brought tears to my eyes.

Just remembering it brings tears to my eyes 20 years later.

The pain of the short trip brought tears to my eyes.

The thought of his wasting all that training brought tears to my eyes.

The tune moved through her mind and body, bringing tears to her eyes.

The very word brings tears to your eyes.

They brought tears to her eyes, but tears of pain soon welled up from an overwhelming sense of despair.

This unexpected kindness brings tears to my eyes.

build up sb's hopes

builder's/plumber's/electrician's etc mate

burst sb's bubble

burst/prick sb's bubble

but that's another story

I did not get home till 6:00 am on sunday after the spurs game!!! but that's another story .

It also causes lucrative publicity and a scapegoat, but that's another story .

Like Birdie Walker, I survived, but that's another story .

There's room for even more, but that's another story .

You could, of course, buy one of the super Chunky machines - but that's another story !

butter wouldn't melt in sb's mouth

by sb's own account

But, by his own account , he agreed he would speak to the Shah if they too would do so.

Do the math: Some 2, 250 shows by his own account .

This was the type of man he was looking for and, by his own account , not infrequently found.

When he was young and full of the new learning of Oxford and Cambridge he appears arrogant even by his own account .

by/through force of circumstance(s)

Like all Trolls they will eat anything and through force of circumstance they tend to eat a lot of rocks.

Some sectors, moreover, lagged behind completely, by force of circumstances or on account of reluctance to abandon traditional ways.

Ware was a strict Palladian by upbringing but a stylistic schizoid by force of circumstances.

call (sb's) attention to

Above all, the Fourth International calls attention to the turn in the pattern of the world revolution.

And Feinstein, 62, has been aggressive in calling media attention to her bipartisanship.

But despite these signs of success Hansen won't take full credit, calling attention to his brother, Steve.

For our purposes, I call special attention to the chapters on structural configurations.

It called attention to a need for safeguards of the rights of prisoners, disabled people, women and immigrant workers.

President Clinton called attention to the broader issues with his veto of the balanced budget act.

Stephen Scobie has called attention to the sheer excess with which Leonard adorns his pages.

This book is in-tended largely to call attention to this opportunity and to point to the consensus for action that already exists.

call sb's bluff

capture sb's heart

capture sb's imagination/attention etc

capture/catch sb's imagination

The story of a boy raised by monkeys has caught the imagination of millions.

cast doubt(s) on sth

A foot abscess had cast doubts on the colt's participation in the Epsom Classic on Wednesday week.

Both studies cast doubt on individuals' awareness of tax changes and therefore suggest a low labour response.

But this very silence casts doubt on Mancini's central point that the council actually voted down the king's expressed wishes.

Journalists and diplomatic sources, however, cast doubt on the government's version.

Some are oversensitive, which leads to annoyance and casts doubt on readings which might not be inaccurate.

That, the authors conclude, casts doubt on the refuge hypothesis.

This casts doubt on the suggestion that Asclepiodatus was also responsible for the shorter prologue of Lex Salica.

To cast doubt on the importance of production is thus to bring into questIon the foundation of the entire edifice.

catch sb's attention/interest/imagination etc

catch sb's eye

All of a sudden, something red caught Barb's eye.

I caught Ben's eye in the rear-view mirror and knew what he was thinking.

I was walking through the market when a beautiful dress caught my eye.

Wright caught the eye of filmmaker Spike Lee, who featured him in a jeans commercial.

catch/get some Z's

charge sth to sb's account/room etc

clip sb's wings

The economic troubles could clip the wings of entrepreneurs starting small businesses.

close/dear to sb's heart

His latest challenge is on a smaller scale, but it's much closer to his heart .

I hold you near, close to my heart , There's so much for me to give, Where to begin?

It is one that lies close to the heart of any study of the interaction of religion and society.

One subject is obviously dear to Schofield's heart - the captaincy of Great Britain and Leeds.

Other songs: Include Stainsby Girls, inspired by a Middlesbrough school close to his heart .

The electrification of the network, a topic close to Lenin's heart , was discussed in the pages of Gudok.

The President would go to Williamsburg, Virginia, a place close to his heart .

close/you're close/that's close

clutch at sb's heart

colour sb's judgement/opinions/attitudes etc

come sb's way

We're determined to take every opportunity that comes our way .

come to sb's attention

Cuttings that should come to everybody's attention quickly can be pinned to the library noticeboard or contained in a monthly newsletter.

I pay tribute to the fairness of the Home Office in dealing with the cases that have come to my attention .

It's just come to my attention that he might have corresponded with Christabel LaMotte.

Small strokes of frontal lobe seldom come to the attention of neurologists.

Then it came to the attention of Edward Hooper, an unusually tenacious man.

Unlike venereal disease, leprosy came to Western attention relatively late.

We maintain a computerised database of potential acquirers against which we screen all opportunities that come to our attention .

come to the/sb's rescue

Alberto has come to the rescue with One Step, a great new two-in-one shampoo and conditioner.

And I could see no more, until the cavalry came to the rescue .

But human ingenuity and intelligence, plus what may amount to an instinct for symbolism, comes to the rescue .

But once again ingenuity came to the rescue .

In theory, the Tory constituency parties could come to the rescue .

Once again, Ashputtel sang her song for the birds; once again they came to her rescue .

The designer from Mark Wilkinson, Debbie Weston, came to the rescue and suggested custom-painted ones.

The thirty-day rule comes to the rescue for thirty days.

cramp sb's style

John said he broke up with her because she cramps his style.

cross sb's face

A look of horror crossed Ken's face.

cross sb's mind

"It never crossed my mind to give up," he said. "It became an obsession."

"Why didn't you call me?" "The thought did cross my mind while I was shopping this afternoon, but then I forgot all about it.

It crossed my mind that I was the only female coach on the committee, but that made me more determined than ever.

Several times it had crossed his mind to check on the car, but he never actually did it.

cross sb's palm with silver

cross/enter sb's mind

crush sb's hopes/enthusiasm/confidence etc

cry on sb's shoulder

At least she hadn't cried on his shoulder again.

cup your hand(s)

Sara cupped her hand around the match until it burned steadily.

Grainne took the hot fragrant wine gratefully, and cupped her hands about the goblet for warmth.

He cupped his hand around his mouth.

He cupped his hand over his thing as if it were a flame that might blow out.

He then shuffled around the room cupping his hand around the chimneys and blowing out one lamp after another.

Periodically, Felix will turn to Manny, cup his hand and explain to him what has been said.

Then she cupped her hands around Jack's face and gently pulled him to his feet.

Trying by cupping his hand over the clasps to avoid the penetrating clicks of opening, George lifted the lid.

curate's egg

curl of sb's lip/mouth

David had always treated them with a superior curl of the lip.

cut the ground from under sb's feet

dance to sb's tune

They control all the funding so we have to dance to their tune.

But now it dances to a different tune.

Everyone was in a circle now, dancing to a rollicking tune played by the small band, and changing partners.

Mandeville and Santerre had arrived at Templecombe wanting to make everyone dance to their tune.

Now he danced to Kirov's tune, without knowing the steps.

She had to stay on her best behaviour and dance to his tune.

She was dancing to his tune a little too, and she was uneasily aware of it.

This is how I like things - me pulling the strings, getting them to dance to my tune.

Why did he get the feeling that he and Egbert were dancing to a tune?

dash sb's hopes

a shattering knee injury which dashed his hopes of playing in the World Cup

I didn't want to dash your hopes unnecessarily.

descend/sink to sb's level

Betas must so live, learn, and work that we shall not sink to the cultural level of the Alphas.

But soon after that he descended to an unreachable level .

But whatever she is guilty of ... she can never sink to your level .

Flying over Normandy he descended to ground level to escape the fog and to find his bearings.

However, it is important that we do not descend to their level .

If I use violence I descend to his level .

In particular, coal stocks had sunk to a level below that at which distribution and use could operate efficiently.

Otherwise nothing useful will be achieved and, instead of debate, we shall descend to the level of vulgar slanging matches.

disappoint sb's hopes/expectations/plans

do sb's bidding

do sb's dirty work

Tell Fran I'm not going to do her dirty work for her.

Her unnecessary decision to do the dirtiest work in the place struck them as alarming.

do sth in sb's stead

Garcia is unable to attend, but will send the foreign minister in his stead .

do sth like there's no tomorrow

Ben drives like there's no tomorrow .

I eat and drink like there's no tomorrow .

do sth to your heart's content

I was able to browse through the bookstore to my heart's content .

And I can go fishing to my heart's content .

He could come and argue to his heart's content .

Instead she took refuge in the library where she could read and research to her heart's content .

Once you've stuck your shapes and text on the page you can rotate and repeat they to your heart's content .

She had lazed around the pool to her heart's content - and she had played tennis with Carlos three times.

Throw it around to your heart's content .

do sth to your heart's content

do your/sb's hair/nails/make-up etc

I paint her face and do her hair.

I said, I did , I was approached about who does your hair?

It's to do with the hair.

Now, do you want me to do your make-up, or not?

One test of our response to the change made by age is what we decide to do about grey hair.

She said that the day of the wedding, she should do my hair first.

The working class adolescent of the 60s had quite a job deciding what to do with his hair.

dock sb's wages/pay/salary

donkey's years

It's donkey's years since I went to the movies.

She worked in the shop for donkey's years, although the pay was awful.

We used to play golf together, but that was donkey's years ago.

dot the i's and cross the t's

Well, we haven't dotted the i's and crossed the t's, but the contract's nearly ready.

drag sb's name through the mire

drag sb's name through the mud

draw (sb's) attention

Another speaker said that our presence would only draw attention and suspicion to their villages.

Darwin knew these things perfectly well, and drew attention to them.

Do not draw attention to yourself.

However, in two other respects, Waddington draws our attention to points which are of fundamental importance.

In this way the barbarians encouraged usurpation, and the usurpers drew attention away from the barbarians.

It was the adventure and the daring that drew their attention.

What this criticism draws attention to is the bitter truth about teachers' exclusive concentration upon creativity with working-class pupils.

You remember, it was you that drew our attention to the place where the nurse was concentrating her pecking?

draw sb's eye (to sth)

It draws the eye to any double chin occupying space just above.

Kip drew his eyes down from the luminous dark green peaks that ringed Long Tieng.

Light moving air touched my face and drew my eyes to the south.

She lingered still beneath the rushlight, the mark on her finger drawing her eyes irresistibly.

She was wearing - barley - another creating in cling silk, which drew any approving eyes.

The patches shown are drawn from five eyes from four female monkeys.

The shyness, the hesitancy, the gratitude, all spoke in that face which drew the eye and held it.

The table drew the eye like an altar.

drink sb's health

ease sb's mind

Knowing that he's getting good medical care does ease my mind.

enter sb's life

Brandy's friends noticed a big difference in her after Jerry entered her life.

escape sb's attention/notice

fair's fair

Come on, fair's fair - I paid last time, so it's your turn.

Come on, fair's fair . It's your turn to mind the kids.

fall flat on your/sth's face

She fell flat on her face getting out of the car.

The last time I wore high-heeled shoes I fell flat on my face outside a restaurant.

As we were going out to the car Babe slipped and fell flat on her face.

At last, after several near misses, I fall flat on my face.

Because if you don't a fresh ambition or optimistic plan will fall flat on its face.

But once the ball tips, the game falls flat on its face faster than a top-ranked team after a first-round upset.

It is also a nation waiting for her to fall flat on her face.

Writers strive for a universal experience distilled from personal memories and tend to fall flat on their faces.

Yet there are certain composers who fall flat on their face unless the adrenalin really start to flow.

fall from sb's lips

In her excitement, words fell from her lips in a torrent.

No false word ever falls from his lips.

fall into sb's lap

fight your corner/fight sb's corner

fill sb's shoes

New mayor Susan Hammer had to prove she could fill McEnery's shoes.

flash through sb's mind/head/brain

Each time I see one of these cocoons hanging from a tree, all of these marvels flash through my mind.

Her body seemed determined to ignore the danger signals now at last flashing through her brain.

It flashed through my mind that I was close.

The image of the guard in his elaborate flowering prison flashes through her head.

The one occasion which was flashing through Yanto's mind at this moment involved just three of the local water babies.

The only idea that flashed through my head was that some one had broken into the house and was attacking Master Yehudi.

The past twenty-two months flashed through my mind like film run at high speed, and suddenly I felt rather tired.

This was staggering new information, and all kinds of ideas were flashing through our minds.

fly/slip under sb's/the radar

follow in sb's footsteps

My father was always disappointed that Joey didn't follow in his footsteps and take over the farm.

We will watch with interest what happens to these two women officers and to the young women who wish to follow in their footsteps.

And what would become of the two remaining women cadets, and the many more who hoped to follow in their footsteps?

He had hopes of following in the footsteps of Dositej and becoming minister of education.

Now the powerful midfielder is following in Shearer's footsteps towards stardom.

Other talented women are fast following in her footsteps.

Popular dancers who tried to follow in his tapping footsteps understood what he had accomplished.

The division has followed in the footsteps of Pochin's mobile concrete pumping division who achieved the accreditation last year.

There were few chuckles in this heavy duty drama, which followed in the footsteps of Widows, Prime Suspect Civvies.

You can follow in the footsteps of the legions at Fishbourne Roman Palace: one of the finest built outside Rome itself.

follow the signs/sb's directions

But, if you use cleaning products, you must follow the manufacturer's directions explicitly.

He made his way quickly to Mrs Brooks' house, following the postman's directions.

If you're using sterilising solution, follow the manufacturer's directions.

One involves focus groups, where a representative customer is selected and asked to perform a task by following the enclosed directions.

Process through a pasta machine following the manufacturer's directions.

for God's sake

For God's sake, shut up!

for God's sake

for God's/Christ's/goodness'/Heaven's/Pete's sake

for heaven's sake

For heaven's sake, don't tell him my age!

Where was the kid's mother, for heaven's sake?

for pity's sake

for sb's eyes only

A poem for her eyes only, a poem she liked.

And afterwards, Jay started her own diary, for her eyes only.

I got the duty doctor to give her a blood test, for my eyes only.

Today I would like you to take a small piece of card which you will keep for your eyes only.

Visit the Prescriptives counter for advice from the colour experts - for your eyes only!

for sb's liking

for what it's worth

For what it's worth , I think you did a fine job.

My feeling, for what it's worth , is that they should be regarded as wasting assets.

force sb's hand

The governor is trying to force the legislature's hand on this issue.

force/ram/shove sth down sb's throat

But my brokers were complaining that I was shoving them down their throats .

His teeth were even and white, and Bernice wanted to ram them down his throat .

Jess felt like ramming it down his throat .

The agents poured pepper sauce down their nostrils, or forced water down their throats .

Torrents of lava would not tumble out to force fire down his throat , torch his tongue.

gastric/digestive juice(s)

A positive correlation was observed between the gastric juice ammonium and severity of gastritis.

Can gastric juice ascorbic acid secretion be restored by eradication of H pylori?

Peptic ulcers are produced by the self-destruction of the gut wall by pepsin and hydrochloric acid in gastric juice .

Soon the mere noise of the bell would start their digestive juices running.

The gastric juice was collected by gentle manual aspiration during 135 minutes.

The stomach is mostly empty-the whisky is lying in a shallow pool where it is now mixed with highly acidic gastric juices .

They crush their victim in their pincers, but feed by injecting digestive juices and sucking the prey dry.

This is expressed as concentration of tyrosine, and it occurs by dilution of the gastric juices by the food.

get (right) up sb's nose

Darren comes to stay with Nikki and is quick to get up the nose of everyone he meets.

Even reading your horoscope can get up your nose .

I didn't realise it would get up your nose so quickly and so far.

I took her to my room, so that her feathers wouldn't get up Mum's nose .

It had got up Rufus's nose a bit, though Adam had a perfect right to do this.

get (sb) off sb's back

Electioneering, he had talked tough about getting government off the backs of the people.

Even if that had happened, it didn't justify the violence of Steen's attempts to get Jacqui off his back .

He had a chance now to tell on Lee, to get him off his back , out of Jubilee Wood.

Ian denies all but tells them about Mel sleeping with Phil to get them off his back .

It would have been a good excuse to use to get Mr Parnham off his back .

Maybe he figured the only way to get her off his back was to confess.

She got the revolver off the back seat and put it into the glove compartment with the cartridges.

get in sb's face

They play a gritty game, always in your face , always yapping, getting in your face.

You get in their face , they get in yours.

get in sb's hair

He can't get in our hair .

get on sb's nerves

I hope Emma isn't going to be there - she really gets on my nerves .

Nick's whining is really starting to get on my nerves .

The noise from the apartment upstairs was beginning to get on my nerves .

Angry Dear Angry: We can understand how these kids can get on your nerves .

As much as they got on her nerves , still she could not bring herself to talk behind their backs.

But things now were really getting on his nerves .

Everyone was getting on each other's nerves , and there was tension all the time.

His son got on his nerves all the time.

The noise and the smell were getting on his nerves .

They really get on my nerves .

This is really starting to get on my nerves .

get on sb's tits

get on sb's wick

Ultimately, it just gets on your wick .

get sb's dander up

Some recent columns have gotten readers' dander up.

get sb's goat

Relax - don't let him get your goat .

get under sb's skin

Kids will say some mean things to try and get under your skin .

But this class was dearly getting under his skin .

He had got under her skin , and after half an hour she went home alone, not content with second-best.

It will not be easy given the Sri Lankan propensity for getting under the skin of the opposition.

So, come on you literary types; stop fretting about Orwell and start getting under our skins .

Sure he could get under your skin but so would St Francis of Assisi on a job like this.

Why did she let him get under her skin like this?

Why should there be a surface to get beneath, a skin to get under?

Why was she allowing Doreen to get under her skin in this manner?

get your money's worth

Some publishers feel they haven't been getting their money's worth from the show.

get/put sb's back up

He treats everyone like children, and that's why he puts people's backs up.

It really gets my back up when salesmen call round to the house.

At Eagle Butte I stopped and got a clamp, got the pipe back up there some way.

He had been around the scene for long enough to know how to manipulate meetings without getting everyone's back up.

If you get his/her back up, even if you're right, you're dead!

She'd even got Bert's back up proper, over his betting and poor old Floss.

Simon naturally put people's backs up.

You got to get back up.

give sb ideas/put ideas into sb's head

give sb the bum's rush

go (right/clean) out of sb's mind

She said she was going out of her mind in California.

go over sb's head

The more emotional scenes go right over the kids' heads .

Are we going to get Blagg or do we go over your head ?

Could he go over the heads of Congress and get the country behind him?

He says that the bid is hostile because it goes over the heads of the directors.

His enormous arm went over Rory's head , the empty pint pot hanging in the smoke above the counter.

Mrs Singh seemed to be listening intently but I guess that a lot of what was being said went over her head .

They worried that the experienced subordinate would go over their head and gain support from their superiors.

go sb's way

go to sb's head

Dave really let his promotion go to his head .

The wine went straight to my head .

A rush of blood went to Rosheen's head as the infection he had implanted did its work.

At ten o'clock they went to the tunnel head .

He went to the head in the middle of the night to study the fluid, a dreadful yellowish drip.

I think your Nobel Prize has gone to your head .

Production went to his head and thrilled his sleepless nerves like liquor or women on a Saturday night.

She was a looker, that one, and I guess it went to her head .

They were floundering chest-deep, and Riven went to Madra's head , helping to hold it above the water.

go/run/flash etc through sb's mind

I began to wonder what might be going through her mind .

Over and over it ran through his mind .

Perhaps more mundane thoughts went through her mind .

The one occasion which was flashing through Yanto's mind at this moment involved just three of the local water babies.

The past twenty-two months flashed through my mind like film run at high speed, and suddenly I felt rather tired.

The thought ran through my mind I heard chaos outside.

This was staggering new information, and all kinds of ideas were flashing through our minds .

Who lived there and what was going through their minds ?

gouge sb's eyes out

McLaren accused Roberts of trying to gouge his eyes out during the fight.

I just wanted to gouge his eyes out.

grease sb's palm

greengrocer's

grocer's

hang on sb's words/every word

And the children of Elvis did hang on his every word.

As a result, you find yourself hanging on to every word and gesture.

We weren't all hanging on your every word anyway, even back then.

harm sb's image/reputation

The report has harmed the town's reputation as a health spa.

have sb's ear

He used to boast to his friends that he often had the President's ear .

have sb's number

You can tell Cara has his number . She knows exactly how to handle him when he's mad.

have/keep your beady eye(s) on sb/sth

have/take a butcher's

have/tan sb's hide

he's/she's bad news

he's/she's no oil painting

hell's bells

here's mud in your eye

here's to sb/sth

hold sth at arm's length

hot on sb's heels

Conversely, victory for Bath leaves them very much in the title hunt, hot on the heels of Leicester.

Critique followed hot on the heels of this pioneering work.

It comes hot on the heels of the C5 saloon we showed you last week.

Merchants followed hot on their heels selling fabrics and other manufactured goods in exchange for copra oil.

Young Laura is hot on the heels of her brothers.

hot on sb's trail/tail

But they were hot on the trail of a loathsome whine as the party in another mess pined for better days.

Lieutenant Ward Bond was at the wheel of the police convertible hot on his tail.

Once again Biddy / Beth flees, but both the Toddler and McGarr are hot on her trail.

how are things going?/how's it going?/how goes it?

"Hey, Al, how's it going ?" "Fine."

how's life?

how's that for sth?

how's tricks?

Hello Bill! How's tricks ?

if you know what's good for you

If you know what's good for you, you'll do what I tell you.

You'll just keep your mouth shut about this if you know what's good for you!

if you know what's good for you

in a pig's eye

in a pig's eye!

in sb's (infinite) wisdom

The board, in its infinite wisdom , has decided to give Waters back his job.

King, in his finite wisdom , figured out that three fights would make more money than one.

My daughter, the poet, says Sofia was the goddess in charge of wisdom long ago.

Nothing is more completely accepted in the conventional wisdom than the cliche that economic life is endlessly and inherently uncertain.

The Government had in its wisdom decided on the former - hence the Black and Tans.

The Guardian, in its wisdom , plucks out of the blue a figure of £200 million.

There will be many a swing in both conventional wisdom and political fortunes between now and November.

These attitudes have persisted in the conventional wisdom .

in sb's employ

Mr. Morton had a number of servants in his employ .

in sb's favour

in sb's imagination

in sb's keeping

in sb's name/in the name of sb

Requests for the metal are made in telexes in the names of banks or solicitors acting for the buyer.

in sb's own backyard

And as they were fretting about it being nicked, it turned up in their own backyard .

It will be easier to find a soul mate elsewhere than in one's own backyard .

Make it in your own backyard .

Now those efforts can begin right in your own backyard , when the Gardens' devotees host their annual fall plant sale.

Of course, every fly-blown congressman is keen to install fresh weapons of death in his own backyard .

They have a big stockmarket in their own backyard .

in sb's place

What would you do in my place ?

With Leiter injured, Hernandez will pitch in his place .

in sb's shadow

in sb's shoes

in sb's/sth's thrall

We have a Congress that is in thrall to the gun lobby.

But the demon which had driven him to drink that night, after months of abstinence, had him in its thrall .

He had that resigned helplessness which hospital patients and people in the thrall of religious experience have.

I couldn't bear to be in its thrall for another day.

Of the literati in their thrall , Budd Schulberg emerged as the writer who told you most about the bouts.

in sb's/sth's wake

The tornado left hundreds of damaged homes in its wake .

Here, then, are questions that parents have raised with Child Caring in the wake of the Angeli story.

I call Stan from the airport in San Francisco and wake him up with the bad news.

Love is not the impure self-seeking that chokes everything in its wake .

The morning was cold, in the wake of the north wind that had frozen the fields since mid-March.

The park was formed to preserve for ever the spectacular countryside, lakes and river systems created in the wake of the glacier.

The people in the house were waking up.

They also might enable companies to resume the building projects they abandoned in the wake of the December 1994 peso devaluation.

To some extent the advances made in our primary schools in the wake of the Plowden Report have been squandered.

in the hands of sb/in sb's hands

in the interest(s) of justice/safety/efficiency etc

Extending the ban to wedding rings, in the interests of safety, say the company, has upset some workers.

Ideally, the student should be making all the decisions and choosing actions in the interests of safety and efficiency.

If the alarm gets no response, the timer goes ahead and switches off in the interest of safety and economy.

The mature glider pilot would never hesitate to make a fool of himself in the interests of safety.

We should be able to state which fuse we require when we buy a plug in the interest of safety and economics.

in the low 20s/50s etc

This year, the number hit 40 by mid-October and was expected to wind up in the low 50s.

in this/sb's neck of the woods

We don't get much snow in our neck of the woods.

What are you doing in this neck of the woods?

in your mind's eye

I can't remember her name, but I can clearly see her in my mind's eye.

in/within sb's hearing

injure sb's pride/feelings etc

insult sb's intelligence

ironmonger's

is it sb's idea of a joke?

it is not sb's place (to do sth)

But it is not my place and, frankly, I am not in the mood for a party.

it's (a case of) the tail wagging the dog

it's (a little/bit) late in the day (to do sth)

it's (just) one of those days

"Everything okay?" "Oh, it's just been one of those days ."

it's (only/just) a matter/question of time

But they believe it's only a matter of time before the disease crosses the county boundary.

If he hasn't already killed somebody, then it's only a matter of time .

They think it's only a matter of time before he breaks.

it's (only/just) human nature

It's human nature to put off doing things you don't like to do.

But it's human nature that people-male or female-will do what they are allowed to get away with.

it's ... , Jim, but not as we know it

it's a case of sth

But it's a case of when you're down, anything goes.

Clearly it's a case of the further the distance, the better Captain Dibble gets.

I think it's a case of what we have, we hold.

It's a case of pushing the float up until it holds and doesn't drag under.

Maybe it's a case of all these important people getting free drinks in the George Best Suite after the match.

Overall, though, it's a case of spreading a good idea a little too thinly this time around.

Police say they're almost certain it's a case of murder followed by suicide.

Really it's a case of head versus heart.

it's a crying shame

It would be a crying shame if high ticket prices kept people away from baseball games.

It's a crying shame to cover up your body.

it's a dirty job, but someone has to do it

it's a fair cop

And criminals are warned that from then, they won't even have time to tell police it's a fair cop.

Do you want me to say that it's a fair cop or something?

It's a fair cop - honest, officer!

it's a free country

"You can't say things like that!" "I can say whatever I want - it's a free country."

it's a good thing

It's a good job you didn't scream.

It's a good thing I brought my camera.

It's a good thing you remembered to bring napkins.

I decide it's a good thing that I don't see Sean try to capture Ian's incandescent dance.

I think it's a good thing.

It's a good thing we got here in time, he thought.

Male speaker It's a good thing for the area.

Male speaker It's a good thing we check them - we can find any injured birds and help them.

So it's a good thing to get one's mind off in one's spare time.

Still, it's a good thing from the hunt's point of view that new blood is coming along, surely?

it's a matter of fact (that)

it's about time

"Joey's home." "Well, it's about time ."

A case of bread and circuses, and it's about time some one said it for the rave generation.

All we can say is, it's about time !

But I was thinking it's about time we got back to Nurse's house.

But it isn't, and it's about time the public knew that.

I think it's about time I went back home.

I was hoping there was, cos it's about time I got back home - it's getting pretty late.

Yes, it's about time that was stopped.

it's all Greek to me

it's all about sb/sth

it's all go

It's all go around here this morning. Ten new orders, all marked "URGENT'.

Yes, it's all go on the rumour exchange and let me stress that these are but a few of the juiciest.

it's all go

Better to accept it's all gone .

But it is starting to look as though it's all going sour.

But now they're here it's all going splendidly.

It's all gone very quiet over there!

It can't be helped ... Together for an instant and then smash it's all gone still its worth it.

Now it's all gone quiet.

So it's all going to go ahead as per the script.

Yes, it's all go on the rumour exchange and let me stress that these are but a few of the juiciest.

it's all good

Don't worry about it man - it's all good .

But it's all good practice, a good day out.

It's all good clean shaven fun.

it's all in the mind

it's all or nothing

The deal is all or nothing.

It's all or nothing and being strong enough to take the flak if things go wrong.

It's all or nothing with her.

it's all right

It's all right. Mommy's here now.

I think it's all right.

I will do the opposite, if it's all right by you-and always be glad you came.

It's all right but he prefers Cabanaconda.

It's all right, my darling, Mrs Jourdelay's driving us.

Now, Benny, it's all right.

it's all right for sb

But if it's all right for wives to have this status, then it's all right for cohabitees too.

It's all right for you.

it's all the same to sb

We can go out to eat if you want - it's all the same to me.

Well, if it's all the same to you, we would rather be the judges of that.

it's all up (with sb)

It's all up for you then.

it's an ill wind (that blows nobody any good)

it's as easy as falling off a log

it's bad enough ...

It's bad enough being paranoid, let alone telling everyone about it.

It's bad enough being stuck in here without our not getting on as well.

It's bad enough for me, imagine living abroad.

It's bad enough having a seriously ill child without all having to be split up.

It's bad enough looking through the new sections and the main articles and seeing nothing mentioned less than E4, 6b.

It's bad enough now, but it must have been really something when it was occupied.

It's bad enough that Timothy's mooning over her like a schoolboy, wet behind the ears.

It's bad enough trying to fly with unequal line lengths; having an asymmetric kite can be most frustrating!

it's brass monkeys/brass monkey weather

it's difficult/hard to believe (that)

Female speaker It's hard to believe it's happened.

It's hard to believe another child could do such a thing.

It's hard to believe just how dire it is.

It's hard to believe Marie's got a husband.

It's hard to believe now but I actually made do with hooks for a while!

It's hard to believe that he started painting in World War Two and is still painting today.

It's hard to believe , but we're fast approaching the dessert hour.

The ideological points are still there but it's hard to believe that totalitarian regimentation could be so tight.

it's every man for himself

In journalism it's every man for himself.

it's just a thought

it's just as well (that)

It's just as well I took the train today - I heard the traffic was really bad.

Perhaps it is just as well .

it's just that

He's not ugly or anything. It's just that he's too short for me.

Business or hatred, there's something that stays the same - it's just that person; just about him.

But I think it's just that the winter weather keeps the birds away.

I was not supposed to clean there, it's just that I love reading and sometimes I feel starved.

Maybe it's just that those who don't look don't survive to tell the tale.

Nothing drastic - it's just that his studio is taking on a more Tardis-like appearance than before.

Or maybe it's just that there is a course that teaches advertising and marketing, which is relatively new in itself.

Perhaps it's just that we don't have enough of those long, thin granite cracks.

She says it's because the water is pure from the mountain but she doesn't really believe it's just that.

it's just/only/simply a question of doing sth

Sometimes, it's simply a question of somewhere safe to go after school while parents are working.

it's more than my job's worth

it's nice to know (that)

Well, it's nice to know the ad is working.

I know four-wheel drive cars rarely go into the woods, but it's nice to know they can.

it's no good (doing sth)

But ... but I will worry if I think you are hanging on waiting, because it's no good .

Here we are on the hills, and it's no better .

It's no good just bleating on about the rising tide of crime to get money out of the government.

It's no good pretending you've any aptitude for art when it's quite clear you've none at all.

It's no good printing my letter if you're just going to do it again.

It's no good tying up money for years unless you're certain you won't need it.

It's no good , she rebuked herself sternly; there's no future in feeling like this about Luke Travis.

It's very easy to tell an actor that it's no good .

it's no skin off sb's nose

it's no use doing sth

It's no use complaining - you just need to take the test again later.

But it's no use running away from it.

He says it's no use having a ban if it can't be enforced.

I've telephoned everyone I can think of, but it's no use .

I can buy the best legal brains in the business, so it's no use your fighting.

I said to him, Listen, George, it's no use living in the past.

No, it's no use protesting!

On the open road, it's no use pretending that the Bentley handles with the agility of a Porsche.

it's no use!

Oh, it's no use ! I can't fix it.

it's not as if

And it's not as if I've gone off it within myself.

It's not as if I have a sister or brother to worry about.

It's not as if I haven't got any.

It's not as if I worked for a large network news show.

It's not as if there was a stash of notes that he could extort from Stone and take away with him.

It's not as if we're like bus drivers or air traffic controllers.

Plus, it's not as if the Barn Burners, Helm's current band, is a household name.

it's not every day (that)

It's not every day that a helicopter sits down in your backyard.

After all, it's not every day you win an arena referendum and a game against the defending champion Lakers.

It's not every day a young woman pulls a gun on a burglar.

Well, it's not every day , is it?

it's not for sb to judge

it's not over until the fat lady sings

it's not sb's day

After all, it's not every day you win an arena referendum and a game against the defending champion Lakers.

It's not every day a young woman pulls a gun on a burglar.

Well, it's not every day , is it?

it's not the end of the world

If you don't get the job, it's not the end of the world.

All I've done is offend one or two of the wrong people, it's not the end of the world.

It's very upsetting, but it's not the end of the world.

You won't always get it right, but it's not the end of the world if you don't.

it's now or never

Twoflower, I thought, it's now or never.

it's one thing to ..., (it's) another thing to ...,

it's only/just a matter of time

It was only a matter of time before Lynn found out Phil's secret.

You'll learn how to do it eventually -- it's only a matter of time.

Your father is dying and there's nothing we can do. I'm afraid it's just a matter of time.

But they believe it's only a matter of time before the disease crosses the county boundary.

If he hasn't already killed somebody, then it's only a matter of time.

They think it's only a matter of time before he breaks.

it's six of one and half a dozen of the other

it's the least I can do

it's time I was moving/we ought to get moving etc

it's tipping (it) down

it's touch-and-go

it's your funeral

it's/that's all right

it's/that's all very well, but ...

it's/that's easy for you to say

it's/that's just as well

it's/that's not my problem

It's not my problem if she won't listen to reason.

it/that is a load/weight off sb's mind

jam sb's/the switchboard

But look at the text, calls jammed our switchboard all day.

Residents jammed the switchboard of city authorities asking whether it was safe in the area.

jeweller's

jog sb's memory

Maybe this picture will help jog your memory.

Police hope the sketch will jog someone's memory and help identify the gunman.

Something about what he said jogged my memory about an article I had read the month before.

jump down sb's throat

I was just asking a question. You don't have to jump down my throat!

keep/hold sb at arm's length

Economic policies kept the Soviet Union and Japan at arm's length during the Cold War.

kick sb's ass/butt

kick sb's head/face/teeth in

But they would kick your head in if you spilt their pint just the same.

It goes with some people wanting to kick my head in.

Lou and Van burst into tears and Hamburglar kicks their heads in.

So they are all there, kicking our teeth in.

kick/hit a man when he's down

kid's stuff

kiss (sb's) ass

Boyd will kiss anybody's ass if he thinks it'll get him promoted.

knock (sb's) heads together

If you two don't stop yelling at each other, I'll knock your heads together!

He caught hold of the two nearest him and knocked their heads together, kicked two more and grabbed the ringleaders.

She'd just box a few ears, knock a few heads together like she did with the Rattries, and chase them off.

knock sb's socks off

Cierra's performance knocked my socks off!

And yet the correlations just knock my socks off...

The current crop of non-Windows databases can knock the socks off their predecessors.

This in-your-face marketing could be forgiven if the food absolutely knocked your socks off.

knock some sense into sb/into sb's head

Maybe getting arrested will knock some sense into him.

knock/blow sb's socks off

And yet the correlations just knock my socks off...

So, he popped down to my office, stuck this demo on the turntable and it just blew my socks off.

The current crop of non-Windows databases can knock the socks off their predecessors.

This in-your-face marketing could be forgiven if the food absolutely knocked your socks off.

know the way to sb's heart

What a great meal! You certainly know the way to a man's heart !

laugh in sb's face

I confronted my daughter, but she just laughed in my face.

He mocks death, laughs in its face, and others of his ilk laugh in a chorus all around him.

If she warned Ace what her father expected of him he'd laugh in her face.

If some one had told her what was going to happen she would have laughed in their face.

Instead, have fun with our great £25,000 series of slump-busting contests and laugh in the face of Lamont.

Ryan laughed in my face, which is what I expected.

The next time you hear a native-born athlete complain about adversity, remember Livan Hernandez and laugh in his face.

This is the last in our great £25,000 series of slump-busting contests to help you laugh in the face of Lamont.

When I was four, I told my sister about the Creation, and she laughed in my face.

lay/provide the foundation(s) for sth

Tests on healthy people may lay the foundation for a vaccine to prevent AIDS.

I think you have to lay the foundation for your success in terms of defense and rebounding.

It laid the foundation for an organisation with greater appeal to the deaf themselves, particularly the young.

These arguments provide the foundation for Simmel's account of the contradictory nature of modern life.

This theory also laid the foundation for the modern revolution in our understanding of the deepest parts of the earth.

To generate fundamental knowledge that can lay the foundation for future advances in high-performance computing and communications.

We could say that she is laying the foundations for dressing herself later on.

What is stressed rather is that the same phenomenon provides the foundation for both historical tendencies.

While incomplete, the steps that were taken laid the foundation for Workplace 2000.

leap to sb's defence

But the girlfriend of deputy manager John Onanuga leapt to his defence.

Did Geoffrey leap to the defence of every person with disabilities whom he encountered?

The stats cant leap to his defence either.

learn/be taught sth at your mother's knee

leave sb to sb's (tender) mercies

leave sth to sb's imagination

The production successfully leaves much of the detail to the audience's imagination .

His creation left nothing to the imagination .

In this respect Wordsworth does not leave enough to the imagination .

Plastics - that here leave little to the imagination - were widely used in fashion.

That way they leave things to your imagination .

The Crims leave it to your imagination , although they don't on the incongruous rockabilly thumper Dickholder.

There's nothing wrong with being glamorous and sexy, but leaving something to the imagination is advisable.

let's face it/let's be honest

Let's face it, Scott. We're not as young as we used to be.

let's get this show on the road

let's hear it for sb

let's just say

"So who was she with?" "Let's just say it wasn't Ted."

let's just say (that)

let's roll

let's see

Okay, let's see, what were we talking about?

lick sb's boots

life's too short

lift sb's spirits

light the/sb's way

A cold grey light made its way round the corners of the curtains and trickled into the room.

Fand and Liban came behind, but their spears didn't light the way, only set confusing reflections in the walls.

He switched off the kitchen light on his way out.

He went upstairs, moving slowly in his light and silent way.

I look for the planktonic lanterns that sometimes light our way, but this night I do not see any bioluminescence.

Stripes of rock tilted and shimmered in the midday light .

They went through, moving slowly, cautiously, side by side, using their lamps to light the way ahead of them.

like it's going out of fashion

She's been spending money like it's going out of fashion .

like nobody's business

People are buying Internet stocks like nobody's business.

like water off a duck's back

look who's here!

Well, look who's here! It's Jill and Paul!

look who's talking,

"You need to get more exercise." "Look who's talking !"

loosen sb's tongue

The wine loosened his tongue.

loosen sb's tongue

luck is on sb's side

With two kids and a beautiful wife, luck was on his side.

make a dog's breakfast of sth

make a pig's ear of sth

make a silk purse out of a sow's ear

make it worth sb's while

I'll make sure they approve your application if you make it worth my while.

I didn't want to lend Terry my car, but he said he'd make it worth my while.

The basketball federation in Kuwait offered him a coaching job, and made it worth his while.

He also has a lucrative five-year contract at Hilton that makes it worth his while to stick around.

Obviously he would promise to make it worth your while.

make sb's acquaintance

After seeing the way Mr. Wyatt behaved at the party, I had little desire to make his acquaintance .

I'm pleased to make your acquaintance .

make sb's blood boil

Because I like you, Breeze, and it makes my blood boil to think of you slaving away as you do.

It's a subject that makes my blood boil and disappointments have left me a blister short of swearing.

It was an infuriating trait, and it made her blood boil every time he came near.

Thinking about it now made my blood boil.

You know, when I think about it, it still makes my blood boil.

make sb's blood run cold

But whenever she passed the wood the tales rushed back into her mind and made her blood run cold.

Ex-inmate Tony Cohla told yesterday how the thought of ever returning to Ashworth makes his blood run cold.

He said their evidence had made his blood run cold.

make sb's day

Go on, tell him you like his new suit. It'll make his day !

Sherry's phone call really made my day .

Your smile makes my day .

make sb's flesh creep/crawl

make sb's hair curl

The moisture had made his hair curl even more, and had brought out the hardiness of his complexion.

The things he could tell you about her would make your hair curl.

make sb's hair stand on end

The thought of a lawsuit was enough to make his hair stand on end.

He was so close to her, his arms brushing lightly against hers, making her hairs stand on end.

I've been hearing rumours about his methods of taming his crew ... things to make your hair stand on end.

Some of the stories people had told me in that room would make your hair stand on end.

Yet here he was expecting to play a part that would make her hair stand on end.

make sb's life a misery

Circuit judge John Lee, 65, told a court that all men suffer because women enjoy making their lives a misery .

In Dinny's code, if you beat some one in a fight you made their life misery for as long as possible.

It makes my life a misery .

My supervisor has made my life a misery .

She really was making his life a misery .

The roadworks are making their lives a misery .

Why did they have to make his life a misery ?

make sb's skin crawl

The thought of him touching me just makes my skin crawl.

It made her skin crawl, the deference.

The woman made his skin crawl.

They make the skin crawl like it is on fire, even as it is bathed in sweat.

make sb's toes curl

The mere sight of him was enough to make McAllister's toes curl.

make sheep's eyes at sb

man's best friend

many's the time/day etc (that/when)

mare's nest

massage sb's ego

This organization spends more time massaging egos than developing new products.

match up to sb's hopes/expectations/ideals etc

meet sb's eye(s)/gaze/glance etc

It was hard to meet his eyes for long, and she looked away.

Nothing in the three villagers' long but sheltered past could have prepared them for the horrendous sight that met their eyes.

On occasion, she would meet Ted's eyes, and he would wink, and nod his head encouragingly.

She met Charles's eyes and looked away in case he could read her renewed longing for Keele.

She met his eyes without flinching, a mutinous sparkle enlivening the depths of her own grey gaze.

They meet the eyes of others.

This is an interesting question and there is probably more to it than meets the eye.

melt into sb's arms/embrace

Would they melt into each other's arms?

mind your manners/language/p's and q's

mortgage the/sb's future

But, in practice, if allowed to get out of hand, it firmly mortgaged the future.

Finally, notice that the question of mortgaging the future hinges crucially on what is done with the privatization revenue.

There's a pool of talent in this area most employers can draw from without mortgaging their financial future, Miller said.

We will also ensure that home-buyers receive proper advice about the potential cost of their mortgages in future years.

much to sb's surprise/embarrassment etc

A week later, much to my surprise, I was told my order must be changed.

And much to everyone's surprise he won it.

And he was still sober, much to her surprise.

But he has written a steamy thriller, much to the surprise of his conservative minions.

Pitsligo died there in 1767, head, much to his surprise, still firmly attached to his unrepentant shoulders.

So now he is clubbed to death instead, much to the surprise of the audience.

Those questions were asked in front of a packed gymnasium, much to the Surprise of the state officials who attended.

my money's on sb/sth

The smart money is on the A's to win the series.

nail in sb's/sth's coffin

A final nail in the coffin had been hammered in by Wrede.

Another loss would be another nail in Branfoots managerial coffin.

For me this was the final nail in the coffin of a terminally dull product.

In the end, it was also the issue which secured a vital nail in the coffin of Britain's nuclear dream.

Industry observers fear that this would be another nail in the coffin of the independent record industry.

It also is one more nail in the coffin of formal decor.

It is another nail in the coffin of deterrence even if the first generation of cruise will be slow for such a role.

Was not the film's very name, Last Resort, another nail in Margate's coffin?

newsagent's

nobody's perfect

OK, so he made some mistakes - nobody's perfect .

not be out of the wood(s) yet

not do a hand's turn

not give a monkey's

not harm/touch a hair of/on sb's head

not have a dog's chance

not have a snowball's chance in hell

not pass sb's lips

not sb's bag

not sb's concern/none of sb's concern

not stand/have a cat in hell's chance (of doing sth)

nothing could be/is further from sb's mind/thoughts

now's the time (for sb) to do sth

occupy sb's mind/thoughts/attention

While she waited, she tried to occupy her mind with pleasant thoughts of the vacation.

of sb's/sth's own accord

A cigarette between his girlish lips seemed to be emitting smoke of its own accord .

A healthy man to put himself into a sickbed of his own accord .

Almost of their own accord his hands shuffled the rest of the pack.

Chloasma nearly always goes away of its own accord when the high levels of circulating hormones return to normal.

Dealers who weren't going to make it left, often of their own accord , before getting sacked.

Ongoing problems seem to arise of their own accord , and then to spread through the ranks with no ostensible cause.

Optimists had hoped the answer was that opposition would ebb of its own accord as evidence of growth began.

Will we leave peacefully of our own accord ?

on bended knee(s)

And they vote and they vote and the politicians come on bended knees .

I bet you beg for it on bended knees !

No human being who wants to read and own a book should ever have to go on bended knee to get it.

Oh ... I am looking for a people who will come on bended knee .

Perhaps it was all of that singing on bended knees or from seated positions.

We need not crawl on bended knees .

on everyone's lips

News of the divorce seems to be on everyone's lips .

on sb's account

on sb's arm

on sb's knee

I used to sit on Grandpa's knee and ask him read to me.

on sb's part/on the part of sb

on sb's say-so

I'd feel terrible if anyone went to see the play on my say-so and hated it.

on sb's shoulders

The blame rests squarely on Jim's shoulders .

on sb's/the doorstep

Father worn out from the beating he had administered, sat on the doorstep smoking his pipe.

For Elizabeth Gould, however, this ornithological cornucopia right on the doorstep did not hold the same all-encompassing fascination.

Paul, much less consulting him as to where to live, she simply literally arrived on his doorstep .

They say I had the vanity to go down to Croisset and make an embarrassing scene on his doorstep .

Thomas Hewett was off duty and having a quiet glass of stout and a chinwag on his front doorstep .

Two burly men were on the doorstep .

When anyone anywhere had a question about leadership, he inevitably wound up on my doorstep .

Yet here is a dark continent on our own doorstep , crying out for missionary endeavour.

on sb's/the radar (screen)

on the margin(s)

Many mentally ill people have been forced to live on the margins of society.

At each period new houses and streets have been added on the margins of the built-up area.

Competition on the margin forces organizations shed their skins, time and again.

In all, more than three out of five older women were living in or on the margins of poverty.

Natural selection, which normally works on the margins , suddenly alters the core of the system.

Since many exist on the margins of their environments, small changes may create big problems for them.

The Bill provides a little extra competition and regulation on the margin , but it does not fundamentally transform the regime.

The Loughborough research shows that librarians don't have to feel apologetic about being on the margins of school action.

You get feedback written on the margins on your page or typed on a separate piece of paper.

on your mark(s), get set, go!

on your/sb's mind

But Alvin had a good deal else on his mind .

But those who succeed him will have no such hold on hearts and minds , nor the same unity of purpose.

Expansion is very much on the mind of Hahn, and always has been.

I want to ask him about Gloria, but he has other things on his mind .

It was probably inappropriate, dumb, or even rude, but it was the persistent question on my mind .

Robyn lay, eyes closed, and concentrated on keeping her mind blank and her body relaxed.

The last time I won was here and I had that on my mind most of the week.

Visitors who come with only escape on their minds usually leave with a Chan Chich bird list.

one man's meat is another man's poison

open a Pandora's box

I've opened Pandora's box.

The internet has opened a Pandora's box of threats: its demons have been loosed on us all.

open sb's eyes (to sth)

His speech really opened my eyes to the way big corporations operate.

He opened his eyes to make the words stop.

His voice sounded oddly strangled, and she opened her eyes to find his face unexpectedly close to hers.

I opened my eyes into a black web.

I gave a little meow to get his attention and he opened his eyes.

Jim opened his eyes and looked at Karen.

Soon he could not move or speak, or open his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again he was staring at a pinkish whirlpool running into the drain.

When I opened my eyes, I looked out to the stake and saw his ball fall right near it again.

out of harm's way

Move valuable objects out of harm's way when children are visiting.

out of the goodness of sb's heart

Surely even an idiot must realise that they wouldn't donate this huge amount out of the goodness of their hearts.

pick sb's brains

The workshop is designed so that new managers can pick the brains of managers with more experience.

You know all about tax law - can I pick your brains for a minute?

pick sb's pocket

On our last day in the city, someone picked my pocket.

pick up the thread(s)

Enough to do picking up the threads of his own life.

He picked up the thread and followed it.

She gradually started to pick up the threads of her life.

They talked non-stop in an elaborate relay race, one picking up the thread as soon as the other paused for breath.

pierce sb's heart

plant an idea/doubt/suspicion (in sb's mind)

Their conversation had planted doubts in Dennis' mind about the partnership.

play into sb's hands

And what good you, you silly fool, playing into my hands like this?

It plays into the hands of the opposition.

It would be playing into his hands to react to his deliberate teasing.

Such action, I believed - and still believe - would have played into the hands of my enemies.

This, the futures industry frets, would play into the hands of Rep.

We should be careful not to play into the hands of murderers.

Whatever he did would play into the hands of Isambard, whose traps were always dual, and could not be evaded.

poach on sb's territory/preserve

pollute sb's mind

post sth through sb's door/letterbox

press sb's hand/arm

press/push sb's buttons

presume on/upon sb's friendship/generosity etc

I will not presume upon your friendship any further.

prey on sb's mind

But his main preoccupation was with the unfinished Requiem, which had begun to prey on his mind .

Important items which are left have a habit of preying on the mind .

It began to prey on my mind so much that I went to the casualty department of Charing Cross Hospital.

It was Tatiana preying on his mind .

prey on sb's mind

But his main preoccupation was with the unfinished Requiem, which had begun to prey on his mind.

Important items which are left have a habit of preying on the mind.

It began to prey on my mind so much that I went to the casualty department of Charing Cross Hospital.

It was Tatiana preying on his mind.

price on sb's head

As a soldier under the Whites there was a price on his head; some one would soon discover his true identity.

Bream often have the biggest price on their heads but roach, rudd and hefty tench can provide a healthy bonus.

He was also unusual among philologists in having had a price on his head.

prick sb's conscience

Gordimer's novels pricked the conscience of white South Africans.

pull sb's leg

Did Ronnie really call or are you just pulling my leg?

Don't worry. I was just pulling you leg about moving - I'm not going anywhere.

I think he was just pulling your leg.

pull sb's licence

pull the other one (it's got bells on)

pull the rug (out) from under sb/sb's feet

pull the wool over sb's eyes

Don't try and pull the wool over my eyes - I can tell you've been smoking.

The politicians are just trying to pull the wool over voters' eyes again.

But it's not easy to pull the wool over our eyes.

He found out we had been pulling the wool over his eyes for quite some time.

The only conclusion a consumer can reach is that Microsoft managed to pull the wool over the eyes of millions of users.

There are people who can pull the wool over peoples' eyes.

You can't pull the wool over my eyes like that.

You can not pull the wool over Hooper's eyes.

pull the/sb's strings

Who is really pulling the strings at the White House?

But if he was the puppet, who was pulling the strings and to what dance?

However, I was going to try to pull the right strings.

In his own way, he knew how to pull her strings.

She, who had always pulled the strings, to have found herself in this position.

So, when he died, the puppets had no-one to pull their strings anymore.

Swindon's John Reynolds the man who pulled the strings for Andre Agassi.

The scientists pulling his strings are erratic.

punch holes in sb's argument/idea/plans etc

punch sb's lights out

push (sb's) buttons

Between these two displays are the rotary encoder control and four push buttons.

But, as you know, with the K858 you have the advantage of push buttons.

Five push buttons take care of the full-speed play, half-speed play, record, instrument distortion and stop options.

Subtle it ain t, but for big-band fans, it pushes all the buttons.

The destabilizing effect will push buttons and force changes.

The geeky suitor lost, which pushes the wrong buttons.

This can only be because there is something about Twinkies that pushes buttons in us that other junk foods do not.

When your words are likely to push his buttons, use anticipation.

put a spoke in sb's wheel

put sb's nose out of joint

put the clock(s) back/forward

Anyway, even if one wanted to, one couldn't put the clock back to an earlier age.

I can't put the clock back.

They were therefore accused of putting the clock back and bringing the best hope of Christendom to an impasse.

put the roses back in sb's cheeks

put words into sb's mouth

I didn't mean that at all -- you're just putting words into my mouth!

Stop putting words into my mouth - I never said I disliked the job.

You're putting words into her mouth. You don't know what she thinks.

Stop trying to put words into my mouth.

put/hold a gun to sb's head

He might as well have put a gun to my head.

put/set sb's mind at rest

But let me set your mind at rest .

But she'd like to see him, to try and set her mind at rest .

He's been very kind to me and Lily, as regards putting our minds at rest about Stella.

He's unlikely to know how you feel, and until he does, he can't put your mind at rest .

He must set their minds at rest about the Freddie affair, because they knew of Freddie.

I wish I could put their minds at rest .

It puts my mind at rest .

Quite often, all that is required is a friendly chat to put your mind at rest .

queer sb's pitch/queer the pitch for sb

raise sb's profile

ram sth down sb's throat

His teeth were even and white, and Bernice wanted to ram them down his throat.

Jess felt like ramming it down his throat.

rate sb's chances (of doing sth)

But few analysts rate the chances of Washington's prefered successors very highly.

But officials will not rate the survival chances above 50 percent until a month after birth.

How high do you rate my chances?

I didn't really rate his chances of living that long.

The doctors rated his chances as virtually nil.

rattle sb's cage

Who rattled your cage?

reach sb's ears

read sb's lips

read sb's mind/thoughts

Don't expect your spouse to be able to read your mind.

read sb's palm

read sb's palm

ready/fit for the knacker's yard

redound to sb's credit/honour etc

refresh sb's drink

refresh sb's memory

Before the exam he read through his notes once more to refresh his memory.

If you can't remember where you were on June 15, Mr Ball, maybe these photos will refresh your memory.

ride on sb's shoulders/back

Better than that was riding on his back while he went down on hands and knees and neighed like a horse.

Dostoevsky wanted to stifle the thought that he was riding on the back of Nechacv's perverse glamour.

Just by riding on your shoulders, Newt.

Oblivious to the emotion riding on their backs, Aureole and Pinza came to Epsom with excellent credentials.

Or you can ride on my back, if you prefer.

People on welfare are not taking a ride on the backs of other people.

Power can not ride on an upright back.

right up/down sb's alley

The job sounds right up your alley .

She said, I will tell you this Bobby Kennedy is right up my alley .

rock sb's world

roll your r's

rub sb's nose in it/in the dirt

run sb's life

Don't try to run my life!

save sb's skin/neck/bacon

say sth to sb's face

I'd never say it to her face, but her hair looks terrible.

Never write anything in an e-mail that you wouldn't say to the person's face.

If you had anything to say , you said it to their face.

It is, may I suggest, much easier to say goodbye to a face than to a wooden box.

sb's (main) squeeze

sb's affections

sb's aim is true

sb's alma mater

Mr. Inocencio regularly returns to his alma mater to encourage students to pursue their dreams.

sb's alter ego

sb's answer to sth

The Space Needle is Seattle's answer to the Eiffel Tower.

A third consideration draws attention to the association between answers to the Ten Statements Test, and another set of factors.

An answer to that question might give clues to the broader question of the function of sleep.

At first glance the answer to this question too seems to be in the negative.

Do you really want to hear the answers to all those questions?

I never did get an answer to that final one.

Send your answers to Link editor,,.

The answer to that question depends in part on your business.

The attendant was entirely honest in his answers to my questions and in the amount of fuel he pumped.

sb's bark is worse than their bite

sb's betrothed

sb's blood freezes

sb's blood is up

sb's bête noire

sb's card is marked

Your card is marked, Jimbo.

sb's cast of mind

Interpreting the stories depends on the reader's own cast of mind.

But does he have the right cast of mind for a post-cold-war world now in its second decade?

It became a cast of mind, a framework for existence.

It was rooted in a cast of mind raised to an ethic in the professions.

Moreover, it raises an interesting question about the cast of mind of the government as a whole as it seeks re-election.

Nor, if we are in civilised cast of mind, because we wish to become drunk.

This cast of mind is easily recognizable as the outlook of the traditional ruling class.

This cast of mind survived for decades.

sb's chances

What are your chances of getting a college scholarship?

sb's chickens come home to roost

Their extravagant overspending has come home to roost .

Eventually, of course, the chickens came home to roost .

sb's chickens have come home to roost

sb's clutches

Sam joined the Navy to escape from his mother's clutches .

sb's coffers

sb's concern

sb's countryman

sb's days

Mary spends her days writing love letters.

She ended her days in poverty.

sb's declining years

sb's doppelganger

sb's double

I met your double at a party last night. I really thought it was you.

sb's dulcet tones

sb's ears are burning

I bet your ears were burning - Tom and I were just talking about you.

My ears are burning in the cold, but there's nothing I can do about it.

sb's ears are flapping

sb's elders (and betters)

For our purposes it may be more helpful to use the idea of desire when assessing elders .

He roused himself wearily to exchange greetings with the elders as they passed him, and went in to his foster-father.

In this respect at least, the procedures reflected those of a lineage or tribal meeting of elders and shaikhs.

Indeed, the absence of official elders was a source of wonder to visitors from systems run by a selected few.

Some, like Monta o, believe to this day that the city killed their elders .

The Oaks are the Elders of the Forest and the others are aware of it.

The weary elders of the 1980s take revenge at last upon the hapless victims of the 1960s.

sb's energies

sb's estranged husband/wife

sb's eyes are out on stalks

sb's eyes popped (out of their head)

sb's eyes/gaze settles on sb/sth

sb's eyes/gaze/glance fall(s) on sth

A fierce, terrified elation raced through her veins as her eyes fell on the knife only an inch away from her hand.

As he scanned the room for potential defenders his eyes fell on Father Ed Dougherty.

Does the gaze fall on the impaired body or on social barriers?

He greeted her, his eyes falling on her again for an instant and then skittering away.

He helped me shift the tea-chests and his eyes fell on your clothes as though dazed in a perfumed garden.

Its huge eyes fell on the scrap of paper on the floor.

Looking around, his glance fell on the twigs scattered on the ground where Cassowary had thrown them.

My eyes fell on the bed and to my horror something began slowly to stir under the blanket.

sb's face doesn't fit

sb's favourite tipple

sb's fellows

sb's finest hour

sb's game

sb's going to love sth

And take it from me, you're going to love it.

Just as well she had such guts really, because no one was going to love her for her feminine self.

We want some one the public is going to love or hate, not just the leading scorer.

You're going to love Riverstown.

sb's good offices

The UN's good offices will be necessary in finding a peaceful solution to the crisis.

sb's good offices/the good offices of sb

sb's hackles rise

sb's hand (in marriage)

He finally asked for her hand in marriage.

A fat person, down on his hands and knees, was doing something to the grass between the stones.

Alan saw that she herself stroked the back of the child's head rhythmically with her right hand .

But it does mean that weird opinions ought not to be rejected out of hand .

But then it seemed as if the ball went through or over his hands as he came in front of Washington.

It made our hands and fingers itch, but the tiny pieces of red flesh were delicious.

Stories were told about how they had actually done considerable damage to some visiting fans when situations had got out of hand .

The political opposition, on the other hand , is not convinced.

When you fall forward, fully conscious or not, you put out your hands to break your fall.

sb's handiwork

sb's hands are tied

I'd like to help you, but you missed the deadline. I'm afraid my hands are tied.

The company's hands are tied because of government regulations.

We'd really like to help you, but I'm afraid our hands are tied.

Bankers argue that their hands are tied by the Fed.

sb's head is spinning

My shirt is soaked through, my head is spinning .

sb's heart goes out to sb

My heart goes out to them.

You poor little dear - my heart goes out to you, waiting all this time.

sb's heart is in the right place

He can be rude and bad-tempered sometimes, but his heart's in the right place.

Mike's a little grouchy sometimes, but his heart's in the right place.

sb's heart isn't in it

She was doing the best she could, but her heart just wasn't it it.

sb's heart leaps

sb's heart misses a beat

When Caroline smiled at Eddie, his heart missed a beat.

sb's heart misses/skips a beat

sb's heart sinks

My heart just sank when I read Patty's letter.

sb's hide

sb's humble abode

Welcome to our humble abode.

sb's idea of a joke

Is this your idea of a joke ?

The dismembered leg sticking straight out of the rubbish was clearly his idea of a joke .

sb's inner voice

My inner voice told me to be cautious.

But an inner voice tells me that it is not yet the real thing.

But not completely different, an inner voice amended doggedly.

Cassius chanted to himself, his inner voice as mechanical as the movements of his body.

Emerson talks about listening to that inner voice and going with it, all voices to the contrary.

It can't be, an inner voice shrieked in violent protest.

It can be used as an inner voice in the woodwind ensemble, but tends to be obtrusive.

Of course he wasn't, an inner voice taunted.

sb's inside/insides

sb's jaw dropped

Conley's jaw dropped , and she left without saying anything.

sb's jaw dropped

sb's keep

sb's kind of person/thing/place etc

sb's labours

sb's life flashes before their eyes

sb's likes and dislikes

Don't let personal likes and dislikes get in the way of the job.

Art can be created by groups, producing output that is a synthesis of their likes and dislikes.

As children grow older they will become more consciously aware of the likes and dislikes of those who care for them.

Employees were asked about their likes and dislikes, about general working conditions, and about their feelings toward supervisors.

There are only subjective likes and dislikes, and one should not speak of value at all.

These are all factors that are essentially personal, and we are all different in our likes and dislikes.

This column takes a look at local cooks, their culinary likes and dislikes and favorite recipes.

This is when likes and dislikes of others are first expressed.

We all have different likes and dislikes, different tastes in food, music, films and clothes.

sb's line manager

All these convey an organisational unit headed by a line manager.

One passionate advocate of appraisals is Canon Hardaker, whose lucid guidelines should be compulsory reading for many a line manager.

Your line manager will also discuss and agree realistic objectives with you.

sb's lord and master

Could he bear to see them wired-made vulnerable to the least whim of their lords and masters?

In the rustic humour there were opportunities for poking fun at lords and masters and oppressive authority, both civil and military.

Meanwhile our lord and master would sit and drink one cup of tea after another, barking orders from time to time.

sb's make-up

sb's memory

Janitz said her intention was to honor the memory of her mother.

sb's memory is playing tricks on them

sb's mind goes blank

sb's mind is not on sth

I was trying to study, but my mind just wasn't on it.

sb's mind is racing

sb's mind is wandering

My mind is wandering , as Isabel has said, I forget things.

Paul finds his mind is wandering , thinking about the poll tax program again.

sb's mind wanders

I'm sorry, my mind was wandering. What did you say?

sb's mortal remains

sb's movements

Police are trying to trace Carter's movements .

sb's name is mud

sb's namesake

sb's native soil

sb's nearest and dearest

I don't deal, not for anybody, not for my nearest and dearest.

It will ensure that the memory of your wedding day will remain uppermost in the minds of your nearest and dearest.

Novels may have changed, but dropping hints about your will remains a sure-fire way to annoy your nearest and dearest.

Or heard yourself screaming in a high pitch while arguing fruitlessly with your nearest and dearest?

Sentimental visits home were punctuated by heated and bitter political arguments with my nearest and dearest.

She had come to this, to a limp white heap who had forgotten the names of her nearest and dearest.

Those whose nearest and dearest suffer hearing loss are offered very little assistance to meet the situation!

Which I most certainly am not, as nearest and dearest, and gangs of so-called friends will confirm.

sb's number comes up

sb's number is up

This could be the year a lot of politicians find their number is up.

When my number is up, I want it to be quick.

Competition prize winners Kathryn Winkler of Dundee, your lucky number is up.

sb's old lady

sb's old woman

sb's opposite number

sb's part in sth

Larkin will definitely go to jail for his part in the robbery.

Also problematic is the degree to which gender may be playing a part in the proletarianization process.

Arnold has hinted to pals that Mona's friendship with David Mellor played at least some part in his marriage break-up.

Clearly your own knowledge, experience and circumstances will all play a part in your decision.

Grace Barber suffered from a heart condition but detectives believe the incident played a part in her death.

If you care to listen and take part in our festivals, feel free.

Joyce Allan and Fred Penfold will also take part in this meeting which will hopefully produce recommendations for our next Directorate meeting.

Professional standards have traditionally played little part in the accounts of central government.

They form both an act of submission and a daring gesture of taking part in the spiritual power alive within that place.

sb's patch

sb's paths cross

Our paths did not cross again until 1941.

sb's paths cross

sb's people

Arafat has urged his people to refrain from violence.

As a senior manager, you will be judged by the performance of your people .

Where do your people come from?

sb's post

sb's pride and joy

Christina was an only child, her parents' pride and joy.

The garden was my father's pride and joy, the real expression of his creativity.

Todd's magnificent Rolls Royce had been his pride and joy for many years.

We don't have any children, so Snowball is our pride and joy.

Or if your pride and joy 80 inch needs new swivel hubs, these are readily available.

Peter's pride and joy didn't look quite so pretty any more.

Seven-year-old leukaemia sufferer Paul Hindle was dragged off his pride and joy when the gang pounced as he played with his pals.

Taking pride and joy in my work had seemed just a dream to me once.

The car was her and boyfriend Robert; s pride and joy.

The cottage was Anthea's pride and joy.

Today, his pride and joy is more like a Corolla.

sb's roots

sb's safety

Captain Billings just wants to ensure his passengers' safety .

sb's say-so

Kathleen evidently ran things around the office and nothing could be done without her say-so .

Nobody here leaves without my say-so .

Tell him he can use the car, but only on my say-so .

sb's scalp

sb's schooldays

sb's sense of self

He was combative, preferred elegant excesses of language, and had developed a strong, up-front sense of self .

Her sense of time may vanish, and her normal sense of self .

I should know ... Friendships become easier for young women in later adolescence as they develop a clearer sense of self identity.

In contrast, figures outside the high cultural sphere often consciously try to abandon their sense of self .

It is only through a process of dynamic interaction that consciousness is achieved as a sense of self and other.

My therapist tells me I have a problem with boundaries, I have no sense of self .

One week he said I had no sense of self .

You need to go with the community and have a collective sense of self .

sb's shadow

sb's shout

sb's side of a deal/bargain

sb's spiritual home

sb's stamping ground

A party conference is a natural stamping ground for those who have barely four days in which to make a mark.

It's my guess he is trying to reach his old stamping ground.

Like Banquo's ghost her figure would be seen haunting her old stamping ground.

This raises the question: where is the natural stamping ground for experienced lawyers with case management skills?

sb's stock is high/low

Simon's stock is high in the network news business.

sb's stomping ground

sb's strong suit

Politeness is not his strong suit .

sb's studies

James interrupted his studies to travel around Europe for a year.

My uncle asked me how I was enjoying my studies .

She plans to continue her studies at Colgate in the fall.

sb's stuff

You can put your stuff over here for now.

sb's susceptibilities

sb's system

I need to get some of the alcohol out of my system before I can even think about another party.

sb's take (on sth)

sb's taste runs to sth

sb's temperature

sb's time in/at/as sth

sb's too good for sb

But dying by my own hand is too good for me.

He was too good for you, Hilda Machin, and that's what you hadn't got the brains to understand.

I was too good for my class.

Much too good for Gary, he thought.

She was too good for him.

The best was not too good for her.

The role he proposed for Ken was too good for him to pass up.

sb's trail/scent is cold

The trail seemed cold until a woman in Mississippi recognized Pearson's face in a wanted poster.

sb's understanding (of sth)

My understanding is that none of us are required to attend.

What's your understanding of the letter?

sb's universe

sb's voice shakes

sb's waters break

sb's word is law

sb's words

sb's world/life falls apart

When your world falls apart, do you get mad, get out or get even?

sb's worst fears were realized

My worst fears were realized when I saw the test questions.

His worst fears were realized and he was arrested.

sb's your man

sb's/sth's claim to fame

Lane is a Broadway actor whose main claim to fame was his role as the voice of Timon in "The Lion King."

But their true calling, and claim to fame, is medicine.

His main claim to fame was that he made the Chiquita guitar that Billy Gibbons endorsed about ten, fifteen years ago.

It's a small, ordinary little village, its only claim to fame the castle, and the burial mounds.

It has no present claim to fame and its longest guidebook entry are the words in Domesday.

On this fact rests Blackpool's claim to fame.

That is his principal claim to fame.

Unlike the chocolate of the film, this is the village's claim to fame.

sb's/sth's day

sb's/sth's days are numbered

I think Harry's days as a bachelor are numbered.

But if the church has its way, the garden's days are numbered.

He knows his days are numbered.

If Gordon Gekko is still around, his days are numbered.

My image flickers and your days are numbered.

Whatever the protests, it seems that Hospital's days are numbered.

sb's/sth's days are numbered

But if the church has its way, the garden's days are numbered .

He knows his days are numbered .

If Gordon Gekko is still around, his days are numbered .

My image flickers and your days are numbered .

Whatever the protests, it seems that Hospital's days are numbered .

sb's/sth's last gasp

This cold spell appears to be winter's last gasp for the year.

But it also was the last gasp for a team on the slide.

Large-scale, publicly-owned enterprises will breathe their last gasp and wither away well before the state which spawned them.

Sometimes even negative change is interpreted as merely the last gasp of the resistant old order.

That is the way to add people on their last gasp to the repossessed list, not reduce it.

This is the last gasp of the Romantic revolution that Beethoven instigated.

Whether it is a rebirth or a last gasp remains to be seen.

sb's/sth's sphere of influence

sb's/sth's stablemate

sb/sth's former self

A man once famed for his intolerance, xenophobia and irrational rages has become a husk of his former self.

However, such plans would have required Melanie to want to preserve her former self.

Over the last few months he had become rather withdrawn and mistrustful; a subdued version of his former self.

Sharpness docks is now a shadow of it's former self.

Stark had taken me to a place where I could shed my former selves and start anew.

The 1984 Geyserville was a shell of its former self.

The trees were dusty and muscular; zealous visions of their former selves.

There he was with his cigar, a shadow of his former self.

scramble sb's brains

This amount of LSD is enough to scramble anyone's brains.

seal sb's fate

Rogerson's fate was sealed when he got behind the wheel of his car, completely drunk.

season's greetings

see sth through sb's eyes

We have come to see it through the eyes of the people who take part in it.

see the colour of sb's money

seek (sb's) advice/help/assistance etc

Abdominal complaints Abdomen: When to seek advice Urgently, Right now!

Almost three years since she sought help for the severe seizures, Harlan had her surgery.

It will normally be necessary to seek expert advice on the realisable values of all the major assets.

She can walk into a family planning clinic and seek assistance.

The more Marcus thought about it, the more he realized that he would have to seek help from Fanshawe.

They had sought my advice, and I had recommended this machine.

set sb's teeth on edge

His high-pitched squeaky voice set my teeth on edge.

At other times their self-evident frustration sets your teeth on edge.

He w as filing arrow heads, and the sound of the metal on the whetstone set Burun's teeth on edge.

It was all done so genteelly that it set McAllister's teeth on edge.

That set our teeth on edge and bring our goose pimples rising like porpoises after mackerel.

set/put sb's mind at rest

Just to put your mind at ease, we will get a second opinion from a cardiac specialist.

The doctor set my mind at rest by explaining exactly what effect the drug would have on me.

But let me set your mind at rest.

But she'd like to see him, to try and set her mind at rest.

He's been very kind to me and Lily, as regards putting our minds at rest about Stella.

He's unlikely to know how you feel, and until he does, he can't put your mind at rest.

He must set their minds at rest about the Freddie affair, because they knew of Freddie.

I wish I could put their minds at rest.

It puts my mind at rest.

Quite often, all that is required is a friendly chat to put your mind at rest.

shake sb's confidence/beliefs etc

shake sb's hand/shake hands with sb

she's/he's family

show (sb) who's boss

sing sb's praises

Craig adored Jane and would sing her praises to anyone who would listen.

Diane really admires you - she's always singing your praises.

Feminists have long sung the praises of writers such as Germaine Greer and Simone de Beauvoir.

slam the door in sb's face

spare sb's blushes

spare sb's feelings

He destroyed parts of Diane's diary to spare the feelings of their children.

spark sb's interest/hope/curiosity etc

speak the Queen's English

spike sb's guns

spring to (sb's) mind

Dell and Elonex immediately spring to mind.

Faded was the word that sprang to mind - everything had a rather tired quality about it.

If we think of the ways in which the term research is used, a variety of activities spring to mind.

Impressive was the first word that sprang to mind.

Noble was the word which sprang to Amabel's mind.

Some comic examples spring to mind.

That written, qualifications immediately spring to mind.

spring to sb's defence

Equally notable figures will spring to the defence of the secret deal, however.

stain on sb's character/name/reputation etc

Buy him eine kleine Knackwurst and toddle home without a stain on your character.

Duran dominated Leonard physically that night, but five months later the New Orleans farce put a huge stain on his reputation.

Robert Lopez is released without a stain on his character.

The massacre has left an indelible stain on the name of Clan Campbell.

Whatever the outcome, he not unnaturally regarded his time in gaol as a stigma, as a stain on his character.

stain sb's name/honour/reputation etc

stand in sb's way

I wouldn't want to stand in the way of progress.

All that stood in the way of victory was a touch of bad luck.

Even worse, some think public relations stands in the way of getting at the real facts.

Labor-Management Cooperation Many public managers believe that unions are the greatest obstacle standing in the way of entrepreneurial government.

North West side Brigade stand in the way of North Down's success - and they look to be formidable opposition.

Nothing seemed to stand in the way.

Shelford was at full throttle and all that stood in his way to a four pointer was the frail-looking frame of Roebuck.

With luck, fewer barriers may stand in the way.

stationer's

stay sb's hand

There is little we can do to stay his hand without damaging East-West relations.

steal sb's heart

steal sb's thunder

step into/fill sb's shoes

She stepped into her shoes , grabbed her clothes, and ran that way.

step on sb's toes

I'm new here, so I don't want to step on anyone's toes.

I told Tony I didn't want to step on his toes.

But that will make AT&T's service and equipment-manufacturing businesses step on each other's toes again.

I had stepped on his toes.

It is said the reason why Taurus ran into trouble was a reluctance to step on anyone's toes.

This will involve stepping on the toes of the takeaway market.

sth has sb's name on it

If a washer has a brand name on it, make sure that the smooth side comes into contact with the seating.

They say if it has your name on it ... But who can write on a virus?

sth is a gleam in sb's eye

sth is child's play

sth is not all/everything it's cracked up to be

sth is sb's middle name

Don't worry - consistency is my middle name.

I think Serious is your middle name.

Let's just say this: Pretension is thy middle name.

Optimism is my middle name because, unable to agree on a name, my parents stuck a pin in a dictionary.

stick in sb's mind

My uncle told me the story when I was little, and it's always stuck in my mind.

But it stuck in my mind.

I think those types of things stick in children's minds, so I didn't want her there.

It is not surprising that phrases do not stick in the mind.

It must have stuck in her mind, that an honest person might act out of character when severely threatened.

One incident that has always stuck in my mind was when I dove for my foxhole at the opening mortar round.

Perhaps the image is just so startling that it sticks in our minds.

The whole weekend had been unsettling, which was perhaps why the game had stuck in her mind.

Yet the one small doubt stuck in her mind like a burr in tweed.

stick in sb's throat

When the time came to say "I do," the words stuck in my throat.

Did he want me to eat shit or the words stick in my throat and choke me?

It stuck in my throat and I had to cough and cough to dislodge it.

Swallow, something sticking in my throat.

The breath was stuck in her throat and her mouth felt dry.

While the arrows still seemed stuck in their throats they danced to right and left with short, shuffling steps.

stick in sb's throat/gullet

Did he want me to eat shit or the words stick in my throat and choke me?

It stuck in my throat and I had to cough and cough to dislodge it.

Now sheer monotony makes it stick in the gullet like sawdust.

Swallow, something sticking in my throat.

The breath was stuck in her throat and her mouth felt dry.

While the arrows still seemed stuck in their throats they danced to right and left with short, shuffling steps.

stick out to sb/stick out in sb's mind

stick to sb's ribs

stick/stay in sb's mind

But it stuck in my mind .

I think those types of things stick in children's minds , so I didn't want her there.

It is not surprising that phrases do not stick in the mind .

It must have stuck in her mind , that an honest person might act out of character when severely threatened.

Last year, 7-21, that stays in your mind .

One incident that has always stuck in my mind was when I dove for my foxhole at the opening mortar round.

There are, as always with the work of Ralph Gibson, images that stick in the mind .

Yet the one small doubt stuck in her mind like a burr in tweed.

stretch (sb's) patience/credulity

I would be stretching the patience of my audience if I commented on them.

It may stretch credulity to the point that signs of real abuse are overlooked.

strike terror/fear into sb's heart

Believe me, all those cannon, mortars and volley guns should strike fear into the heart of the enemy.

Every crisis would strike terror into the hearts of people everywhere.

Nothing here to strike fear into the hearts of the people.

The Slav opposition collapsed almost immediately, as if the very name of Charles had struck terror into their hearts.

The very physical description of the Huns proved sufficient in and of itself to strike terror into the hearts of their enemies.

stroke sb's ego

suit sb's book

take a leaf out of sb's book

take sb to the cleaner's

take sb's breath away

And if they don't take your breath away the scenery certainly will.

Just a white-hot bonding with the words and feelings in the song, a raw purity that will take your breath away.

Middle Earth took your breath away.

She had taken his breath away when she appeared at the door.

Some of it was charmingly primitive, some of it so exotically painted it took your breath away.

The smoke took your breath away.

The volatility of the top performers can take your breath away.

There are sunsets in huge skies to take your breath away.

take sb's name in vain

take sb's part

take the wind out of sb's sails

Last night's defeat has taken some of the wind out of the team's sails.

take the words (right) out of sb's mouth

take/keep/get sb's mind off sth

At other times, the surroundings helped to take my mind off it.

I guess there is nothing that will get your mind off every-thing like golf will.

Instead they tried to take their minds off the poster campaign by providing weekend entertainment.

It takes your mind off how you feel.

Kirsty chattered excitedly throughout the journey, helping to keep Shiona's mind off her anxieties.

Letters could take my mind off most things.

To take his mind off his worries, I suggested that he wrote out a message for his family.

When the other guy thinks you are cheating, it can take his mind off the game.

talk sb's ear off

talk the hind leg(s) off a donkey

tear sb's heart (out)/tear at sb's heart

tears spring to/into sb's eyes

Joy went crimson and tears sprang into her eyes.

With that avowal, tears sprang to her eyes, leaving Farini nonplussed.

tell sb's fortune

ten minutes' worth/a week's worth etc of sth

that's (just) the way sth/sb is/that's (just) the way sth goes

And that's the way he is.

And that's the way it is again this year - everybody is happy with what I am doing.

But they think they can run everything from Detroit and that's the way the organisation is going to be restructured.

Even the best generals sometimes lose with this army just because that's the way it is.

For that's the way it is for the talented twosome.

He's always been a bit on his dignity, I suppose, but that's the way he is.

In the end Capirossi had to do the winning himself and that's the way 1991 is going to be.

The money we got to spend - well, that's the way it is.

that's (past/ancient) history

But that's history now the children are back in the classroom.

that's (quite) enough

Come now, that's enough .

He's in the fourth year of a six-year, $ 75 million contract, and that's enough for him.

I think McDunn at least believes me and that's enough for now.

So it gives pleasure, and that's enough really.

That's quite enough for one day at altitude, there and back.

Well that's enough of mechanical problems lets have some questions.

that's a good girl/that's a clever dog etc

that's a good one

My car's on fire? Boy, that's a good one!

The idea of John getting sick, the idea of John coming down with something: that's a good one.

that's about it/all

I've seen her around a few times, but that's about it.

There's some ham in the fridge, and that's about it.

Behaviour in a vacuum may be very interesting but that's about all.

I can tell the difference between a sparrow and a swan and that's about it.

Oh well, that's about it.

Soundblaster effects such as laser fire and explosions are terrific but that's about it.

That's about all I can tell you.

That's about it for this month.

They're very big, and they're very expensive, and that's about all you can say for them.

Unfortunately when it comes to originality that's about all the game has to offer.

that's about the size of it

that's all I need/that's just what I didn't need

that's all she wrote

that's better

Come on, give me a hug. There, that's better , isn't it?

Try keeping your arm straight when you hit the ball. That's better !

But that's better than none.

She had half drained her mug when she said, ` Ah, that's better !

So let's try: That's better . the pages now contain both words.

Surely that's better than fading away in a hospital bed somewhere?

That's better , the waist is accentuated now.

Well, that's better than finding half a worm!

that's good

"We're going to buy a house." "Oh, that's good !"

The stove's brand new? That's good .

But that's good because it keeps us out of trouble.

If it helps, then that's good .

She had half drained her mug when she said, ` Ah, that's better !

That's good because the letter could contain blackmail, be a love letter or anything.

That's good for them, because they stand to make a commission of hundreds of pounds.

That's good , but I want more.

The thing that's good is we've had seven takeaways already.

that's it

It rains till late February or early March, and that's it.

OK, that's it . If you're not going to try, I'm not going to help you.

Slowly...slowly... Yeah, that's it .

Clarence House has a reputation for giving half an hour and then that's it .

How many embalmers do you know who have 1 or 2 arterials, 1 cavity fluid and that's it .

Nothing more to do in here, Madeleine said: that's it , finished.

Once you doubt my word, that's it .

One blooming lamp post at the corner and that's it .

Power: that's it , I want power over my life.

Sullen but accurate, spiky but efficient: that's it .

We get a custody order, and that's it .

that's it

that's life

Oh well, that's life !

But I guess that's life !

But there you are, Mr. K. that's life .

The students shrug; that's life , they seem to say.

that's life/men/politics etc (for you)

that's more like it/this is more like it

that's news to me!

The meeting's been canceled? That's news to me.

that's not saying much

Better than Alex O'Neal's offering, but that's not saying much.

that's not the whole story

that's quite all right

that's rich (coming from him/you etc)

that's right

That's right , Jim's been a friend of mine for years.

Yeah, that's right - it was based on a Raymond Chandler novel.

Amitha: In a way that's right .

And as Bethan found, it may also take some time to find a treatment that's right for you.

But she will not get that distance until she learns to - that's right - detach.

Do you think that's right ?

I don't think that's right .

Yes, that's right , it can be done, we can face history down.

Yes, that's right , the car maker.

that's sb all over

"That's Dora all over," interrupted Rose with a sniff. "Once she gets an idea into her head, nothing will stop her."

He was late, of course, but that's Tim all over.

that's something

And that's something many fans simply don't want.

And that's something technology alone, however sharp, could never do.

As for Winterreise itself, that's something else.

From his talks with players, that's something he discovered was missing in the Phillies clubhouse last season.

It's a manifestation of the marvellous relationship you had with your husband and that's something you should hand on to dearly.

Oh, good, that's something .

Okay, that's something a soldier has to accept, in an abstract sort of way.

You bought it as somewhere where you could keep me, and that's something quite different.

that's that

We're offering $2700, and that's that .

And Mr Schofield's dead, Henry thought sadly, and that's that .

As a medium of exchange it no longer works, and that's that .

He is what he is and that's that .

If you don't turn up, that's that , they don't do anything more about it.

It's just Barry, and that's that .

Many seem to be content to say that fashions change and that's that.

Sign the document, pay the fee and that's that until the next time.

When Leeds sold him I thought bollocks, that's that then.

that's the story of my life

that's torn it!

that's what I mean

"You've got to think about later on in life, too." "That's what I mean . It's getting closer."

And that's what I mean about friends.

But that's what I meant about technology having caught you up.

I deny I get long holidays, that's what I mean .

I think that's what I mean .

that's what you/they etc think!

that's your/his etc problem

Anyway, that's your problem .

that's/it's all well and good

If that helps the government keep up with their debt repayments, that's all well and good.

that's/it's not good enough

Voice over John and Vicki Strong say that's not good enough.

that's/it's sb's lookout

that's/it's sb's loss

If they don't find me interesting that's their loss .

that's/there's sb/sth for you!

the (good ol') U.S. of A.

the DT's

the King's English

the Lord's Prayer

the ball is in sb's court

But the ball is in our court.

the butcher's

It ran around in front of the butcher's shop until the butcher himself came out and clapped his hands fiercely at it.

the cat's whiskers/pyjamas

the cleaner's

the colour/blood drains from sb's face/cheeks

the flat of sb's hand/a knife/a sword etc

the fruit(s) of sth

As for this year's event the fruits of its endeavours may not be fairly assessed in the short term.

As the deficit developed, it enabled the fruits of that revolution to seem greater to consumers than they really were.

For style purposes, choose your plants carefully to enjoy the fruit of your labour all year round.

Such, then, are the fruits of Tod's meticulous vandalism.

The governments there will welcome the fruits of your labours because they can not provide those fruits for themselves.

They provide for the less committed who still wish to enjoy some of the fruits of the soccer culture.

This is our economic argument: a path to personal enrichment from the fruits of economic progress more widely shared.

You will eat the fruit of your labour; blessings and prosperity will be yours.

the game's up

the hairdresser's

the joke's on sb

the least of sb's worries/problems/troubles/concerns

For not the least of Henry's problems was how to raise the money required for the accomplishment of such an undertaking.

Greatly increased taxes and a major shift back to defence expenditure could be the least of our worries.

Not the least of its problems was extreme alienation between labor and management.

That was the least of her troubles.

The death under somewhat dubious circumstances of a racehorse belonging to his son was frankly the least of his problems.

the left/sb's left

A: It is going to still be difficult to heal the wounds that the war left .

As the train left , looking at her watch, she tried not to think that Edmund was by now already surely married.

He placed the food on the kang and left dispiritedly.

It broke up the crew and left the cameraman shaking underneath his camera.

The mechanism requires some form of communication between the right and left eyes.

The murder is perfectly executed, except that the baseball bat left at the scene of the crime is sticky with fingerprints.

They varied only according to whether the approach was from the right or left .

While pressure was maintained in front, other units swung to the right and left .

the light of sb's life

We have a four-year-old son who is the light of my life.

His wife, while sound in mind, had taken a pillow and had deliberately snuffed out the light of his life.

Ixora was his only child, the light of his life.

LoEshe was the light of his life.

the lion's den

the lion's share (of sth)

The Lopez family owns the lion's share of the country's farmland.

the multitude(s)

The rich got richer, while the multitude struggled just to survive.

He went straight into the town and entered the marketplace fearlessly, at the time when the multitude filled it.

Meanwhile the king held informal discussions with the multitude .

Mrs Grindlewood-Gryke had spared no expense to feed the multitude .

Protection has spared not the multitudes but the stragglers.

Such were only a few of the multitude of his accomplishments.

The best value of all, however, comes via the multitude of entrepreneurs offering deeply discounted hotel rates and rentals.

The major problems for the recognition application are the multitude of possible syntactic representations postulated by the look-up and the computation required.

Voltaire was wrong, of course, about the degree to which the multitude would live in happiness and peace.

the one(s) who/that

But in that case Robert was the one who should have stayed.

He wanted to be the one who did the organizing and made the improvements.

I'd said the right thing and she'd buttoned me as the one who signed the cheques.

I was the one who had to take it to my tutor, not them.

Maggie had never been to the big barn before, the one that had looked so imposing from the air.

Of all the proposals, the one that you made is the silliest. 3.

Often, the one who brought it home had soon lost interest in his acquisition.

She's the one who ought to be got rid of.

the poor man's sb

the poor man's sth

No one could have been more sympathetic to the detail of the poor man's need, or more capable of vicarious imagination.

the right/sb's right

But he wanted to keep all the associated management rights and liabilities to himself.

For the first time since he had entered the office Fakliru felt the moment was right for a move.

In any case the inclusion of conditions tightens the interconnection between rights and obligations.

Primacy must be given to the human rights of the individual boy or girl.

So it was cool that he was the one to set the situation right .

Some tab-labs don't get the formula right , either by mistake or as an experiment.

The Congress is divided over the indigenous rights bills.

When the Senate is right we declare a national holiday.

the roof of sb's mouth

An' the third one's brain had bin pulverised - by a blow delivered through the roof of its mouth!

Clench the jaws, as if chewing hard, while pushing your tongue hard against the roof of your mouth.

Her tongue was glued to the roof of her mouth.

I can eat no more of the wild rice which tastes nutty and clings to the roof of my mouth.

I rubbed it across my tongue, the roof of my mouth, and I ground it between my teeth.

It burns the roof of my mouth.

My tongue froze to the roof of my mouth; my eyeballs dropped from their sockets and clattered at my feet.

The brittle wafer dissolving against the roofs of their mouths was their promise of life in a world beyond Holy Hill.

the scales fell from sb's eyes

It's high time the scales fell from our eyes, and our bathrooms.

the set of sb's face/jaw/shoulders etc

He hated the set of different faces glaring up at him night after night.

Her husband's brow furrowed as he noted the set of her face.

Something in the set of his shoulders suggested that his pursuers were not far behind.

the shock/surprise/game etc of sb's life

And so that would be the surprise of her life .

But on Sunday Collins played the game of his life in destroying the fancied Vikings.

Goalie Garth Snow played the game of his life to save Philly.

He had arrived before the others, and got the shock of his life when he saw Nails.

He said he was the security guard, but he had the shock of his life when he saw me.

She is having the game of her life .

So when he followed up by pointing us towards the touchline, I got the shock of my life .

the sweat of sb's brow

Bread is a symbol of our work, because of the bread we earn by the sweat of our brow.

No need to toil in the sweat of one's brow to support it!

the thinking man's/woman's etc sth

the three R's

the women's movement

the/sb's Saviour

the/sb's unconscious

there's a good boy/clever dog etc

there's a/no future in sth

It's no good, she rebuked herself sternly; there's no future in feeling like this about Luke Travis.

there's life in the old dog yet

there's method in/to sb's madness

there's money (to be made) in sth

Experts and city officials agree there's money to be made in the casino business.

And there's money in being the best.

And there's money in it.

I love airline food and further suspect that there's money in it somewhere.

there's more than one way to skin a cat

there's more to sb/sth than meets the eye

"I didn't know he wrote poetry." "Yes -- he also does painting. There's more to him than meets the eye."

It looks like a simple case of burglary, but there may be more to it than meets the eye.

People think of Bradford as a dull industrial city, but there is more to it than meets the eye.

there's no (such thing as a) free lunch

there's no comparison

"Which apartment do you prefer?'' "Well, there's no comparison . The first one we saw is bigger, quieter, and has much nicer furniture.''

there's no danger of sth

Slides would be built over a mound, so there's no danger of children falling from a height.

The wheels aren't sharp, so there's no danger of cutting yourself.

there's no denying (that/sth)

Anna looks better, there's no denying it.

But he's neat and tidy there's no denying it.

Even if you are sceptical about meridians, there's no denying that the roller gives an enjoyable massage.

He denies it, but there's no denying the little girl does resemble Becker in a dress.

Now there's no denying that 1991 was not a good year for the advertising industry.

There's no denying it, if you don't spend a lot of cash, you go down.

there's no doing sth

And there's no mystery to bands any more.

But police experts say there's no evidence to support that.

But there's no way to get money for real investment.

He says that the budget is a disaster, there's no way that the county can now avoid charge capping.

I - I've decided that since you've got everything under control there's no point in my staying here any longer.

I usually read to them a bit, but there's no need for you to.

Make sure there's no plan to change the exam format this year.

With amateurs there's no point in paying, they're likely to kill the victim off anyway, out of fear.

there's no escaping (the fact)

there's no free lunch

As a country, we must face the fact that there is no free lunch for Social Security recipients.

there's no going back

There's no going back, even if I wanted to, which I don't.

Too late you realize that there's no going back.

there's no harm in doing sth/it does no harm to do sth

there's no holding sb (back)

For Casey, there was no holding back when it came to music.

there's no knowing

If we go there's no knowing .

Otherwise there's no knowing just how many more he would have killed.

there's no law against sth

there's no need (for sb) to do sth

There's no need to shout - I'm not deaf!

There was no need for me to stay there.

And there's no need for us to move to the city.

But there's no need to join to get out on the water.

I usually read to them a bit, but there's no need for you to.

Police say there's no need for genuine fans to be any more worried now that Swindon's in the big league.

Whatever the cause, there's no need for you to worry.

there's no smoke without fire

And if you believe there's no smoke without fire, Sean Young must be a towering inferno.

But there's no smoke without fire.

there's no such person/thing etc as sb/sth

He says there's no such thing as a citizens arrest.

Raymond runs the exclusive Manoir aux Quat Saisons in Wheatley, where there's no such thing as a free lunch.

To the professionals who work with troubled couples, however, there's no such thing as the wronged spouse.

there's no telling what/how etc

there's no time to lose

there's not enough room to swing a cat

there's nothing for it but to do sth

there's nothing in/to sth

And often there's nothing to show for it at the end.

But it's going to be all right - there's nothing to worry about.

But the National Rivers Authority, which has investigated the site, says there's nothing to fear.

Come on, old girl, there's nothing to be frightened of now.

It's because there's nothing in it.

Nine times out of ten, using this tactic, you discover that there's nothing to worry about.

The name in a way is obvious; there's nothing to it really.

You find there's nothing to it, a false rumour.

there's nothing like

There's nothing like Mom's chicken soup.

And there's nothing like a conversation when you smoke.

Facing page: there's nothing like a brew to soothe aching limbs but where's the Kendal Mint cake?

No, there's nothing like a good laugh to make you feel better about yourself.

Second team or not, however, there's nothing like the first century.

When the weather's good there's nothing like a luxurious dessert to give a special menu a final flourish.

there's nothing like sth

There's nothing like a nice hot bath to help you relax.

And there's nothing like a conversation when you smoke.

Facing page: there's nothing like a brew to soothe aching limbs but where's the Kendal Mint cake?

No, there's nothing like a good laugh to make you feel better about yourself.

Second team or not, however, there's nothing like the first century.

When the weather's good there's nothing like a luxurious dessert to give a special menu a final flourish.

there's one born every minute

there's room for improvement

You did well on the last project, but there's room for improvement.

there's something in/to sth

Hello, I thought, maybe there's something in this for you after all.

Just as everyone's forgetting about Myra Hindley, there's something in the newspaper again about her.

Well at least there's something in it for the viewer.

there's sth for you

throw caution to the wind(s)

Anything less truly would be throwing caution to the winds.

My friends and their little daughter went splashing blithely in so I threw caution to the winds and followed.

The two of us threw caution to the winds and raced to the rescue.

You may even throw caution to the wind and try one of our Mystery Trips.

throw sth (back) in sb's face

It was no fun having my own words thrown back at me by my kids.

A lot of their love would be rebuffed or thrown back in their faces.

My love - my name thrown back in my face.

Nobody was throwing anything in their faces.

This would be thrown back in his face later by North Koreaand sooner than anyone guessed.

throw yourself on sb's mercy

For a craven moment she was tempted to go back and throw herself on the mercy of the landlady.

I would throw myself on the mercy of the circuit-house, usually reserved for traveling politicians and sundry bigwigs.

You're so sweet I just wanted to throw myself on your mercy and beg you to help me.

tickle sb's fancy

tickle sb's fancy

to sb's ears

to sb's/sth's satisfaction

It took me twenty minutes to iron the shirt to my satisfaction .

The question could not be resolved, at least not to Brenner's satisfaction .

As he adds detail he records it simply to his own satisfaction and in a form adequate to his own purposes.

But what specific actions can we take to enhance our satisfaction while at the same time reassuring our new acquaintances?

He's about as likely to have sympathy for the devil as he is to have satisfaction .

I am writing to express our complete satisfaction with everything that he does.

It was therefore generous of Émile to gain satisfaction from promoting others to success in the music world.

The Algiers agreement failed to work out to the satisfaction of either side.

The climactic rhythm consists in the desire to know and the satisfaction of that desire.

tobacconist's

tough!/that's tough!

tread on sb's toes

But I don't want us to tread on each other's toes .

Danny's filthy fingernails were digging into his neck and his one foot was treading on Henry's toes .

Don't know the rules, don't want to tread on any toes .

I danced rigidly with Giacomo, kicking his shins and treading on his toes .

She has a sharp cutting edge and woe betide the Europhile who treads on her toes .

try sb's patience

tug at sb's heart/heartstrings

The sight of the puppies in the cages tugged at the women's hearts.

Charity had felt something tug at her heart the moment she had first seen this cove.

tug/tear/pull at sb's heartstrings

It pulls at the heartstrings of every agent out there to see a young lady or anyone jeopardized by these conditions.

That night the little creature did not stop crying and its pitiful little squeak tore at Aggie's heartstrings .

turn (people's) heads

Wilkins has turned some heads by claiming to be the best football player ever.

A kiss-and-tell look behind the scenes of a sport always turns heads with book publishers.

Her tiny waist and substantial bosom turned heads right across the bar.

My average customer wants to be seen, wants to turn heads.

None of the Lavenders had ever turned heads.

She would have turned heads anywhere in a navy blue backless dress which rose just above her knee.

The blast must have hit solidly all at once and had given them the briefest chance to turn heads only.

turn King's evidence

turn Queen's evidence

turn State's evidence

If both turn state's evidence, the five-year rule applies.

turn sb's head

So it seems some young woman has finally turned Steve's head.

twist sb's arm

"Go on, have another drink." "Oh well, if you twist my arm."

I'm sure he would never have come if I hadn't twisted his arm a little.

We had to twist her arm to get her to come.

two's company, three's a crowd

under sb's roof

under sb's watchful eye

Although its voluntary recruits diminished, the order had managed to limp on for nearly two centuries under Ixmarity's watchful eye.

Amelia learned stunting under his watchful eye, to become competent in the air no matter what the conditions.

No such extravagance here, as under the watchful eye of Asquith, he launched into some of his best known songs.

She felt absolutely helpless and extremely vulnerable standing completely unclothed under his watchful eyes.

The second best is under the watchful eye or with the help of a relative.

Thwarted, he then embraced her stiffly before taking the baby in his arms under the watchful eye of his wife.

Today, the Reichardt duck farm is run under the watchful eye of Jim Reichardt, great grandson of the original founder.

Voice over Back at the Young Telegraph, their final copy is put together under the watchful eye of a full-time reporter.

walk sb's legs off

warm the cockles of sb's heart

It warms the cockles of my female heart to know that such womanly wiles still continue to manipulate and convince.

what's (all) the hurry?/why (all) the hurry?

what's (all) this?

what's biting you/her etc?

what's doing ...?

what's eating sb?

what's got into sb?

what's her/your etc game?

what's his face/what's her face

what's his/her/its name

What about your commitment to - what's his name?

what's it to you?

what's it worth (to you)?

what's new?

what's not to like/love?

what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander

what's sb on?

what's that supposed to mean?

"It sounds like things aren't going too well for you lately." "What's that supposed to mean?"

what's that when it's at home?

what's the big idea?

Hey, what's the big idea? Who said you could borrow my car?

what's the good of ...?/what good is ...?

what's the meaning of this?

What's the meaning of this? I asked you to be here an hour ago!

what's this in aid of?

what's what

I keep my ears open and I know what's what around the office.

He tells his mates what's what , and they laugh when he does.

I am a fly on the face of the Almighty, crawling over the surface to see what's what .

I like to think our academic standard's gone up, and we know what's what in the world.

So let's start by taking a look at what's what in floorcoverings.

What's what in the psychic world?

what's with sb?

what's with sth?

what's your poison?

what/how/where/who in God's name

What in God's name is that noise?

what/how/why etc in heaven's name

when all's said and done

when the cat's away (the mice will play)

when/while sb's back is turned

Once, despite the age requirement, my sister charms her way on to this ride while my back is turned.

whet sb's appetite (for sth)

To whet your appetite for a trip to Santa Fe, here is a list of our favorite sights.

After a quick outline of what each type of program lets you do, I list some uses to whet your appetite.

If that's not enough to whet your appetite, we've 100 £4 entrance tickets to give away free!

Martin's potted history of each railway is certainly sufficiently detailed to whet the appetite enough to free buttocks from armchair Dralon.

Most of the notorious grade anomalies have been ironed out and the colour photos should whet people's appetites.

Rhys Williams was very convincing and his books did much to whet my appetite to visit the vast Soviet empire.

To whet your appetite, here are some of the most commonly asked questions about fine vintage wines.

To whet your appetite, try the Wanaka lamb in orange sauce recipe on this page.

Undergraduates will certainly find some interesting material, and researchers will also find enough examples to whet their appetite.

while the going's good

Let's get out while the going's good.

who's counting?

who's who

When I go to those family reunions, I can never remember who's who .

From Seles down, the list of competitors reads like a who's who of international tennis players.

In fact, it really is a who's who of international canoe touring.

Its guest-list read like a who's who of the great and the good.

Which means you can follow a whole discussion, as well as check out who's who and how well respected.

wipe the smile/grin off sb's face

I'd like to wipe that stupid grin off your face.

with/knowing sb's luck

Knowing his luck , he'll get hit with a golf ball or something.

women's libber

She's a women's libber , so it's all on offer.

worm your way into sb's affections/heart/confidence etc

wring sb's hand

wring sth's neck

yesterday's news

By then the political scandal was already yesterday's news.

your heart's desire/everything your heart could desire

your/sb's bread and butter

EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS

A: The U. S .

At a cost of $ 100 million, the U. S .

At the high point of the sessions, the representative of the U. S .

In 1994, nearly 70 percent said the U. S . would never commit ground troops to Bosnia.

That was the highest rate of turnout in any U. S . presidential election.

The rest was divided between the other two Democrats in the race, U. S .

Williamson, Lorillard Inc. and smokeless manufacturer U. S .

II.

PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

(and) what's more

These detergents are environmentally friendly; what's more , they're relatively cheap.

What's more , the price of a mobile home often includes appliances.

All stylishly embossed with your club's emblem. What's more , each item carries an equally attractive price tag.

And what's more it's clean.

And what's more it's encouraging people to be brief and efficient.

And what's more , I can always teach.

And what's more , scarce a word out of you.

And what's more , they're free!

The company is perceived through its design, is judged by it. What's more , people buy design rather than function.

Yes, it had a heater and, what's more , you could even have air conditioning and automatic transmission.

(and) what's more

(hard/hot/close) on sb's heels

(have) sb's blood on your hands

But I already have too much blood on my hands.

Dad with blood on his hands.

He hated to see her with blood on her hands.

I want him to know he has my son's blood on his hands.

Republicans spent eight years trying to prove President Clinton had blood on his hands.

There's blood on my hands, mine or hers I don't know.

There was blood on his hands and I thought he'd had an accident.

(have/drop) a word in sb's ear

A word in the ear of the Weatherfield constabulary.

His resolve ends when again he wakes at dawn with prophetic words in his ears.

If I were you I'd drop a quiet word in her ear before it's too late.

Mixed blessings' A word in your ear.

(it's a) small world

"I graduated from St. John's." "Really? So did my brother. Small world."

(it's been) nice meeting/talking to you

(it's) a bit thick

(it's) my pleasure

"Thanks for coming." "My pleasure ."

(it's) no/small/little wonder (that)

(it's) the business

A company owned and run by Mr and Mrs Bunch carried on the business of purchase and resale of bulk butter.

He ran the business part time until last January.

If the receipt is distributed to shareholders as dividends then the capital base of the business has been eroded.

In the business world, it is felt that this is the degree of flexibility that is required.

Melrose Petroleum is the general partner and manages the business .

Richard Sackville of Buckhurst, in the business of making shot, was a major landowner with 200 marks a year.

The business is effectively recession proof, if anything it probably does better when times are hard.

The proceeds will be used to fund research and development and to expand the business .

(on) Shanks's pony

(right) under sb's nose

Pat's car was stolen, almost from under his nose .

(send sb on) a fool's errand

(straight/right) from the horse's mouth

(that's a) good idea/point/question

(that's a) good question!

"Does the program allow you to do that?" "That's a good question - I don't know."

(that's/it's) always the way!

(the word) failure/guilt/compromise etc is not in sb's vocabulary

(there's) many a true word spoken in jest

(there's) no hurry

You can get it sometime when you visit - there's no hurry .

(there's) nothing to it

(widow's) weeds

40/50/60 etc if he's/she's a day

Bob's your uncle!

God is in his heaven, all's right with the world

God's gift to sb/sth

John thinks he's God's gift to tennis.

I am not sb's keeper

I'm not Janey's keeper .

I'll have sb's guts for garters

I'll wring sb's neck

When Dean gets home, I'm going to wring his neck.

I'm/he's/she's like ...

He was like , huh?

I asked him if he thought Liz was cute, and he's like , yeah, definitely.

We were like , oh no!

If I should die, think only this of me:/That there's some corner of a foreign field/That is forever England

It's one thing to ... it's (quite) another to

Job's comforter

What's your/his etc problem?

a big girl's blouse

a bit of how's your father

a buyer's/seller's market

a chink in sb's armour

Perhaps spotting a chink in Clinton's armour, the Republicans have further accused him of stirring up feeling against the war.

Perhaps there was a chink in the Tuer armour?

The film-makers used a chink in the technological armour to record the candidates in their unguarded, uncensored private moments.

a crack in sb's voice

He noticed the crack in her voice as she tried to continue.

a day's march/two weeks' march etc

a dog's dinner

a dog's life

a figment of sb's imagination

These two men actually lived; they weren't figments of some writer's imagination.

But don't take my word for it; this is not a figment of the journalistic imagination.

It had vanished as silently as if it had been only a figment of her imagination.

Nearly three years after work had begun, the dam was still a figment of the imagination.

Neither one was a figment of his imagination.

The carpet is a figment of the imagination: an oriental pattern of light and shadow projected on the floor.

The Ghost of Banquo is more than a figment of Macbeth's imagination: it stands in some way in relation to his conscience.

The gymslip Lolita is not entirely a figment of the male imagination.

The ugly rectory is a figment of my imagination, for there was never such a building on Wood Green.

a good night's sleep

All you need is a good night's sleep.

Night before 1 Try to ensure a good night's sleep. 2 Alleviate any anxiety if possible.

a king's ransom

a lump in/to sb's throat

Even the Station Commander had a lump in his throat.

For a moment she said nothing, she just swallowed as if there were a lump in her throat.

Kathleen swallowed a lump in her throat, Ben coughed discreetly and Jack busied himself at the X-ray box.

Melanie felt a lump in her throat; it was a touching and whole-hearted welcome.

That thought brought a lump to my throat, tears to my eyes.

There was a lump in her throat as she gazed down on the gaunt features.

When she finished Charlie found that he had a lump in his throat.

a man's man

He was a Vietnam veteran, a man's man who liked to hunt and ride his motorcycle.

He looks offended when I tell him he is perceived as a man's man .

a millstone round/around sb's neck

This particular heritage may be a millstone around the neck of scientific natural history.

a nod's as good as a wink

a snap of sb's fingers

What else? exclaimed Papa with a snap of his fingers.

a stone's throw from sth/away (from sth)

a thorn in sb's side

Gino was a thorn in their side.

The man has been a thorn in our side since the day he arrived three weeks ago.

a turn-up for the book(s)

a who's who of sth

From Seles down, the list of competitors reads like a who's who of international tennis players.

In fact, it really is a who's who of international canoe touring.

Its guest-list read like a who's who of the great and the good.

O'Hara's list of friends reads like a Who's Who of abstract expressionism.

The mill's chequered history is almost a Who's Who of eminent local individuals and families of clothiers.

a wolf in sheep's clothing

If ever there was a wolf in sheep's clothing this Bill is it.

a/sb's penchant for sth

act for sb/act on sb's behalf

against sb's wishes

He became a dancer against the wishes of his family.

all's fair in love and war

Ah, come on; all's fair in love and war, Cameron.

all's well that ends well

allay (sb's) fear/concern/suspicion etc

But he failed to allay fears that he will be a fatally flawed candidate when pitted against President Bush next autumn.

In an attempt to allay these concerns, Rhone and other staff members met with citizens from the rehabilitation area several times.

In this way he can discuss current information with his wife and help to allay her fears.

Kelly argues that the removal of the requirement to aid decision-makers would allay fears.

Margaret came from a wealthy family, and Richard was anxious to allay any suspicion that he had married for money.

Sly had to allay their suspicions and stop them probing any further.

Some Alliance supporters made statements that did little to allay such fears.

The virtual extinction of the dragon sister tutor should also help to allay your fears.

an Aladdin's Cave

an Englishman's home is his castle

an attempt on sb's life

an/the answer to sb's prayers

Excel 4 has the answer to my prayers in the Scenario Manager.

If so, a 100 per cent mortgage may look like the answer to your prayers .

If so, Lands' End may have the answer to your prayers .

She, she is the answer to my prayers .

The letter seemed to be the answer to her prayers .

To Jacqueline this was the answer to her prayers .

and it's a big if

and that's flat!

appeal to sb's better nature/sense of justice etc

as is sb's wont

As was his wont , Churchill drank scotch with water, but no ice.

Organic causes were ruled out so, as is his wont , he sat down and talked to her.

ask/beg sb's pardon (for sth)

I am ashamed of it myself, and for this reason I stoop to beg your pardon .

I ask you to pardon me.

In 1182, he asked formally for pardon , prostrating himself before Barbarossa.

at His/Her Majesty's pleasure

at a snail's pace

at sb's bidding

at sb's disposal

Hadden has some of the best medical advice in the country at his disposal .

at sb's expense

Louis kept making jokes at his wife's expense .

Several state senators traveled to Asia at taxpayers' expense .

at sb's heels

at sb's instance

at sb's instigation

Shepard lied to investigators at the instigation of his direct superior officer.

attract/catch/get sb's attention

baker's

bang/knock sb's heads together

He caught hold of the two nearest him and knocked their heads together, kicked two more and grabbed the ringleaders.

She'd just box a few ears, knock a few heads together like she did with the Rattries, and chase them off.

barber's

bask/bathe in sb's/sth's (reflected) glory

A less ambitious painter would have been content merely to bask in the glory that his canvases had earned him.

And, on occasions like last Sunday's Baftas, bathe in reflected glory . % % % Overreaction?

His boss sat on the forty-first floor and was still basking in the reflected glory of his minion.

I certainly don't want to bask in any reflected glory .

Nigel went on for years basking in the glory of his first book.

She would have basked in the reflected glory of their marriages; she could have boasted of her sons-in-law for ever more.

be (a figment of) sb's imagination

All that is left to connect us to the past is the imagination .

My subject was landscape and imagination .

No, it was just my imagination running riot.

Puny appeared thoughtful, or was it his imagination ?

The real limit to whatever ingenious notions and ideas we may develop is our own imagination .

Thoughts are things; imagination is experience.

Was it his imagination , or could he really feel the beginnings of a headache?

Yet it was not all imagination .

be a love and .../... there's a love

be a mug's game

be after sb's blood

be all in a day's work

be an insult to sb's intelligence

It is an insult to our intelligence.

be anybody's guess

It's anybody's guess where he's disappeared to.

And how many days and weeks and years made up a duration was anybody's guess .

Disenfranchised voters are believed to number at least 100,000 - though why the lenders want their business is anybody's guess .

How often, when and where women-only units would see active service is anybody's guess .

It is anybody's guess as to how the sale will fare.

Strangely, what may happen at the taking of the sample itself seems to be anybody's guess .

What the Spice Girls' eight-year-old girl fans make of this is anybody's guess .

Whether the idea will catch on is anybody's guess .

Which came first is anybody's guess , but the two are now working together to make the patient even more ill.

be at death's door

His skin was so pale, he looked like he was at death's door.

be at each other's throats

Congress and the President have been at each other's throats for so long that it's a wonder they can agree on anything.

Lisa and Nicole were at each other's throats the whole trip.

be at sb's beck and call

I have never liked to be at anybody's beck and call.

She was always rushing around at her mother's beck and call.

I had to be at his beck and call, night and day.

be at sb's side/stay by sb's side/not leave sb's side

be beyond sb's power (to do sth)

I am afraid that is beyond my powers .

So he adopted the simple expedient of not opening it until it was beyond his power to act on it.

The taxpayer, it said, had not established that it was beyond his powers to obtain the information.

Then they discovered that this was beyond their power .

Unfortunately, I think it may be beyond my powers as a programmer to set up such a counterfeit world.

be breathing down sb's neck

I'm already really busy today, and now Paul's breathing down my neck saying he wants the Paris deal completed.

I can't work with you breathing down my neck.

We'd better start sending out those letters soon -- I've had the sales manager breathing down my neck about it all week.

He would be breathing down your neck all the time.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats are breathing down his neck.

Maybe the Assistant Commissioner's wife was breathing down Maxham's neck.

The staff is breathing down your neck.

be in sb's gift

All appointments to military and administrative posts were in the gift of the Grand Prince.

Bishoprics were in the royal gift and, as sizeable landed endowments, they were like fiefs.

How much control had the monarch over appointments to offices which legally were in his gift ?

It has run Bavaria for 30 years and the state premiership is in its gift .

Sunday morning, Rice was in a hotel gift shop.

be in sb's good books

I think I'm back in Corinne's good books again.

be in sb's good/bad books

be in sb's line

Do not put fluffy rugs in front of open fires, where they are in the direct line of sparks.

He was in a line of three cars.

My father thinks they should be in curved lines .

The Law Society too was in the firing line .

The name is in the first field because it is in the first line . 8.

They were in a straight line but when Boris clapped his paws they began to march.

This is in fact the line which Berger then developed.

be in sb's pocket

His hands were in his pockets .

His own left hand, he discovered, was in his trouser pocket .

Police suggested Profeta may have been planning another killing as the king of clubs was in his pocket .

The dilaudid tabs were in the pocket of her cardigan.

The door from the kitchen into the main hall was always double-locked, and the key was in Billy's pocket .

The keys are in your pocket .

be in sb's power

He'll do whatever I tell him to do. He's completely in my power .

He is worried his son will be entirely in his ex-wife's power .

Data from the 1990 census indicate exactly how crucial higher education is in determining earning power .

I most heartily wish it may be in my power to serve and save so much innocence, beauty and merit.

I shall be in his power .

It was in their power to make and break military reputations; men gave of their best in front of them.

They were in her power and at her discretion in all ways - how she loved them.

They were in the power of these dragons.

We must do whatever is in our power to convince them not to marry until they are old enough to know themselves.

be in your 20s/30s/40s etc

A black man, believed to be in his 30s, was shot after being confronted by police.

Diller assembled about 25 executives, most of whom were in their 20s and early 30s.

He may be in his 40s, but this guy still can rock Arizona.

I am in my 30s and married, but I am beginning to think the young men are not always to blame.

Most of the victims were in their 20s and 30s, he said.

My buyer can be in his 20s or 60s.

People who are in their 40s and 50s will like it also, because this is about two kids from their generation.

The man police are looking for is in his 20s, of Afro Carribean appearance and powerfully built.

be in/at/to the forefront of sb's mind/attention etc

The risks of a court case also have to be in the forefront of your mind.

This meant that fund-raising news and any other news about the deaf was in the forefront of everyone's attention.

be in/under sb's charge

Soldiers under Bensen's charge say he was a harsh but fair commander.

Hell, those goons were in complete charge , with their car caravans, squealing their tires around, intimidating people.

It had no idea if the private hospitals were in turn charging their patients.

Local organisers are responsible both for the academic and technical staffing of a vehicle whilst it is in their charge .

Pain and anger were very much part of the proceedings, as they always are in McGovern's charged dramas.

Perhaps Elena thought that if she was in sole charge she could make a proper tyrant out of him.

The Producer would still be in overall charge , but his or her role was now far more strategic than tactical.

There will again be Joint and Several liability as there was in Community Charge .

When al Molqi took off, he was under the charge of Roman Catholic charity workers.

be in/within sb's power (to do sth)

Data from the 1990 census indicate exactly how crucial higher education is in determining earning power .

I most heartily wish it may be in my power to serve and save so much innocence, beauty and merit.

I shall be in his power .

It is within your power to concentrate on selected aspects of your work environment and ignore others.

It was in their power to make and break military reputations; men gave of their best in front of them.

They were in the power of these dragons.

We must do whatever is in our power to convince them not to marry until they are old enough to know themselves.

be living in a fool's paradise

be no/nobody's fool

Perhaps he was, she was nobody's fool .

be on a razor/razor's edge

be on sb's back

Aunt Mimi was always on his back about him "wasting time playing that silly guitar".

Nick knew that the coach would be on his back if he missed another training session.

The boss has been on my back about that report.

By this time the Confederates had formed into columns and were on the march back to Corinth, Mississippi.

He must be on his way back by now.

Her eyes opened; she was on her back .

His father was on his back night and day.

Instead of automated leisure, enforced unemployment was on its way back .

Seeing that stately building on a hill and knowing the respirator center was on the back with the water view heartened me.

The afternoon papers are on the back seat and he reads them until the limousine stops in front of a funeral home.

Their other project, meanwhile, is on the back burner.

be on sb's case

Dad's always on my case about getting a job.

And Rathbone would be on the case , with his bloodhound and magnifying glass.

And the National Guard were on the case now.

Around 50 police officers are on the case .

But Jack MacFarland was on the case .

First you are on this case , then you are off.

I dreamed I was on a case .

In fact there was not much of a feeling that anyone was on my case at all.

be on sb's tail

be putty in sb's hands

be sb's (own) doing

Nixon may blame others, but the scandal was his own doing .

Am I really doing him a disservice if I leave it as one big C: drive?

And however much men seem to be involved in the movie versions, women are the ones doing it.

Claudia ... what the hell are you doing ?

If column 3 exceeds column 2, the Jones Enterprise would be better off doing something else with its resources.

Sony and Disney are not doing this for charity.

Then what on earth is she doing here?

What is your country doing to prevent Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge returning to power?

What was the Army doing there?

be sb's (whole) life

Music is Laura's life .

A life that isn't exactly life.

His praying likewise was full of life and feeling.

That, she said later, was how life baited the trap.

The hard-edged Luce style was making Life a more serious product than its old-fashioned competitor.

When this relationship is extended, life on land becomes equated not only with non-questing but with spiritual non-being.

With the one the bird is risking its life , with the other only a meal.

be sb's affair

What I do in my free time is my affair and nobody else's.

be sb's department

Don't ask me - cooking is John's department .

be sb's elder

be sb's for the asking

It can be had for the asking .

Liverpool was taking a beating, and rumours were free for the asking on every street corner and in every food queue.

The men we pass on the street look me over, as if I too might be available for the asking .

These data are there for the asking , and they can provide a shortcut to long hours of interviews and observations.

Tomatoes are free for the asking , sacks of tomatoes are thrust on you after church.

be sb's forte

Cooking has never been Chelsea's forte .

Love songs have become Bolton's forte .

She's much better in the longer races. Short distances are not her forte .

be sb's last/only/best hope

Advocates just seem to take it on faith that annexation is the only hope of salvation for this city.

But mad or not, you are my only hope , Meg.

But Thomas Sachs was now her only hope .

I expected to be disappointed, though the letter was now my only hope .

In the long term, Mr Heseltine said that privatisation was the only hope for the industry.

Is he only hoping to make money?

Robert Urquhart was her only hope , her only ally.

That was the only hope I had of reaching the doctor.

be sb's lucky day

"Look at the size of the fish I caught!" "It must be your lucky day!"

Anyway, that day was obviously a lucky day.

But it was Swindon's lucky day.

Friday used to be considered a lucky day for weddings in Gerrnany.

It was not her lucky day.

Read the stars in the magazines and the paper: Today is your lucky day.

be sb's poodle

be sb's type

be sb's undoing

be the apple of sb's eye

Ben was always the apple of his father's eye.

He was the apple of her eye, the salt of her earth, the source of her strength - her everything.

Lucy's son was the apple of her eye, work her raisond'être.

be the bee's knees

I think that show is just the bee's knees.

be the centre of sb's universe

be the dog's bollocks

be the last thing on sb's mind

Marriage is the last thing on my mind right now.

be to sb's liking

I hope everything in the suite was to your liking , sir.

After deciding that a paper looks, feels and smells to your liking , a few other factors should be considered.

Congressional Republicans have made an increase in the debt ceiling contingent on a balanced budget agreement to their liking .

However, with the two medium-sized potatoes and a spoonful of carrots, she found this also quite to her liking .

Joining the group for 12 laps of grassy field surrounding the track, I found their easy pace to my liking .

Need I add that impairment is more to my liking than good health?

She found herself praying that this batch would be more to his liking than the last.

The second half is more to her liking .

This may be to your liking so it is worth experimenting with three, four and five rises.

be two/five/ten etc years sb's junior

His wife's name was Sarah; she was five years his junior , and she predeceased him by ten months.

The 42-year-old princess married Commander Tim Laurence, who is five years her junior , just before Christmas.

be two/five/ten etc years sb's senior

be under sb's thumb

Meg's really got Darren under her thumb .

He was showing her that she was under his thumb .

Judges are under the thumb of the bureaucracy.

be wearing your teacher's/salesman's etc hat

be where it's at

Forget the business struggle: the busyness battle is where it's at .

This is where it's at .

be worth sb's while (to do/doing sth)

And finally the Soft Sell - it will always be worth your while to invest in a stout umbrella!

Controversy really begins when there are varying views as to whether a house is worth saving.

Dardis assured Bernstein that it would be worth his while to fly down to Miami again.

However, rather than getting upset about this it spurs her on to try harder to show that they are worth watching.

I had to make her see that the exercise was worth her while.

If he! ital! is! off! going to fight, he wants it to be worth his while.

It could be worth your while.

The try is to be worth five points while the drop goal will count for two points.

be/live in each other's pockets

be/run in sb's blood

It seemed to be in his blood .

It would be in his blood in minutes.

Psychic awareness ran in my blood .

be/stand in sb's light

Could you move to the left a little? You're standing in my light .

Edouard examined the jewellery carefully, standing in the north light of the atelier's large window.

He stood in the light from the nearest pillar.

I stand in a light mist of rain.

Now that they stood in the light , Jehan could see that both of them were blackened by grime and oil.

beat a path to sb's door

People are going to beat a path from all over to play these golf courses.

beginner's luck

behind sb's back

Do you think people are talking about you behind your back ?

He agrees with his boss to his face, but then criticizes him behind his back .

His name is Mr McLeod, but his students call him "Big Nose'' behind his back .

I'm not happy about you going behind my back like that. You should have told me.

I'm sure the other girls are talking about me behind my back .

I thought you were my friend. Now I find you've been talking about me behind my back .

People laughed at him behind his back .

bend sb's ear

bend to sb's will

The world was bending to my will at last.

besmirch sb's honour/reputation

beyond sb's wildest dreams

The business has succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.

But for vast numbers of children in the developing world, such gifts are beyond their wildest dreams.

It is riches beyond my wildest dreams and well worth fighting the Second World War for.

It was a world beyond my wildest dreams; one I had only seen on celluloid in the cinema at Fontanellato.

Our mission reaps rewards far beyond our wildest dreams!

Route 66 Magazine, a three-year-old quarterly, is growing beyond the wildest dreams of its publisher, Paul Taylor.

Six years ago, Dexter and Birdie Yager had succeeded in their business beyond their wildest dreams.

The cartel succeeded beyond its wildest dreams: by last month the price was brushing $ 30.

To the contrary, we succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.

bite/snap sb's head off

A geek is a carnival performer who bites the heads off live chickens and snakes.

He had no right to bite the head off one of his staunchest friends.

I could have bitten her head off.

Just to bite their heads off.

Not two minutes in his company and she was biting his head off.

The gusts are becoming malevolent, snapping the heads off the waves like daisies.

This Katherine bites the heads off rag-dolls and threatens her sister Bianca with a pair of pinking shears.

You could trust him not to take the mickey, or to turn round and bite your head off.

blacken sb's name/character/reputation

block sb's view

block sb's way/path/exit/escape etc

blood rushes to sb's face/cheeks

blow sb's head off

Depressed, he blows his head off.

He held a loaded air pistol to her stepfather's neck and threatened to blow his head off.

If I ever get you alone, I am going to blow your head off.

It would come in a box and it would blow your head off.

She also told the court that he'd heard he'd threatened to blow his head off.

Then he saw himself tripping over the gun and blowing his head off.

blow sb's mind

blow up in sb's face

It was kind of funny watching the presentation blow up in Harry's face.

Kristin knew that if anyone found out, the whole thing could blow up in her face.

Auditors some-times miss big potential problems that blow up in the face of bondholders.

But I also fear that this encryption stuff is so powerful it could blow up in my face.

Having opted for a formation that he thought would beat Leicester, David O Leary saw it blow up in his face.

Liable blow up in their faces.

Not only could be, but would be, and the whole thing would blow up in my face.

Nothing of its kind had ever been done before, and it could have blown up in his face.

When the clothes iron blows up in your face.

blow your/sb's brains out

Hunting rabbits with hawks is surely better than blowing their brains out with shotguns.

In a few years you will blow your brains out, a bankrupt.

The bullet took him right between the eyes, blowing his brains out through the back of his head.

There was a mercury pool for losers to reflect in while they blew their brains out.

box sb's ears

break (sb's) serve

But once she had consolidated the break and served out for the set she was unable to summon the same assertiveness.

He gave Edberg no chance of breaking him, serving four stunning aces and a massive percentage of first services.

No surprise breaks of serve, no marathon games.

There was a point where I broke her serve for 5-5.

break sb's concentration

I never listen to music when I'm working - it breaks my concentration.

break sb's heart

It'll break your father's heart if you tell him you're quitting the team.

It breaks my heart that his career has been ruined.

It really broke his heart when she told him it was over.

It would break her heart to leave the lovely old stone house where she'd lived for so long.

When Annie left him, it broke his heart.

break sb's power

break sb's spirit

bring a smile to sb's lips/face

He and Stapleton can associate to their hearts' content and that's something to bring a smile to his face.

It brought a smile to her lips.

Nothing was more likely to bring a smile to his face than being told he was talked about.

She invented a hundred little things to make him happy, to bring a smile to his face.

The thought brought a smile to his face.

Their screams of horror and cries for mercy only brought a smile to my face.

We thank him profusely, and manage to bring a smile to his face.

bring sth to sb's attention

It was one of the other students who brought your misbehaviour to my attention .

The case brought sexual harassment to the public's attention .

The reviews provide a way for companies to bring their trade concerns to the attention of the government.

Californian neuroscientist John Lilly may have done most to bring Ketamine to our attention .

Hu brought this to my attention .

In order to encourage the internal generation a ideas, senior management must provide a clear mechanism for bringing ideas to their attention .

Kramer brought it to his attention years ago.

So many people were bringing it to my attention I figured something had to go my way.

The computer flags any bodies that have moved during the observing session and brings them to the attention of the operator.

There've always been plenty of kindly brother officers to bring it to my attention .

We first brought it to your attention in January last year and we were delighted with your response.

bring tears to sb's eyes

His dumb loyalty brought tears to my eyes.

Just remembering it brings tears to my eyes 20 years later.

The pain of the short trip brought tears to my eyes.

The thought of his wasting all that training brought tears to my eyes.

The tune moved through her mind and body, bringing tears to her eyes.

The very word brings tears to your eyes.

They brought tears to her eyes, but tears of pain soon welled up from an overwhelming sense of despair.

This unexpected kindness brings tears to my eyes.

build up sb's hopes

builder's/plumber's/electrician's etc mate

burst sb's bubble

burst/prick sb's bubble

but that's another story

I did not get home till 6:00 am on sunday after the spurs game!!! but that's another story .

It also causes lucrative publicity and a scapegoat, but that's another story .

Like Birdie Walker, I survived, but that's another story .

There's room for even more, but that's another story .

You could, of course, buy one of the super Chunky machines - but that's another story !

butter wouldn't melt in sb's mouth

by sb's own account

But, by his own account , he agreed he would speak to the Shah if they too would do so.

Do the math: Some 2, 250 shows by his own account .

This was the type of man he was looking for and, by his own account , not infrequently found.

When he was young and full of the new learning of Oxford and Cambridge he appears arrogant even by his own account .

by/through force of circumstance(s)

Like all Trolls they will eat anything and through force of circumstance they tend to eat a lot of rocks.

Some sectors, moreover, lagged behind completely, by force of circumstances or on account of reluctance to abandon traditional ways.

Ware was a strict Palladian by upbringing but a stylistic schizoid by force of circumstances.

call (sb's) attention to

Above all, the Fourth International calls attention to the turn in the pattern of the world revolution.

And Feinstein, 62, has been aggressive in calling media attention to her bipartisanship.

But despite these signs of success Hansen won't take full credit, calling attention to his brother, Steve.

For our purposes, I call special attention to the chapters on structural configurations.

It called attention to a need for safeguards of the rights of prisoners, disabled people, women and immigrant workers.

President Clinton called attention to the broader issues with his veto of the balanced budget act.

Stephen Scobie has called attention to the sheer excess with which Leonard adorns his pages.

This book is in-tended largely to call attention to this opportunity and to point to the consensus for action that already exists.

call sb's bluff

capture sb's heart

capture sb's imagination/attention etc

capture/catch sb's imagination

The story of a boy raised by monkeys has caught the imagination of millions.

cast doubt(s) on sth

A foot abscess had cast doubts on the colt's participation in the Epsom Classic on Wednesday week.

Both studies cast doubt on individuals' awareness of tax changes and therefore suggest a low labour response.

But this very silence casts doubt on Mancini's central point that the council actually voted down the king's expressed wishes.

Journalists and diplomatic sources, however, cast doubt on the government's version.

Some are oversensitive, which leads to annoyance and casts doubt on readings which might not be inaccurate.

That, the authors conclude, casts doubt on the refuge hypothesis.

This casts doubt on the suggestion that Asclepiodatus was also responsible for the shorter prologue of Lex Salica.

To cast doubt on the importance of production is thus to bring into questIon the foundation of the entire edifice.

catch sb's attention/interest/imagination etc

catch sb's eye

All of a sudden, something red caught Barb's eye.

I caught Ben's eye in the rear-view mirror and knew what he was thinking.

I was walking through the market when a beautiful dress caught my eye.

Wright caught the eye of filmmaker Spike Lee, who featured him in a jeans commercial.

catch/get some Z's

charge sth to sb's account/room etc

clip sb's wings

The economic troubles could clip the wings of entrepreneurs starting small businesses.

close/dear to sb's heart

His latest challenge is on a smaller scale, but it's much closer to his heart .

I hold you near, close to my heart , There's so much for me to give, Where to begin?

It is one that lies close to the heart of any study of the interaction of religion and society.

One subject is obviously dear to Schofield's heart - the captaincy of Great Britain and Leeds.

Other songs: Include Stainsby Girls, inspired by a Middlesbrough school close to his heart .

The electrification of the network, a topic close to Lenin's heart , was discussed in the pages of Gudok.

The President would go to Williamsburg, Virginia, a place close to his heart .

close/you're close/that's close

clutch at sb's heart

colour sb's judgement/opinions/attitudes etc

come sb's way

We're determined to take every opportunity that comes our way .

come to sb's attention

Cuttings that should come to everybody's attention quickly can be pinned to the library noticeboard or contained in a monthly newsletter.

I pay tribute to the fairness of the Home Office in dealing with the cases that have come to my attention .

It's just come to my attention that he might have corresponded with Christabel LaMotte.

Small strokes of frontal lobe seldom come to the attention of neurologists.

Then it came to the attention of Edward Hooper, an unusually tenacious man.

Unlike venereal disease, leprosy came to Western attention relatively late.

We maintain a computerised database of potential acquirers against which we screen all opportunities that come to our attention .

come to the/sb's rescue

Alberto has come to the rescue with One Step, a great new two-in-one shampoo and conditioner.

And I could see no more, until the cavalry came to the rescue .

But human ingenuity and intelligence, plus what may amount to an instinct for symbolism, comes to the rescue .

But once again ingenuity came to the rescue .

In theory, the Tory constituency parties could come to the rescue .

Once again, Ashputtel sang her song for the birds; once again they came to her rescue .

The designer from Mark Wilkinson, Debbie Weston, came to the rescue and suggested custom-painted ones.

The thirty-day rule comes to the rescue for thirty days.

cramp sb's style

John said he broke up with her because she cramps his style.

cross sb's face

A look of horror crossed Ken's face.

cross sb's mind

"It never crossed my mind to give up," he said. "It became an obsession."

"Why didn't you call me?" "The thought did cross my mind while I was shopping this afternoon, but then I forgot all about it.

It crossed my mind that I was the only female coach on the committee, but that made me more determined than ever.

Several times it had crossed his mind to check on the car, but he never actually did it.

cross sb's palm with silver

cross/enter sb's mind

crush sb's hopes/enthusiasm/confidence etc

cry on sb's shoulder

At least she hadn't cried on his shoulder again.

cup your hand(s)

Sara cupped her hand around the match until it burned steadily.

Grainne took the hot fragrant wine gratefully, and cupped her hands about the goblet for warmth.

He cupped his hand around his mouth.

He cupped his hand over his thing as if it were a flame that might blow out.

He then shuffled around the room cupping his hand around the chimneys and blowing out one lamp after another.

Periodically, Felix will turn to Manny, cup his hand and explain to him what has been said.

Then she cupped her hands around Jack's face and gently pulled him to his feet.

Trying by cupping his hand over the clasps to avoid the penetrating clicks of opening, George lifted the lid.

curate's egg

curl of sb's lip/mouth

David had always treated them with a superior curl of the lip.

cut the ground from under sb's feet

dance to sb's tune

They control all the funding so we have to dance to their tune.

But now it dances to a different tune.

Everyone was in a circle now, dancing to a rollicking tune played by the small band, and changing partners.

Mandeville and Santerre had arrived at Templecombe wanting to make everyone dance to their tune.

Now he danced to Kirov's tune, without knowing the steps.

She had to stay on her best behaviour and dance to his tune.

She was dancing to his tune a little too, and she was uneasily aware of it.

This is how I like things - me pulling the strings, getting them to dance to my tune.

Why did he get the feeling that he and Egbert were dancing to a tune?

dash sb's hopes

a shattering knee injury which dashed his hopes of playing in the World Cup

I didn't want to dash your hopes unnecessarily.

descend/sink to sb's level

Betas must so live, learn, and work that we shall not sink to the cultural level of the Alphas.

But soon after that he descended to an unreachable level .

But whatever she is guilty of ... she can never sink to your level .

Flying over Normandy he descended to ground level to escape the fog and to find his bearings.

However, it is important that we do not descend to their level .

If I use violence I descend to his level .

In particular, coal stocks had sunk to a level below that at which distribution and use could operate efficiently.

Otherwise nothing useful will be achieved and, instead of debate, we shall descend to the level of vulgar slanging matches.

disappoint sb's hopes/expectations/plans

do sb's bidding

do sb's dirty work

Tell Fran I'm not going to do her dirty work for her.

Her unnecessary decision to do the dirtiest work in the place struck them as alarming.

do sth in sb's stead

Garcia is unable to attend, but will send the foreign minister in his stead .

do sth like there's no tomorrow

Ben drives like there's no tomorrow .

I eat and drink like there's no tomorrow .

do sth to your heart's content

I was able to browse through the bookstore to my heart's content .

And I can go fishing to my heart's content .

He could come and argue to his heart's content .

Instead she took refuge in the library where she could read and research to her heart's content .

Once you've stuck your shapes and text on the page you can rotate and repeat they to your heart's content .

She had lazed around the pool to her heart's content - and she had played tennis with Carlos three times.

Throw it around to your heart's content .

do sth to your heart's content

do your/sb's hair/nails/make-up etc

I paint her face and do her hair.

I said, I did , I was approached about who does your hair?

It's to do with the hair.

Now, do you want me to do your make-up, or not?

One test of our response to the change made by age is what we decide to do about grey hair.

She said that the day of the wedding, she should do my hair first.

The working class adolescent of the 60s had quite a job deciding what to do with his hair.

dock sb's wages/pay/salary

donkey's years

It's donkey's years since I went to the movies.

She worked in the shop for donkey's years, although the pay was awful.

We used to play golf together, but that was donkey's years ago.

dot the i's and cross the t's

Well, we haven't dotted the i's and crossed the t's, but the contract's nearly ready.

drag sb's name through the mire

drag sb's name through the mud

draw (sb's) attention

Another speaker said that our presence would only draw attention and suspicion to their villages.

Darwin knew these things perfectly well, and drew attention to them.

Do not draw attention to yourself.

However, in two other respects, Waddington draws our attention to points which are of fundamental importance.

In this way the barbarians encouraged usurpation, and the usurpers drew attention away from the barbarians.

It was the adventure and the daring that drew their attention.

What this criticism draws attention to is the bitter truth about teachers' exclusive concentration upon creativity with working-class pupils.

You remember, it was you that drew our attention to the place where the nurse was concentrating her pecking?

draw sb's eye (to sth)

It draws the eye to any double chin occupying space just above.

Kip drew his eyes down from the luminous dark green peaks that ringed Long Tieng.

Light moving air touched my face and drew my eyes to the south.

She lingered still beneath the rushlight, the mark on her finger drawing her eyes irresistibly.

She was wearing - barley - another creating in cling silk, which drew any approving eyes.

The patches shown are drawn from five eyes from four female monkeys.

The shyness, the hesitancy, the gratitude, all spoke in that face which drew the eye and held it.

The table drew the eye like an altar.

drink sb's health

ease sb's mind

Knowing that he's getting good medical care does ease my mind.

enter sb's life

Brandy's friends noticed a big difference in her after Jerry entered her life.

escape sb's attention/notice

fair's fair

Come on, fair's fair - I paid last time, so it's your turn.

Come on, fair's fair . It's your turn to mind the kids.

fall flat on your/sth's face

She fell flat on her face getting out of the car.

The last time I wore high-heeled shoes I fell flat on my face outside a restaurant.

As we were going out to the car Babe slipped and fell flat on her face.

At last, after several near misses, I fall flat on my face.

Because if you don't a fresh ambition or optimistic plan will fall flat on its face.

But once the ball tips, the game falls flat on its face faster than a top-ranked team after a first-round upset.

It is also a nation waiting for her to fall flat on her face.

Writers strive for a universal experience distilled from personal memories and tend to fall flat on their faces.

Yet there are certain composers who fall flat on their face unless the adrenalin really start to flow.

fall from sb's lips

In her excitement, words fell from her lips in a torrent.

No false word ever falls from his lips.

fall into sb's lap

fight your corner/fight sb's corner

fill sb's shoes

New mayor Susan Hammer had to prove she could fill McEnery's shoes.

flash through sb's mind/head/brain

Each time I see one of these cocoons hanging from a tree, all of these marvels flash through my mind.

Her body seemed determined to ignore the danger signals now at last flashing through her brain.

It flashed through my mind that I was close.

The image of the guard in his elaborate flowering prison flashes through her head.

The one occasion which was flashing through Yanto's mind at this moment involved just three of the local water babies.

The only idea that flashed through my head was that some one had broken into the house and was attacking Master Yehudi.

The past twenty-two months flashed through my mind like film run at high speed, and suddenly I felt rather tired.

This was staggering new information, and all kinds of ideas were flashing through our minds.

fly/slip under sb's/the radar

follow in sb's footsteps

My father was always disappointed that Joey didn't follow in his footsteps and take over the farm.

We will watch with interest what happens to these two women officers and to the young women who wish to follow in their footsteps.

And what would become of the two remaining women cadets, and the many more who hoped to follow in their footsteps?

He had hopes of following in the footsteps of Dositej and becoming minister of education.

Now the powerful midfielder is following in Shearer's footsteps towards stardom.

Other talented women are fast following in her footsteps.

Popular dancers who tried to follow in his tapping footsteps understood what he had accomplished.

The division has followed in the footsteps of Pochin's mobile concrete pumping division who achieved the accreditation last year.

There were few chuckles in this heavy duty drama, which followed in the footsteps of Widows, Prime Suspect Civvies.

You can follow in the footsteps of the legions at Fishbourne Roman Palace: one of the finest built outside Rome itself.

follow the signs/sb's directions

But, if you use cleaning products, you must follow the manufacturer's directions explicitly.

He made his way quickly to Mrs Brooks' house, following the postman's directions.

If you're using sterilising solution, follow the manufacturer's directions.

One involves focus groups, where a representative customer is selected and asked to perform a task by following the enclosed directions.

Process through a pasta machine following the manufacturer's directions.

for God's sake

For God's sake, shut up!

for God's sake

for God's/Christ's/goodness'/Heaven's/Pete's sake

for heaven's sake

For heaven's sake, don't tell him my age!

Where was the kid's mother, for heaven's sake?

for pity's sake

for sb's eyes only

A poem for her eyes only, a poem she liked.

And afterwards, Jay started her own diary, for her eyes only.

I got the duty doctor to give her a blood test, for my eyes only.

Today I would like you to take a small piece of card which you will keep for your eyes only.

Visit the Prescriptives counter for advice from the colour experts - for your eyes only!

for sb's liking

for what it's worth

For what it's worth , I think you did a fine job.

My feeling, for what it's worth , is that they should be regarded as wasting assets.

force sb's hand

The governor is trying to force the legislature's hand on this issue.

force/ram/shove sth down sb's throat

But my brokers were complaining that I was shoving them down their throats .

His teeth were even and white, and Bernice wanted to ram them down his throat .

Jess felt like ramming it down his throat .

The agents poured pepper sauce down their nostrils, or forced water down their throats .

Torrents of lava would not tumble out to force fire down his throat , torch his tongue.

gastric/digestive juice(s)

A positive correlation was observed between the gastric juice ammonium and severity of gastritis.

Can gastric juice ascorbic acid secretion be restored by eradication of H pylori?

Peptic ulcers are produced by the self-destruction of the gut wall by pepsin and hydrochloric acid in gastric juice .

Soon the mere noise of the bell would start their digestive juices running.

The gastric juice was collected by gentle manual aspiration during 135 minutes.

The stomach is mostly empty-the whisky is lying in a shallow pool where it is now mixed with highly acidic gastric juices .

They crush their victim in their pincers, but feed by injecting digestive juices and sucking the prey dry.

This is expressed as concentration of tyrosine, and it occurs by dilution of the gastric juices by the food.

get (right) up sb's nose

Darren comes to stay with Nikki and is quick to get up the nose of everyone he meets.

Even reading your horoscope can get up your nose .

I didn't realise it would get up your nose so quickly and so far.

I took her to my room, so that her feathers wouldn't get up Mum's nose .

It had got up Rufus's nose a bit, though Adam had a perfect right to do this.

get (sb) off sb's back

Electioneering, he had talked tough about getting government off the backs of the people.

Even if that had happened, it didn't justify the violence of Steen's attempts to get Jacqui off his back .

He had a chance now to tell on Lee, to get him off his back , out of Jubilee Wood.

Ian denies all but tells them about Mel sleeping with Phil to get them off his back .

It would have been a good excuse to use to get Mr Parnham off his back .

Maybe he figured the only way to get her off his back was to confess.

She got the revolver off the back seat and put it into the glove compartment with the cartridges.

get in sb's face

They play a gritty game, always in your face , always yapping, getting in your face.

You get in their face , they get in yours.

get in sb's hair

He can't get in our hair .

get on sb's nerves

I hope Emma isn't going to be there - she really gets on my nerves .

Nick's whining is really starting to get on my nerves .

The noise from the apartment upstairs was beginning to get on my nerves .

Angry Dear Angry: We can understand how these kids can get on your nerves .

As much as they got on her nerves , still she could not bring herself to talk behind their backs.

But things now were really getting on his nerves .

Everyone was getting on each other's nerves , and there was tension all the time.

His son got on his nerves all the time.

The noise and the smell were getting on his nerves .

They really get on my nerves .

This is really starting to get on my nerves .

get on sb's tits

get on sb's wick

Ultimately, it just gets on your wick .

get sb's dander up

Some recent columns have gotten readers' dander up.

get sb's goat

Relax - don't let him get your goat .

get under sb's skin

Kids will say some mean things to try and get under your skin .

But this class was dearly getting under his skin .

He had got under her skin , and after half an hour she went home alone, not content with second-best.

It will not be easy given the Sri Lankan propensity for getting under the skin of the opposition.

So, come on you literary types; stop fretting about Orwell and start getting under our skins .

Sure he could get under your skin but so would St Francis of Assisi on a job like this.

Why did she let him get under her skin like this?

Why should there be a surface to get beneath, a skin to get under?

Why was she allowing Doreen to get under her skin in this manner?

get your money's worth

Some publishers feel they haven't been getting their money's worth from the show.

get/put sb's back up

He treats everyone like children, and that's why he puts people's backs up.

It really gets my back up when salesmen call round to the house.

At Eagle Butte I stopped and got a clamp, got the pipe back up there some way.

He had been around the scene for long enough to know how to manipulate meetings without getting everyone's back up.

If you get his/her back up, even if you're right, you're dead!

She'd even got Bert's back up proper, over his betting and poor old Floss.

Simon naturally put people's backs up.

You got to get back up.

give sb ideas/put ideas into sb's head

give sb the bum's rush

go (right/clean) out of sb's mind

She said she was going out of her mind in California.

go over sb's head

The more emotional scenes go right over the kids' heads .

Are we going to get Blagg or do we go over your head ?

Could he go over the heads of Congress and get the country behind him?

He says that the bid is hostile because it goes over the heads of the directors.

His enormous arm went over Rory's head , the empty pint pot hanging in the smoke above the counter.

Mrs Singh seemed to be listening intently but I guess that a lot of what was being said went over her head .

They worried that the experienced subordinate would go over their head and gain support from their superiors.

go sb's way

go to sb's head

Dave really let his promotion go to his head .

The wine went straight to my head .

A rush of blood went to Rosheen's head as the infection he had implanted did its work.

At ten o'clock they went to the tunnel head .

He went to the head in the middle of the night to study the fluid, a dreadful yellowish drip.

I think your Nobel Prize has gone to your head .

Production went to his head and thrilled his sleepless nerves like liquor or women on a Saturday night.

She was a looker, that one, and I guess it went to her head .

They were floundering chest-deep, and Riven went to Madra's head , helping to hold it above the water.

go/run/flash etc through sb's mind

I began to wonder what might be going through her mind .

Over and over it ran through his mind .

Perhaps more mundane thoughts went through her mind .

The one occasion which was flashing through Yanto's mind at this moment involved just three of the local water babies.

The past twenty-two months flashed through my mind like film run at high speed, and suddenly I felt rather tired.

The thought ran through my mind I heard chaos outside.

This was staggering new information, and all kinds of ideas were flashing through our minds .

Who lived there and what was going through their minds ?

gouge sb's eyes out

McLaren accused Roberts of trying to gouge his eyes out during the fight.

I just wanted to gouge his eyes out.

grease sb's palm

greengrocer's

grocer's

hang on sb's words/every word

And the children of Elvis did hang on his every word.

As a result, you find yourself hanging on to every word and gesture.

We weren't all hanging on your every word anyway, even back then.

harm sb's image/reputation

The report has harmed the town's reputation as a health spa.

have sb's ear

He used to boast to his friends that he often had the President's ear .

have sb's number

You can tell Cara has his number . She knows exactly how to handle him when he's mad.

have/keep your beady eye(s) on sb/sth

have/take a butcher's

have/tan sb's hide

he's/she's bad news

he's/she's no oil painting

hell's bells

here's mud in your eye

here's to sb/sth

hold sth at arm's length

hot on sb's heels

Conversely, victory for Bath leaves them very much in the title hunt, hot on the heels of Leicester.

Critique followed hot on the heels of this pioneering work.

It comes hot on the heels of the C5 saloon we showed you last week.

Merchants followed hot on their heels selling fabrics and other manufactured goods in exchange for copra oil.

Young Laura is hot on the heels of her brothers.

hot on sb's trail/tail

But they were hot on the trail of a loathsome whine as the party in another mess pined for better days.

Lieutenant Ward Bond was at the wheel of the police convertible hot on his tail.

Once again Biddy / Beth flees, but both the Toddler and McGarr are hot on her trail.

how are things going?/how's it going?/how goes it?

"Hey, Al, how's it going ?" "Fine."

how's life?

how's that for sth?

how's tricks?

Hello Bill! How's tricks ?

if you know what's good for you

If you know what's good for you, you'll do what I tell you.

You'll just keep your mouth shut about this if you know what's good for you!

if you know what's good for you

in a pig's eye

in a pig's eye!

in sb's (infinite) wisdom

The board, in its infinite wisdom , has decided to give Waters back his job.

King, in his finite wisdom , figured out that three fights would make more money than one.

My daughter, the poet, says Sofia was the goddess in charge of wisdom long ago.

Nothing is more completely accepted in the conventional wisdom than the cliche that economic life is endlessly and inherently uncertain.

The Government had in its wisdom decided on the former - hence the Black and Tans.

The Guardian, in its wisdom , plucks out of the blue a figure of £200 million.

There will be many a swing in both conventional wisdom and political fortunes between now and November.

These attitudes have persisted in the conventional wisdom .

in sb's employ

Mr. Morton had a number of servants in his employ .

in sb's favour

in sb's imagination

in sb's keeping

in sb's name/in the name of sb

Requests for the metal are made in telexes in the names of banks or solicitors acting for the buyer.

in sb's own backyard

And as they were fretting about it being nicked, it turned up in their own backyard .

It will be easier to find a soul mate elsewhere than in one's own backyard .

Make it in your own backyard .

Now those efforts can begin right in your own backyard , when the Gardens' devotees host their annual fall plant sale.

Of course, every fly-blown congressman is keen to install fresh weapons of death in his own backyard .

They have a big stockmarket in their own backyard .

in sb's place

What would you do in my place ?

With Leiter injured, Hernandez will pitch in his place .

in sb's shadow

in sb's shoes

in sb's/sth's thrall

We have a Congress that is in thrall to the gun lobby.

But the demon which had driven him to drink that night, after months of abstinence, had him in its thrall .

He had that resigned helplessness which hospital patients and people in the thrall of religious experience have.

I couldn't bear to be in its thrall for another day.

Of the literati in their thrall , Budd Schulberg emerged as the writer who told you most about the bouts.

in sb's/sth's wake

The tornado left hundreds of damaged homes in its wake .

Here, then, are questions that parents have raised with Child Caring in the wake of the Angeli story.

I call Stan from the airport in San Francisco and wake him up with the bad news.

Love is not the impure self-seeking that chokes everything in its wake .

The morning was cold, in the wake of the north wind that had frozen the fields since mid-March.

The park was formed to preserve for ever the spectacular countryside, lakes and river systems created in the wake of the glacier.

The people in the house were waking up.

They also might enable companies to resume the building projects they abandoned in the wake of the December 1994 peso devaluation.

To some extent the advances made in our primary schools in the wake of the Plowden Report have been squandered.

in the hands of sb/in sb's hands

in the interest(s) of justice/safety/efficiency etc

Extending the ban to wedding rings, in the interests of safety, say the company, has upset some workers.

Ideally, the student should be making all the decisions and choosing actions in the interests of safety and efficiency.

If the alarm gets no response, the timer goes ahead and switches off in the interest of safety and economy.

The mature glider pilot would never hesitate to make a fool of himself in the interests of safety.

We should be able to state which fuse we require when we buy a plug in the interest of safety and economics.

in the low 20s/50s etc

This year, the number hit 40 by mid-October and was expected to wind up in the low 50s.

in this/sb's neck of the woods

We don't get much snow in our neck of the woods.

What are you doing in this neck of the woods?

in your mind's eye

I can't remember her name, but I can clearly see her in my mind's eye.

in/within sb's hearing

injure sb's pride/feelings etc

insult sb's intelligence

ironmonger's

is it sb's idea of a joke?

it is not sb's place (to do sth)

But it is not my place and, frankly, I am not in the mood for a party.

it's (a case of) the tail wagging the dog

it's (a little/bit) late in the day (to do sth)

it's (just) one of those days

"Everything okay?" "Oh, it's just been one of those days ."

it's (only/just) a matter/question of time

But they believe it's only a matter of time before the disease crosses the county boundary.

If he hasn't already killed somebody, then it's only a matter of time .

They think it's only a matter of time before he breaks.

it's (only/just) human nature

It's human nature to put off doing things you don't like to do.

But it's human nature that people-male or female-will do what they are allowed to get away with.

it's ... , Jim, but not as we know it

it's a case of sth

But it's a case of when you're down, anything goes.

Clearly it's a case of the further the distance, the better Captain Dibble gets.

I think it's a case of what we have, we hold.

It's a case of pushing the float up until it holds and doesn't drag under.

Maybe it's a case of all these important people getting free drinks in the George Best Suite after the match.

Overall, though, it's a case of spreading a good idea a little too thinly this time around.

Police say they're almost certain it's a case of murder followed by suicide.

Really it's a case of head versus heart.

it's a crime

It's a crime to throw away all that food.

It's a crime you never took it up, darling.

You tell me that it's a crime to fall in love.

it's a crying shame

It would be a crying shame if high ticket prices kept people away from baseball games.

It's a crying shame to cover up your body.

it's a deal

"I'll give you $100 for it." "It's a deal ."

All right, it's a deal .

It's a deal considering the formidable size.

It's a deal milder than Arendale and there's ling grows there.

it's a different story

Between races it was a different story .

But his recent speeches, carried on the Internet and in church publications, tell a different story .

But it is a different story when we focus on phonological change.

It means that if the engineer comes up with a different story they can use this to embarrass the plaintiff at trial.

Lee told a different story in her lawsuit.

Perhaps if people had spoken up, taken a strong stand, history would tell a different story .

Taxes on rented and business property are a different story .

They then have a moment of near romance before wandering off into a different story .

it's a dirty job, but someone has to do it

it's a fair cop

And criminals are warned that from then, they won't even have time to tell police it's a fair cop .

Do you want me to say that it's a fair cop or something?

It's a fair cop - honest, officer!

it's a fair cop

And criminals are warned that from then, they won't even have time to tell police it's a fair cop.

Do you want me to say that it's a fair cop or something?

It's a fair cop - honest, officer!

it's a free country

"You can't say things like that!" "I can say whatever I want - it's a free country."

it's a girl/football/music etc thing

it's a good thing

It's a good job you didn't scream.

It's a good thing I brought my camera.

It's a good thing you remembered to bring napkins.

I decide it's a good thing that I don't see Sean try to capture Ian's incandescent dance.

I think it's a good thing.

It's a good thing we got here in time, he thought.

Male speaker It's a good thing for the area.

Male speaker It's a good thing we check them - we can find any injured birds and help them.

So it's a good thing to get one's mind off in one's spare time.

Still, it's a good thing from the hunt's point of view that new blood is coming along, surely?

it's a good thing (that)

But it's a good thing it happened now...

I decide it's a good thing that I don't see Sean try to capture Ian's incandescent dance.

I think it's a good thing .

So it's a good thing to get one's mind off in one's spare time.

Still, it's a good thing from the hunt's point of view that new blood is coming along, surely?

it's a long story

it's a matter of fact (that)

it's a mercy (that)

it's a safe/sure/fair bet (that)

As soon as a board attempts to interfere with management tasks it's a fair bet that profits will decline.

He may not fancy it, but it's a safe bet that he would be the first man to do it.

Since they're not, it's a fair bet that they show something she doesn't want you to know.

it's a shame/what a shame etc

it's a squash

it's a toss-up

"Have you decided where to go on holiday?'' "Well, it'll be either Portugal or Turkey -- it's a toss-up .''

I don't know who'll get the job. I guess it's a toss-up between Carl and Steve.

it's a wonder (that)

It's a wonder no one got hurt.

But it's a wonder he doesn't.

Pretty deep there; it's a wonder it didn't slice the top of his head off.

She thought, as she spoke, it's a wonder that I have anything to report.

The way Max's biological clock is ticking, it's a wonder Emma didn't call out the bomb squad.

Though it's a wonder she did not spot the writing on the wall.

it's about time

"Joey's home." "Well, it's about time ."

A case of bread and circuses, and it's about time some one said it for the rave generation.

All we can say is, it's about time !

But I was thinking it's about time we got back to Nurse's house.

But it isn't, and it's about time the public knew that.

I think it's about time I went back home.

I was hoping there was, cos it's about time I got back home - it's getting pretty late.

Yes, it's about time that was stopped.

it's all Greek to me

it's all about sb/sth

it's all go

It's all go around here this morning. Ten new orders, all marked "URGENT'.

Yes, it's all go on the rumour exchange and let me stress that these are but a few of the juiciest.

it's all go

Better to accept it's all gone .

But it is starting to look as though it's all going sour.

But now they're here it's all going splendidly.

It's all gone very quiet over there!

It can't be helped ... Together for an instant and then smash it's all gone still its worth it.

Now it's all gone quiet.

So it's all going to go ahead as per the script.

Yes, it's all go on the rumour exchange and let me stress that these are but a few of the juiciest.

it's all good

Don't worry about it man - it's all good .

But it's all good practice, a good day out.

It's all good clean shaven fun.

it's all in the mind

it's all or nothing

The deal is all or nothing.

It's all or nothing and being strong enough to take the flak if things go wrong.

It's all or nothing with her.

it's all right

It's all right. Mommy's here now.

I think it's all right.

I will do the opposite, if it's all right by you-and always be glad you came.

It's all right but he prefers Cabanaconda.

It's all right, my darling, Mrs Jourdelay's driving us.

Now, Benny, it's all right.

it's all right for sb

But if it's all right for wives to have this status, then it's all right for cohabitees too.

It's all right for you.

it's all the same to sb

We can go out to eat if you want - it's all the same to me.

Well, if it's all the same to you, we would rather be the judges of that.

it's all up (with sb)

It's all up for you then.

it's an ill wind (that blows nobody any good)

it's as easy as falling off a log

it's bad enough ...

It's bad enough being paranoid, let alone telling everyone about it.

It's bad enough being stuck in here without our not getting on as well.

It's bad enough for me, imagine living abroad.

It's bad enough having a seriously ill child without all having to be split up.

It's bad enough looking through the new sections and the main articles and seeing nothing mentioned less than E4, 6b.

It's bad enough now, but it must have been really something when it was occupied.

It's bad enough that Timothy's mooning over her like a schoolboy, wet behind the ears.

It's bad enough trying to fly with unequal line lengths; having an asymmetric kite can be most frustrating!

it's brass monkeys/brass monkey weather

it's difficult/hard to believe (that)

Female speaker It's hard to believe it's happened.

It's hard to believe another child could do such a thing.

It's hard to believe just how dire it is.

It's hard to believe Marie's got a husband.

It's hard to believe now but I actually made do with hooks for a while!

It's hard to believe that he started painting in World War Two and is still painting today.

It's hard to believe , but we're fast approaching the dessert hour.

The ideological points are still there but it's hard to believe that totalitarian regimentation could be so tight.

it's every man for himself

In journalism it's every man for himself.

it's just a thought

it's just as well (that)

It's just as well I took the train today - I heard the traffic was really bad.

Perhaps it is just as well .

it's just that

He's not ugly or anything. It's just that he's too short for me.

Business or hatred, there's something that stays the same - it's just that person; just about him.

But I think it's just that the winter weather keeps the birds away.

I was not supposed to clean there, it's just that I love reading and sometimes I feel starved.

Maybe it's just that those who don't look don't survive to tell the tale.

Nothing drastic - it's just that his studio is taking on a more Tardis-like appearance than before.

Or maybe it's just that there is a course that teaches advertising and marketing, which is relatively new in itself.

Perhaps it's just that we don't have enough of those long, thin granite cracks.

She says it's because the water is pure from the mountain but she doesn't really believe it's just that.

it's just/only/simply a question of doing sth

Sometimes, it's simply a question of somewhere safe to go after school while parents are working.

it's more than my job's worth

it's nice to know (that)

Well, it's nice to know the ad is working.

I know four-wheel drive cars rarely go into the woods, but it's nice to know they can.

it's no good (doing sth)

But ... but I will worry if I think you are hanging on waiting, because it's no good .

Here we are on the hills, and it's no better .

It's no good just bleating on about the rising tide of crime to get money out of the government.

It's no good pretending you've any aptitude for art when it's quite clear you've none at all.

It's no good printing my letter if you're just going to do it again.

It's no good tying up money for years unless you're certain you won't need it.

It's no good , she rebuked herself sternly; there's no future in feeling like this about Luke Travis.

It's very easy to tell an actor that it's no good .

it's no skin off sb's nose

it's no use doing sth

It's no use complaining - you just need to take the test again later.

But it's no use running away from it.

He says it's no use having a ban if it can't be enforced.

I've telephoned everyone I can think of, but it's no use .

I can buy the best legal brains in the business, so it's no use your fighting.

I said to him, Listen, George, it's no use living in the past.

No, it's no use protesting!

On the open road, it's no use pretending that the Bentley handles with the agility of a Porsche.

it's no use!

Oh, it's no use ! I can't fix it.

it's not as if

And it's not as if I've gone off it within myself.

It's not as if I have a sister or brother to worry about.

It's not as if I haven't got any.

It's not as if I worked for a large network news show.

It's not as if there was a stash of notes that he could extort from Stone and take away with him.

It's not as if we're like bus drivers or air traffic controllers.

Plus, it's not as if the Barn Burners, Helm's current band, is a household name.

it's not every day (that)

It's not every day that a helicopter sits down in your backyard.

After all, it's not every day you win an arena referendum and a game against the defending champion Lakers.

It's not every day a young woman pulls a gun on a burglar.

Well, it's not every day , is it?

it's not for sb to judge

it's not over until the fat lady sings

it's not sb's day

After all, it's not every day you win an arena referendum and a game against the defending champion Lakers.

It's not every day a young woman pulls a gun on a burglar.

Well, it's not every day , is it?

it's not the end of the world

If you don't get the job, it's not the end of the world.

All I've done is offend one or two of the wrong people, it's not the end of the world.

It's very upsetting, but it's not the end of the world.

You won't always get it right, but it's not the end of the world if you don't.

it's now or never

Twoflower, I thought, it's now or never.

it's one thing to ..., (it's) another thing to ...,

it's only/just a matter of time

It was only a matter of time before Lynn found out Phil's secret.

You'll learn how to do it eventually -- it's only a matter of time.

Your father is dying and there's nothing we can do. I'm afraid it's just a matter of time.

But they believe it's only a matter of time before the disease crosses the county boundary.

If he hasn't already killed somebody, then it's only a matter of time.

They think it's only a matter of time before he breaks.

it's six of one and half a dozen of the other

it's the least I can do

it's the same old story

It's the same old story - too much work and not enough time.

it's the same story here/there/in ...

it's the thought that counts

it's time I was moving/we ought to get moving etc

it's tipping (it) down

it's touch-and-go

it's your funeral

it's/that's a thought!

it's/that's all right

it's/that's all very well, but ...

it's/that's easy for you to say

it's/that's just as well

it's/that's not my problem

It's not my problem if she won't listen to reason.

it/that is a load/weight off sb's mind

jam sb's/the switchboard

But look at the text, calls jammed our switchboard all day.

Residents jammed the switchboard of city authorities asking whether it was safe in the area.

jeweller's

jog sb's memory

Maybe this picture will help jog your memory.

Police hope the sketch will jog someone's memory and help identify the gunman.

Something about what he said jogged my memory about an article I had read the month before.

jump down sb's throat

I was just asking a question. You don't have to jump down my throat!

keep/hold sb at arm's length

Economic policies kept the Soviet Union and Japan at arm's length during the Cold War.

kick sb's ass/butt

kick sb's head/face/teeth in

But they would kick your head in if you spilt their pint just the same.

It goes with some people wanting to kick my head in.

Lou and Van burst into tears and Hamburglar kicks their heads in.

So they are all there, kicking our teeth in.

kick/hit a man when he's down

kid's stuff

kiss (sb's) ass

Boyd will kiss anybody's ass if he thinks it'll get him promoted.

knock (sb's) heads together

If you two don't stop yelling at each other, I'll knock your heads together!

He caught hold of the two nearest him and knocked their heads together, kicked two more and grabbed the ringleaders.

She'd just box a few ears, knock a few heads together like she did with the Rattries, and chase them off.

knock sb's socks off

Cierra's performance knocked my socks off!

And yet the correlations just knock my socks off...

The current crop of non-Windows databases can knock the socks off their predecessors.

This in-your-face marketing could be forgiven if the food absolutely knocked your socks off.

knock some sense into sb/into sb's head

Maybe getting arrested will knock some sense into him.

knock/blow sb's socks off

And yet the correlations just knock my socks off...

So, he popped down to my office, stuck this demo on the turntable and it just blew my socks off.

The current crop of non-Windows databases can knock the socks off their predecessors.

This in-your-face marketing could be forgiven if the food absolutely knocked your socks off.

know the way to sb's heart

What a great meal! You certainly know the way to a man's heart !

laugh in sb's face

I confronted my daughter, but she just laughed in my face.

He mocks death, laughs in its face, and others of his ilk laugh in a chorus all around him.

If she warned Ace what her father expected of him he'd laugh in her face.

If some one had told her what was going to happen she would have laughed in their face.

Instead, have fun with our great £25,000 series of slump-busting contests and laugh in the face of Lamont.

Ryan laughed in my face, which is what I expected.

The next time you hear a native-born athlete complain about adversity, remember Livan Hernandez and laugh in his face.

This is the last in our great £25,000 series of slump-busting contests to help you laugh in the face of Lamont.

When I was four, I told my sister about the Creation, and she laughed in my face.

lay/provide the foundation(s) for sth

Tests on healthy people may lay the foundation for a vaccine to prevent AIDS.

I think you have to lay the foundation for your success in terms of defense and rebounding.

It laid the foundation for an organisation with greater appeal to the deaf themselves, particularly the young.

These arguments provide the foundation for Simmel's account of the contradictory nature of modern life.

This theory also laid the foundation for the modern revolution in our understanding of the deepest parts of the earth.

To generate fundamental knowledge that can lay the foundation for future advances in high-performance computing and communications.

We could say that she is laying the foundations for dressing herself later on.

What is stressed rather is that the same phenomenon provides the foundation for both historical tendencies.

While incomplete, the steps that were taken laid the foundation for Workplace 2000.

leap to sb's defence

But the girlfriend of deputy manager John Onanuga leapt to his defence.

Did Geoffrey leap to the defence of every person with disabilities whom he encountered?

The stats cant leap to his defence either.

learn/be taught sth at your mother's knee

leave sb to sb's (tender) mercies

leave sth to sb's imagination

The production successfully leaves much of the detail to the audience's imagination .

His creation left nothing to the imagination .

In this respect Wordsworth does not leave enough to the imagination .

Plastics - that here leave little to the imagination - were widely used in fashion.

That way they leave things to your imagination .

The Crims leave it to your imagination , although they don't on the incongruous rockabilly thumper Dickholder.

There's nothing wrong with being glamorous and sexy, but leaving something to the imagination is advisable.

let's face it/let's be honest

Let's face it, Scott. We're not as young as we used to be.

let's get this show on the road

let's hear it for sb

let's just say

"So who was she with?" "Let's just say it wasn't Ted."

let's just say (that)

let's roll

let's see

Okay, let's see, what were we talking about?

lick sb's boots

life's a bitch

life's too short

lift sb's spirits

light the/sb's way

A cold grey light made its way round the corners of the curtains and trickled into the room.

Fand and Liban came behind, but their spears didn't light the way, only set confusing reflections in the walls.

He switched off the kitchen light on his way out.

He went upstairs, moving slowly in his light and silent way.

I look for the planktonic lanterns that sometimes light our way, but this night I do not see any bioluminescence.

Stripes of rock tilted and shimmered in the midday light .

They went through, moving slowly, cautiously, side by side, using their lamps to light the way ahead of them.

like it's going out of fashion

She's been spending money like it's going out of fashion .

like nobody's business

People are buying Internet stocks like nobody's business.

like water off a duck's back

look who's here!

Well, look who's here! It's Jill and Paul!

look who's talking,

"You need to get more exercise." "Look who's talking !"

loosen sb's tongue

The wine loosened his tongue.

loosen sb's tongue

luck is on sb's side

With two kids and a beautiful wife, luck was on his side.

make a dog's breakfast of sth

make a pig's ear of sth

make a silk purse out of a sow's ear

make it worth sb's while

I'll make sure they approve your application if you make it worth my while.

I didn't want to lend Terry my car, but he said he'd make it worth my while.

The basketball federation in Kuwait offered him a coaching job, and made it worth his while.

He also has a lucrative five-year contract at Hilton that makes it worth his while to stick around.

Obviously he would promise to make it worth your while.

make sb's acquaintance

After seeing the way Mr. Wyatt behaved at the party, I had little desire to make his acquaintance .

I'm pleased to make your acquaintance .

make sb's blood boil

Because I like you, Breeze, and it makes my blood boil to think of you slaving away as you do.

It's a subject that makes my blood boil and disappointments have left me a blister short of swearing.

It was an infuriating trait, and it made her blood boil every time he came near.

Thinking about it now made my blood boil.

You know, when I think about it, it still makes my blood boil.

make sb's blood run cold

But whenever she passed the wood the tales rushed back into her mind and made her blood run cold.

Ex-inmate Tony Cohla told yesterday how the thought of ever returning to Ashworth makes his blood run cold.

He said their evidence had made his blood run cold.

make sb's day

Go on, tell him you like his new suit. It'll make his day !

Sherry's phone call really made my day .

Your smile makes my day .

make sb's flesh creep/crawl

make sb's hair curl

The moisture had made his hair curl even more, and had brought out the hardiness of his complexion.

The things he could tell you about her would make your hair curl.

make sb's hair stand on end

The thought of a lawsuit was enough to make his hair stand on end.

He was so close to her, his arms brushing lightly against hers, making her hairs stand on end.

I've been hearing rumours about his methods of taming his crew ... things to make your hair stand on end.

Some of the stories people had told me in that room would make your hair stand on end.

Yet here he was expecting to play a part that would make her hair stand on end.

make sb's life a misery

Circuit judge John Lee, 65, told a court that all men suffer because women enjoy making their lives a misery .

In Dinny's code, if you beat some one in a fight you made their life misery for as long as possible.

It makes my life a misery .

My supervisor has made my life a misery .

She really was making his life a misery .

The roadworks are making their lives a misery .

Why did they have to make his life a misery ?

make sb's skin crawl

The thought of him touching me just makes my skin crawl.

It made her skin crawl, the deference.

The woman made his skin crawl.

They make the skin crawl like it is on fire, even as it is bathed in sweat.

make sb's toes curl

The mere sight of him was enough to make McAllister's toes curl.

make sheep's eyes at sb

man's best friend

many's the time/day etc (that/when)

mare's nest

massage sb's ego

This organization spends more time massaging egos than developing new products.

match up to sb's hopes/expectations/ideals etc

meet sb's eye(s)/gaze/glance etc

It was hard to meet his eyes for long, and she looked away.

Nothing in the three villagers' long but sheltered past could have prepared them for the horrendous sight that met their eyes.

On occasion, she would meet Ted's eyes, and he would wink, and nod his head encouragingly.

She met Charles's eyes and looked away in case he could read her renewed longing for Keele.

She met his eyes without flinching, a mutinous sparkle enlivening the depths of her own grey gaze.

They meet the eyes of others.

This is an interesting question and there is probably more to it than meets the eye.

melt into sb's arms/embrace

Would they melt into each other's arms?

mind your manners/language/p's and q's

more's the pity

I'm afraid this car doesn't belong to me, more's the pity .

Now I'm too old to fall in love, more's the pity .

The new staff are all women, more's the pity .

General Motors and Ford have not been dogged by raiders - more's the pity .

No Jane Carlyle, more's the pity .

So, more's the pity , are men like Sir Gordon Reece.

They don't make films like his anymore - more's the pity .

mortgage the/sb's future

But, in practice, if allowed to get out of hand, it firmly mortgaged the future.

Finally, notice that the question of mortgaging the future hinges crucially on what is done with the privatization revenue.

There's a pool of talent in this area most employers can draw from without mortgaging their financial future, Miller said.

We will also ensure that home-buyers receive proper advice about the potential cost of their mortgages in future years.

much to sb's surprise/embarrassment etc

A week later, much to my surprise, I was told my order must be changed.

And much to everyone's surprise he won it.

And he was still sober, much to her surprise.

But he has written a steamy thriller, much to the surprise of his conservative minions.

Pitsligo died there in 1767, head, much to his surprise, still firmly attached to his unrepentant shoulders.

So now he is clubbed to death instead, much to the surprise of the audience.

Those questions were asked in front of a packed gymnasium, much to the Surprise of the state officials who attended.

mum's the word

my mind's a blank

my money's on sb/sth

The smart money is on the A's to win the series.

nail in sb's/sth's coffin

A final nail in the coffin had been hammered in by Wrede.

Another loss would be another nail in Branfoots managerial coffin.

For me this was the final nail in the coffin of a terminally dull product.

In the end, it was also the issue which secured a vital nail in the coffin of Britain's nuclear dream.

Industry observers fear that this would be another nail in the coffin of the independent record industry.

It also is one more nail in the coffin of formal decor.

It is another nail in the coffin of deterrence even if the first generation of cruise will be slow for such a role.

Was not the film's very name, Last Resort, another nail in Margate's coffin?

newsagent's

nobody's perfect

OK, so he made some mistakes - nobody's perfect .

not be out of the wood(s) yet

not do a hand's turn

not give a monkey's

not harm/touch a hair of/on sb's head

not have a dog's chance

not have a snowball's chance in hell

not pass sb's lips

not sb's bag

not sb's concern/none of sb's concern

not stand/have a cat in hell's chance (of doing sth)

nothing could be/is further from sb's mind/thoughts

now's the time (for sb) to do sth

occupy sb's mind/thoughts/attention

While she waited, she tried to occupy her mind with pleasant thoughts of the vacation.

of sb's/sth's own accord

A cigarette between his girlish lips seemed to be emitting smoke of its own accord .

A healthy man to put himself into a sickbed of his own accord .

Almost of their own accord his hands shuffled the rest of the pack.

Chloasma nearly always goes away of its own accord when the high levels of circulating hormones return to normal.

Dealers who weren't going to make it left, often of their own accord , before getting sacked.

Ongoing problems seem to arise of their own accord , and then to spread through the ranks with no ostensible cause.

Optimists had hoped the answer was that opposition would ebb of its own accord as evidence of growth began.

Will we leave peacefully of our own accord ?

on bended knee(s)

And they vote and they vote and the politicians come on bended knees .

I bet you beg for it on bended knees !

No human being who wants to read and own a book should ever have to go on bended knee to get it.

Oh ... I am looking for a people who will come on bended knee .

Perhaps it was all of that singing on bended knees or from seated positions.

We need not crawl on bended knees .

on everyone's lips

News of the divorce seems to be on everyone's lips .

on sb's account

on sb's arm

on sb's knee

I used to sit on Grandpa's knee and ask him read to me.

on sb's part/on the part of sb

on sb's say-so

I'd feel terrible if anyone went to see the play on my say-so and hated it.

on sb's shoulders

The blame rests squarely on Jim's shoulders .

on sb's/the doorstep

Father worn out from the beating he had administered, sat on the doorstep smoking his pipe.

For Elizabeth Gould, however, this ornithological cornucopia right on the doorstep did not hold the same all-encompassing fascination.

Paul, much less consulting him as to where to live, she simply literally arrived on his doorstep .

They say I had the vanity to go down to Croisset and make an embarrassing scene on his doorstep .

Thomas Hewett was off duty and having a quiet glass of stout and a chinwag on his front doorstep .

Two burly men were on the doorstep .

When anyone anywhere had a question about leadership, he inevitably wound up on my doorstep .

Yet here is a dark continent on our own doorstep , crying out for missionary endeavour.

on sb's/the radar (screen)

on the margin(s)

Many mentally ill people have been forced to live on the margins of society.

At each period new houses and streets have been added on the margins of the built-up area.

Competition on the margin forces organizations shed their skins, time and again.

In all, more than three out of five older women were living in or on the margins of poverty.

Natural selection, which normally works on the margins , suddenly alters the core of the system.

Since many exist on the margins of their environments, small changes may create big problems for them.

The Bill provides a little extra competition and regulation on the margin , but it does not fundamentally transform the regime.

The Loughborough research shows that librarians don't have to feel apologetic about being on the margins of school action.

You get feedback written on the margins on your page or typed on a separate piece of paper.

on your mark(s), get set, go!

on your/sb's mind

But Alvin had a good deal else on his mind .

But those who succeed him will have no such hold on hearts and minds , nor the same unity of purpose.

Expansion is very much on the mind of Hahn, and always has been.

I want to ask him about Gloria, but he has other things on his mind .

It was probably inappropriate, dumb, or even rude, but it was the persistent question on my mind .

Robyn lay, eyes closed, and concentrated on keeping her mind blank and her body relaxed.

The last time I won was here and I had that on my mind most of the week.

Visitors who come with only escape on their minds usually leave with a Chan Chich bird list.

one man's meat is another man's poison

open a Pandora's box

I've opened Pandora's box.

The internet has opened a Pandora's box of threats: its demons have been loosed on us all.

open sb's eyes (to sth)

His speech really opened my eyes to the way big corporations operate.

He opened his eyes to make the words stop.

His voice sounded oddly strangled, and she opened her eyes to find his face unexpectedly close to hers.

I opened my eyes into a black web.

I gave a little meow to get his attention and he opened his eyes.

Jim opened his eyes and looked at Karen.

Soon he could not move or speak, or open his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again he was staring at a pinkish whirlpool running into the drain.

When I opened my eyes, I looked out to the stake and saw his ball fall right near it again.

out of harm's way

Move valuable objects out of harm's way when children are visiting.

out of the goodness of sb's heart

Surely even an idiot must realise that they wouldn't donate this huge amount out of the goodness of their hearts.

pick sb's brains

The workshop is designed so that new managers can pick the brains of managers with more experience.

You know all about tax law - can I pick your brains for a minute?

pick sb's pocket

On our last day in the city, someone picked my pocket.

pick up the thread(s)

Enough to do picking up the threads of his own life.

He picked up the thread and followed it.

She gradually started to pick up the threads of her life.

They talked non-stop in an elaborate relay race, one picking up the thread as soon as the other paused for breath.

pierce sb's heart

plant an idea/doubt/suspicion (in sb's mind)

Their conversation had planted doubts in Dennis' mind about the partnership.

play into sb's hands

And what good you, you silly fool, playing into my hands like this?

It plays into the hands of the opposition.

It would be playing into his hands to react to his deliberate teasing.

Such action, I believed - and still believe - would have played into the hands of my enemies.

This, the futures industry frets, would play into the hands of Rep.

We should be careful not to play into the hands of murderers.

Whatever he did would play into the hands of Isambard, whose traps were always dual, and could not be evaded.

poach on sb's territory/preserve

pollute sb's mind

post sth through sb's door/letterbox

press sb's hand/arm

press/push sb's buttons

presume on/upon sb's friendship/generosity etc

I will not presume upon your friendship any further.

prey on sb's mind

But his main preoccupation was with the unfinished Requiem, which had begun to prey on his mind .

Important items which are left have a habit of preying on the mind .

It began to prey on my mind so much that I went to the casualty department of Charing Cross Hospital.

It was Tatiana preying on his mind .

prey on sb's mind

But his main preoccupation was with the unfinished Requiem, which had begun to prey on his mind.

Important items which are left have a habit of preying on the mind.

It began to prey on my mind so much that I went to the casualty department of Charing Cross Hospital.

It was Tatiana preying on his mind.

price on sb's head

As a soldier under the Whites there was a price on his head; some one would soon discover his true identity.

Bream often have the biggest price on their heads but roach, rudd and hefty tench can provide a healthy bonus.

He was also unusual among philologists in having had a price on his head.

prick sb's conscience

Gordimer's novels pricked the conscience of white South Africans.

pull sb's leg

Did Ronnie really call or are you just pulling my leg?

Don't worry. I was just pulling you leg about moving - I'm not going anywhere.

I think he was just pulling your leg.

pull sb's licence

pull the other one (it's got bells on)

pull the rug (out) from under sb/sb's feet

pull the wool over sb's eyes

Don't try and pull the wool over my eyes - I can tell you've been smoking.

The politicians are just trying to pull the wool over voters' eyes again.

But it's not easy to pull the wool over our eyes.

He found out we had been pulling the wool over his eyes for quite some time.

The only conclusion a consumer can reach is that Microsoft managed to pull the wool over the eyes of millions of users.

There are people who can pull the wool over peoples' eyes.

You can't pull the wool over my eyes like that.

You can not pull the wool over Hooper's eyes.

pull the/sb's strings

Who is really pulling the strings at the White House?

But if he was the puppet, who was pulling the strings and to what dance?

However, I was going to try to pull the right strings.

In his own way, he knew how to pull her strings.

She, who had always pulled the strings, to have found herself in this position.

So, when he died, the puppets had no-one to pull their strings anymore.

Swindon's John Reynolds the man who pulled the strings for Andre Agassi.

The scientists pulling his strings are erratic.

punch holes in sb's argument/idea/plans etc

punch sb's lights out

push (sb's) buttons

Between these two displays are the rotary encoder control and four push buttons.

But, as you know, with the K858 you have the advantage of push buttons.

Five push buttons take care of the full-speed play, half-speed play, record, instrument distortion and stop options.

Subtle it ain t, but for big-band fans, it pushes all the buttons.

The destabilizing effect will push buttons and force changes.

The geeky suitor lost, which pushes the wrong buttons.

This can only be because there is something about Twinkies that pushes buttons in us that other junk foods do not.

When your words are likely to push his buttons, use anticipation.

put a spoke in sb's wheel

put sb's nose out of joint

put the clock(s) back/forward

Anyway, even if one wanted to, one couldn't put the clock back to an earlier age.

I can't put the clock back.

They were therefore accused of putting the clock back and bringing the best hope of Christendom to an impasse.

put the roses back in sb's cheeks

put words into sb's mouth

I didn't mean that at all -- you're just putting words into my mouth!

Stop putting words into my mouth - I never said I disliked the job.

You're putting words into her mouth. You don't know what she thinks.

Stop trying to put words into my mouth.

put/hold a gun to sb's head

He might as well have put a gun to my head.

put/set sb's mind at rest

But let me set your mind at rest .

But she'd like to see him, to try and set her mind at rest .

He's been very kind to me and Lily, as regards putting our minds at rest about Stella.

He's unlikely to know how you feel, and until he does, he can't put your mind at rest .

He must set their minds at rest about the Freddie affair, because they knew of Freddie.

I wish I could put their minds at rest .

It puts my mind at rest .

Quite often, all that is required is a friendly chat to put your mind at rest .

queer sb's pitch/queer the pitch for sb

raise sb's profile

ram sth down sb's throat

His teeth were even and white, and Bernice wanted to ram them down his throat.

Jess felt like ramming it down his throat.

rate sb's chances (of doing sth)

But few analysts rate the chances of Washington's prefered successors very highly.

But officials will not rate the survival chances above 50 percent until a month after birth.

How high do you rate my chances?

I didn't really rate his chances of living that long.

The doctors rated his chances as virtually nil.

rattle sb's cage

Who rattled your cage?

reach sb's ears

read sb's lips

read sb's mind/thoughts

Don't expect your spouse to be able to read your mind.

read sb's palm

read sb's palm

ready/fit for the knacker's yard

redound to sb's credit/honour etc

refresh sb's drink

refresh sb's memory

Before the exam he read through his notes once more to refresh his memory.

If you can't remember where you were on June 15, Mr Ball, maybe these photos will refresh your memory.

ride on sb's shoulders/back

Better than that was riding on his back while he went down on hands and knees and neighed like a horse.

Dostoevsky wanted to stifle the thought that he was riding on the back of Nechacv's perverse glamour.

Just by riding on your shoulders, Newt.

Oblivious to the emotion riding on their backs, Aureole and Pinza came to Epsom with excellent credentials.

Or you can ride on my back, if you prefer.

People on welfare are not taking a ride on the backs of other people.

Power can not ride on an upright back.

right up/down sb's alley

The job sounds right up your alley .

She said, I will tell you this Bobby Kennedy is right up my alley .

rock sb's world

roll your r's

rub sb's nose in it/in the dirt

run sb's life

Don't try to run my life!

save sb's skin/neck/bacon

say sth to sb's face

I'd never say it to her face, but her hair looks terrible.

Never write anything in an e-mail that you wouldn't say to the person's face.

If you had anything to say , you said it to their face.

It is, may I suggest, much easier to say goodbye to a face than to a wooden box.

sb's (main) squeeze

sb's affections

sb's aim is true

sb's alma mater

Mr. Inocencio regularly returns to his alma mater to encourage students to pursue their dreams.

sb's alter ego

sb's answer to sth

The Space Needle is Seattle's answer to the Eiffel Tower.

A third consideration draws attention to the association between answers to the Ten Statements Test, and another set of factors.

An answer to that question might give clues to the broader question of the function of sleep.

At first glance the answer to this question too seems to be in the negative.

Do you really want to hear the answers to all those questions?

I never did get an answer to that final one.

Send your answers to Link editor,,.

The answer to that question depends in part on your business.

The attendant was entirely honest in his answers to my questions and in the amount of fuel he pumped.

sb's bark is worse than their bite

sb's betrothed

sb's blood freezes

sb's blood is up

sb's bête noire

sb's card is marked

Your card is marked, Jimbo.

sb's cast of mind

Interpreting the stories depends on the reader's own cast of mind.

But does he have the right cast of mind for a post-cold-war world now in its second decade?

It became a cast of mind, a framework for existence.

It was rooted in a cast of mind raised to an ethic in the professions.

Moreover, it raises an interesting question about the cast of mind of the government as a whole as it seeks re-election.

Nor, if we are in civilised cast of mind, because we wish to become drunk.

This cast of mind is easily recognizable as the outlook of the traditional ruling class.

This cast of mind survived for decades.

sb's chances

What are your chances of getting a college scholarship?

sb's chickens come home to roost

Their extravagant overspending has come home to roost .

Eventually, of course, the chickens came home to roost .

sb's chickens have come home to roost

sb's clutches

Sam joined the Navy to escape from his mother's clutches .

sb's coffers

sb's concern

sb's countryman

sb's days

Mary spends her days writing love letters.

She ended her days in poverty.

sb's declining years

sb's doppelganger

sb's double

I met your double at a party last night. I really thought it was you.

sb's dulcet tones

sb's ears are burning

I bet your ears were burning - Tom and I were just talking about you.

My ears are burning in the cold, but there's nothing I can do about it.

sb's ears are flapping

sb's elders (and betters)

For our purposes it may be more helpful to use the idea of desire when assessing elders .

He roused himself wearily to exchange greetings with the elders as they passed him, and went in to his foster-father.

In this respect at least, the procedures reflected those of a lineage or tribal meeting of elders and shaikhs.

Indeed, the absence of official elders was a source of wonder to visitors from systems run by a selected few.

Some, like Monta o, believe to this day that the city killed their elders .

The Oaks are the Elders of the Forest and the others are aware of it.

The weary elders of the 1980s take revenge at last upon the hapless victims of the 1960s.

sb's energies

sb's estranged husband/wife

sb's eyes are out on stalks

sb's eyes popped (out of their head)

sb's eyes/gaze settles on sb/sth

sb's eyes/gaze/glance fall(s) on sth

A fierce, terrified elation raced through her veins as her eyes fell on the knife only an inch away from her hand.

As he scanned the room for potential defenders his eyes fell on Father Ed Dougherty.

Does the gaze fall on the impaired body or on social barriers?

He greeted her, his eyes falling on her again for an instant and then skittering away.

He helped me shift the tea-chests and his eyes fell on your clothes as though dazed in a perfumed garden.

Its huge eyes fell on the scrap of paper on the floor.

Looking around, his glance fell on the twigs scattered on the ground where Cassowary had thrown them.

My eyes fell on the bed and to my horror something began slowly to stir under the blanket.

sb's face doesn't fit

sb's favourite tipple

sb's fellows

sb's finest hour

sb's game

sb's going to love sth

And take it from me, you're going to love it.

Just as well she had such guts really, because no one was going to love her for her feminine self.

We want some one the public is going to love or hate, not just the leading scorer.

You're going to love Riverstown.

sb's good offices

The UN's good offices will be necessary in finding a peaceful solution to the crisis.

sb's good offices/the good offices of sb

sb's hackles rise

sb's hand (in marriage)

He finally asked for her hand in marriage.

A fat person, down on his hands and knees, was doing something to the grass between the stones.

Alan saw that she herself stroked the back of the child's head rhythmically with her right hand .

But it does mean that weird opinions ought not to be rejected out of hand .

But then it seemed as if the ball went through or over his hands as he came in front of Washington.

It made our hands and fingers itch, but the tiny pieces of red flesh were delicious.

Stories were told about how they had actually done considerable damage to some visiting fans when situations had got out of hand .

The political opposition, on the other hand , is not convinced.

When you fall forward, fully conscious or not, you put out your hands to break your fall.

sb's handiwork

sb's hands are tied

I'd like to help you, but you missed the deadline. I'm afraid my hands are tied.

The company's hands are tied because of government regulations.

We'd really like to help you, but I'm afraid our hands are tied.

Bankers argue that their hands are tied by the Fed.

sb's head is spinning

My shirt is soaked through, my head is spinning .

sb's heart goes out to sb

My heart goes out to them.

You poor little dear - my heart goes out to you, waiting all this time.

sb's heart is in the right place

He can be rude and bad-tempered sometimes, but his heart's in the right place.

Mike's a little grouchy sometimes, but his heart's in the right place.

sb's heart isn't in it

She was doing the best she could, but her heart just wasn't it it.

sb's heart leaps

sb's heart misses a beat

When Caroline smiled at Eddie, his heart missed a beat.

sb's heart misses/skips a beat

sb's heart sinks

My heart just sank when I read Patty's letter.

sb's hide

sb's humble abode

Welcome to our humble abode.

sb's idea of a joke

Is this your idea of a joke ?

The dismembered leg sticking straight out of the rubbish was clearly his idea of a joke .

sb's inner voice

My inner voice told me to be cautious.

But an inner voice tells me that it is not yet the real thing.

But not completely different, an inner voice amended doggedly.

Cassius chanted to himself, his inner voice as mechanical as the movements of his body.

Emerson talks about listening to that inner voice and going with it, all voices to the contrary.

It can't be, an inner voice shrieked in violent protest.

It can be used as an inner voice in the woodwind ensemble, but tends to be obtrusive.

Of course he wasn't, an inner voice taunted.

sb's inside/insides

sb's jaw dropped

Conley's jaw dropped , and she left without saying anything.

sb's jaw dropped

sb's keep

sb's kind of person/thing/place etc

sb's labours

sb's life flashes before their eyes

sb's likes and dislikes

Don't let personal likes and dislikes get in the way of the job.

Art can be created by groups, producing output that is a synthesis of their likes and dislikes.

As children grow older they will become more consciously aware of the likes and dislikes of those who care for them.

Employees were asked about their likes and dislikes, about general working conditions, and about their feelings toward supervisors.

There are only subjective likes and dislikes, and one should not speak of value at all.

These are all factors that are essentially personal, and we are all different in our likes and dislikes.

This column takes a look at local cooks, their culinary likes and dislikes and favorite recipes.

This is when likes and dislikes of others are first expressed.

We all have different likes and dislikes, different tastes in food, music, films and clothes.

sb's line manager

All these convey an organisational unit headed by a line manager.

One passionate advocate of appraisals is Canon Hardaker, whose lucid guidelines should be compulsory reading for many a line manager.

Your line manager will also discuss and agree realistic objectives with you.

sb's lord and master

Could he bear to see them wired-made vulnerable to the least whim of their lords and masters?

In the rustic humour there were opportunities for poking fun at lords and masters and oppressive authority, both civil and military.

Meanwhile our lord and master would sit and drink one cup of tea after another, barking orders from time to time.

sb's make-up

sb's memory

Janitz said her intention was to honor the memory of her mother.

sb's memory is playing tricks on them

sb's mind goes blank

sb's mind is not on sth

I was trying to study, but my mind just wasn't on it.

sb's mind is racing

sb's mind is wandering

My mind is wandering , as Isabel has said, I forget things.

Paul finds his mind is wandering , thinking about the poll tax program again.

sb's mind wanders

I'm sorry, my mind was wandering. What did you say?

sb's mortal remains

sb's movements

Police are trying to trace Carter's movements .

sb's name is mud

sb's namesake

sb's native soil

sb's nearest and dearest

I don't deal, not for anybody, not for my nearest and dearest.

It will ensure that the memory of your wedding day will remain uppermost in the minds of your nearest and dearest.

Novels may have changed, but dropping hints about your will remains a sure-fire way to annoy your nearest and dearest.

Or heard yourself screaming in a high pitch while arguing fruitlessly with your nearest and dearest?

Sentimental visits home were punctuated by heated and bitter political arguments with my nearest and dearest.

She had come to this, to a limp white heap who had forgotten the names of her nearest and dearest.

Those whose nearest and dearest suffer hearing loss are offered very little assistance to meet the situation!

Which I most certainly am not, as nearest and dearest, and gangs of so-called friends will confirm.

sb's number comes up

sb's number is up

This could be the year a lot of politicians find their number is up.

When my number is up, I want it to be quick.

Competition prize winners Kathryn Winkler of Dundee, your lucky number is up.

sb's old lady

sb's old woman

sb's opposite number

sb's part in sth

Larkin will definitely go to jail for his part in the robbery.

Also problematic is the degree to which gender may be playing a part in the proletarianization process.

Arnold has hinted to pals that Mona's friendship with David Mellor played at least some part in his marriage break-up.

Clearly your own knowledge, experience and circumstances will all play a part in your decision.

Grace Barber suffered from a heart condition but detectives believe the incident played a part in her death.

If you care to listen and take part in our festivals, feel free.

Joyce Allan and Fred Penfold will also take part in this meeting which will hopefully produce recommendations for our next Directorate meeting.

Professional standards have traditionally played little part in the accounts of central government.

They form both an act of submission and a daring gesture of taking part in the spiritual power alive within that place.

sb's patch

sb's paths cross

Our paths did not cross again until 1941.

sb's paths cross

sb's people

Arafat has urged his people to refrain from violence.

As a senior manager, you will be judged by the performance of your people .

Where do your people come from?

sb's post

sb's pride and joy

Christina was an only child, her parents' pride and joy.

The garden was my father's pride and joy, the real expression of his creativity.

Todd's magnificent Rolls Royce had been his pride and joy for many years.

We don't have any children, so Snowball is our pride and joy.

Or if your pride and joy 80 inch needs new swivel hubs, these are readily available.

Peter's pride and joy didn't look quite so pretty any more.

Seven-year-old leukaemia sufferer Paul Hindle was dragged off his pride and joy when the gang pounced as he played with his pals.

Taking pride and joy in my work had seemed just a dream to me once.

The car was her and boyfriend Robert; s pride and joy.

The cottage was Anthea's pride and joy.

Today, his pride and joy is more like a Corolla.

sb's roots

sb's safety

Captain Billings just wants to ensure his passengers' safety .

sb's say-so

Kathleen evidently ran things around the office and nothing could be done without her say-so .

Nobody here leaves without my say-so .

Tell him he can use the car, but only on my say-so .

sb's scalp

sb's schooldays

sb's sense of self

He was combative, preferred elegant excesses of language, and had developed a strong, up-front sense of self .

Her sense of time may vanish, and her normal sense of self .

I should know ... Friendships become easier for young women in later adolescence as they develop a clearer sense of self identity.

In contrast, figures outside the high cultural sphere often consciously try to abandon their sense of self .

It is only through a process of dynamic interaction that consciousness is achieved as a sense of self and other.

My therapist tells me I have a problem with boundaries, I have no sense of self .

One week he said I had no sense of self .

You need to go with the community and have a collective sense of self .

sb's shadow

sb's shout

sb's side of a deal/bargain

sb's spiritual home

sb's stamping ground

A party conference is a natural stamping ground for those who have barely four days in which to make a mark.

It's my guess he is trying to reach his old stamping ground.

Like Banquo's ghost her figure would be seen haunting her old stamping ground.

This raises the question: where is the natural stamping ground for experienced lawyers with case management skills?

sb's stock is high/low

Simon's stock is high in the network news business.

sb's stomping ground

sb's strong suit

Politeness is not his strong suit .

sb's studies

James interrupted his studies to travel around Europe for a year.

My uncle asked me how I was enjoying my studies .

She plans to continue her studies at Colgate in the fall.

sb's stuff

You can put your stuff over here for now.

sb's susceptibilities

sb's system

I need to get some of the alcohol out of my system before I can even think about another party.

sb's take (on sth)

sb's taste runs to sth

sb's temperature

sb's time in/at/as sth

sb's too good for sb

But dying by my own hand is too good for me.

He was too good for you, Hilda Machin, and that's what you hadn't got the brains to understand.

I was too good for my class.

Much too good for Gary, he thought.

She was too good for him.

The best was not too good for her.

The role he proposed for Ken was too good for him to pass up.

sb's trail/scent is cold

The trail seemed cold until a woman in Mississippi recognized Pearson's face in a wanted poster.

sb's understanding (of sth)

My understanding is that none of us are required to attend.

What's your understanding of the letter?

sb's universe

sb's voice shakes

sb's waters break

sb's word is law

sb's words

sb's world/life falls apart

When your world falls apart, do you get mad, get out or get even?

sb's worst fears were realized

My worst fears were realized when I saw the test questions.

His worst fears were realized and he was arrested.

sb's your man

sb's/sth's claim to fame

Lane is a Broadway actor whose main claim to fame was his role as the voice of Timon in "The Lion King."

But their true calling, and claim to fame, is medicine.

His main claim to fame was that he made the Chiquita guitar that Billy Gibbons endorsed about ten, fifteen years ago.

It's a small, ordinary little village, its only claim to fame the castle, and the burial mounds.

It has no present claim to fame and its longest guidebook entry are the words in Domesday.

On this fact rests Blackpool's claim to fame.

That is his principal claim to fame.

Unlike the chocolate of the film, this is the village's claim to fame.

sb's/sth's day

sb's/sth's days are numbered

I think Harry's days as a bachelor are numbered.

But if the church has its way, the garden's days are numbered.

He knows his days are numbered.

If Gordon Gekko is still around, his days are numbered.

My image flickers and your days are numbered.

Whatever the protests, it seems that Hospital's days are numbered.

sb's/sth's days are numbered

But if the church has its way, the garden's days are numbered .

He knows his days are numbered .

If Gordon Gekko is still around, his days are numbered .

My image flickers and your days are numbered .

Whatever the protests, it seems that Hospital's days are numbered .

sb's/sth's last gasp

This cold spell appears to be winter's last gasp for the year.

But it also was the last gasp for a team on the slide.

Large-scale, publicly-owned enterprises will breathe their last gasp and wither away well before the state which spawned them.

Sometimes even negative change is interpreted as merely the last gasp of the resistant old order.

That is the way to add people on their last gasp to the repossessed list, not reduce it.

This is the last gasp of the Romantic revolution that Beethoven instigated.

Whether it is a rebirth or a last gasp remains to be seen.

sb's/sth's sphere of influence

sb's/sth's stablemate

sb/sth's former self

A man once famed for his intolerance, xenophobia and irrational rages has become a husk of his former self.

However, such plans would have required Melanie to want to preserve her former self.

Over the last few months he had become rather withdrawn and mistrustful; a subdued version of his former self.

Sharpness docks is now a shadow of it's former self.

Stark had taken me to a place where I could shed my former selves and start anew.

The 1984 Geyserville was a shell of its former self.

The trees were dusty and muscular; zealous visions of their former selves.

There he was with his cigar, a shadow of his former self.

scramble sb's brains

This amount of LSD is enough to scramble anyone's brains.

seal sb's fate

Rogerson's fate was sealed when he got behind the wheel of his car, completely drunk.

season's greetings

see sth through sb's eyes

We have come to see it through the eyes of the people who take part in it.

see the colour of sb's money

seek (sb's) advice/help/assistance etc

Abdominal complaints Abdomen: When to seek advice Urgently, Right now!

Almost three years since she sought help for the severe seizures, Harlan had her surgery.

It will normally be necessary to seek expert advice on the realisable values of all the major assets.

She can walk into a family planning clinic and seek assistance.

The more Marcus thought about it, the more he realized that he would have to seek help from Fanshawe.

They had sought my advice, and I had recommended this machine.

set sb's teeth on edge

His high-pitched squeaky voice set my teeth on edge.

At other times their self-evident frustration sets your teeth on edge.

He w as filing arrow heads, and the sound of the metal on the whetstone set Burun's teeth on edge.

It was all done so genteelly that it set McAllister's teeth on edge.

That set our teeth on edge and bring our goose pimples rising like porpoises after mackerel.

set/put sb's mind at rest

Just to put your mind at ease, we will get a second opinion from a cardiac specialist.

The doctor set my mind at rest by explaining exactly what effect the drug would have on me.

But let me set your mind at rest.

But she'd like to see him, to try and set her mind at rest.

He's been very kind to me and Lily, as regards putting our minds at rest about Stella.

He's unlikely to know how you feel, and until he does, he can't put your mind at rest.

He must set their minds at rest about the Freddie affair, because they knew of Freddie.

I wish I could put their minds at rest.

It puts my mind at rest.

Quite often, all that is required is a friendly chat to put your mind at rest.

shake sb's confidence/beliefs etc

shake sb's hand/shake hands with sb

she's/he's family

show (sb) who's boss

sing sb's praises

Craig adored Jane and would sing her praises to anyone who would listen.

Diane really admires you - she's always singing your praises.

Feminists have long sung the praises of writers such as Germaine Greer and Simone de Beauvoir.

slam the door in sb's face

spare sb's blushes

spare sb's feelings

He destroyed parts of Diane's diary to spare the feelings of their children.

spark sb's interest/hope/curiosity etc

speak the Queen's English

spike sb's guns

spring to (sb's) mind

Dell and Elonex immediately spring to mind.

Faded was the word that sprang to mind - everything had a rather tired quality about it.

If we think of the ways in which the term research is used, a variety of activities spring to mind.

Impressive was the first word that sprang to mind.

Noble was the word which sprang to Amabel's mind.

Some comic examples spring to mind.

That written, qualifications immediately spring to mind.

spring to sb's defence

Equally notable figures will spring to the defence of the secret deal, however.

stain on sb's character/name/reputation etc

Buy him eine kleine Knackwurst and toddle home without a stain on your character.

Duran dominated Leonard physically that night, but five months later the New Orleans farce put a huge stain on his reputation.

Robert Lopez is released without a stain on his character.

The massacre has left an indelible stain on the name of Clan Campbell.

Whatever the outcome, he not unnaturally regarded his time in gaol as a stigma, as a stain on his character.

stain sb's name/honour/reputation etc

stand in sb's way

I wouldn't want to stand in the way of progress.

All that stood in the way of victory was a touch of bad luck.

Even worse, some think public relations stands in the way of getting at the real facts.

Labor-Management Cooperation Many public managers believe that unions are the greatest obstacle standing in the way of entrepreneurial government.

North West side Brigade stand in the way of North Down's success - and they look to be formidable opposition.

Nothing seemed to stand in the way.

Shelford was at full throttle and all that stood in his way to a four pointer was the frail-looking frame of Roebuck.

With luck, fewer barriers may stand in the way.

stationer's

stay sb's hand

There is little we can do to stay his hand without damaging East-West relations.

steal sb's heart

steal sb's thunder

step into/fill sb's shoes

She stepped into her shoes , grabbed her clothes, and ran that way.

step on sb's toes

I'm new here, so I don't want to step on anyone's toes.

I told Tony I didn't want to step on his toes.

But that will make AT&T's service and equipment-manufacturing businesses step on each other's toes again.

I had stepped on his toes.

It is said the reason why Taurus ran into trouble was a reluctance to step on anyone's toes.

This will involve stepping on the toes of the takeaway market.

sth has sb's name on it

If a washer has a brand name on it, make sure that the smooth side comes into contact with the seating.

They say if it has your name on it ... But who can write on a virus?

sth is a gleam in sb's eye

sth is child's play

sth is not all/everything it's cracked up to be

sth is sb's middle name

Don't worry - consistency is my middle name.

I think Serious is your middle name.

Let's just say this: Pretension is thy middle name.

Optimism is my middle name because, unable to agree on a name, my parents stuck a pin in a dictionary.

stick in sb's mind

My uncle told me the story when I was little, and it's always stuck in my mind.

But it stuck in my mind.

I think those types of things stick in children's minds, so I didn't want her there.

It is not surprising that phrases do not stick in the mind.

It must have stuck in her mind, that an honest person might act out of character when severely threatened.

One incident that has always stuck in my mind was when I dove for my foxhole at the opening mortar round.

Perhaps the image is just so startling that it sticks in our minds.

The whole weekend had been unsettling, which was perhaps why the game had stuck in her mind.

Yet the one small doubt stuck in her mind like a burr in tweed.

stick in sb's throat

When the time came to say "I do," the words stuck in my throat.

Did he want me to eat shit or the words stick in my throat and choke me?

It stuck in my throat and I had to cough and cough to dislodge it.

Swallow, something sticking in my throat.

The breath was stuck in her throat and her mouth felt dry.

While the arrows still seemed stuck in their throats they danced to right and left with short, shuffling steps.

stick in sb's throat/gullet

Did he want me to eat shit or the words stick in my throat and choke me?

It stuck in my throat and I had to cough and cough to dislodge it.

Now sheer monotony makes it stick in the gullet like sawdust.

Swallow, something sticking in my throat.

The breath was stuck in her throat and her mouth felt dry.

While the arrows still seemed stuck in their throats they danced to right and left with short, shuffling steps.

stick out to sb/stick out in sb's mind

stick to sb's ribs

stick/stay in sb's mind

But it stuck in my mind .

I think those types of things stick in children's minds , so I didn't want her there.

It is not surprising that phrases do not stick in the mind .

It must have stuck in her mind , that an honest person might act out of character when severely threatened.

Last year, 7-21, that stays in your mind .

One incident that has always stuck in my mind was when I dove for my foxhole at the opening mortar round.

There are, as always with the work of Ralph Gibson, images that stick in the mind .

Yet the one small doubt stuck in her mind like a burr in tweed.

stretch (sb's) patience/credulity

I would be stretching the patience of my audience if I commented on them.

It may stretch credulity to the point that signs of real abuse are overlooked.

strike terror/fear into sb's heart

Believe me, all those cannon, mortars and volley guns should strike fear into the heart of the enemy.

Every crisis would strike terror into the hearts of people everywhere.

Nothing here to strike fear into the hearts of the people.

The Slav opposition collapsed almost immediately, as if the very name of Charles had struck terror into their hearts.

The very physical description of the Huns proved sufficient in and of itself to strike terror into the hearts of their enemies.

stroke sb's ego

suit sb's book

take a leaf out of sb's book

take sb to the cleaner's

take sb's breath away

And if they don't take your breath away the scenery certainly will.

Just a white-hot bonding with the words and feelings in the song, a raw purity that will take your breath away.

Middle Earth took your breath away.

She had taken his breath away when she appeared at the door.

Some of it was charmingly primitive, some of it so exotically painted it took your breath away.

The smoke took your breath away.

The volatility of the top performers can take your breath away.

There are sunsets in huge skies to take your breath away.

take sb's name in vain

take sb's part

take the wind out of sb's sails

Last night's defeat has taken some of the wind out of the team's sails.

take the words (right) out of sb's mouth

take/keep/get sb's mind off sth

At other times, the surroundings helped to take my mind off it.

I guess there is nothing that will get your mind off every-thing like golf will.

Instead they tried to take their minds off the poster campaign by providing weekend entertainment.

It takes your mind off how you feel.

Kirsty chattered excitedly throughout the journey, helping to keep Shiona's mind off her anxieties.

Letters could take my mind off most things.

To take his mind off his worries, I suggested that he wrote out a message for his family.

When the other guy thinks you are cheating, it can take his mind off the game.

talk sb's ear off

talk the hind leg(s) off a donkey

tear sb's heart (out)/tear at sb's heart

tears spring to/into sb's eyes

Joy went crimson and tears sprang into her eyes.

With that avowal, tears sprang to her eyes, leaving Farini nonplussed.

tell sb's fortune

ten minutes' worth/a week's worth etc of sth

that's (just) the way sth/sb is/that's (just) the way sth goes

And that's the way he is.

And that's the way it is again this year - everybody is happy with what I am doing.

But they think they can run everything from Detroit and that's the way the organisation is going to be restructured.

Even the best generals sometimes lose with this army just because that's the way it is.

For that's the way it is for the talented twosome.

He's always been a bit on his dignity, I suppose, but that's the way he is.

In the end Capirossi had to do the winning himself and that's the way 1991 is going to be.

The money we got to spend - well, that's the way it is.

that's (past/ancient) history

But that's history now the children are back in the classroom.

that's (quite) enough

Come now, that's enough .

He's in the fourth year of a six-year, $ 75 million contract, and that's enough for him.

I think McDunn at least believes me and that's enough for now.

So it gives pleasure, and that's enough really.

That's quite enough for one day at altitude, there and back.

Well that's enough of mechanical problems lets have some questions.

that's a good girl/that's a clever dog etc

that's a good one

My car's on fire? Boy, that's a good one!

The idea of John getting sick, the idea of John coming down with something: that's a good one.

that's a laugh

that's about it/all

I've seen her around a few times, but that's about it.

There's some ham in the fridge, and that's about it.

Behaviour in a vacuum may be very interesting but that's about all.

I can tell the difference between a sparrow and a swan and that's about it.

Oh well, that's about it.

Soundblaster effects such as laser fire and explosions are terrific but that's about it.

That's about all I can tell you.

That's about it for this month.

They're very big, and they're very expensive, and that's about all you can say for them.

Unfortunately when it comes to originality that's about all the game has to offer.

that's about the size of it

that's all I need/that's just what I didn't need

that's all she wrote

that's better

Come on, give me a hug. There, that's better , isn't it?

Try keeping your arm straight when you hit the ball. That's better !

But that's better than none.

She had half drained her mug when she said, ` Ah, that's better !

So let's try: That's better . the pages now contain both words.

Surely that's better than fading away in a hospital bed somewhere?

That's better , the waist is accentuated now.

Well, that's better than finding half a worm!

that's good

"We're going to buy a house." "Oh, that's good !"

The stove's brand new? That's good .

But that's good because it keeps us out of trouble.

If it helps, then that's good .

She had half drained her mug when she said, ` Ah, that's better !

That's good because the letter could contain blackmail, be a love letter or anything.

That's good for them, because they stand to make a commission of hundreds of pounds.

That's good , but I want more.

The thing that's good is we've had seven takeaways already.

that's it

It rains till late February or early March, and that's it.

OK, that's it . If you're not going to try, I'm not going to help you.

Slowly...slowly... Yeah, that's it .

Clarence House has a reputation for giving half an hour and then that's it .

How many embalmers do you know who have 1 or 2 arterials, 1 cavity fluid and that's it .

Nothing more to do in here, Madeleine said: that's it , finished.

Once you doubt my word, that's it .

One blooming lamp post at the corner and that's it .

Power: that's it , I want power over my life.

Sullen but accurate, spiky but efficient: that's it .

We get a custody order, and that's it .

that's it

that's life

Oh well, that's life !

But I guess that's life !

But there you are, Mr. K. that's life .

The students shrug; that's life , they seem to say.

that's life/men/politics etc (for you)

that's more like it/this is more like it

that's news to me!

The meeting's been canceled? That's news to me.

that's not saying much

Better than Alex O'Neal's offering, but that's not saying much.

that's not the whole story

that's quite all right

that's rich (coming from him/you etc)

that's right

That's right , Jim's been a friend of mine for years.

Yeah, that's right - it was based on a Raymond Chandler novel.

Amitha: In a way that's right .

And as Bethan found, it may also take some time to find a treatment that's right for you.

But she will not get that distance until she learns to - that's right - detach.

Do you think that's right ?

I don't think that's right .

Yes, that's right , it can be done, we can face history down.

Yes, that's right , the car maker.

that's sb all over

"That's Dora all over," interrupted Rose with a sniff. "Once she gets an idea into her head, nothing will stop her."

He was late, of course, but that's Tim all over.

that's something

And that's something many fans simply don't want.

And that's something technology alone, however sharp, could never do.

As for Winterreise itself, that's something else.

From his talks with players, that's something he discovered was missing in the Phillies clubhouse last season.

It's a manifestation of the marvellous relationship you had with your husband and that's something you should hand on to dearly.

Oh, good, that's something .

Okay, that's something a soldier has to accept, in an abstract sort of way.

You bought it as somewhere where you could keep me, and that's something quite different.

that's that

We're offering $2700, and that's that .

And Mr Schofield's dead, Henry thought sadly, and that's that .

As a medium of exchange it no longer works, and that's that .

He is what he is and that's that .

If you don't turn up, that's that , they don't do anything more about it.

It's just Barry, and that's that .

Many seem to be content to say that fashions change and that's that.

Sign the document, pay the fee and that's that until the next time.

When Leeds sold him I thought bollocks, that's that then.

that's the idea

"You're going to meet them there?" "Yeah, that's the idea ."

Now push the button on the left to set the time. That's the idea !

And that's the idea behind Cotswold Garden tours, which organises holiday breaks in the region.

Grown-up amusements, that's the idea .

that's the spirit

that's the story of my life

that's the way

Now bring your foot gently off the clutch - that's the way .

And that's the way it is again this year - everybody is happy with what I am doing.

And that's the way Lynne likes it.

But then, that's the way the politicians in this town love to operate.

Even the best generals sometimes lose with this army just because that's the way it is.

I was lumbered with one hairstyle and that's the way it would stay.

Well, that's the way it looked from the back.

Well, that's the way it should be, but it isn't always the case.

that's the way the cookie crumbles

"Sorry you didn't get the job, Mike." "Yeah, thanks. I guess that's the way the cookie crumbles."

that's torn it!

that's what I mean

"You've got to think about later on in life, too." "That's what I mean . It's getting closer."

And that's what I mean about friends.

But that's what I meant about technology having caught you up.

I deny I get long holidays, that's what I mean .

I think that's what I mean .

that's what you/they etc think!

that's your/his etc problem

Anyway, that's your problem .

that's/it's all well and good

If that helps the government keep up with their debt repayments, that's all well and good.

that's/it's not good enough

Voice over John and Vicki Strong say that's not good enough.

that's/it's sb's lookout

that's/it's sb's loss

If they don't find me interesting that's their loss .

that's/there's an idea

that's/there's sb/sth for you!

the (good ol') U.S. of A.

the DT's

the King's English

the Lord's Prayer

the ball is in sb's court

But the ball is in our court.

the butcher's

It ran around in front of the butcher's shop until the butcher himself came out and clapped his hands fiercely at it.

the cat's whiskers/pyjamas

the cleaner's

the colour/blood drains from sb's face/cheeks

the flat of sb's hand/a knife/a sword etc

the fruit(s) of sth

As for this year's event the fruits of its endeavours may not be fairly assessed in the short term.

As the deficit developed, it enabled the fruits of that revolution to seem greater to consumers than they really were.

For style purposes, choose your plants carefully to enjoy the fruit of your labour all year round.

Such, then, are the fruits of Tod's meticulous vandalism.

The governments there will welcome the fruits of your labours because they can not provide those fruits for themselves.

They provide for the less committed who still wish to enjoy some of the fruits of the soccer culture.

This is our economic argument: a path to personal enrichment from the fruits of economic progress more widely shared.

You will eat the fruit of your labour; blessings and prosperity will be yours.

the game's up

the hairdresser's

the joke's on sb

the least of sb's worries/problems/troubles/concerns

For not the least of Henry's problems was how to raise the money required for the accomplishment of such an undertaking.

Greatly increased taxes and a major shift back to defence expenditure could be the least of our worries.

Not the least of its problems was extreme alienation between labor and management.

That was the least of her troubles.

The death under somewhat dubious circumstances of a racehorse belonging to his son was frankly the least of his problems.

the left/sb's left

A: It is going to still be difficult to heal the wounds that the war left .

As the train left , looking at her watch, she tried not to think that Edmund was by now already surely married.

He placed the food on the kang and left dispiritedly.

It broke up the crew and left the cameraman shaking underneath his camera.

The mechanism requires some form of communication between the right and left eyes.

The murder is perfectly executed, except that the baseball bat left at the scene of the crime is sticky with fingerprints.

They varied only according to whether the approach was from the right or left .

While pressure was maintained in front, other units swung to the right and left .

the light of sb's life

We have a four-year-old son who is the light of my life.

His wife, while sound in mind, had taken a pillow and had deliberately snuffed out the light of his life.

Ixora was his only child, the light of his life.

LoEshe was the light of his life.

the lion's den

the lion's share (of sth)

The Lopez family owns the lion's share of the country's farmland.

the multitude(s)

The rich got richer, while the multitude struggled just to survive.

He went straight into the town and entered the marketplace fearlessly, at the time when the multitude filled it.

Meanwhile the king held informal discussions with the multitude .

Mrs Grindlewood-Gryke had spared no expense to feed the multitude .

Protection has spared not the multitudes but the stragglers.

Such were only a few of the multitude of his accomplishments.

The best value of all, however, comes via the multitude of entrepreneurs offering deeply discounted hotel rates and rentals.

The major problems for the recognition application are the multitude of possible syntactic representations postulated by the look-up and the computation required.

Voltaire was wrong, of course, about the degree to which the multitude would live in happiness and peace.

the one(s) who/that

But in that case Robert was the one who should have stayed.

He wanted to be the one who did the organizing and made the improvements.

I'd said the right thing and she'd buttoned me as the one who signed the cheques.

I was the one who had to take it to my tutor, not them.

Maggie had never been to the big barn before, the one that had looked so imposing from the air.

Of all the proposals, the one that you made is the silliest. 3.

Often, the one who brought it home had soon lost interest in his acquisition.

She's the one who ought to be got rid of.

the poor man's sb

the poor man's sth

No one could have been more sympathetic to the detail of the poor man's need, or more capable of vicarious imagination.

the right/sb's right

But he wanted to keep all the associated management rights and liabilities to himself.

For the first time since he had entered the office Fakliru felt the moment was right for a move.

In any case the inclusion of conditions tightens the interconnection between rights and obligations.

Primacy must be given to the human rights of the individual boy or girl.

So it was cool that he was the one to set the situation right .

Some tab-labs don't get the formula right , either by mistake or as an experiment.

The Congress is divided over the indigenous rights bills.

When the Senate is right we declare a national holiday.

the roof of sb's mouth

An' the third one's brain had bin pulverised - by a blow delivered through the roof of its mouth!

Clench the jaws, as if chewing hard, while pushing your tongue hard against the roof of your mouth.

Her tongue was glued to the roof of her mouth.

I can eat no more of the wild rice which tastes nutty and clings to the roof of my mouth.

I rubbed it across my tongue, the roof of my mouth, and I ground it between my teeth.

It burns the roof of my mouth.

My tongue froze to the roof of my mouth; my eyeballs dropped from their sockets and clattered at my feet.

The brittle wafer dissolving against the roofs of their mouths was their promise of life in a world beyond Holy Hill.

the scales fell from sb's eyes

It's high time the scales fell from our eyes, and our bathrooms.

the set of sb's face/jaw/shoulders etc

He hated the set of different faces glaring up at him night after night.

Her husband's brow furrowed as he noted the set of her face.

Something in the set of his shoulders suggested that his pursuers were not far behind.

the shock/surprise/game etc of sb's life

And so that would be the surprise of her life .

But on Sunday Collins played the game of his life in destroying the fancied Vikings.

Goalie Garth Snow played the game of his life to save Philly.

He had arrived before the others, and got the shock of his life when he saw Nails.

He said he was the security guard, but he had the shock of his life when he saw me.

She is having the game of her life .

So when he followed up by pointing us towards the touchline, I got the shock of my life .

the sky's the limit

Pick out whatever you want - the sky's the limit.

We try to make our engineers feel that the sky's the limit when it comes to what they can design.

the sweat of sb's brow

Bread is a symbol of our work, because of the bread we earn by the sweat of our brow.

No need to toil in the sweat of one's brow to support it!

the thinking man's/woman's etc sth

the three R's

the women's movement

the/sb's Saviour

the/sb's unconscious

there's a good boy/clever dog etc

there's a/no future in sth

It's no good, she rebuked herself sternly; there's no future in feeling like this about Luke Travis.

there's life in the old dog yet

there's method in/to sb's madness

there's money (to be made) in sth

Experts and city officials agree there's money to be made in the casino business.

And there's money in being the best.

And there's money in it.

I love airline food and further suspect that there's money in it somewhere.

there's more than one way to skin a cat

there's more to sb/sth than meets the eye

"I didn't know he wrote poetry." "Yes -- he also does painting. There's more to him than meets the eye."

It looks like a simple case of burglary, but there may be more to it than meets the eye.

People think of Bradford as a dull industrial city, but there is more to it than meets the eye.

there's no (such thing as a) free lunch

there's no comparison

"Which apartment do you prefer?'' "Well, there's no comparison . The first one we saw is bigger, quieter, and has much nicer furniture.''

there's no danger of sth

Slides would be built over a mound, so there's no danger of children falling from a height.

The wheels aren't sharp, so there's no danger of cutting yourself.

there's no denying (that/sth)

Anna looks better, there's no denying it.

But he's neat and tidy there's no denying it.

Even if you are sceptical about meridians, there's no denying that the roller gives an enjoyable massage.

He denies it, but there's no denying the little girl does resemble Becker in a dress.

Now there's no denying that 1991 was not a good year for the advertising industry.

There's no denying it, if you don't spend a lot of cash, you go down.

there's no doing sth

And there's no mystery to bands any more.

But police experts say there's no evidence to support that.

But there's no way to get money for real investment.

He says that the budget is a disaster, there's no way that the county can now avoid charge capping.

I - I've decided that since you've got everything under control there's no point in my staying here any longer.

I usually read to them a bit, but there's no need for you to.

Make sure there's no plan to change the exam format this year.

With amateurs there's no point in paying, they're likely to kill the victim off anyway, out of fear.

there's no escaping (the fact)

there's no free lunch

As a country, we must face the fact that there is no free lunch for Social Security recipients.

there's no going back

There's no going back, even if I wanted to, which I don't.

Too late you realize that there's no going back.

there's no harm in doing sth/it does no harm to do sth

there's no holding sb (back)

For Casey, there was no holding back when it came to music.

there's no knowing

If we go there's no knowing .

Otherwise there's no knowing just how many more he would have killed.

there's no law against sth

there's no need (for sb) to do sth

There's no need to shout - I'm not deaf!

There was no need for me to stay there.

And there's no need for us to move to the city.

But there's no need to join to get out on the water.

I usually read to them a bit, but there's no need for you to.

Police say there's no need for genuine fans to be any more worried now that Swindon's in the big league.

Whatever the cause, there's no need for you to worry.

there's no smoke without fire

And if you believe there's no smoke without fire, Sean Young must be a towering inferno.

But there's no smoke without fire.

there's no such person/thing etc as sb/sth

He says there's no such thing as a citizens arrest.

Raymond runs the exclusive Manoir aux Quat Saisons in Wheatley, where there's no such thing as a free lunch.

To the professionals who work with troubled couples, however, there's no such thing as the wronged spouse.

there's no telling what/how etc

there's no time to lose

there's not enough room to swing a cat

there's nothing for it but to do sth

there's nothing in/to sth

And often there's nothing to show for it at the end.

But it's going to be all right - there's nothing to worry about.

But the National Rivers Authority, which has investigated the site, says there's nothing to fear.

Come on, old girl, there's nothing to be frightened of now.

It's because there's nothing in it.

Nine times out of ten, using this tactic, you discover that there's nothing to worry about.

The name in a way is obvious; there's nothing to it really.

You find there's nothing to it, a false rumour.

there's nothing like

There's nothing like Mom's chicken soup.

And there's nothing like a conversation when you smoke.

Facing page: there's nothing like a brew to soothe aching limbs but where's the Kendal Mint cake?

No, there's nothing like a good laugh to make you feel better about yourself.

Second team or not, however, there's nothing like the first century.

When the weather's good there's nothing like a luxurious dessert to give a special menu a final flourish.

there's nothing like sth

There's nothing like a nice hot bath to help you relax.

And there's nothing like a conversation when you smoke.

Facing page: there's nothing like a brew to soothe aching limbs but where's the Kendal Mint cake?

No, there's nothing like a good laugh to make you feel better about yourself.

Second team or not, however, there's nothing like the first century.

When the weather's good there's nothing like a luxurious dessert to give a special menu a final flourish.

there's one born every minute

there's room for improvement

You did well on the last project, but there's room for improvement.

there's something in/to sth

Hello, I thought, maybe there's something in this for you after all.

Just as everyone's forgetting about Myra Hindley, there's something in the newspaper again about her.

Well at least there's something in it for the viewer.

there's sth for you

there's/here's the rub

throw caution to the wind(s)

Anything less truly would be throwing caution to the winds.

My friends and their little daughter went splashing blithely in so I threw caution to the winds and followed.

The two of us threw caution to the winds and raced to the rescue.

You may even throw caution to the wind and try one of our Mystery Trips.

throw sth (back) in sb's face

It was no fun having my own words thrown back at me by my kids.

A lot of their love would be rebuffed or thrown back in their faces.

My love - my name thrown back in my face.

Nobody was throwing anything in their faces.

This would be thrown back in his face later by North Koreaand sooner than anyone guessed.

throw yourself on sb's mercy

For a craven moment she was tempted to go back and throw herself on the mercy of the landlady.

I would throw myself on the mercy of the circuit-house, usually reserved for traveling politicians and sundry bigwigs.

You're so sweet I just wanted to throw myself on your mercy and beg you to help me.

tickle sb's fancy

tickle sb's fancy

to sb's ears

to sb's/sth's satisfaction

It took me twenty minutes to iron the shirt to my satisfaction .

The question could not be resolved, at least not to Brenner's satisfaction .

As he adds detail he records it simply to his own satisfaction and in a form adequate to his own purposes.

But what specific actions can we take to enhance our satisfaction while at the same time reassuring our new acquaintances?

He's about as likely to have sympathy for the devil as he is to have satisfaction .

I am writing to express our complete satisfaction with everything that he does.

It was therefore generous of Émile to gain satisfaction from promoting others to success in the music world.

The Algiers agreement failed to work out to the satisfaction of either side.

The climactic rhythm consists in the desire to know and the satisfaction of that desire.

tobacconist's

tough!/that's tough!

tread on sb's toes

But I don't want us to tread on each other's toes .

Danny's filthy fingernails were digging into his neck and his one foot was treading on Henry's toes .

Don't know the rules, don't want to tread on any toes .

I danced rigidly with Giacomo, kicking his shins and treading on his toes .

She has a sharp cutting edge and woe betide the Europhile who treads on her toes .

try sb's patience

tug at sb's heart/heartstrings

The sight of the puppies in the cages tugged at the women's hearts.

Charity had felt something tug at her heart the moment she had first seen this cove.

tug/tear/pull at sb's heartstrings

It pulls at the heartstrings of every agent out there to see a young lady or anyone jeopardized by these conditions.

That night the little creature did not stop crying and its pitiful little squeak tore at Aggie's heartstrings .

turn (people's) heads

Wilkins has turned some heads by claiming to be the best football player ever.

A kiss-and-tell look behind the scenes of a sport always turns heads with book publishers.

Her tiny waist and substantial bosom turned heads right across the bar.

My average customer wants to be seen, wants to turn heads.

None of the Lavenders had ever turned heads.

She would have turned heads anywhere in a navy blue backless dress which rose just above her knee.

The blast must have hit solidly all at once and had given them the briefest chance to turn heads only.

turn King's evidence

turn Queen's evidence

turn State's evidence

If both turn state's evidence, the five-year rule applies.

turn sb's head

So it seems some young woman has finally turned Steve's head.

twist sb's arm

"Go on, have another drink." "Oh well, if you twist my arm."

I'm sure he would never have come if I hadn't twisted his arm a little.

We had to twist her arm to get her to come.

two's company, three's a crowd

two's company, three's a crowd

under sb's roof

under sb's watchful eye

Although its voluntary recruits diminished, the order had managed to limp on for nearly two centuries under Ixmarity's watchful eye.

Amelia learned stunting under his watchful eye, to become competent in the air no matter what the conditions.

No such extravagance here, as under the watchful eye of Asquith, he launched into some of his best known songs.

She felt absolutely helpless and extremely vulnerable standing completely unclothed under his watchful eyes.

The second best is under the watchful eye or with the help of a relative.

Thwarted, he then embraced her stiffly before taking the baby in his arms under the watchful eye of his wife.

Today, the Reichardt duck farm is run under the watchful eye of Jim Reichardt, great grandson of the original founder.

Voice over Back at the Young Telegraph, their final copy is put together under the watchful eye of a full-time reporter.

walk sb's legs off

warm the cockles of sb's heart

It warms the cockles of my female heart to know that such womanly wiles still continue to manipulate and convince.

what's (all) the hurry?/why (all) the hurry?

what's (all) this?

what's biting you/her etc?

what's doing ...?

what's eating sb?

what's got into sb?

what's her/your etc game?

what's his face/what's her face

what's his/her/its name

What about your commitment to - what's his name?

what's it to you?

what's it worth (to you)?

what's new?

what's not to like/love?

what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander

what's sb on?

what's that supposed to mean?

"It sounds like things aren't going too well for you lately." "What's that supposed to mean?"

what's that when it's at home?

what's the betting

What's the betting all was well the night the Vikings came?

what's the big idea?

Hey, what's the big idea? Who said you could borrow my car?

what's the big idea?

what's the damage?

what's the deal?

what's the good of ...?/what good is ...?

what's the matter?/something's the matter/nothing's the matter etc

what's the meaning of this?

What's the meaning of this? I asked you to be here an hour ago!

what's the use (of sth)

And what's the use of being on observation when you can't observe anything?

My granda is dying there and what's the use ?

You're a bloody animal, Cullam, without an animal's ... Oh! what's the use ?

what's this in aid of?

what's what

I keep my ears open and I know what's what around the office.

He tells his mates what's what , and they laugh when he does.

I am a fly on the face of the Almighty, crawling over the surface to see what's what .

I like to think our academic standard's gone up, and we know what's what in the world.

So let's start by taking a look at what's what in floorcoverings.

What's what in the psychic world?

what's with sb?

what's with sth?

what's your poison?

what/how/where/who in God's name

What in God's name is that noise?

what/how/why etc in heaven's name

when all's said and done

when the cat's away (the mice will play)

when/while sb's back is turned

Once, despite the age requirement, my sister charms her way on to this ride while my back is turned.

where there's a will there's a way

where's the beef?

"Where's the beef ?" reporters asked Democratic leaders at a news conference.

whet sb's appetite (for sth)

To whet your appetite for a trip to Santa Fe, here is a list of our favorite sights.

After a quick outline of what each type of program lets you do, I list some uses to whet your appetite.

If that's not enough to whet your appetite, we've 100 £4 entrance tickets to give away free!

Martin's potted history of each railway is certainly sufficiently detailed to whet the appetite enough to free buttocks from armchair Dralon.

Most of the notorious grade anomalies have been ironed out and the colour photos should whet people's appetites.

Rhys Williams was very convincing and his books did much to whet my appetite to visit the vast Soviet empire.

To whet your appetite, here are some of the most commonly asked questions about fine vintage wines.

To whet your appetite, try the Wanaka lamb in orange sauce recipe on this page.

Undergraduates will certainly find some interesting material, and researchers will also find enough examples to whet their appetite.

while the going's good

Let's get out while the going's good.

who's counting?

who's who

When I go to those family reunions, I can never remember who's who .

From Seles down, the list of competitors reads like a who's who of international tennis players.

In fact, it really is a who's who of international canoe touring.

Its guest-list read like a who's who of the great and the good.

Which means you can follow a whole discussion, as well as check out who's who and how well respected.

wipe the smile/grin off sb's face

I'd like to wipe that stupid grin off your face.

with/knowing sb's luck

Knowing his luck , he'll get hit with a golf ball or something.

women's libber

She's a women's libber , so it's all on offer.

worm your way into sb's affections/heart/confidence etc

wring sb's hand

wring sth's neck

yesterday's news

By then the political scandal was already yesterday's news.

your heart's desire/everything your heart could desire

your/sb's bread and butter

Longman DOCE5 Extras English vocabulary.      Дополнительный английский словарь Longman DOCE5.