between you and me

Between you and me, I think the boss is crazy.

Let’s keep this conversation between you and me.

This is just between you and me.

In confidence; used to impose an obligation to keep something being discussed secret.


between you, me, and the bedpost

en-au-between you, me, and the bedpost.ogg

Humorous emphatic form of between you and me, by anthropomorphizing an (ostensibly mute) bedpost. Compare dumb as a post.

Between you and me and the bed-post – young master’s quarrelled with old master.

1832, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Eugene Aram::

eadar dà sgeul is dà chluas a' chlobha

humorously emphatic expression of "in confidence"

eadar dhà sgeulachd agus beul a' chlobha


from Missouri

Referring to the state of Missouri, whose common nickname is the Show Me State.

The appeal to experience was the cry of the man from Missouri—the demand to be shown.

1916, John Dewey, “Introduction”, in Essays in Experimental Logic:

When one predicted that the atom bomb would end the world, the other said, ‘I’m from Missouri—you’ll have to show me.’ His friend answered, ‘Hell, who isn’t from Missouri these days?’

2007, John T. Barker, Missouri Lawyer, page 266:

(informal) Skeptical, not easily convinced and requiring proof.


between the hammer and the anvil

en-au-between the hammer and the anvil.ogg

Referring to the metal on a blacksmith's anvil, which is beaten with a hammer.

Yet for a time the nation was again placed between the democracy of the levellers and the despotism of the Stuarts, — between the hammer and the anvil.

1848, Jean Henri Merle d'Aubigné, The Protector, a vindication, page 250:

The sinner / Will testify / They'll suffer / When sacrificed on high / The burning sermons purge their evil words / Between the hammer and the anvil

1990, Judas Priest, Between The Hammer and the Anvil:

(chiefly UK, idiomatic) With the choice between two unpleasant or distasteful options; in a predicament or quandary.

بَيْنَ ٱلْمِطْرَقَةِ وَٱلسِّنْدَانِ

with the choice between two unpleasant or distasteful options

yuxarı tüpürürsən bığ; aşağı tüpürürsən saqqal


with pleasure

/wɪð ˈplɛʒ.ə/

/wɪθ ˈplɛʒ.ɚ/


in route

As soon as the Varda transmission stopped, I grabbed the mic. "602- Okanogan... I'm in route to the Varda location from my office. Be advised Varda number four is City Center Motors. Request back up."

2001, Michael James Jaquish, Tales of a Country Cop in Africa, page 64:

"In fact, my dear, you didn't know, until now, you were on this weird gigantic space ship, with so many others in route to the same place on the same mission," he laughed.

2002, Luwillis Gibson, The Witch's Brew, page 268:

The southern route passed south, down the Wasatch Front, to Cedar City, Utah, where it joined the Old Spanish Trail and passed through Mountain Meadows in route to Los Angeles.

2010, Hyrum M. Smith, Eli Hawkins: Last Survivor of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, page 238:

(somewhat nonstandard) Alternative form of en route


in a word

In order to deliver the news of Greek victory to Athens, Pheidippides covered the distance there from the plain of Marathon as quickly as his two legs could carry him, and did so without making any stops; in a word, he ran the entire distance.

Man, I got here by putting one foot in front of the other; in a word, I walked.

In a Word, to hint at no more Reaſons for his Conduct, Mr. Northerton was deſirous of departing that Evening, and nothing remained for him but to contrive the Quomodo, which appeared to be a Matter of ſome Difficulty.

1749, Henry Fielding, “The Conclusion of the foregoing Adventure”, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume III, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book VII, page 132:

(abbreviative action or effect): In summarization: briefly, concisely, summarily, in short; to sum up

He was suspicious, standoffish, taciturn; in a word, hostile.

Susan soon discovered her blind date to be mean, vulgar, obstreperous, presuming, and insulting; in a word, a cad.

(cumulative action or effect): In summation: all in all, altogether, in total, overall, to sum up


in jest

He only tried to mimic the other's movements in jest.


de fait

Coordinate term: de droit


in one's tracks

Cyclist Anthony Robson found himself stopped in his tracks by this road sign.

2010 July 12, “Cyclist warns of road sign obstruction”, in The Guardian:

After two years on the run from the US authorities the suspected thief known as the Barefoot Bandit has finally been stopped in his tracks.

2010 July 11, Haroon Siddique, “Barefoot Bandit arrested in the Bahamas”, in The Guardian:

The sinner of the first half cut in from the left wing, losing his marker to take a gentle pass from Ceri Sweeney and leave Bristol's Craig Morgan frozen in his tracks.

2006 October 28, Mike Averis, “Bristol's heavy brigade knock back potent Brew for victory”, in The Guardian:

Galena turned to look at them, her face alight with the glow the Sword of Lumina provided. Her expression was dangerous. It would have stopped most creatures dead in their tracks, but not the earagos. However, that could have been the fact they had poor vision.

2015, Erin Elliott, Mira's Last (young adult fantasy), page 35:

Suddenly; abruptly, just where one stands.


with cause

(law, ethics) Alternative form of for cause


for cause

Section 863. Removal of Guardian for Cause.—The court of chancery may remove all guardians, whether appointed by probate tribunals or by the court itself, or by testament, or by the legislature, whenever the guardian abuses his trust, or the interests of the ward require it.

1889, John Davison Lawson, Rights, Remedies, and Practice, at Law, in Equity, and Under the Codes, volume 2, Bancroft Whitney, page 1556:

A common bee will sting and kill another common bee, for cause, but when it is necessary to kill the queen other ways are employed.

c. 1917, Mark Twain, Concerning Tobacco:

As a result, Grace said, its directors decided "to request Mr. Bolduc's resignation, but not to seek his termination for cause."

1995 April 10, John Greenwald et al., “Sex, Lies and W. R. Grace”, in Time:

The court noted this August, that an employee can be fired for cause based on incompetence, if he or she consistently fails to meet reasonable standards.

2009 October 28, “Incompetence is cause for firing”, in Financial Post, Canada, retrieved 2010-10-19:

(law, ethics) For a legitimate, specific reason; with justification.


of a sudden

Turning back, then, toward the basement staircase, she began to grope her way through blinding darkness, but had taken only a few uncertain steps when, of a sudden, she stopped short and for a little stood like a stricken thing, quite motionless save that she quaked to her very marrow in the grasp of a great and enervating fear.

1914 November, Louis Joseph Vance, “An Outsider […]”, in Munsey’s Magazine, volume LIII, number II, New York, N.Y.: The Frank A[ndrew] Munsey Company, […], published 1915, →OCLC, chapter III (Accessory After the Fact), page 382, column 1:


at church every time the doors are open

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-at church every time the doors are open.wav

I was at church every time the doors were open. I started learning more about the Bible and even got baptized in the back of the church in a toddler pool.

2007, Patrick Irish, The Day God Asked Me a Question:

I am ashamed to admit it now, but for years I operated under the assumption that Christians who didn't show up at church every time the doors were open were somehow lacking in spirituality.

2010, Mark Atteberry, Let It Go: Come Home from Your Guilt Trip, page 70:

at church every time the doors swing open

(of a Christian, somewhat colloquial) Religious to the point of excess; ridiculously religious.


from can see to can't see

(idiomatic, US) From the time when it is barely light enough to see until there is no light remaining whatsoever: from sunup to sundown; from dawn to dusk.


without further adieu

without further ado
without further ado#English


of a piece

From an obsolete sense of a (“the same”).

Strange as this expectation appears to us, it is quite of a piece with early modes of thought.

1894, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough:

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see of, a, piece.


to the rescue

Used to express when someone or something has saved the day, or provided valuable help.


TTR

/ˌtiː ˌtiː ˈɑː/

A: Hey, who was the creator of Mega Man?
B: Keiji Inafune. Wikipedia TTR!

(Internet slang) Abbreviation of to the rescue.


in the wild

But during its lifetime, a single macaw left in the wild might yield more than 16 times as much in tourist income.

2008, G. Tyler Miller, Scott Spoolman, Sustaining the Earth: an integrated approach, page 107:

(usually of animals) Living and roaming freely in nature; not domesticated.

A new, deadly type of virus has been detected in the wild.

2006, Wally Wang, Steal this computer book 4.0: what they won't tell you about the Internet:

Many of the exploits discovered by cyber security researchers are often found and patched before the public is even made aware of the problem or actual exploits are found out in the wild.

2020 October 25, Marco Chiappetta, “Update Google Chrome And Chrome OS Now To Fix This Newly Discovered Exploit”, in Forbes:

This word is very rare; it may be difficult to find usages of it in the wild.

(figuratively) In written or spoken language use, especially by native speakers.

I'd seen this stock photo in memes a hundred times, but yesterday I saw it in the wild, illustrating a magazine article.

(figuratively) By coincidence in the course of everyday life.


in the bag

3-0 up with 5 minutes to go...we've got the win in the bag.

"We mustn't count our eggs before they're hatched, but I think it's in the bag," he said.

1954, Charles Percy Snow, The New Men, published 2001, →ISBN, page 61:

(slang) Certain or extremely likely to occur.

в карма́не (v karmáne, literally “in the pocket”)

де́ло в шля́пе (délo v šljápe, literally “the matter is in the hat”)

де́ло ве́рное (délo vérnoje, literally “certain matter”)

His wife and his three girls had gone over to Gates Falls to do some last-minute Christmas shopping, and Uncle George was pretty much in the bag, just like the Drunk Man Who Had to Go to Jail.

"It's like the way it is for an alcoholic when he can't get a drink.... He bumps into more things now than he did when he was in the bag."

2004, Les Visible, The Dark Splendour, →ISBN, page 97:


in league

1874, Marcus Clarke, For the Term of His Natural Life Chapter VII
Sarah Purfoy was in league with the convicts--was herself the wife or mistress of one of them. She had come on board armed with a plot for his release, and this plot was about to be put in execution.

I'm in league with Satan / I was raised in hell / I walk the streets of Salem / Amongst the living dead

1981, “In League with Satan”, in Welcome to Hell, performed by Venom:


with knobs on

And although starting to talk about problem drug takers and demedicalization, when it came to talking about services, it fell back on the old medically dominated system, what Roger Lewis described as 'clinics with knobs on'.

1984, Anne Jamieson, Alan Glanz, Susanne MacGregor, Dealing with drug misuse: crisis intervention in the city:

And the same to you with knobs on!

The door opened a foot. Parker squinted out, looking like death on a Popsicle stick. With knobs on.

2005, Brad Whittington, Living With Fred:

(idiomatic, UK) (manner) Extremely; in a similar way, but taken to an extreme.


κατά προσέγγιση

head

κατά προσέγγιση • (katá proséngisi)


at cost

I will sell you the apples at cost.

It is no part of my purpose to make gain from this work. I had hoped to publish it in permanent form and distribute it among my friends as a present but it has grown to such proportions that that will not be practicable and I do hope that I maye be able to sell enough copies at about cost to materially assist in the publication.

1915, Laban Miles Hoffman, “Preface”, in Our Kin, Being a History of the Hoffman, Rhyne, Costner, Rudisill, Best, Hovis, Hoyle, Wills, Shetley, Jenkins, Holland, Hambright, Gaston, Withers, Cansler, Clemmer and Lineberger Families, Baltimore: Gateway Press, Inc., published 1980, →OCLC, page 9:

(business) At the purchasing price; without any markup.


under seal

The letter was delivered under seal.

The terms of the settlement will remain under seal indefinitely.

Other members of the LAPD who were involved in the disaster have also remained anonymous, their discipline under seal.

2023 July 14, Brittney Mejia, Libor Jany, Richard Winton, “LAPD refused to ID officers behind a huge fireworks explosion. Now we have their names”, in Los Angeles Times:

(law) Legally bound not to be disclosed.


in the dumps

1677, Edward Ravenscroft, King Edgar and Alfreda, London: M. Turner, Act IV, Scene 1, p. 49,
Hill[aria]. What, in the dumps, Captain?
Osw[old]. He’s in a contemplation of Love.

1699, B. E., A New Dictionary of the Canting Crew, London: W. Hawes et al.,
In the dumps, troubled, chagrin, melancholic.

When you’re feeling in the dumps
Don’t be silly chumps
Just purse your lips and whistle - that’s the thing.

1979, Monty Python, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life:

down in the dumps
down in the dumps#English


in someone's shoes

I wouldn't personally repose much trust in that boon companion of yours who contributes the humorous element, Dr Mulligan, as a guide, philosopher and friend if I were in your shoes.

(idiomatic, mostly used conditionally) in someone's situation.


at someone's service

John will be at our service for the duration of the visit.

Fully available to help or to be of use to someone, or some organisation.

James Bond. At your service.

(formal) By way of introduction on first meeting another person.


at gaze

When he wished to draw Harvey's attention to the peak-halyards, he dug his knuckles into the back of the boy's neck and kept him at gaze for half a minute.

1897, Rudyard Kipling, Captains Courageous:

Lord John was standing at gaze with his finger on the trigger of his elephant-gun, his eager hunter's soul shining from his fierce eyes.

1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:

They were prick-eared animals, roused by her voice from their business and standing now at gaze.

1955, William Golding, The Inheritors, Faber and Faber, published 2005, page 52:

(chiefly heraldry) Gazing; standing so as to stare (especially of deer); statant guardant. (Compare at bay.)


at your service

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-at your service.wav

'My name, Madame, is Hercule Poirot - at your service.'

1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 6, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 120:

“Thorin Oakenshield, at your service! Dori at your service!” said the two dwarves bowing again.

"Are you Ziba?" the king asked him. "At your service!" he answered.

2010, Common English Bible with Apocrypha, →ISBN:

(formal) Used as a polite introduction on first meeting another person.

میں خادم ہوں

mɛ̄̃ xādim hū̃

"But senors," added he, smiling, "if you think a residence there so desirable, my apartments in the Alhambra are at your service."

1832, Washington Irving, Talses of the Alhambra:

How you laughed when you admitted your lies to me, and I promised to make you sit one day and I would pretend to be your lover, bring you tea while you soaked in the bath, lightly scented raspberry candles at your feet, and declare in my deepest voice, My darling, your every wish, your every command is mine. I am at your service eternally.

2015, Priscila Uppal, At Your Service, →ISBN:

Available for assisting you or for you to use.


in good stead

That really should have been the signal for title-chasing Arsenal to move into a higher gear and dominate but Wigan showed a fighting spirit which should stand them in good stead for the second half of the season.

2010 December 29, Mark Vesty, “Wigan 2 - 2 Arsenal”, in BBC:

(literally or figuratively) In a positive state or position.


against the run of play

The Gunners dominated for long periods but, against the run of play, Denilson fouled Max Gradel and Robert Snodgrass put Leeds ahead from the spot.

2011 January 8, Chris Bevan, “Arsenal 1 - 1 Leeds”, in BBC:

(idiomatic) Contrary to the flow of the game.


in hiding

Remaining hidden (typically of a person).


in the game

Foster had been left unsighted by Scott Dann's positioning at his post, but the goalkeeper was about to prove his worth to Birmingham by keeping them in the game with a series of stunning saves as West Ham produced waves after wave of attack in their bid to find a crucial second goal.

2011 January 11, Jonathan Stevenson, “West Ham 2 - 1 Birmingham”, in BBC:

(idiomatic, sports) Competing in a game, with a chance of winning.

He's seriously doing badly in school right now. He needs to get back in the game, or he's gonna drop out.

This wouldn't wipe the slate, but would show he was still in the game.

2010, Mick Herron, Slow Horses, page 246:

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: in the game.


like one's life depended on it

En-au-like one's life depended on it.ogg

With Carlos Tevez chasing down every lost cause like his life depended on it, City always had an out ball but Arsenal had such a monopoly on possession that they barely had to give thought even to the Argentine.

2011 January 5, Jonathan Stevenson, “Arsenal 0 - 0 Man City”, in BBC:


on the front foot

(cricket, of a batsman) Having the weight on the front foot in order to play an attacking stroke

Chelsea saw out the half firmly on the front foot and had three further chances to take the lead.

2011 January 15, Sam Sheringham, “Chelsea 4 - 3 Blackburn Rovers”, in BBC:

The leader is mindful of being on the front foot, as if leading the dance, rather than on the back foot being led.

2015, Christopher Johns, Mindful Leadership: A Guide for the Health Care Professions:


in living memory

The Roberts Court is the most politically conservative in living memory.

Last summer, Georgia was hit by the mightiest heat wave in living memory.

Long believed to be extinct, the purple-bellied speckled turtle was sighted for the first time in living memory in a remote pasture near Chicago.

The snowstorm of Sunday, January 28, was the worst in living memory.

1941 April, “Notes and News: Railwaymen and Snow”, in Railway Magazine, page 177:

(idiomatic) In recent history, in recorded history amongst the lifespan of extant people; events or situations which can be remembered by people that are still alive.


in the post

We have survived our trials; yours are in the post.


across the line

(cricket) Describing the action of a batsman in moving the bat in a direction lateral to that of the incoming ball


out of one's system

Regular exercise might help you to get the anger out of your system.

I feel like you sow your oats when you're young, and then you just, you know, you get it out of your system.

2022 November 27, Mike White, “That's Amore”, in Mike White, director, The White Lotus, season 2, episode 5, spoken by Daphne Sullivan (Meghann Fahy), via HBO:

(of an emotional state, often with get) Eliminated from one's disposition, mindset, or concerns.

(literally) Physically eliminated from the body.


in a similar vein

In a similar vein, the wonderful world of Walt Disney World is a perfectly realized retroscape.

2001, Stephen Brown, Marketing – the Retro Revolution, London: SAGE Publications, →ISBN, page 139:

in the same vein
in the same vein#English


in contention

But Chelsea, who left Didier Drogba on the bench as coach Carlo Ancelotti favoured Fernando Torres, staged a stirring fightback to move up to fourth and keep United in their sights on a night when nothing other than victory would have kept the Blues in contention.

2011 March 1, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2 - 1 Man Utd”, in BBC:

(sports) Contending for a title or championship.

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see in, contention.


in one's sights

the pilot had the enemy plane in his sights

(literally) Being seen or targeted, often through the sights of a weapon.

all through medical school she kept her dream of being a doctor in her sights

(figuratively) The target or object of one's efforts or ambitions.

with a win in the semifinals the championship remained firmly in their sights


off one's meds

Is he off his meds or something? He's acting crazy.

(figurative, colloquial) Out of control.

The outpatient went off his meds and got arrested.

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see off, meds.


by degrees

She came to us snappish and suspicious, but when she found what sort of place ours was, it all went off by degrees; […]

[1877], Anna Sewell, “Earlshall”, in Black Beauty: […], London: Jarrold and Sons, […], →OCLC, part II, page 102:

By degrees the libraries which were unendowed fell behind the age, and were consequently neglected.

1880, William Blades, The Enemies of Books, page 36:


like a chicken with its head off

like a chicken with its head cut off#English

Alternative form of like a chicken with its head cut off


like a chicken with the pip

Then Condy promptly got the hiccoughs from drinking his tea too fast, and fretted up and down the room like a chicken with the pip.

He seemed plumb possessed of gloom, and moped around like a chicken with the pip.

1907, Stewart Edward White, chapter 15, in Arizona Nights:

Then, after two prodigious parting kicks, accurately gauged and delivered, the gambler crossed over to the hotel, leaving the garrulous one to pick himself out of the dust, gasping like a chicken with the pip.

1914, Peter B. Kyne, chapter 6, in The Long Chance:

(dated, idiomatic) In a weakened, confused, or sickly manner.


like a chicken with its head cut off

His idea of it was that he had been making a fool of himself, running around like a chicken with its head cut off—such was the simile that occurred to him.

Ken played or essayed to play right field for a while, but he ran around like a chicken with its head off.

1911, Zane Grey, chapter 9, in The Young Pitcher:

I've been running round like a chicken with its head cut off.

1920, Harold MacGrath, chapter 27, in The Drums Of Jeopardy:

Says one Pentagon arms-control expert: "Our setup was actually designed to act in time of general war like a chicken with its head cut off. The brain could be destroyed and the nervous system severed. Then the military muscles would just jerk in uncontrolled spasms."

1962 December 28, “Nation: New Fail-Safe”, in Time:

Rushing around like a chicken with its head cut off would serve no purpose.

2003, Linda Lael Miller, Shotgun Bride, →ISBN, page 121:

Zevala was ablaze, and all the insurgents — as they called themselves — were scurrying about like chickens with their heads cut off. There was talk of an attack. A second invading force. Perhaps the Foundation. Perhaps something worse.

2023 October 12, HarryBlank, “Fire in the Hole”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 2024-05-22:

(informal) In a frantic, disorganized manner.

run around like a chicken with its head cut off


out of one's face

(idiomatic, colloquial) Drunk; intoxicated; inebriated.


sulla graticola

arrostire sulla graticola

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see sulla, graticola.

mettere sulla graticola

to grill; to roast (literally, “to put subjected to criticism”)

(colloquial) subjected to scathing criticism


in flames

By analogy with fighter planes being shot down and bursting into flames.

(figuratively, with a verb) Dramatically and with no hope of recovery.


on occasion

Only on rare occasion.

Occasionally, from time to time, now and then.


a mollo

mettere a mollo

to soak (literally, “to put under water”)


in the meantime

"In the meantime," said Norbourne, "we have arrived at the park-gate, and have not determined whither we shall ride."

1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Different Views of Youth and Age”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 101:

But in the meantime Robin Hood and his band lived quietly in Sherwood Forest, without showing their faces abroad, for Robin knew that it would not be wise for him to be seen in the neighborhood of Nottingham, those in authority being very wroth with him.

1883, Howard Pyle, chapter V, in The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood […], New York, N.Y.: […] Charles Scribner’s Sons […], →OCLC:


to a turn

Referring to food cooked on a rotating spit (i.e. turned exactly the right number of times in order to be properly cooked).

The roast was excellent, done to a turn.

(idiomatic, of cooked food) To perfection.


on one's last legs

[A] friend who assists me with a view to future profit . . . lies like the fox's scent when on his last legs, increasing every moment.

1824, Sir Walter Scott, chapter 6, in St. Ronan's Well:

He is on his last legs. His kidneys are 'most gone. Remember, 'tis I must bury him.

1913, Jack London, chapter 6, in The Valley of the Moon:

My computer's on its last legs; it crashes running Minesweeper.

[T]he wood was main dark, but had a kind of a low glow in it like a fire on its last legs.

1905, Robert Louis Stevenson, “The Beach of Falesa”, in Island Nights' Entertainments:

(idiomatic, by extension) About to lose viability or become defunct.


בזהירות

בִּזְהִירוּת

בִּזְהִירוּת • (biz'hirút)

בִּזְהִירוּת (canonical)
biz'hirút (romanization)

Carefully, cautiously: with caution or care.


down the track

I would like to support your proposal, but I can't guarantee how I'll feel down the track.

(idiomatic) Further along, in terms of time or progress.

以後

further along, in terms of time or progress


on balance

If a stock market forecaster has been more often right than wrong, on balance, it may be worth the price of a subscription.

2011, Terry Savage, The Savage Truth on Money, page 119:

Overall, when all factors are taken into account; one way and another.

в целом

overall, when all factors are taken into account


למשל

לְמָשָׁל • (lemashál)

לְמָשָׁל (canonical)
lemashál (romanization)

Root
 מ־שׁ־ל (m-sh-l)
From ל־ (l'-) + משל (mashál).

For example: used to introduce or otherwise mark an example.


in full gear

We arrived an hour late and found the event already in full gear.

(idiomatic) Proceeding fully, quickly, or completely; thoroughly begun and in progress.


on the hook

For now, at least, Mr. Wedell, who is a vice president at the Robinson-Humphrey Company, a subsidiary of Shearson Lehman, is still on the hook for unsettled claims.

1991 October 27, Barbara Presley Noble, “Making a Difference: Lloyd's 'Indentured Servant'”, in New York Times, retrieved 2011-06-15:

Yes, incumbents of both parties—especially those incumbents facing tough re-election campaigns—don't want to be on the hook for this vote.

2008 September 29, “Washington to Wall Street: Drop Dead”, in Newsweek, retrieved 2011-06-15:

Could taxpayers really be on the hook for UAW pensions? Yes.

2010 April 15, Joseph R. Szczesny, “GM's Pension: A Ticking Time Bomb for Taxpayers?”, in Time:

(often followed by for) In debt; obligated to pay or provide; liable; responsible or blamed.


above one's paygrade

Not suitable for one in one's current rank in an organization; suitable for someone more senior, implying that one is not competent enough or not paid well enough to deal with the problem.


within reach

At a distance close enough to touch by reaching.

ulottuvilla

at a distance close enough to touch by reaching

We were within reach of the finish line.

(idiomatic) Near (to); close (to); at a close distance (to).


in a heartbeat

“Colgate would sell Princess House in a heartbeat, if it could find a buyer,” said Bonita Austin.

1989 August 6, Claudia H. Deutsch, “Colgate's Next Trick: Controlling the Chaos”, in New York Times, retrieved 2011-06-24:

Sjostrom's game is predicated on strong skating. He accelerates in a heartbeat with a lightning quick stride and changes direction smoothly.

2001 May 22, Kyle Woodlief, “Sharp-shooting Swede Sjostrom shines”, in USA Today, retrieved 2011-06-24:

[I]f I had to do away with either handwriting or typing for the rest of my life, I'd give up handwriting in a heartbeat.

2006 July 12, Steven Berlin Johnson, “Don't Fear the Digital”, in Time:

If we could, we would trade it all in a heartbeat to go back in time to get our reputation back.

2023 April 21, John Poulos, “Dominion’s C.E.O.: Why We Settled the Lawsuit Against Fox News”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

“He’s the kind of person who would pick up the bill in a heartbeat,” she says.

2023 July 22, Barbara Speed, “‘We could soon see a Jane Austen-style marriage market’: how the housing crisis is turning modern dating on its head”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(idiomatic) Without hesitation or reservation; at once.


out of the picture

Within a year, his scientists had worked out a system that virtually elbowed CBS out of the picture.

1966 October 7, “Executives: Man of the Future”, in Time:

"Well, since Ross is pretty much out of the picture, you're sitting in the driver's seat."

1986, Margaret Truman, Murder at the FBI, →ISBN, page 191:

By mid-2004, confident that deflation was out of the picture, the Fed began raising rates again.

2007 July 19, Justin Fox, “The End of Easy Money”, in Time:

Finance is seldom romantic. But the idea of peer-to-peer lending comes close. This is an industry that brings together individual savers and lenders on online platforms.[…]Banks and credit-card firms are kept out of the picture. Talk to enough people in the field and someone is bound to mention the “democratisation of finance”.

2013 June 1, “End of the peer show”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 71:

(idiomatic) Not included in the matter being planned or under consideration; not a factor or participant in the present situation.

(idiomatic, euphemistic) Dead, missing, or incarcerated.

Harden-Hickey, in our day, was as incongruous a figure as was the American at the Court of King Arthur; he was as unhappily out of the picture as would be Cyrano de Bergerac on the floor of the Board of Trade.

1906, Richard Harding Davis, “Baron James Harden Hickey”, in Real Soldiers of Fortune:

Only Peter was out of the picture. He was a strange, disconsolate figure, as he shifted about to ease his leg, or gazed incuriously from the window.

1919, John Buchan, chapter 20, in Mr. Standfast:

Magda devoting her life to good works seemed altogether out of the picture!

1921, Margaret Pedler, chapter 30, in The Lamp of Fate:

(idiomatic, dated) Not suiting or attuned to the situation; incongruous.


on the back of

Lisicki will rise from her current ranking of 62 to at least 35 in the world on the back of her efforts at the All England Club, but she will have serious designs on a first Grand Slam title after overcoming the 2007 runner-up.

2011 June 28, Piers Newbery, “Wimbledon 2011: Sabine Lisicki beats Marion Bartoli”, in BBC Sport:

The country was built on the back of slave labor.

This posh hotel makes its money on the backs of poor working women. It's clearly an outfit with no respect for its workers.

1987 December 13, Elizabeth Pincus, quoting Barbara Neely, “Copping To The Mop Scandal”, in Gay Community News, volume 15, number 22, page 1:

(derogatory) By the effort of; by drawing an unfair advantage from.


before long

They left before long.

It is to be hoped that some corresponding smartening up of these other schedules may be expected before long.

1961 October, “The winter timetables of British Railways: Southern Region”, in Trains Illustrated, page 593:


in ballast

(nautical, of a ship) Having only ballast and no cargo as load.


in the soup

[U]nless the murderer came back, I had till about six o'clock in the morning for my cogitations. I was in the soup — that was pretty clear.

1915, John Buchan, chapter 2, in The Thirty-Nine Steps:

[T]he poor old lad is absolutely dependent on that remittance of yours, and when you cut it off, don't you know, he was pretty solidly in the soup.

1919, P. G. Wodehouse, “Jeeves and the Hard Boiled Egg”, in My Man Jeeves:

"If they don't hit it off, we're all in the soup," warned Yasuhiro Nakasone, Japan's former Prime Minister, as his successor prepared to meet President Bush last week.

1989 February 13, John Greenwald, “Tiptoe Through the Tensions”, in Time:


of a certain age

Perhaps a calque of French d’un certain âge.

a lady of a certain age

Women of a certain age / They learn to rely and your job is responses / Having played the mating game

1989, Graham Lyle, Albert Hammond (lyrics and music), “I Don't Wanna Lose You”, in Foreign Affair, performed by Tina Turner:

(euphemistic, chiefly of a person) Middle-aged or older.


like a charm

The sales pitch worked like a charm.

The Chevy drove like a charm, even with a couple inches of snow on the roads.

2004, Joseph Rocco Cervasio, Bad News on the Doorstep: Inspired by a True Story, page 121:


ITM

(finance, poker slang) Initialism of in the money.


by rail

Cotton was increasingly shipped by rail.


on the up

Even then, the line's future could not considered absolutely secure. At best, it was on probation. Road transport was on the up and the railways were on the down.

2021 November 17, Mark Rand, “Reconnecting rail freight to S&C quarries”, in RAIL, number 944, page 52:

(idiomatic) Rising; becoming greater in number or magnitude.


on the rise

"With the number of holidaymakers back on the rise, upgrading critical infrastructure like Gatwick Airport station is key to improving the passenger experience," said Rail Minister Wendy Morton.

2022 February 23, “Network News: New escalators at Gatwick Airport”, in RAIL, number 951, page 15:

(idiomatic) rising; becoming greater in number or magnitude.


underweigh

At dawn of day, (17th) we got underweigh and steered through the islands; at noon, we were abreast of Termination Island, the latitude of which we found to be 34 degrees 32 minutes.

1822, Phillip Parker King, Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia:

We have got some five or six of them fairly underweigh, as Jack would say, and hope the remainder will speedily trip their anchors and follow."

1838, American Anti-Slavery Society, The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Part 2 of 4:

Got underweigh at 1 p.m., and stood to the south-west, under topsails, stemming a strong ebb tide to 3.30, when we came to anchor in five fathoms (sand and shells), about three miles from the western shore of the bay, Sloping Head bearing north by east five miles.

1884, A C, F T Gregory, Journals of Australian Explorations:

Many turned resolutely back, preferring rather to die than to attempt life under such new and hopeless conditions, and stern examples had to be made before the unwilling emigrants were at last fairly got underweigh.

1896, Emily Lawless, The Story Of Ireland:

The captain of the Claverhouse, however, got underweigh, but before getting very far his engineer reported that the hot-well cover had broken in two.

1907, Walter Runciman, Looking Seaward Again:


on account

As something to be reckoned up as part of final payments; on credit.


under one's own steam

A reference to the operation of a steam engine: see sense 1.

Now the tug no longer moved under her own steam, nor had it been since coming alongside the wall of the central pier. For all vessels must be towed through the lock basins, and towed not by other craft, but by electric locomotives that run alongside, on top of the concrete walls.

1915, Victor Appleton [pseudonym], “Almost an Accident”, in The Moving Picture Boys at Panama: Or Stirring Adventures along the Grand Canal, New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC, page 106:

By Tuesday evening the track had been cleared to the three snowbound engines, and the following day, under their own steam, they were moved away; the business of relighting their fires and raising steam in such conditions is better imagined than described.

1941 April, “Notes and News: Railwaymen and Snow”, in The Railway Magazine, London: Tothill Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 178:

(nautical, rail transport) Of the movement of a locomotive or a watercraft: by means of the power of its own engines (originally steam engines), rather than pulled or pushed by another vehicle.

na vlastní pěst

"People come at their own risk, at their own expense, under their own steam," said Mhairi McKenzie-Robinson, chief administrator of the Fringe [Edinburgh Fringe Festival].

1987 August 18, “At the Fringe in Edinburgh, theater in crypt and streets”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2021-01-08, section C, page 17, columns 1–2:

After the event, [Steve] Jobs even briefly joined the media where Apple's new product line was being shown. He walked under his own steam, of course, easily and without any apparent discomfort. […] Whether Jobs's health is in decline or not, it's undeniable that the past five years have been the most fertile of his magnificent career.

2008 September 9, Josh Quittner, “Steve Jobs: Not Dead Yet”, in Time, New York, N.Y.: Time Warner Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2008-09-10:

Using one's own resources; independently, unaided.

na vlastní pěst

using one’s own resources — see also independently, unaided

I'd been wanting her to go for a long, long time, hoping she'd get up the gumption to do it under her own steam so I wouldn't have to make a scene about it.

1980, Charlotte Vale Allen, Promises, Norwalk, Conn.: Island Nation Press, published 1999, →ISBN, page 265:

At one's own initiative; of one's own accord, unbidden, unprompted.

por sus propios medios

at one’s own initiative — see also unbidden, unprompted


at the receiving end

on the receiving end
on the receiving end#English

(idiomatic) Alternative form of on the receiving end.


on the receiving end

I have always been on the receiving end of his unpredictable temper.

And their job was done after a sensational opening burst brought four goals in the first 25 minutes as Chelsea were left bedraggled, humiliated and on the receiving end of their worst defeat since they lost 7-0 at Nottingham Forest in April 1991.

2019 February 10, Phil McNulty, “Manchester City 6-0 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport:

(idiomatic) being the victim of an unpleasant action


in name

He is a friend in name only.

Ethnobotanist Gary P. Nabhan of the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix made a painful pilgrimage to see Texas wild-rice for his 1989 book, Enduring Seeds. He called it a surviving species in name more than in behavior.

1990 Summer, E. Hoyt, “Wild relatives”, in Wilderness, volume 53, number 189, page 45:


in a manner of speaking

From in + an alteration of Middle English a maner of speche (“a manner of literary style”).

der

"Well, well, cap'n," returned the sea-cook, ". . . Why, there you all are together like a happy family, in a manner of speaking."

1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, chapter 20, in Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:

No doubt it maddened him; it knocked him over afresh—in a manner of speaking— [...]

1899 September – 1900 July, Joseph Conrad, chapter IX, in Lord Jim: A Tale, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, published 1900, →OCLC, page 109:

[H]e is—in a manner of speaking—in eclipse as it were, sir!"

1913, Jeffery Farnol, chapter 28, in The Amateur Gentleman:

Because in a manner of speaking I am sentimental about my childhood—not my own particular childhood, but the civilization which I grew up in and which is now, I suppose, just about at its last kick.

James. Brought up in the country, I suppose?
Bill. In a manner of speaking, yes.

Rosenstock. If the gentlemen would perhaps like to try the Alpenrose...
First Hiker. Is that a hotel too?
 Rosenstock. In a manner of speaking.

1979, Tom Stoppard, Undiscovered Country:

As it were; figuratively speaking; in a manner, in a way, in a certain respect.

bij wijze van spreken

as it were, figuratively speaking, in a manner, in a way, in a certain respect


op de bonnefooi

Bastardization of French bonne foi (“good faith”)

Wij gingen in september op de bonnefooi naar Frankrijk.

We went on an unplanned trip to France in September.

(of going on a trip) without a plan, in a improvised fashion


in the lead

/ˌɪnðəˈliːd/


under the rug

Before you burn a disc — or, for that matter, every couple of days — running your computer's disk diagnostics program takes care of anything hiding under the rug.

2004, Mark L. Chambers, CD and DVD Recording for Dummies, page 102:

Our enemy has turned death into something to be feared and, by extension, swept under the rug. But when you sweep death under the rug, you will likely sweep the afterlife under the rug with it.

2005, Ted Dekker, The Slumber of Christianity: Awakening a Passion for Heaven on Earth, page 84:

There were things that have been on my back for years, acts that the little bird inside of me called my conscience would never let me forget, and that I wanted to brush under the rug, but the rug never seemed large enough.

2009, Aaron Dean Ruotsala, Cole... I Love You to the Moon and Back, page 68:

under the carpet
under the carpet#English

(idiomatic, location) Synonym of under the carpet.


under the carpet

to sweep (something) under the carpet

But in the 1970s the process went into reverse, as more and more 'bad' data went under the carpet.

1989, Walter Joyce, Hillel Ticktin, Stephen White, Gorbachev and Gorbachevism, page 58:

It seems as if it is happening and it is being washed under the carpet.

1999 June 30, Kenya National Assembly Official Record (Hansard), page 1119:

The Bill is going to apply to a much wider group of people and I think it will sweep an awful lot of things under the carpet.

2006, Joint Committee on Human Rights, The UN Convention Against Torture (UNCAT): Nineteenth Report of Session 2005-06: Volume II: Oral And Written Evidence, page 27:

Worldwide nuclear proliferation committed by a single nation to create an Islamic nuclear bomb has been swept under the carpet by the United States.

2009, B. Vithal Shetty, World as Seen Under the Lens of a Scientist, page 233:

Conflict is brushed under the carpet.

2009, Christopher Johns, Becoming a Reflective Practitioner, page 139:

The official line is enduring commitment, and promises to move heaven and earth for those most in danger. But in practice Afghanistan is being swept under the carpet.

2023 March 9, Dan Jarvis, “Britain promised to move heaven and earth for all who helped us in Afghanistan. It wasn’t true”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(idiomatic, location) So as to be hidden from plain view (and thus easily ignored or overlooked).

When the carpet layers came in and removed the carpet she said there were millions of black eggs and tiny worms crawling under the carpet.

2005, Devi S. Nambudripad, Freedom from Environmental Sensitivities, page 35:

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see under, carpet.


in the round

Noah's ark with animals in the round

1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 65:

Not so the sculpture in the round: it stands in ordinary space with the other bodies, a body like them. We must hold fast to this outcome; it will allow us to explain the true essence of sculpture, the designation we confer on sculpture in the round alone. Painting and relief create their own space.

2012 [1920], “The Essence of Sculpture”, in Deborah Shannon, transl., edited by Jon Wood, David Hulks, and Alex Potts, Modern Sculpture Reader, Getty Publications, translation of Das Wesen der Bildhauerei by Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, →ISBN, page 76:

(sculpture) Not attached to a background.

There is another sense in which we can say that theatre begins in the round. Teachers in schools frequently observe that the dramatic play of children and their early attempts at theatre frequently take a natural in-the-round shape.

1982, Jack Mitchley, Peter Spalding, Five Thousand Years of Theatre, Batsford Academic and Educational:

By staging national identity “in the round,” Arena opens up multifaceted perspectives of who comprises the nation and under what circumstances. Finchandler observed: “Since it has no back, front or sides, the arena becomes a highly democratic form for the audience, […].”

2019, Donatella Galella, America in the Round: Capital, Race, and Nation at Washington D.C.'s Arena Stage, University of Iowa Press, →ISBN, page 15:

Down in the arena, though, it was business as semi-normal with the band members making their traditional promenade through the crowd to a small in-the-round stage with a colourful player piano taking up most of the room.

2022 September 6, Fiona Shepherd, “Music review: Arcade Fire, Hydro, Glasgow”, in The Scotsman:

(theater) Having a stage completely surrounded by an audience.

Loosely cast on 90 stitches. Place stitch marker and join to work in the round, being careful not to twist the cast-on stitches.

2015, Heather Walpole, “Super Simple Cowl”, in Scarves in the Round […] , Stackpole Books, →ISBN, page 4:

(knitting) Done with circular needles, so as to create tubes of fabric.

The government responds to such news with its usual ludicrous evasions: “I don’t deny there are costs to a decision like Brexit,” said Jeremy Hunt in November, “but there are also opportunities, and you have to see it in the round.”

2023 January 1, John Harris, quoting Jeremy Hunt, “The wreckage of Brexit is all around us. How long can our politicians indulge in denial?”, in The Guardian:

(figurative) In full detail; from all angles.


of one's word

She never needed to show them to us — we knew, just as the adults did, that Dadi was a woman of her word.

1995, Mukul Kesavan, Looking Through Glass, →ISBN, page 1:

Dean is a great guy and is always helping someone. He is a man of his word, very respectable, and highly intelligent. But he is not the kind of man you would want to cross if you know what I mean.

2012, Carolyn Robinson Sommers, Betrayed by Destiny, →ISBN, page 143:

That keeps promises and tells the truth.


for love nor money

After six such encounters in tiny corner shops which normally complained that they were out of sugar, that the cornflakes were late in again and that they couldn't get tomato sauce for love nor money, the Captain, his head reeling, had staggered into the High Street off-licence.

1992, Robert Rankin, The Antipope, page 123:

for love or money
for love or money#English

nicht für Geld und gute Worte

never, for no price, under no circumstances


without question

The mind boggles that to be "liberal" in Britain you have to believe, without question, in the EU

2011 September 29, Alan Posener, “Germany will remain the euro's defender – however reluctantly”, in Guardian:

It was, without question, the greatest night of regular-season baseball that I've ever experienced. And one could argue, without being guilty of hyperbole, that it was the wildest night in the history of the sport.

2011 September 29, “A night like no other leaves baseball fans abuzz”, in Reporter News, archived from the original on 2011-10-01:


under the cosh

Having been under the cosh Swansea were enjoying a promising spell and Begovic had to deny Graham having a free header before Swansea's record signing secured victory with five minutes remaining.

2011 October 2, Aled Williams, “Swansea 2 - 0 Stoke”, in BBC Sport Wales:

(UK, informal) subjected to (figurative) pressure; under the gun


à flot

se maintenir à flot


after the Lord Mayor's show

From the proverb "After the Lord Mayor's show comes the dust-cart" (or "donkey-cart", or "shit-cart"). Bringing up the rear of the Lord Mayor's Show is a team to clean the manure of the pageant's horses.

as is usual on all such occasions, after gaiety comes squalor; or, as we observe in respect to the annual pageant of the City of London that "after the Lord Mayor's Show comes a,—donkey-cart,

1864, George Waters, Indian gleanings and thoughts of the past, G.H. Windeyer, Chatham, page 154:

The All Whites came into this match hotfoot from their stunning victory over Castres last Tuesday which took them into the semi-final of the prototype European Cup. ... For a while it looked as if it might be a case of after the Lord Mayor's show as Swansea struggled with one of their dozy moods, against Treorchy.

1995 December 10, Clem Thomas, “White hot Swansea”, in The Independent (UK):

"After the Lord Mayor's Show." Freddy looked up from reading Punch. "What is, old fruit?" "The excitement's gone. Back to dull monotony."

2006, Jeremy Carrad, Running on Empty, Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie, →ISBN, page 40:

(idiomatic) Said of a disappointing or mundane event occurring straight after an exciting, magnificent, or triumphal event.


in like wise

From Middle English in like wise (“in like manner”).

inh

Also all the prophetes from Samuell, and thenceforth as many as have spoken, have in lykwyse tolde of these dayes.

1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts:

Brother Rosell, in my right hearty wise I commend me unto you, and in like wise unto my sister your bedfellow, &c.


of a surety

And whẽ Peter was come to hym ſilfe / he ſayde: nowe I knowe off a ſurety / that the lorde hath ſent his angell […]

1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts xij:[11], folio clxxij, recto:

Of a surety, little Harry, we must speedily resume our studies.

1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], chapter LI, in Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and Archibald Constable and Co., […], →OCLC, page 235:


in writing

THE emigrant farmers beyond the Vaal River having communicated to me, in writing, through you, their desire to come to a favourable understanding with the British Government

1852, Accounts and papers of the House of Commons:

What a comfort and relief it is to the families of such people when they can make the change with an attitude like that of an elderly friend of ours, who expressed her feelings about it in writing. Here are some excerpts: […]

1990, Richard Stoll Armstrong, The Pastor-Evangelist in the Parish:

Following a statewide trend among cities, Mountain View has opted to simply record in writing the actions taken by the city council […]

2011, San Jose Mercury News, You won't read all about it in the minutes of Mountain View's public meetings:

via a written message, as opposed to orally or through other means.


in the world

i alverden

used for emphasis after an interrogative

What in the world was that?

Who in the world would want to do that?

"My darling child!" she cried, folding the little girl in her arms and covering her face with kisses. "Where in the world did you come from?"

1900 May 17, L[yman] Frank Baum, chapter 24, in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chicago, Ill., New York, N.Y.: Geo[rge] M[elvin] Hill Co., →OCLC:

(idiomatic) An intensifier, often used after an interrogative word.

the happiest girl in the world

Writing a “Treehouse Of Horror”segment has to be both exhilarating and daunting. It’s exhilarating because it affords writers all the freedom in the world.

2012 April 29, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Treehouse of Horror III” (season 4, episode 5; originally aired 10/29/1992)”, in AV Club:

Used for emphasis after a qualified noun.

In the world you will have trouble, but I leave you my peace that where I am there you may also be.

1998, Rich Mullins (lyrics and music), “That Where I am There You...”:

(religion) In this present age; here and now.

With some effort and discipline anyone can learn to get up early and to stand through long church services, to make prostrations and to work, and work hard, at jobs that you don’t necessarily like. A lot of people in the world have a much more difficult life in that sense.

2023 July 7 (last accessed), “Monasticism in 21st Century”, in The Holy Monastery of St Paisius:

(religion) Characteristic of wider society; worldly.


in the blink of an eye

Picking the ball up in his own half, Januzaj threaded a 40-yard pass into the path of Rooney to slice Southampton open in the blink of an eye.


coi piedi di piombo

Literally, “with the feet of lead”. Compare French avec des pieds de plomb.


in the crosshairs

(literally) targeted at the point of intersection of the two perpendicular lines in a gunsight or scope

Industry experts are concerned that if the railway doesn't change tack, it would soon find itself out of step with the needs of the nation and in the crosshairs of a Treasury looking to slash spending.

2021 October 20, Ben Jones, “The benefits of (and barriers to) more leisure travel by rail”, in RAIL, number 942, page 32:

Nettles lives in the crosshairs, with the secret police, his sympathizers, and his now and would-be lovers making impossible demands on him.

1989 November 3, “Brilliant acting, conception drive ‘Largo Desolato’”, in The Advocate, Louisiana, USA, retrieved 2011-10-27:

The German industrial giants that exploited slave labor during the war, from Volkswagen to Krupp, are in the crosshairs of class-action suits from Holocaust survivors.

1998 December 2, Frank Rich, “Opinion: What's Good for General Motors . . .”, in New York Times, retrieved 2011-10-27:

U.S. Representative Jane Harman, a California Democrat, has found herself in the crosshairs of a potential scandal.

2009 April 22, Alex Altman, “2 Minute Bio: California Rep. Jane Harman”, in Time:

(idiomatic) singled out for blame, harassment, or other unwanted attention


a piacere

i paesi ricchi possono fare guerra a piacere

tema a piacere

caramelle a piacere

whichever one wants; as much/many as one wants

sale e pepe a piacere


out of one's head

out of one's mind
out of one's mind#English


in a pig's arse

"My wife and I have asked a crowd of craps
To come and waste their time and ours: perhaps You'd care to join us?"
"In a pig's arse, friend."

(idiomatic, vulgar, UK) Absolutely not; under no circumstances.


up the pole

The world 'as got me snouted jist a treat; Crool Forchin's dirty left 'as smote me soul. An' all them joys o' life I 'eld so sweet Is up the pole.

1915, C.J. Dennis, The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke, published 1916, page 13:

(US, military, dated) Teetotal; not drinking any alcohol.


à court terme

LL-Q150 (fra)-Jules78120-à court terme.wav

LL-Q150 (fra)-WikiLucas00-à court terme.wav

LL-Q150 (fra)-Poslovitch-à court terme.wav

LL-Q150 (fra)-LoquaxFR-à court terme.wav

LL-Q150 (fra)-DenisdeShawi-à court terme.wav

Near-synonym: à bref délai


off one's head

The kettles they boiled with rage, 'tis said/While ev'ry nail went off its head[…]

1881, “The Magnet and the Churn”, William S. Gilbert (lyrics), Sir Arthur Sullivan (music):

When I had finished I went and saw poor Leo, who was quite off his head, and did not even know me.

1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

Temporarily mentally unstable; very distressed.

Occasionally they seem to go off their heads. Something like epilepsy, you know. It's called Robot's cramp. They'll suddenly sling down everything they're holding, stand still, gnash their teeth—and then they have to go into the stamping-mill. It's evidently some breakdown in the mechanism.

c. 1921 (date written), Karel Čapek, translated by Paul Selver, R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots): A Fantastic Melodrama […], Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1923, →OCLC, Act 1:

The music is turned up over the conversations, which span global politics, the latest Beyoncé track and anything else randomly entering the minds of us intelligent, but off our heads, savvy young adults.

2017, James Wharton, Something for the Weekend, Biteback Publishing, →ISBN:


above the curve

(idiomatic) With above average innovative performance or quality, especially a trailblazer developing advances before competitors.


for one's life

Basel continued to defend for their lives while occasionally threatening on the break.

2011 December 7, David Ornstein, “FC Basel 2 - 1 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport:


in safe hands

Don't worry: I gave the necklace to a friend of mine. It's in safe hands.

I told the president that I'm glad the future of the country is in safe hands.

(idiomatic) In the possession of, or protected by, someone who can be trusted.

在可靠的人手中

in the possession of or protected by someone who can be trusted


in the mean time

In the mean time, I lay fairly exposed to the examination of his eyes and hands, quiet and unresisting

1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC:


ar buile

/ˈeɾʲˈbˠi.lʲə/

/ˈəɾˠˈbˠi.lʲə/

/ˈeɾʲˈbˠi.lʲə/

(idiomatic) mad, furious, on the warpath


with one voice

But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 19:34:

Seven boys stood in a row all ages, all sizes, all yellow-haired and blue-eyed, all in full Scotch costume, and all smiling, nodding, and saying as with one voice, "How are you, cousin?"

1875, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, chapter 2, in Eight Cousins:

The nobles around Prince John implored him with one voice to throw down his warder, and to save so brave a knight from the disgrace of being overcome by odds.

1819, Sir Walter Scott, chapter 12, in Ivanhoe:

Well—Jean went down and asked his father and his mother and his old grandmother if they would permit him to marry Mlle. Malo; and they all with one voice said they wouldn't.

1916, Edith Wharton, Coming Home, section 3:

Unfortunately, the global political community is a long way from speaking with one voice on anything, and climate change is no exception.

2007 December 1, Bryan Walsh, “Can We Save the World by 2015?”, in TIme:

(idiomatic, by extension, of expressing opinions by members of a group) In a mutually agreeing or like-minded manner; concordantly, unanimously.


of one mind

"Come, Mr. Wickham, we are brother and sister, you know. Do not let us quarrel about the past. In future, I hope we shall be always of one mind."

1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], chapter 52, in Pride and Prejudice: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC:

[T]he two sisters were more of one mind than usual.

1856, Charlotte M. Yonge, “ch. 7”, in The Daisy Chain, or Aspirations:

"How extraordinary that you and my mother should be of one mind about this!" said Yeobright.

1878 January–December, Thomas Hardy, chapter 4, in The Return of the Native […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], published 1878, →OCLC:

However, just as the critics are not of one mind in their criticism, so they are far from united on what to do.

1983 July 5, Jonathan Fuerbringer, “Critics Divided on What to Do about Unpopular Income Tax”, in New York Times, retrieved 2011-01-02:

French President Jacques Chirac may be the anti-George W. Bush in foreign policy, but when it comes to lowering taxes, the two leaders are of one mind.

2005 February 13, Bruce Crumley, “Bizwatch: Tax Americana”, in Time:

(idiomatic, of two or more people) Having the same viewpoint, opinion, or attitude; in agreement.


on the cutting room floor

From the earliest film-editing process, which involved manually removing (cutting) unwanted scenes, leaving the film scraps on the floor of the room used for editing (the cutting room).

The experimental broccoli ice cream flavor was left on the cutting room floor after market research.

(idiomatic) Not included in the finalized version of something; deliberately rejected or unintentionally overlooked.


to one's mind

And to my mind, though I am natiue heere / And to the manner borne: It is a Cuſtome / More honour'd in the breach, then the obſeruance.

c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv], page 257, column 1:

To my mind there has always been something inexpressibly awful in family feuds.

1864, J[oseph] Sheridan Le Fanu, “In which Lake under the Trees of Brandon, and I in My Chamber, Smoke Our Nocturnal Cigars”, in Wylder’s Hand. […], New York, N.Y.: Carleton, […], published 1865, →OCLC, page 63:

Dusk, to his mind, was the hour of the defeated.

1914, H. H. Munro (Saki), “Dusk”, in Beasts and Super-Beasts:

The words were ordinary enough, and to my mind there was in them something so hortatory that I almost smiled.

1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, chapter XXV, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC:

To her mind, extreme compensation is a fair trade for the compromises of such a career.

2009 April 17, Gabriel Sherman, “The Wail of the 1%”, in New York Magazine:

In one's opinion
in one's opinion#English

(idiomatic) In one's opinion, from one's point of view.


in all honesty

I didn't get a girlfriend, though in all honesty, I'm still undecided whether I really want to have one.


à vie

un traitement à vie

la prison à vie

marquer à vie

membre à vie


in loco

In the place; in the proper or natural place.


au jus

Unadapted borrowing from French au jus (“in the juice”).

ubor

roast beef au jus

(cooking, of meat, postmodifier) Prepared or served in or with gravy made from its own juices.


in saecula saeculorum

Calque of Ancient Greek εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων (eis toùs aiônas tôn aiṓnōn, literally “into the ages of the ages”).

clq

εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων

(Ecclesiastical Latin) for ever and ever


in the right place at the right time

En-au-in the right place at the right time.ogg

And the Premier League's all-time top-goalscoring midfielder proved he has not lost the knack of being in the right place at the right time with a trio of clinical finishes.

2011 October 2, Jonathan Jurejko, “Bolton 1 - 5 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport:

Many of us have looked at others success and commented, "That person was just in the right place at the right time!"

2007, Larry G. Patten, Living As A Champion, page 251:

Knowing the right person or merely being in the right place at the right time continues to be the best way of getting a job.

2003, Graham Till, The Redundancy Survivor's Field Guide, page 6:

At a location where something good is about to happen at just the time of its occurrence; lucky; fortunate; able to obtain a benefit due to circumstances, rather than due to merit.


by mistake

Today I took your packed lunch to work by mistake.

(idiomatic) by accident; without intention to do so


like heck

You'd better run like heck!


at the last minute

At the last minute, he refused to approve the plan.

At the last minute, the hero regained consciousness and rolled out of the path of the tank.

(idiomatic) Very close to a deadline or potential crucial event.


on one's bill

2009, The 5th Bentinal, Is the title gone now?, The Liverpool Way
Cygan was only used to sitting on his bill in the changing room cos he was too shit to make it into Arsenal's defence.

(idiomatic, Northern England) Alone, on one's own.


no fear

The opposing senses of the interjection derive from the phrase functioning as an ellipsis of both have no fear ("be assured") and there is no fear of that happening ("it's impossible").

No fear, therefore, that, suddenly deprived of companionship, he should feel dull, and that dulness might take the shape of remorse; so repent, return, and be forgiven.

1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 139:


in the biblical sense

Back-formation from know someone in the biblical sense.

back-form

I was married to you the moment I took you as my wife. That first night I pushed you backward on your bed and took you in the Biblical sense, from that moment on, we were man and wife.

1993, Harold Miles, Bad ol' boy, page 122:

Unidentified Man 2: How you doing? I've got a question for Pamela. How many rock stars have you met in your whole life? Ms-DES-BARRES: Oh, my gosh. Man 2: Any idea? Any idea or... Ms-LEE: He didn't ask how many you slept with. Ms-DES-BARRES: That's good. RIVERA: You mean met in the biblical sense? Man 2: I mean met and been with. Ms-DES-BARRES: I didn't sleep with that many of them.

1993 February 26, “NOTORIOUS WOMEN RECOVER FROM THEIR LOVE AFFAIRS”, in Ind_Geraldo (Rivera):

The young witches made their relationship official — in the Biblical sense — and Welch’s howling entreaty, “I’d do anything to make you stay,” expressed their yearning and desperation.

2012 March 23, Lanford Beard, “TV Jukebox: 'The Secret Circle,' 'The Voice,' 'Switched at Birth,' and more music-on-TV moments”, in Entertainment Weekly, archived from the original on 2012-04-26:

Well, I'm no longer seeing him in the biblical sense, but I do run him from time to time.

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see biblical, sense.


ICYDK

ICYDK, most of the lawsuits that have been brought against gun manufacturers in recent years for negligence have not been due to defective weapons discharging, but rather for weapons properly discharging when the trigger is pulled.

2001, "Joe Breher", If the USA Reinstates the Draft...... (on newsgroup alt.guitar.amps)

The OG Joe in Taylor's life was none other than Joe Jonas. ICYDK, the “Better Than Revenge” singer dated the JoBro briefly in 2008 when the two were just teenagers—18 and 19, respectively.

2023 July 8, Naydeline Mejia, “Taylor Swift And All Of Her Ex-Boyfriends' Body Language, Explained”, in Women's Health:

(Internet slang) Initialism of in case you didn't know.


at table

sitting at table with a servant

[…] but anything would have been better than sitting at table with a thing only fit for a May-day sweep on one's head.

1876, Lady Barker, The Kafir at Home, printed in The Eclectic Magazine of Foreign Literature, Science, and Art, volume 23 (87?), page 221 http://books.google.com/books?id=YbkmAQAAIAAJ&dq=%22May%20Day%20sweep%22&pg=PP15#v=onepage&q=%22May%20Day%20sweep%22&f=false

But she managed not to cry for she knew that would not do at table.

1956 [1880], Johanna Spyri, Heidi, translation of original by Eileen Hall, page 92:

Eating a meal at a table, especially with others.

1922, C. Herman Senn, M.B.E., F.R.H.S., editor, The Art of the Table; including How to Wait at Table, How to Fold Napkins, and How to Carve:

Preparing and serving the table for a meal, usually formal.


en boucle

écouter une chanson en boucle

J’y ai pensé en boucle


in total

In total, the Reds had 28 shots to their opponent's nine, and 15 corners to the Baggies' three.

2012 April 22, Sam Sheringham, “Liverpool 0-1 West Brom”, in BBC Sport:


in good part

we ought to take it in good part, as from a most wise and thrice-friendly-hand.

1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

The Turner Prize's distinguished presenter Mario Testino, who was just starting on his speech at the time, took the intervention in good part, ad-libbing: "Art is everywhere."

2012 April 4, Martin Wainwright, The Guardian:

Favourably, without offence. (Chiefly with take.)


at school

Melanie can't come on Monday, because she will be at school.

I left my history book at school.

Laurence Humfreid was born in the County of Buckingham, and Brought up, first at School, and then sent to Oxford, where he was admitted into the Colledge of Mary Magdalen, and followed his studies hard all the daies of King Edward the sixth.

1654, Samuel Clarke, The marrow of ecclesiastical history:

[…] and at length got a Promise, and shall, I think, have these six at School as soon as Hunting-season (now commencing) is at an End; and there is a Prospect of our having the Schools at both Places attended as commonly as any Schools in New-England are.

1769, Eleazar Wheelock, A Continuation of the Narrative of the Indian Charity-school:

[…] but nothing of this sort should ever be considered as a part of the serious business of instruction, or admitted as an exercise at school.

1831, Allison Wrifford, Essays on School Keeping:

Mac an Ghaill's (1988) study focused on the theme of 'resistance within accommodation' which was how some Asian and African Caribbean young people in his sample reacted to their experiences of racism at school and college.

1999, Ghazala Bhatti, Asian Children at Home and at School: An Ethnographic Study:


in the open

I find I can breath more easily when I'm out in the open.

I got a clear photo of them when they finally came out in the open.

Easily visible; out of shelter or concealment.

Now that everyone knows, I'm glad it's finally out in the open.


at daggers drawn

/æt ˌdæɡəz ˈdɹɔːn/

/æt ˌdæɡəɹz ˈdɹɔn/

Probably a reference to people preparing to fight by drawing their daggers from their sheaths. Compare French à couteaux tirés (literally “at daggers drawn”).

cog

And upon this point, vvere they at Daggers Dravvn vvith the Emperour.

1667, Francisco de Quevedo Villegas, “The Seventh Vision of Hell Reform’d”, in R[oger] L[’Estrange], transl., The Visions of Dom Francisco de Quevedo Villegas, […], London: […] H[enry] Herringman […], →OCLC, page 263:

The new duke of Orléans, son of the Regent, was a callow and shallow youth and worse still—for the house of Condé, collateral with the Bourbons, was perennially at daggers drawn with the rival Orléans dynasty—had just married and already made his wife pregnant.

2002, Colin Jones, “Negotiating Stormy Weather: The Regency and the Advent of Fleury (1715–26)”, in The Great Nation: France from Louis XV to Napoleon 1715–99, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page 80:

But [David] Cameron nevertheless feels confident, because he is pretty sure that he has got Labour where he wants it, still off the centre ground on economic credibility and increasingly at daggers drawn with the Liberal Democrats, not least over the pivotal electoral event of this parliament, the AV referendum.

2011 April 28, Martin Kettle, “Vote yes to AV if you want to see Tories feel the fear again”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-12-08:

(idiomatic, chiefly British) In a state of open hostility.

to daggers' drawing

at or to the point of fighting, quarrelling, or open hostility


à jeun

Inherited from Old French, from Latin jejūnus, ieiūnus.

être à jeun


מעבר לים

head

מֵעֵבֶר לַיָּם

מֵעֵבֶר לַיָּם • (me'éver layám)

מֵעֵבֶר לַ יָּם (canonical)
me'éver layám (romanization)


with one's bare hands

What other television show would feature a gorgeously designed sequence where a horrifically mutated Pierre and Marie Curie, their bodies swollen to Godzilla-like proportions from prolonged exposure to the radiation that would eventually kill them, destroy an Asian city with their bare hands like vengeance-crazed monster-Gods?

2012 May 20, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Marge Gets A Job” (season 4, episode 7; originally aired 11/05/1992)”, in The Onion AV Club:


out of the money

It's two bucks out of the money now, but it still has three weeks until expiration.

(finance, securities) Of an option, yielding a loss if exercised.

Failing to achieve a sufficiently high ranking in a contest to earn money (for oneself, or for those who have placed a bet).


OTM

out of the money
out of the money#English

(finance, of options) Initialism of out of the money.


in train

Choiseul's dismissal threw Paris into a spin, not least because a major political crisis was already in train.

2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 278:

At least the cost reviews were bearing some fruit. BREL and Mechanical Engineering Department charges had been cut by £47m, the only pity being the savings had been put in train so late in the day.

2020 January 2, David Clough, “How InterCity came back from the brink”, in Rail, page 69:


at the latest

We need to make a decision by Friday at the latest.


on no account

under no circumstances
under no circumstances


of the century

The break-in became the crime of the century, at least in the newspapers.

The "Thrilla in Manilla" was promoted as the fight of the century.

Used to indicate the most remarkable example of its kind in recent history.


von der Stange

Literally, “from the pole” (on which clothes are hung).

(figurative, informal) out of the box, off-the-rack; ready for immediate use

(figurative, informal) run-of-the-mill, mass-produced; ordinary


aan de lopende band

continuously (as if on an assembly line)


off target

The second quartile's figures were off target by 30%.

Both shots landed off target.

There was a last-ditch quality to England’s defending and when Pierre-Emile Højbjerg shaped a curler for the far corner in the 85th minute, England’s hearts were in their mouths. The shot was off target.

2024 June 20, David Hytner, “Hjulmand rocket earns Denmark draw as England struggle after Kane opener”, in The Guardian:


from A to izzard

(idiomatic) From beginning to end; thoroughly; covering the whole range or scope.


on report

I've put him on report for both insubordination and sexual harassment.


on file

I've got it on file somewhere.

In a file, as a file folder; available for reference.

My record of complaints about your business is on file with the Better Business Bureau.


in check

It was a sudden meeting, and one in which rapture was kept well in check by pain.

1847 October 16, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], chapter XI, in Jane Eyre. An Autobiography. […], volume III, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC, page 267:

The old feelings, so religiously held in check, were stimulated to rebelliousness, though they did not show themselves in any direct manner as yet.

1880, Thomas Hardy, chapter 37, in The Trumpet Major:

I . . . espied a small cave, excellent suited to our defence and where two determined men might hold in check a whole army.

1921, Jeffery Farnol, chapter 30, in Martin Conisby's Vengeance:

Scott also has schizoaffective bipolar disorder, a mental illness she keeps in check with a low dose of Zyprexa.

2008 December 3, Kate Torgovnick, “Why Do the Mentally Ill Die Younger?”, in Time:


on background

I'm in trouble now. They published what I gave them on background.

With the understanding that the information is not to be attributed to a specific source or quoted.


in abatement

(law) Seeking termination of an action by reason of formal deficiency.


on condition

He was bitten by a snake, but a second woman cured him, on condition that she could also be his wife.

1975, William Russell Bascom, African Dilemma Tales, page 115:

these presents are made in contemplation, but not on condition of, a marriage

1793, William Moseley, Lord Peter King, editors, Reports of cases argued and determined in the High Court:

In all these cases the life of the god-man is prolonged on condition of showing, in a severe physical contest of fight or flight, that his bodily strength is not decayed

1890, J.G. Frazer, The Golden Bough, page 213:

(followed by of and, often, a present participle) With the requirement (of).

Airframes, engines, and electronics are generally repaired on condition, before next flight.

(operations, maintenance) When testing or inspection finds an indication of a potential problem.

operations; maintenance; operations; maintenance


FYIANA

Initialism of for your information and necessary action.


above oneself

Acting with an undue opinion of one's own importance or abilities.

Acting without inhibition due to high spirits.


above proof

Overproof; containing more alcohol than proof spirit.


above stairs

The Phyſician now arrived, and began to enquire of the two Diſputants, how we all did above Stairs? 'In a miſerable Way,' anſwered Thwackum.

1749, Henry Fielding, “Containing Matter Rather Natural than Pleasing”, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume II, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, page 183:

She took him to a room above-stairs, and introduced him to a bed on which a magnified bolster, in yellow calico, figured as a counterpane.

1877 February, Henry James, Jr., chapter XIX, in The American, Boston, Mass.: James R[ipley] Osgood and Company, […], published 5 May 1877, →OCLC, page 334:

He was found above-stairs in an empty room, searching the floor for something.

(archaic) Upstairs; in or on an upper floor.

(British, historical) In or pertaining to the part of a large house, typically the above-ground rooms, in which the owning family lives, contrasted with below stairs where the servants are accommodated.


FKA

Alternative forms: f.k.a., fka, f/k/a

formerly known as
formerly known as#English


van harte

Literally, “from the heart”. The form harte is an old dative case form of hart. An even older form, still attested in Early Modern Dutch, was van harten.

from the bottom of one's heart
from the bottom of one's heart

(idiomatic) from the bottom of one's heart, sincerely, cordially, with love


to rights

My shoulder was dislocated. It was agony to have it put to rights.

I felt ill, but some fresh air and iced water set me to rights.

Then they knocked off some of the boards for the use of the ship, and when they had got all they had a mind for, let the hull drop into the sea, which, by reason of the many breaches made in the bottom and sides, sunk to rights.

1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part I (A Voyage to Lilliput):

(obsolete, informal) At once; immediately.


before someone's time

I don't know — that was before my time

At thirteen, I liked a lot of music that was before my time: Louis Armstrong and Dixieland jazz, Sousa marches, and barbershop quartet singing.

2007, Bobby Braddock, Down in Orburndale: A Songwriter's Youth in Old Florida, Louisiana State University Press, published 2007, →ISBN, page 55:

(idiomatic) From before one was born or old enough to be aware of the world.

ajalta ennen jotakuta

from before one was born or old enough to be aware of the world

dead before his time

Oh yes, and tell her to take care of herself too, and not get herself all banged up again, or she will look old before her time.

1951, Johnny Cash, letter to Vivian Cash dated 3 November 1951, reprinted in Vivian Cash (with Ann Sharpsteen), I Walked the Line: My Life with Johnny, Scribner (2007), page 38

Jimi Hendrix is buried at Evergreen Memorial Park in Renton. The electric guitar player extraordinaire died before his time at the young age of 27.

2007, Robin Shannon, Cemeteries of Seattle, Arcadia Publishing, published 2007, →ISBN, page 119:

"Unless you become the third apprentice to quit before his time?"

2012, Laura Frantz, Love's Reckoning, Revell, published 2012, →ISBN:

(idiomatic) At a stage in one's life, development, etc. that seems premature.


of all things

(idiomatic) Especially; more than other things.

偏偏

more than other things, especially, exactly (that thing)

He reached into his pocket and pulled out, of all things, an ice cream cone.

Well, of all things! Who would have expected him to propose to her on stage?

Mother went a little pale. “Preposterous!” she said. “I don’t know what’s got into you!” She fiddled with her bouffant, almost as if she was nervous. “Your father, in a rock band of all things! First that exercise book full of outrageous stories, and now this!”

2009 October 29, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Mr Stink, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:

Liverpool needed a break and they got it at the beginning of the second half, from, of all things, a misplaced City pass. Aké was the culprit, undercooking his attempt to go back to Ederson and seeing Núñez steal in. He toed it away from the goalkeeper and was promptly cleaned out by him.

2024 March 10, David Hytner, “Doku involved at both ends as Liverpool and Manchester City share spoils”, in The Guardian:

(idiomatic, often used as a sentence adverb) Surprisingly.


below the salt

His fashion is not to take knowledge of him that is beneath him in clothes. He never drinks below the salt.

1600 (first performance), Beniamin Ionson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “Cynthias Reuels, or The Fountayne of Selfe-Loue. […]”, in The Workes of Beniamin Ionson (First Folio), London: […] Will[iam] Stansby, published 1616, →OCLC:

(idiomatic) Common, vulgar; of low standing.


up the spout

I think the left speaker is up the spout.

That idea of yours for using the church hall seems to have gone up the spout.

(slang) Broken; not functional or workable; kaput.

He went into the attack with his rifle cocked and with one up the spout.

(military, slang) In the chamber, having an ammunition round in a weapon's chamber.

Did you know that she's up the spout?

to put/shove/pop something up the spout

(archaic, slang) At the pawnbroker's shop (in allusion to the spout up which the pawnbroker sent the ticketed articles).


off one's feed

"Nothing serious," the veterinarian added. "He was just off his feed a trifle."

1915, Jack London, chapter 12, in The Little Lady of the Big House:

"My dairy farmers tell me that because of the heat the cows are just off their feed."

1998 August 12, Rick Lyman, “Drought in Texas and Oklahoma Stunting Crops and Economies”, in New York Times, retrieved 2012-08-02:

“He wos took wery bad one arternoon, arter having been off his feed, and wery shaky on his legs for some veeks.”

1841, Charles Dickens, chapter 4, in Master Humphrey's Clock:

I asked some questions about Jack Benton, and one of the men told me that he was off his feed, and hardly ate anything, and swallowed all the coffee he could lay his hands on, and had used up all his own tobacco and had begun on what his brother had left.

1903, F. Marion Crawford, Man Overboard!:

‘Something is the matter with Psmith. He is off his feed. He should try Blenkinsop's Balm for the Bilious.’

1915, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 24, in Psmith, Journalist:

The heavyweight champion of the world was off his feed. . . . Rocky, ordinarily a first-rate trencherman, was pushing away from the breakfast table after downing only two eggs and a pair of lamb chops.

1954 June 28, “Sport: Bumbling Champ”, in Time:

(idiomatic, of a person) Rather unwell, especially with a reduced or altered appetite; somewhat disoriented or disconcerted.


in harness

Of horses: side by side, fastened together; figuratively, together.

The mothers likened his behaviour to the last days of Control, who had died in harness, thanks to Haydon, of a broken heart.

1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy, Folio Society, published 2010, page 45:

In the midst of the working routine; at work.


to heel

The dissident members of the party finally came to heel after the president's speech.

Into submissive agreement or compliance.


OATUS

(Internet slang, text messaging) Initialism of on a totally unrelated subject.


from A to B

/fɹəm ˈeɪ ɾə ˈbiː/

Possibly from the common practice of labelling points using letters of the alphabet, and then referring to motion from one point to another as “from A to B”, and so on.

While in our actual world we identify architecture with elements related by permanent relations, in virtual worlds space is a constant function of time. For example, if I have to ascend a stair to get from A to B, I will not necessarily have to descend to get back from B to A. Virtual spaces can hold many surprises.

1997, Daniela Bertol, David Foell, “A Few Hypotheses for Reconstructed Architecture”, in Designing Digital Space: An Architect’s Guide to Virtual Reality, New York, N.Y., Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 303:

At Leap we have found that, when working with a large group, it is not appropriate to create a traditional play with a story that follows one central character from A to B. Instead, we create a piece of theatre that can employ a large cast, follow several characters' stories in parallel and draw on several styles, especially popular forms.

1999, Sara Clifford, Anna Herrmann, “Unit Three: Devising the Show”, in Making a Leap – Theatre of Empowerment: A Practical Handbook of Drama and Theatre Work with Young People, London, Philadelphia, Pa.: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, →ISBN, page 133:

It is a journey travelled both by individuals and by societies made up of those individuals. It is not, however, a simple journey, a progression from A to B, starting with the soul and ending at the self.

1999, M. James C. Crabbe, “Preface”, in M. James C. Crabbe, editor, From Soul to Self, London, New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page x:

The zombie scenes are reminiscent of what you might see on a show like The Walking Dead, short bursts of extreme violence and gore punctuating expository dialogue scenes where the survivors try to figure out how they’re going to get from point A to point B.

[2017 February 23, Katie Rife, “The Girl With All The Gifts tries to put a fresh spin on overripe zombie clichés”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2017-09-10:

From one point to the next; from the beginning of a trip to the end.


at bottom

They concerted Matters, and all at once fell to selling off their Stock, giving out daily Reports that they would be no longer concern'd, that it was a losing Trade, that the Fund at bottom was good for nothing.

1705, Daniel Defoe, The Consolidator: or, Memoirs of Sundry Transactions From the World in the Moon:

I know you are a good man at bottom.

1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, chapter 16, in Treasure Island:

"Tess is queer." "But she's tractable at bottom. Leave her to me."

1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, volume 1, London: James R. Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., page 45:

At bottom I supposed that he had mistaken another book for mine.

1907 July 5, Mark Twain, chapter 23, in Chapters from My Autobiography:

As the New Year opened, the survival of Western democracy rested, at bottom, on the case the U.S. would make for it.

1947 January 6, “The 80th Congress”, in Time, retrieved 2015-06-26:

At bottom, he does not accept any authority higher than himself.

2015 June 20, Michael Lewis, “Harvard Admissions Needs ‘Moneyball for Life’”, in New York Times, retrieved 2015-06-26:

(idiomatic) Really, basically, fundamentally.


from stem to stern

My father, as nurse said, did never fear, / But cried ‘Good seaman!’ to the sailors […] / Never was waves nor wind more violent; / And from the ladder-tackle washes off / A canvas-climber. ‘Ha!’ says one, ‘wilt out?’ / And with a dropping industry they skip / From stem to stern.

c. 1607–1608, William Shakeſpeare, The Late, And much admired Play, Called Pericles, Prince of Tyre. […], London: Imprinted at London for Henry Goſſon, […], published 1609, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:

The very name of a Sioux became a watchword of terror. Not an elk, a wolf, or any other animal, could appear on the hills, but the boats resounded with exclamations from stem to stern, "voila les Sioux!" "voila les Sioux!" (there are the Sioux! there are the Sioux!)

1836 October, Washington Irving, chapter XVI, in Astoria, or Anecdotes of an Enterprise beyond the Rocky Mountains. […], volume I, Philadelphia, Pa.: [Henry Charles] Carey, [Isaac] Lea, & Blanchard, →OCLC, page 192:

From stem to stern, the [U.S.S.] Enterprise measures 1,040 ft.—roughly the height of the 102-story Empire State Building.

1961 December 1, “Armed Forces: The Mightiest Ever”, in Time:

[T]he Monterey was ablaze from stem to stern as Lieutenant Ford stood near the helm, awaiting his orders.

2006 December 28, Robert Drury, Tom Clavin, “How Lieutenant Ford Saved His Ship”, in New York Times, retrieved 2012-08-23:

(nautical) Over the full length of a ship or boat, from the front end of the vessel to the back end.

[T]he horse was the vainer brute of the two; he was far worse beflounced, bebonneted, and bemantled, than any fair lady. . . . [T]his poor animal from stem to stern was swamped in finery.

1861, Charles Reade, chapter 58, in The Cloister and the Hearth:

Michigan's Mackinac Island, the Lake Huron resort where automobiles are barred, was sprayed from stem to stern with DDT.

1945 August 27, “Science: War on Insects”, in Time:

Weighing in at four pounds, the lobster was rubbery and tasteless from stem to stern.

2005 Oct. 12, Marian Burros, "Take My Steak. Please." (restaurant review), New York Times (retrieved 23 Aug. 2012)

(idiomatic, by extension) From front to back; from one end to the other end.


off to the races

Last week the magazine's tenth annual rating of the nation's leading corporations showed that American business really went off to the races in 1963.

1964 July 10, “Industry: Top Money”, in Time:

48 Hours […] was followed by hits such as Trading Places, Beverly Hills Cop and Raw. Eddie Murphy's career was off to the races.

1994 June 3, Leonard Pitts Jr., “Movies”, in Milwaukee Journal, retrieved 2012-08-26, page 21E:

And with that, this tartly funny book is off to the races, inviting readers to tag along on a wild manic ride.

2004 Jan. 19, Janet Maslin, "When the High and Mighty Tumble, Duck and Cover" (Book review of The Best Awful by Carrie Fisher), New York Times (retrieved 26 Aug 2012)

(idiomatic) In or into a process of energetic engagement in some activity; in or into a phase of conspicuously increasing satisfaction or success.


w.l.o.g.

without loss of generality
without loss of generality#English

Abbreviation of without loss of generality.


at a loose end

Once the schools break up for the holidays, children across the country are at a loose end and instances of kids doing stupid things on the railway become far too common.

2021 August 25, Stefanie Foster, “Comment: A dumb way to die”, in RAIL, number 938, page 3:


from the off

[Finn] Russell created his side’s three first-half tries, ruffling a defence known for its composure, and dictated the match from the off.

2018 February 24, Paul Rees, “Finn Russell masterminds historic Scotland victory over England”, in The Guardian, London, archived from the original on 2018-04-22:


in words of one syllable

I am at present engaged in preparing a vest-pocket edition of the philosophical works of Schopenhauer in words of one syllable.

1894, John Kendrick Bangs, “A Midnight Visitor”, in The Water Ghost and Others:

So I explained in words of one syllable that I went there to pick edelweiss from the fire escapes.

1914, Samuel Hopkins Adams, chapter 24, in The Clarion:

Felix propounded the story of the arrest, so far as might be, in words of one syllable.

1915, John Galsworthy, chapter 22, in The Freelands:

The President used "words of one syllable" to convey his insistence that Poland be "free and independent".

1972 December 27, Alden Whitman, “Obituary: Harry S. Truman, Decisive President”, in New York Times, retrieved 2012-09-21:

Or, in words of one syllable, it's Cirque's sex show.

2003 November 19, Richard Corliss, “That Old Feeling: The Show at the Casino”, in Time:

(idiomatic) In simple, clear, straightforward language; in blunt language.


at the helm

(nautical, literally) Steering a vessel.

(idiomatic) In charge of a company or project.


for days

for days on end

The argument went on for days: they just couldn't agree.

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see for, days.

Her legs went on for days.

(US, Canada, informal) For a large amount or distance; a lot.

She has legs for days.

That kid has charisma for days.

(US, Canada, informal) To a great degree; very much.


on one's Jack Jones

Cockney rhyming slang
Cockney rhyming slang

(Cockney rhyming slang) On one's own; alone.


to meward

And to mewarde as he gan for to coost, / Whan that he was even at me almoost, / I sawe a knyfe hyd in his one sIeve, / Wheron was wryten this worde, myscheve.

1499, John Skelton, The Bowge of Courte:

An anxious friend and tender sister to me-ward!


op zijn elfendertigst

Elfendertigst is a nonce word from elf (“eleven”) + dertig (“thirty”), so literally meaning "at one's thirty-eleventh".

(idiomatic) slow and steady, not rushed, taking one's time


in bad part

"There's no harm in a kick in the hindquarters when your belly's full," said Captain Nichols, "and personally I never take it in bad part. An officer's got to think about discipline."

1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, “chapter 47”, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC:

Unfavourably, with offence, resentfully.


bu arada

(conjunctive, speech act, idiomatic) by the way


beyond the call of duty

to go beyond the call of duty

And what incredible access we were given (and thus passed on via the magic of television to a potentially huge audience), because of the work put in by the production team and TfL staff going above and beyond the call of duty.

2021 June 30, Tim Dunn, “How we made... Secrets of the London Underground”, in RAIL, number 934, page 49:


by any means

by any means necessary

Using whatever method or strategy is required.

I do not by any means blame the employees for the collapse of the company.

(idiomatic) In any manner whatsoever; at all.


in fief

In some cases, sovereignties have been given in fief, and sovereigns have voluntarily rendered themselves feudatories to others […].

1819, Abraham Rees, The Cyclopædia, volume 34, page 11:

William the Conqueror's insistence that the men who accompanied him from Normandy hold their English lands from him in fief was an innovation, not the simple importation of an established French "feudal system."

1998, Constance Brittain Bouchard, Strong of Body, Brave and Noble, page 42:

Sometimes the duchy was granted in fief, sometimes held by the king in person.

2011, Norman Davies, Vanished Kingdoms, Penguin, published 2012, page 106:

(historical) As a heritable right, according to the prevailing feudal obligations.


shot through with

One of the great strengths of the mediaeval penitential system at its best (and stripped of the undoubted corruptions with which it was shot through) lay in its teaching about the use of the will for good in those in whom the Holy Spirit is at work.

2002, Gillian Rosemary Evans, Problems of Authority in the Reformation Debates, page 138:

Chinese government and society are shot through with corruption.

2012, “Banyan: Embarrassed meritocrats”, in The Economist:

Infused, permeated, streaked with (something).


JOOC

JOOC, what country are you from?

(Internet slang) Initialism of just out of curiosity.


sous vide

emballage sous vide

emballé sous vide


in the final analysis

I have not been personally in a conversation with anybody in the Astronaut Office that is antirobotic for some philosophical reason. They are a group of people who, in the final analysis, have the responsibility to get the job done.

1990, United States. Congress House. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, page 90:

All things considered
all things considered#English

when all is said and done
when all is said and done#English

(idiomatic) All things considered; when all is said and done; in conclusion, basically and fundamentally.


tegen de vlakte

De bokser sloeg zijn tegenstander tegen de vlakte.

The boxer knocked his opponent onto the ground.

Het oude gebouw ging tegen de vlakte voor de nieuwe ontwikkeling.

The old building was knocked down for the new development.

De wind was zo sterk dat hij me bijna tegen de vlakte blies.

The wind was so strong it almost blew me onto the ground.


in full force

Far from closing the door on the leadership of the ’60s generation, Mr. Obama’s presidency seems to have brought it back in full force.

2012 November 7, Matt Bai, “Winning a Second Term, Obama Will Confront Familiar Headwinds”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-12-29:


בין השאר

בֵּין הַשְּׁאָר

בֵּין הַשְּׁאָר • (bén hash'ár)

בֵּין הַשְּׁאָר (canonical)
bén hash'ár (romanization)


à crédit

Coordinate term: au comptant

vendre à crédit

acheter à crédit

l’achat à crédit

on credit (with an understanding that the money owed will be paid later)


as all fuck

That exam was hard as all fuck.

(postpositive, slang, vulgar) A more intense form of as fuck.


to the end of the chapter

He kept a whole row of pipes there ready loaded, stuck in a rack, within easy reach of his hand; and, whenever he turned in, he smoked them all out in succession, lighting one from the other to the end of the chapter; then loading them again to be in readiness anew.

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “chapter 27”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:

To the very end; exhaustively; to the last.


r ꜣw

r (“to”) + ꜣw (“length”), thus “to the length” or “to one’s length”.


r ḏr

nTr-dwA-A-A30-t-w-n:k\-m-niwt:t*Z1-x*t:f-Hr-Z1-q:n-b-t-O38-A1:Z2ss-tA:N23*Z1-r-Dr:r-f

c. 2000 BCE – 1900 BCE, Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage/pPetersburg 1115) lines 143–144

They will thank the god for you in the city in front of the council and the entire land.

dwꜣ.tw-nṯr n.k m nwt ḫft ḥr qnbt tꜣ r ḏr.f


wyif

(knitting) Abbreviation of with yarn in front.


wyib

(knitting) Initialism of with yarn in back.


tbl

ROW 5: K3, (pl, kl tbl) 4 times, pl, k3.

2007, Jackie Pawlowski, Field Guide to Knitting, page 49:

(knitting) Initialism of through back loop(s).


upon the by

In this instance, there is, upon the by, to be noted, the percolation or suing of the verjuice through the wood; for verjuice of itself would never have passed through the wood: so as, it seemeth, it must be first in a kind of vapour, before it pass.

1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:


in confidence

Confidentially, privately, off the record.


in a dither

Everyone was in a dither; either in it or about to get in it or just climbing out of it. Naturally, the Madam was not in a dither. Dither was a foreign concept to her.

2002, Thomas P. Glynn, A Child's Christmas In Chicago, page 59: