Неизвестен Автор - Словарь американских идиом (8000 единиц)

[do without] or [go without] 1. To live or work without (something you want); manage without. * /Ann said that she likes candy, but can do without it./ * /We had to go without hot food because the stove was broken./ 2. To live or work without something you want; manage. * /If George cannot earn money for a bicycle, he will have to do without./ Compare: GET ALONG, GET BY.

[down and out] Without money; without a job or home; broke. * /Poor Sam lost his job after his wife had left him; he is really down and out./

[down-and-outer] A person who has lost everything and is penniless. * /Joe goes from shelter to shelter asking for food and a place to sleep; he's become a regular down-and-outer./

[down-at-heel] or [down-at-the-heel] or [down-at-the-heels] Poorly kept up or dressed shabby; not neat; sloppy. * /John is always down-at-the-heels, but his sister is always very neat./ * /Old houses sometimes look down-at-the-heel./

[down east] or [Down East] The northeast coastal part of the United States and part of Canada; especially: the coastal parts of Maine. * /Many people in Boston like to go down east for their summer vacation./ Compare: I WOULDN'T DO IT FOR A FARM DOWN EAST.

[down in the dumps] or [down in the mouth] , Sad or discouraged; gloomy; dejected. * /The boys were certainly down in the dumps when they heard that their team had lost./

[down on] , Having a grudge against; angry at. * /John is down on his teacher because she gave him a low grade./

[down one's alley] or [up one's alley] , Suited to your tastes and abilities; what you like or like to do. * /Baseball is right down Jim's alley./ Compare: CUP OF TEA.

[down one's neck] See: BREATHE DOWN ONE'S NECK.

[down one's nose] See: LOOK DOWN ONE'S NOSE.

[down one's throat] See: JUMP DOWN ONE'S THROAT, SHOVE DOWN ONE'S THROAT or RAM DOWN ONE'S THROAT.

[down on one's luck] , Having bad luck; having much trouble; not successful in life. * /Harry asked me to lend him ten dollars, because he was down on his luck./ * /The teacher is easy on Jane because Jane has been down on her luck lately./ Compare: HARD ROW TO HOE, HARD SLEDDING, ON ONE'S UPPERS.

[down payment] A retainer paid to a prospective seller. * /How much of a down payment do you require for this new car?/

[down the drain] or , Wasted; lost. * /It is money down the drain if you spend it all on candy./ * /Our plans to go swimming went down the drain when it rained./ Compare: GO BY THE BOARD.

[down the hatch!] , Let us drink! * /When we celebrated Mom's birthday, we all raised our glasses and cried in unison, "Down the hatch!"/

[down the line] , 1. Down the road or street; straight ahead. * /The church is down the line a few blocks./ 2. All the way; completely; thoroughly. * /Bob always follows the teacher's directions right down the line./

[down-to-earth] Showing good sense; practical. * /The committee's first plan for the party was too fancy, but the second was more down-to-earth./ * /Mr. Jenkins never seems to know what is happening around him, but his wife is friendly and down-to-earth./ Compare: COME BACK TO EARTH.

[down to the wire] , 1. Running out of time, nearing a deadline. * /Bob is down to the wire on his project./ 2. Being financially almost broke, being very low on cash or other funds. * /We can't afford going to a restaurant tonight - we're really down to the wire!/

[down with a disease] Ill or sick. * /Aunt Liz is down with the flu this week; she has to stay in bed./

[dozen] See: BY THE DOZEN, DAILY DOZEN, DIME A DOZEN, SIX OF ONE AND HALF-A-DOZEN OF THE OTHER.

[drag in] To insist on bringing (another subject) into a discussion; begin talking about (something different.) * /No matter what we talk about, Jim drags in politics./ * /Whenever anyone mentions travel, Grace has to drag in the trip to Mexico she took ten years ago./

[drag on] or [drag out] 1. To pass very slowly. * /The cold winter months dragged on until we thought spring would never come./ 2. To prolong; make longer. * /The meeting would have been over quickly if the members had not dragged out the argument about dues./

[drag on the market] An article for which the demand has fallen off thus causing an oversupply. * /Your type of word processor went out of style and is now a drag on the market./

[drag oneself up by one's boot straps] See: PULL ONESELF UP BY THE BOOT STRAPS.

[drag one's feet] or [drag one's heels] To act slowly or reluctantly. * /The children wanted to watch television, and dragged their feet when their mother told them to go to bed./ * /The city employees said the mayor had promised to raise their pay, but was now dragging his feet./

[drag out] See: DRAG ON.

[drag race] , An automobile race in which the drivers try to cover a certain distance (usually one quarter mile) in the shortest possible time. * /Drag races are often held on airport landing strips./ * /Holding drag races is a good way to stop teenage hot rod racing on public highways./ Compare: DRAG STRIP.

[drag strip] , A place where drag races are held. * /Before the race Paul loaded his racer onto the trailer to take it out of town to the drag strip for the race./ Compare: DRAG RACE.

[drain] See: DOWN THE DRAIN.

[draw] See: BEAT TO THE PUNCH or BEAT TO THE DRAW.

[draw a bead on] 1. To aim at; sight (with a gun). * /The deer bounded into the forest before the hunters could draw a bead on them./ * /John drew a bead on the elk, but didn't have the heart to pull the trigger./ 2. To take (something) as an aim or goal. * /"I'm drawing a bead on the Literary Society president's office," said Tom./ 3. To use as a target of attack; criticize. * /Whenever a politician makes a mistake, his opponents are ready to draw a bead on him./

[draw a blank] , 1. To obtain nothing in return for an effort made or to get a negative result. * /I looked up all the Joneses in the telephone book but I drew a blank every time I asked for Archibald Jones./ 2. To fail to remember something. * /I am trying to think of the name but I keep drawing a blank./ 3. To be consistently unsuccessful at doing something. * /I keep trying to pass that math exam but each time I try it I draw a blank./

[draw a conclusion] To make an inference. * /After he failed to keep an appointment with me for the third time, I drew the conclusion that he was an unreliable person./

[draw a line] or [draw the line] 1. To think of as different. * /The law in this country draws a line between murder and manslaughter./ * /Can you draw the line between a lie and a fib?/ 2. To set a limit to what will be done; say something cannot be done. * /We would like to invite everybody to our party, but we have to draw a line somewhere./ - Often used with "at". * /Mrs. Jones draws the line at permitting the children to play in their father's den./ * /People fighting for their freedom often do not draw the line at murder./

[draw a long breath] or [take a long breath] To breathe deeply when getting ready to speak or act. * /Father asked who broke the window. Jim drew a long breath and admitted that he had done it./ * /The salesman took a long breath and started his talk./

[draw a parallel] To make a comparison. * /It is easy to draw a parallel between the characters of Saint Francis of Assisi and Great Saint Theresa of Aquila, but this doesn't mean that all saints are alike./

[draw and quarter] , 1. To execute someone in the barbaric medieval fashion of having him torn into four pieces by four horses tearing his body in four different directions. * /The captured foreign marauders were drawn and quartered by the angry citizens of ancient Frankfurt./ 2. To punish someone very severely. * /"If you miss another homework assignment, John," the teacher said, "I'll have you drawn and quartered."/

[draw aside] To separate; take to one side. * /He drew her aside and whispered into her ear, "Johanna, please marry me!"/

[draw back] To move back; back away; step backward; withdraw; move away from. * /When the man spotted the rattlesnake, he drew back and aimed his shotgun./ * /The children drew back from the dog when it barked at them./ * /When the pitcher drew back his arm to pitch the ball, Tom ran as fast as he could to steal second base./ * /Some juice from the grapefruit that Father was eating squirted in his eye and he drew back in surprise./ Compare: DROP BACK.

[drawback] Disadvantage; obstacle; hindrance. * /The biggest drawback of Bill's plan is the cost involved./

[draw blood] , To make someone feel hurt or angry. * /If you want to draw blood, ask Jim about his last money-making scheme./ * /Her sarcastic comments drew blood./

[drawer] See: TOP-DRAWER.

[draw fire] 1. To attract or provoke shooting; be a target. * /The general's white horse drew the enemy's fire./ 2. To bring criticism or argument; make people say bad things about you. * /Having the newest car in your group is sure to draw fire./

[drawing card] The most important figure in a multi-person event; the top entertainer during a show; the best professor or researcher at a university, etc. * /During the concert series Barbra Streisand was the biggest drawing card./ * /The biggest drawing card at many a university is the resident Nobel Laureate./

[draw in one's horns] See: PULL IN ONE'S HORNS.

[draw interest] To earn interest on invested capital. * /My savings account draws 4.5% interest./

[draw lots] To select at random from a series in order to determine precedents or apportionment. * /The refugees to be evacuated drew lots on who would get a place on the first airplane out of the besieged city./

[draw near] To approach; come near. * /The time is drawing near when this century will end and the next will begin./

[draw off] To drain away; deflect. * /A light flanking attack was made in order to draw off the enemy's fire./

[draw on] 1. To arrive; approach. * /As midnight drew on, the New Year's Eve party grew louder and louder./ 2. To secure funds from a bank or person. * /Jack kept drawing on his bank account so much that several of his checks bounced./

[draw out] 1. To take out; remove. * /Johnny drew a dollar out of the bank to buy his mother a present./ * /The hunter drew out his gun and shot the snake./ 2. To make (a person) talk or tell something. * /Jimmy was bashful but Mrs. Wilson drew him out by asking him about baseball./ 3. To make come out; bring out. * /The bell of the ice-cream truck drew the children out of the houses./ * /Mary was drawn out of her silence by Billy's jokes./ 4. To make longer or too long; stretch. * /The Smiths drew out their vacation at the beach an extra week./ * /It was a long drawn out meeting because everybody tried to talk at once./ * /Mary and her mother drew out their goodbyes so long at the bus station that Mary almost missed the bus./

[draw the fire of] See: DRAW OFF.

[draw the line] See: DRAW A LINE.

[draw to a close] To finish; terminate; come to an end. * /The meeting drew to a close around midnight./

[draw up] 1. To write (something) in its correct form; put in writing. * /The rich man had his lawyers draw up his will so that each of his children would receive part of his money when he died./ 2. To plan or prepare; begin to write out. * /The two countries drew up a peace treaty after the war ended./ * /Plans are being drawn up for a new school next year./ Compare: WRITE UP. 3. To hold yourself straight or stiffly, especially because you are proud or angry. * /When we said that Mary was getting fat, she drew herself up angrily and walked out of the room./ 4. To stop or come to a stop. * /The cowboy drew up his horse at the top of the hill./ * /A big black car drew up in front of the house./ Syn.: PULL UP.

[dread] See: BURNT CHILD DREADS THE FIRE.

[dream of] To think about seriously; think about with the idea of really doing; consider seriously. - Usually used with a negative. * /I wouldn't dream of wearing shorts to church./