I. noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
bath toy (= for a child to play with in the bath )
▪
Bath toys are great for babies who've just learned to sit.
boy toy
executive toys (= objects to play with at work )
▪
executive toys
soft toy
toy boy
toy with an idea informal (= think about using an idea, but not very seriously )
▪
I’m toying with the idea of going back to college.
toy/pet/shoe/gift etc shop
▪
Her brother runs a record shop in Chester.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
executive
▪
On the desk was an incomprehensible executive toy that buzzed and flashed occasionally, displaying chrome tubes, jewels and crystal lumps.
▪
The opened door jarred one, and they swung to and fro, bumping into each other like the elements of an executive toy .
expensive
▪
Scorned by the more expensive and mechanical toys , the shy young rabbit feels very second-rate and insignificant.
▪
They often have expensive toys they've grown out of or they've records and tapes they do not listen to anymore.
favourite
▪
Among his presents was a toy steam engine, and it quickly became Peter's favourite toy.
▪
My son always had dolls and his favourite toy is a doll's house.
▪
Take along some favourite toys or a book so that your child has something to play with in the waiting room.
▪
I used to look after him while he played with his favourite toys .
▪
Emma brought two of Ruth's favourite fluffy toys .
little
▪
A nasty little toy , if toy it was, and the rumour was true.
▪
I used to take candy bars, little toys , sharpened pencils, anything small and easy to mail to school.
new
▪
I don't know what but suddenly he was like a child with a new toy .
▪
We also learned to bring a new toy he had never seen before to keep his attention on the plane.
▪
If we were to introduce a new toy to a litter of puppies, they would play with it.
▪
He was its shiny new toy .
▪
I left Poppy at the home surrounded by lots of new toys .
▪
Toy Drive on Dec. 19; donate a new toy and ski for only $ 5.
▪
He had clearly been playing with his new toy as they entered.
▪
For the first few minutes the conversation drifts from favorite television shows to pets and on to new toys at home.
soft
▪
And don't pile soft toys in the cot.
▪
She is also well known locally for the soft toys she makes for various charities.
▪
Suppose it has tried to promote a special line of soft toys by selling them next to infants' clothes.
▪
The couple are pictured with some of the more than 1,000 soft toys they received from wellwishers after their son's death.
▪
Do you know she's still got two shelves full of soft toys ?
▪
Their range includes a fine, natural Kapok which makes an ideal filling for soft toys and other items.
wooden
▪
He was indeed a carpenter, and spent his spare time carving small wooden toys for his children.
▪
I love wooden toys , especially the doll that a local woman brought into the village antiques shop.
▪
Collections of painted wooden toys and colourful glass mingle with plain bamboo and bare floorboards.
▪
Beatrice and Eugenie would love a carved wooden toy - £2.95 each.
▪
This is true of the simplest wooden toy .
▪
Shelves of wooden toys , oiled or hand painted.
■ NOUN
retailer
▪
They will be sold at electronics and computer stores as well as at toy retailers , such as Toys R Us.
shop
▪
Maybe Tom finds himself in a depart-ment store or in a toy shop , for instance.
▪
Hamleys, the country's largest toy shop , claims it still sells more Concordes than Tornados.
▪
Ken suddenly left him and went into a doorway of Hamleys, the big toy shop .
▪
All items are available from good toy shops , unless stated otherwise.
store
▪
I approach a trip to a book nook with the eagerness of a child on an outing to the toy store .
▪
You walk into a toy store and there will not only be walking and talking Deions, but strutting and dissing Deions.
▪
The toy store , fried chicken and office supply chains were stated since Lew became chairman in 1991.
▪
Visiting an ELEK-TEK store is like going to a toy store for grown-ups.
■ VERB
pick
▪
She picks up the toy sofa and places it at the foot of the four-poster bed.
▪
She forgets to tie her shoes, bring home her homework, pick up her toys .
put
▪
Finally, they should put the toy away.
▪
Then parents put up with the toy lying around for another couple of months before they want to get rid of it.
▪
A 3-year-old should be able to put toys away in a big box but can not sort out clothes for a cupboard.
▪
He put his toys away every night in labeled boxes.
▪
He always made Louie put his toys away.
sell
▪
Because the charities couldn't afford to carry out independent safety checks, they were forced to stop selling most toys .
▪
Toys R Us is one of the retailers that sells some of the toys in the study.
▪
The Victorians invented Christmas, according to the exhibition, as a pretext for selling toys .
share
▪
Help us to share not just our toys and our sweets but our time, our talents and our happiness.
throw
▪
Do not be tempted to throw the toy too far ahead as this will be counter-productive.
▪
She is constantly on the go, running around, pushing other kids, throwing toys .
▪
If the child starts to be deliberately naughty, throwing toys or destroying the activity the parent should stop talking.
▪
In my family, my brothers, sisters, and I threw most of our toys into two central toy boxes.
▪
For example, every time he or she throws a toy in a dangerous manner the offending toy is locked away.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
Did you get any new toys for your birthday?
▪
The red Porsche is his latest toy .
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
Dad was a wonderful craftsman and created many toys from scrap.
▪
I keep some of the toys on display in working order for my grandchildren to play with.
▪
Now your son is lavishing upon the computer the attention he would give to any new, rewarding and particularly attractive toy .
▪
On the second floor, room 30 is the favourite: devoted to dolls, toys and other mementos of bygone childhood.
▪
The three largest ocean liners in the world could have sat atop its crest like bathtub toys.
II. verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
idea
▪
Hellman recalls that they were both toying with the idea of a western and talked to Corman about the finance.
▪
Even Serrano was beginning to toy with the idea of a monarchist restoration, albeit under Falangist tutelage.
▪
I did actually toy with the idea of calling myself Coma Toes or something for my last album.
▪
She was listening intently and her eyes were thoughtful, as if she might be toying with some idea of her own.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
Even Serrano was beginning to toy with the idea of a monarchist restoration, albeit under Falangist tutelage.
▪
I would not dream of toying with you.
▪
Jeffries was toying with the crowd and putting the entire college on notice.
▪
Like a trapeze artist who pretends to lose his balance, Blondin was for ever toying with the crowd.
▪
Perhaps he had been toying with John Chapel, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
▪
Pete Townsend, Jeff Beck and other guitarists had been toying with feedback and massive volume.
▪
We sat there toying with our food.
III. adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
boy
▪
I can't see him as a toy boy , as the phrase goes.
▪
I guess, looking back on it, I was her toy boy .
▪
A lesson to be learnt, page 120 Would she stop at nothing to please her toy boy ?
▪
I was talking to Ursula Andress the other day about toy boys .
car
▪
And they're giving away toy cars to customers, instead.
▪
What, after all, are dodgems but toy cars that one can climb into?
▪
He always nicked my toy cars .
▪
Plus a connoisseur's collection of toy cars , Ashley thought grimly.
▪
I'd swapped some toy cars for a set of poker dice in a red leather case.
▪
He was surrounded by cards and playing with toy cars donated by police officers.
▪
Sometimes a toy car would have its moment of glory, but it would soon be forgotten.
▪
Another potential hazard is suction burn - toy car phones being the main culprit and parents usually the victim.
gun
▪
But if you buy your child a toy gun will it turn him into an aggressive adult?
▪
I hope you didn't pay too much for the toy gun .
▪
Kaptan was wearing a plastic G I'S helmet and putting a roll of caps into a toy gun .
soldier
▪
Branwell's toy soldier , Bonaparte, had become the strong, bad, good-looking Duke of Northangerland.
▪
The little boy loved toy soldiers and drafted speeches for the commanders-in-chief.
▪
Nobody harvests its spongy woods and makes the trunks sigh like toy soldiers giving up life.
▪
One day in 1826 I brought a box of toy soldiers home from Leeds.
▪
Time you were away playing toy soldiers , who do you think looked after this house and the estate?
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
A fanciful idea by some toy manufacturer which only goes to underline what was said previously about imagination and licence!