Неизвестен Автор - Словарь американских идиом (8000 единиц)

[get to the bottom of] To find out the real cause of. * /The superintendent talked with several students to get to the bottom of the trouble./ * /The doctor made several tests to get to the bottom of the man's headaches./ Compare: GET TO THE HEART OF.

[get to the heart of] To find the most important facts about or the central meaning of; understand the most important thing about. * /You can often get to the heart of people's unhappiness by letting them talk./ * /"If you can find a topic sentence, often it will help you get to the heart of the paragraph," said the teacher./

[get to the point] See: COME TO THE POINT.

[get two strikes against one] See: TWO STRIKES AGAINST.

[get underway] To set out on a journey; start going. * /We are delighted that our new Ph.D. program finally got underway./

[get under one's skin] To bother; upset. * /The students get under Mary's skin by talking about her freckles./ * /Children who talk too much in class get under the teacher's skin./

[get up] 1. To get out of bed. * /John's mother told him that it was time to get up./ 2. To stand up; get to your feet. * /A man should get up when a woman comes into the room./ 3. To prepare; get ready. * /Mary got up a picnic for her visitor./ * /The students got up a special number of the newspaper to celebrate the school's 50th birthday./ 4. To dress up. * /One of the girls got herself up as a witch for the Halloween party./ 5. To go ahead. * /The wagon driver shouted, "Get up!" to his horses./

[get up] or [rise with the chickens] To rise very early in the morning. * /All the farmers in this village get up with the chickens./ Contrast: GO TO BED WITH THE CHICKENS.

[get-up] (stress on "get") Fancy dress or costume. * /Some get-up you're wearing!/

[get-up-and-go] also [get-up-and-get] , Energetic enthusiasm; ambitious determination; pep; drive; push. * /Joe has a lot of get-up-and-go and is working his way through school./

[get up on the wrong side of the bed] , To awake with a bad temper. * /Henry got up on the wrong side of the bed and wouldn't eat breakfast./ * /The man went to bed very late and got up on the wrong side of the bed./

[get up the nerve] To build up your courage until you are brave enough; become brave enough. * /Jack got up the nerve to ask Ruth to dance with him./ * /The hungry little boy got up nerve to ask for another piece of cake./

[get used to] See: USED TO.

[get warmed up] See: WARM UP.

[get what's coming to one] or [get one's] To receive the good or bad that you deserve; get what is due to you; get your share. * /At the end of the movie the villain got what was coming to him and was put in jail./ * /John didn't think he was getting what was coming to him, so he quit the job./ * /Mother told Mary that she'd get hers if she kept on being naughty./ Compare: CATCH IT, HAVE IT COMING, SERVE RIGHT.

[get wind of] To get news of; hear rumors about; find out about. * /The police got wind of the plans to rob the bank./ * /The captain didn't want the sailors to get wind of where the ship was going./

[get wise] , To learn about something kept secret from you; become alert. * /One girl pretended to be sick on gym days when she had athletics, until the teacher got wise and made her go anyway./ - Often used with "to". * /The boys got wise to Jack's fondness for bubble gum./ * /If you don't get wise to yourself and start studying, you will fail the course./ Compare: CATCH ON, SEE THROUGH. Contrast: IN THE DARK.

[get with it] , To pay attention; be alive or alert; get busy. * /The students get with it just before examinations./ * /The coach told the team to get with it./ Compare: ON THE BALL.

[ghost] See: GIVE UP THE GHOST.

[ghost of a] Least trace of; slightest resemblance to; smallest bit even of; a very little. Usually used with "chance" or "idea" in negative sentences, or with "smile". * /There wasn't a ghost of a chance that Jack would win./ * /We didn't have the ghost of an idea where to look for John./ * /The teacher scolded Harold for drawing a funny picture on the chalkboard, but she had a ghost of a smile./ Compare: FAT CHANCE.

[ghost-writer] A writer whose identity remains a secret and who writes for another who receives all the credit. * /It is rumored that John Smith's best-selling novel was written by a ghost-writer./

[gift of gab] or [gift of the gab] , Skill in talking; ability to make interesting talk that makes people believe you. * /Many men get elected because of their gift of gab./ * /Mr. Taylor's gift of gab helped him get a good job./

[gild the lily] also [paint the lily] To add unnecessarily to something already beautiful or good enough. * /To talk about a beautiful sunset is to gild the lily./ * /For the beautiful girl to use makeup would be to gild the lily./ * /Frank's father is a millionaire, but Frank gilds the lily by saying he is a billionaire./

[gill] See: FED TO THE GILLS at FED UP, GREEN AROUND THE GILLS or PALE AROUND THE GILLS.

[gilt-edged] Of the highest quality. * /Government saving bonds are considered by many to be a gilt-edged investment./

[gin mill] , A bar where liquor is sold. * /Rush Street in Chicago is full of gin mills./ Syn.: SPEAKEASY.

[G.I.] or ["government issue"] An American soldier. * /After the war many GI's were able to get a free education./

[gird one's loins] , To prepare for action; get ready for a struggle or hard work. * /David girded up his loins and went out to meet the giant Goliath./ * /Seniors must gird their loins for the battles of life./

[girl Friday] A very dependable and helpful female office worker; especially a secretary. * /Miss Johnson is the manager's girl Friday./ * /There was an advertisement in the newspaper for a girl Friday./

[girl friend] , 1. A female friend or companion. * /Jane is spending the night at her girlfriend's house./ 2. A boy's steady girl; the girl or woman partner in a love affair; girl; sweetheart. * /John is taking his girl friend to the dance./ Contrast: BOYFRIEND.

[give] See: SILENCE GIVES CONSENT.

[give a buzz] See: GIVE A RING.

[give a cold shoulder] See: COLD SHOULDER.

[give a hand] See: LEND A HAND.

[give a hang] or [care a hang] , To have any interest or liking; care. - Used also with other words in the place of "hang", such as "damn", "rap", "straw"; usually used in the negative. * /You can quit helping me if you want to. I don't give a hang./ * /Some people don't care a rap about sports./ * /Bruce never goes to the dances; he does not care a straw about dancing./

[give a hard time] , 1. To give trouble by what you do or say; complain. * /Jane gave her mother a hard time on the bus by fighting with her sister and screaming./ * /Don't give me a hard time, George. I'm doing my best on this job./ Compare: GIVE FITS. 2. To get in the way by teasing or playing; kid. * /Don't give me a hard time, boys. I'm trying to study./ Compare: ACT UP, IN ONE'S HAIR.

[give-and-take] 1. A sharing; giving and receiving back and forth between people; a giving up by people on different sides of part of what each one wants so that they can agree. * /Jimmy is too selfish. He has no notion of give-and-take with the other children but wants everything for himself./ * /There has to be give-and-take between two countries before they can be friends./ Compare: LIVE AND LET LIVE. 2. Friendly talking or argument back and forth. Friendly sharing of ideas which may not agree; also: an exchange of teasing remarks. * /After the meeting there was a lot of give-and-take about plans for the dance./

[give an ear to] or [lend an ear to] , To listen to. * /Children should give an ear to their parents' advice./ * /The king lent an ear to the complaints of his people./

[give a pain] , To make (you) disgusted; annoy. * /Ann's laziness gives her mother a pain./ * /John's bad manners give his teacher a pain./ Compare: PAIN IN THE NECK.

[give as good as one gets] To be able to give back blow for blow; defend yourself well in a fight or argument. * /The Americans gave as good as they got in the war with the English./ * /George gave as good as he got in his fight with the older boy./ Compare: EYE FOR AN EYE, GAME AT WHICH TWO CAN PLAY.

[give away] 1. To give as a present. * /Mrs. Jones has several kittens to give away./ 2. To hand over (a bride) to her husband at the wedding. * /Mr. Jackson gave away his daughter./ 3. To let (a secret) become known; tell the secret of. * /The little boy gave away his hiding place when he coughed./ * /Mary said she didn't care anything about John, but her blushing face gave her away./ Compare: SPILL THE BEANS, LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG. 4. See: GIVE ONESELF AWAY.

[giveaway] or [dead giveaway] (stress on "give") 1. An open secret. * /By mid-afternoon, it was a dead giveaway who the new boss would be./ 2. A forced or sacrifice sale at which items are sold for much less than their market value. * /The Simpson's garage sale was actually a big giveaway./ 3. A gift; something one doesn't have to pay for. * /The tickets to the concert were a giveaway./

[give a wide berth] To keep away from; keep a safe distance from. * /Mary gave the barking dog a wide berth./ * /Jack gave a wide berth to the fallen electric wires./ * /After Tom got Bob into trouble. Bob gave him a wide berth./

[give birth to] 1. To bear live offspring. * /The mother gave birth to twin baby girls./ 2. To bring about; create; occasion. * /Beethoven gave birth to a new kind of symphony./

[give chase] To chase or run after someone or something. * /The dog saw a rabbit and gave chase./ * /The policeman gave chase to the man who robbed the bank./

[give color to] or [lend color to] To make (something) seem true or likely. * /The boy's torn clothes gave color to his story of a fight./ * /The way the man ate lent color to his story of near starvation./

[give credence to] 1. To be willing to believe that something is true. * /Larry gave credence to the rumor that Fred used to be a convict./ * /Give no credence to the rumor that our state is bankrupt; nothing could be farther from the truth./

[give fits] To upset; bother very much. * /Paul's higher grades give John fits./ * /The short guard gave his tall opponent fits./ Compare: GIVE A HARD TIME.

[give forth] To emit; produce. * /When the gong was struck it gave forth a rich, resounding sound./

[give free rein to] See: GIVE REIN TO.

[give gray hair] , To make (someone) anxious, confused, or worried. * /The traffic problem is enough to give a policeman gray hairs./ Compare: GET GRAY HAIR.

[give ground] To go backward under attack; move back; retreat. * /After fighting for a while the troops slowly began to give ground./ * /Although they were outnumbered by the enemy, the men refused to give ground./ Compare: DRAW BACK, DROP BACK, LOSE GROUND. Contrast: HOLD ONE'S GROUND, STAND OFF, STAND ONE'S GROUND, STAND PAT, STAVE OFF.

[give her the gun] See: GIVE IT THE GUN.

[give in] To stop fighting or arguing and do as the other person wants; give someone his own way; stop opposing someone. * /Mother kept inviting Mrs. Smith to stay for lunch, and finally she gave in./ * /After Billy proved that he could ride a bicycle safely, his father gave in to him and bought him one./ Compare: GIVE UP, SAY UNCLE.

[give it some thought] To wait and see; consider something after some time has elapsed. * /"Will you buy my car?" Fred asked. "Let me give it some thought," Jim answered./ Contrast: SLEEP ON.

[give it the gun] or [give her the gun] , To gun or speed up a motor; make a car, airplane, or something driven by a motor go faster. * /The race driver gave it the gun./ * /The speedboat pilot gave her the gun./ Compare: STEP ON IT.

[give it to] , 1. To give punishment to; beat. * /The crowd yelled for the wrestler to give it to his opponent./ Syn.: LET HAVE IT. 2. To scold. * /Jerry's mother gave it to him for coming home late./ Compare: GIVE A PIECE OF ONE'S MIND, LACE INTO. Contrast: CATCH IT.