Неизвестен Автор - Словарь американских идиом (8000 единиц)

[hit on all cylinders] 1. To run smoothly or at full power without any missing or skipping. - Said of a motor. * /The mechanic tuned the car engine until it was hitting on all cylinders./ 2. To think or work well; to use all your ability. * /The football team was hitting on all cylinders and scored a big victory./ * /Bob began to write his examination, and found himself hitting on all cylinders./

[hit one's stride] 1. To walk or run at your best speed; reach your top speed or game. * /After walking the first mile, Jim was just hitting his stride./ * /The horse began to hit his stride and moved ahead of the other horses in the race./ 2. To do your best work; do the best job you are able to. * /Mary didn't begin to hit her stride in school until the fifth grade./

[hit-or-miss] also [hit-and-miss] Unplanned; uncontrolled; aimless; careless. * /John did a lot of hit-or-miss reading, some of it about taxes./ * /Mary packed her bag in hurried, hit-or-miss fashion./

[hit or miss] also [hit and miss] In an unplanned or uncontrolled way; aimlessly; carelessly. * /George didn't know which house on the street was Jane's, so he began ringing doorbells hit or miss./

[hit parade] 1. A list of songs or tunes arranged in order of popularity. * /Tom was overjoyed when his new song was named on the hit parade on the local radio station./ 2. A list of favorites in order of popularity. * /Jack is no longer number one on Elsie's hit parade./

[hitter] See: PINCH HIT, PINCH HITTER, PULL HITTER.

[hit the books] , To study your school assignments, prepare for classes. * /Jack broke away from his friends, saying, "I've got to hit the books."/

[hit the bull's-eye] , To go to the important part of the matter; reach the main question. * /John hit the bull's-eye when he said the big question was one of simple honesty./

[hit the ceiling] or [hit the roof] , To become violently angry; go into a rage. * /When Elaine came home at three in the morning, her father hit the ceiling./ * /Bob hit the roof when Joe teased him./ Syn.: BLOW A FUSE.

[hit the deck] To get up from bed, to start working. (From sailor's language as in "All hands on the deck!") * /OK boys, it's time to hit the deck!/

[hit the dirt] , , To take cover under gunfire by falling on the ground. * /We hit the dirt the moment we heard the machine gun fire./

[hit the fan] , To become a big public problem or controversy. * /The whole mess hit the fan when the judge was arrested for drunken driving for the second time./

[hit the hay] or [hit the sack] , To go to bed. * /The men hit the hay early, in order to be out hunting at dawn./ * /Louis was so tired that he hit the sack soon after supper./

[hit the high spots] To consider, mention, or see only the more important parts of something such as a book, war, or school course. * /In his lecture, the speaker hit the high spots of his subject./ * /The first course in general science hits only the high spots of the physical sciences./ * /The Bakers went to the fair for one day, and only hit the high spots./

[hit the jackpot] , To be very lucky or successful. * /Mr. Brown invented a new gadget which hit the jackpot./ * /Mrs. Smith hit the jackpot when she got Lula for a maid./

[hit the nail on the head] To get something exactly right; speak or act in the most fitting or effective way. * /The mayor's talk on race relations hit the nail on the head./

[hit the road] , 1. To become a wanderer; to live an idle life; become a tramp or hobo. * /When Jack's wife left him, he felt a desire to travel, so he hit the road./ 2. To leave, especially in a car. * /It is getting late, so I guess we will hit the road for home./ * /He packed his car and hit the road for California./

[hit the roof] See: HIT THE CEILING.

[hit the sack] See: HIT THE HAY.

[hit the sauce] , To drink alcoholic beverages especially heavily and habitually. * /When Sue left him, Joe began to hit the sauce./

[hit the spot] , To refresh fully or satisfy you; bring back your spirits or strength. - Used especially of food or drink. * /A cup of tea always hits the spot when you are tired./ * /Mother's apple pie always hits the spot with the boys./

[hit town] To arrive in town. * /Give me a phone call as soon as you hit town./

[hit upon] See: HIT ON.

[hob] See: PLAY THE DEVIL WITH or PLAY HOB WITH.

[hoe] See: HARD ROW TO HOE or TOUGH ROW TO HOE.

[hoe one's own row] To make your way in life by your own efforts; get along without help. * /David's father died when he was little, and he has always had to hoe his own row./ Syn.: PADDLE ONE'S OWN CANOE, STAND ON ONE'S OWN FEET.

[hog] See: EAT (LIVE) HIGH ON THE HOG or EAT (LIVE) HIGH OFF THE HOG, GO THE WHOLE HOG or GO WHOLE HOG, ROAD HOG.

[hog-tie] , 1. To tie (an animal) so it is unable to move or escape. * /The Cowboy caught a calf and hog-tied it./ 2. To make someone unable to act freely; limit. * /The welfare worker wanted to help at once, but rules and regulations hog-tied her, so she could only report the case./

[hoist with one's own petard] Caught in your own trap or trick. * /Jack carried office gossip to the boss until he was hoisted by his own petard./ (From Shakespeare; literally, blown up with one's own bomb.)

[hold] See: GET HOLD OF, LAY HOLD OF, LEAVE HOLDING THE BAG or LEAVE HOLDING THE SACK.

[hold a brief for] To argue in support of; defend. Usually used with a negative. * /I hold no brief for John, but I do not think he was responsible for the accident./ * /The lawyer said he held no brief for thievery, but he considered the man should he given another chance./

[hold a candle to] also [hold a stick to] To be fit to be compared with; be in the same class with. - A trite phrase used in negative, interrogative, and conditional sentences. * /Henry thought that no modern ball club could hold a candle to those of 50 years ago./

[hold all the trumps] To have the best chance of winning; have all the advantages; have full control. * /Most of the team wants John for captain and he is the best player. He will he elected captain because he holds all the trumps./ * /Freddy has a quarter and I have no money, so he holds all the trumps and can buy whatever he wants with it./

[hold back] 1. To stay back or away; show unwillingness. * /The visitor tried to gel the child to come to her, but he held back./ * /John held back from social activity because he felt embarrassed with people./ 2. To keep someone in place; prevent from acting. * /The police held back the crowd./

[hold court] 1. To hold a formal meeting of a royal court or a court of law. * /Judge Stephens allowed no foolishness when he held court./ 2. To act like a king or queen among subjects. * /Even at sixteen, Judy was holding court for numbers of charmed boys./

[hold down] 1. To keep in obedience; keep control of; continue authority or rule over. * /Kings used to know very well how to hold down the people./ 2. To work satisfactorily at. * /John had held down a tough job for a long time./

[hold everything] See: HOLD IT.

[hold fire] See: HOLD ONE'S FIRE.

[hold forth] 1. To offer; propose. * /As a candidate, Jones held forth the promise of a bright future./ 2. To speak in public; preach. - Usually used with little respect. * /Senator Smith was holding forth on free trade./

[hold good] 1. To continue to be good; last. * /The coupon on the cereal box offered a free toy, but the offer held good only till the end of the year./ * /Attendance at the basketball games held good all winter./ 2. To continue; endure: last. * /The demand for new houses held good all that year./ * /The agreement between the schools held good for three years./ See: HOLD TRUE.

[hold it] or [hold everything] , To stop something one is doing or getting ready to do. - Usually used as a command. * /The pilot was starting to take off, when the control tower ordered "Hold it!"/

[hold off] 1a. To refuse to let (someone) become friendly. * /The president's high rank and chilly manner held people off./ Compare: KEEP AT A DISTANCE. 1b. To be rather shy or unfriendly. * /Perkins was a scholarly man who held off from people./ Compare: KEEP AT A DISTANCE. 2. To keep away by fighting; oppose by force. * /The man locked himself in the house and held off the police for an hour./ 3. To wait before (doing something); postpone; delay. * /Jack held off paying for the television set until the dealer fixed it./ * /Mr. Smith held off from building while interest rates were high./

[hold on] 1. To keep holding tightly; continue to hold strongly. * /As Ted was pulling on the rope, it began to slip and Earl cried, "Hold on, Ted!"/ Syn.: HANG ON. 2. To wait and not hang up a telephone; keep a phone for later use. * /Mr. Jones asked me to hold on while he spoke to his secretary./ 3. To keep on with a business or job in spite of difficulties. * /It was hard to keep the store going during the depression, but Max held on and at last met with success./ 4. To wait a minute; stop. - Usually used as a command. * /"Hold on!" John's father said, "I want the car tonight."/

[hold one's breath] 1. To stop breathing for a moment when you are excited or nervous. * /The race was so close that everyone was holding his breath at the finish./ 2. To endure great nervousness, anxiety, or excitement. * /John held his breath for days before he got word that the college he chose had accepted him./

[hold one's end up] or [hold up one's end] or [keep one's end up] or [keep up one's end] , To do your share of work; do your part. * /Mary washed the dishes so fast that Ann, who was drying them, couldn't keep her end up./ * /Susan kept up her end of the conversation, but Bill did not talk very much./ * /Bob said he would lend me his bicycle if I repaired the flat tire, but he didn't keep up his end of the bargain./

[hold one's fire] or [hold fire] To keep back arguments or facts; keep from telling something. * /Tow could have hurt Fred by telling what he knew, but he held his fire./ * /Mary held fire until she had enough information to convince the other club members./

[hold one's head up] To show self-respect; not be ashamed; be proud. * /When Mr. Murray had paid off his debts, he felt that he could hold his head up again./

[hold one's horses] , To stop; wait; be patient. - Usually used as a command. May be considered rude. * /"Hold your horses!" Mr. Jones said to David when David wanted to call the police./

[hold one's nose to the grindstone] See: KEEP ONE'S NOSE TO THE GRINDSTONE.

[hold one's own] To keep your position; avoid losing ground; keep your advantage, wealth, or condition without loss. * /Mr. Smith could not build up his business, but he held his own./ * /The team held its own after the first quarter./ * /Mary had a hard time after the operation, but soon she was holding her own./

[hold one's peace] , To be silent and not speak against something; be still; keep quiet. * /I did not agree with the teacher, but held my peace as he was rather angry./ Compare: HOLD ONE'S TONGUE

[hold one's temper] or [keep one's temper] To make yourself be quiet and peaceful; not become angry. * /The meeting will go smoothly if the president keeps his temper./ * /Dave can't keep his temper when he drives in heavy traffic./ Contrast: LOSE ONE'S TEMPER, BLOW ONE'S STACK.

[hold one's tongue] To be silent; keep still; not talk. May be considered rude. * /The teacher told Fred to hold his tongue./ * /If people would hold their tongues from unkind speech, fewer people would be hurt/

[hold on to] 1a. or [hold to] To continue to hold or keep; hold tightly. * /When Jane played horse with her father, she held on to him tightly./ * /The teacher said that if we believed something was true and good we should hold on to it./ * /The old man held on to his job stubbornly and would not retire./ 1b. To stay in control of. * /Ann was so frightened that she had to hold on to herself not to scream./ Contrast: LET GO. 2. To continue to sing or sound. * /The singer held on to the last note of the song for a long time./