Неизвестен Автор - Словарь американских идиом (8000 единиц)
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Неизвестен Автор - Словарь американских идиом (8000 единиц) краткое содержание
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[much as] See: AS MUCH AS(1).
[much less] And also not; and even less able or likely to. - Used after a negative clause. * /I never even spoke to the man, much less insulted him./ * /John couldn't even pick up the box, much less carry it upstairs./ * /George can hardly understand arithmetic, much less algebra./ Compare: LET ALONE, NOT TO MENTION.
[mud] See: NAME IS MUD, STICK-IN-THE-MUD.
[mud in your eye] , A cheering exclamation when people drink, much like "cheers!" * /Each time John raised his glass he said, "Well, here's mud in your eye!"/
[mug shot] A police photograph showing the arrested person's full face and profile. * /"Go over these mug shots," Sergeant O'Malley said, "and tell me if you find the person who held up the liquor store!"/
[Muhammad] See: IF THE HILL WON'T COME TO MUHAMMAD, THEN MUHAMMAD MUST COME TO THE HILL.
[mull over] To consider; think over. * /He mulled over the offer for some time, but finally rejected it./
[mum is the word] You must keep the secret; keep silent; don't tell anyone. - Often used as an interjection. * /We are planning a surprise party for John and mum is the word./ * /"Mum is the word!" the robber captain told his men./
[murder] See: SCREAM BLOODY MURDER.
[muscle] See: MOVE A MUSCLE.
[muscle-bound] Having your muscles large, hard, and tight from too much exercising; having muscles so developed that you can hardly move. * /Bob was big and strong, but he was muscle-bound, and Bill could beat him./ * /An athlete must train properly so as not to become muscle-hound./
[muscle in on] To intrude; penetrate; force oneself into another's business or territory. * /The eastern Mafia muscled in on the western Mafia's turf and a shooting war was started./
[music] See: FACE THE MUSIC.
[musical chairs] (Originally the name of a children's game.) The transfer of a number of officers in an organization into different jobs, especially each other's jobs. * /The boss regularly played musical chairs with department heads to keep them fresh on the job./
[music to one's ears] Something one likes to hear. * /When the manager phoned to say I got the job, it was music to my ears./
[mustard] See: CUT THE MUSTARD.
[muster] See: PASS MUSTER.
[my God] or [my goodness] Used to express surprise, shock, or dismay. * /My God! What happened to the car?/
[my lips are sealed] A promise that one will not give away a secret. * /"You can tell me what happened, " Helen said. "My lips are sealed."/
N
[nail] See: HARD AS NAILS, HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD, TOOTH AND NAIL.
[nail down] , To make certain; make sure; settle. * /Joe had a hard time selling his car, but he finally nailed the sale down when he got his friend Sam to give him $300./ * /The New York Yankees nailed down the American League Championship when they beat the Red Sox 3 to 0 on September 15./
[nail one's colors to the mast] To let everyone know what you think is right and refuse to change. * /During the election campaign the candidate nailed his colors to the mast on the question of civil rights./
[name] See: CALL NAMES, HANDLE TO ONE'S NAME, IN NAME, TAKE ONE'S NAME IN VAIN, TO ONE'S NAME.
[name calling] See: CALL NAMES.
[named after] Given the same name as someone. * /Archibald was named after his father./
[name day] The day of the saint for whom a person is named. * /Lawrence's name day is August 10, the feast of St. Lawrence./
[namedropper] A person who is always mentioning well-known names. * /Since her move to Hollywood she has become a regular namedropper./
[name is mud] (You) are in trouble; a person is blamed or no longer liked. - Used in the possessive. * /If you tell your mother I spilled ink on her rug my name will be mud./ * /Your name will be mud if you tell the teacher about the bad thing we did./ Compare: IN THE DOG HOUSE.
[name of the game] , The crux of the matter; that which actually occurs under the disguise of something else. * /Getting medium income families to support the rest of society - that's the name of the game!/
[narrow down] To limit within very strict margins. * /Of the numerous applicants, the list has been narrowed down to just a few./
[narrow escape] An escape by a very small margin; a near miss. * /If the truck that hit his car had been coming faster, it would have killed him; it was certainly a narrow escape that he only had a broken arm!/
[narrow-minded] Limited in outlook; resistant to new ideas; bigoted. * /He is generally very open about everything, but when it comes to politics, he is terribly narrow-minded./
[nary a] Not a single; not one; never a. * /One afternoon a large dark cloud came in the sky. John thought it would rain so he took his raincoat - but nary a drop fell./ * /John went fishing but he caught nary a one./
[nasty-nice] Unkind in a polite way; disagreeable while pretending to be gracious. * /The bus driver has a nasty-nice way of showing his dislike./
[natural] See: BIG AS LIFE or BIG AS LIFE AND TWICE AS NATURAL.
[natural-born] 1. Being a (citizen) because you were born in the country. * /Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt came to the United States from Germany and are naturalized citizens but their children are natural-born citizens./ 2. Born with great ability to become (something); having great ability (as in a sport or art) almost from the start. * /Joe had never played baseball before trying out for the team but he showed that he was a natural-born pitcher and he became the best in the league./ * /Mozart was a natural-born musician. He could play the piano well when he was only six years old./
[nature] See: SECOND NATURE.
[naught] See: GO FOR NOTHING also GO FOR NAUGHT.
[near] See: FAR AND NEAR.
[near at hand] See: AT HAND.
[necessity] See: MAKE A VIRTUE OF NECESSITY, OF NECESSITY.
[neck] See: BREATHE DOWN ONE'S NECK, BREAK ONE'S NECK, CATCH IT IN THE NECK or GET IT IN THE NECK, PAIN IN THE NECK, SAVE ONE'S NECK, STICK ONE'S NECK OUT.
[neck and neck] , Equal or nearly equal in a race or contest; abreast; tied. * /At the end of the race the two horses were neck and neck./ * /For months John and Harry seemed to be neck and neck in Alice's favor./ Compare: NIP AND TUCK.
[neck of the woods] , Part of the country; place; neighborhood; vicinity. * /We visited Illinois and Iowa last summer; in that neck of the woods the corn really grows tall./ * /We were down in your neck of the woods last week./
[necktie party] , A hanging by a mob; lynching. * /Cattle thieves were stealing the rancher's cattle, but the cowboys caught them and had a necktie party./ Compare: STRING UP.
[ned] See: RAISE THE DEVIL.
[needle] See: ON PINS AND NEEDLES.
[needle in a haystack] , Something that will be very hard to find. * /"I lost my class ring somewhere in the front yard," said June. Jim answered, "Too bad. That will be like finding a needle in a haystack."/
[neither fish nor fowl] also [neither fish, flesh, nor fowl] Something or someone that does not belong to a definite group or known class; a strange person or thing; someone or something odd or hard to understand. * /The man is neither fish nor fowl; he votes Democrat or Republican according to which will do him the most good./ * /Mrs. Harris bought a piece of furniture that was both a table and a chair. Mr. Harris said it was neither fish nor fowl./ * /The movie is neither fish nor fowl; it is a funny love story./
[neither here nor there] Not important to the thing being discussed; off the subject; not mattering. * /Perhaps you did stay up late finishing your homework. That's neither here nor there. You still must come to school on time./ * /The boys all like the coach but that's neither here nor there; the question is, "Does he know how to teach football?"/ Compare: BESIDE THE POINT. Contrast: HAVE TO DO WITH, COME TO THE POINT.
[neither hide nor hair] See: HIDE OR HAIR.
[neither rhyme nor reason] No emotional or intellectual substance. * /As far as I am concerned, his proposal makes no sense; it has neither rhyme nor reason./
[Nellie] See: NICE NELLY or NICE NELLIE, NERVOUS NELLIE.
[Nelly] See: NICE NELLY or NICE NELLIE, NERVOUS NELLIE.
[nerve] See: GET ON ONE'S NERVES, GET UP THE NERVE.
[nervous breakdown] A mild or severe attack of mental illness; a collapse of a person's ability to make decisions and solve problems because of overwork, great mental strain, or the like. * /When the mother saw her baby run over, she suffered a nervous breakdown./
[Nervous Nellie] , A timid person who lacks determination and courage. * /I say we will never win if we don't stop being Nervous Nellies!/
[nervous prostration] An illness of the mind that makes you feel very tired, worried, and bored, and that often causes headaches, upset stomach, and other sickness. * /Aunt Jane said that taking care of us children all day was enough to give any woman nervous prostration./
[nest] See: FEATHER ONE'S NEST, STIR UP A HORNET'S NEST.
[nest egg] Savings set aside to be used in the future. * /Herb says he doesn't have to worry about his old age because he has a nest egg in the bank./
[never] See: BETTER LATE THAN NEVER, IT NEVER RAINS BUT IT POURS, LIGHTNING NEVER STRIKES TWICE IN THE SAME PLACE.
[never mind] Don't trouble about it; don't worry about it; forget it; skip it. - Usually used in speaking or when writing dialogue. * /Never mind preparing a picnic lunch; we'll find a lunchstand when we get to the beach./ * /"What did you say?" "Oh, never mind."/ * /"What about money?" "Never mind that. I'll take care of it."/
[never say die] Don't quit; don't be discouraged. * /"Never say die!" John said, as he got on his feet and tried to ice skate again./
[new] See: TURN OVER A NEW LEAF.
[new blood] Something or someone that gives new life or vigor, fresh energy or power. * /New blood was brought into the company through appointment of younger men to important positions./
[new broom sweeps clean] A new person makes many changes. - A proverb. * /The new superintendent has changed many of the school rules. A new broom sweeps clean./
[Newcastle] See: CARRY COALS TO NEWCASTLE.
[new deal] , 1. A complete change; a fresh start. * /People had been on the job too long; a new deal was needed to get things out of the old bad habits./ 2. Another chance. * /The boy asked for a new deal after he had been punished for fighting in school./
[newfangled] Newly invented or contrived; excessively complex. * /Dorothy felt that many newfangled gadgets in Kate's all-electric kitchen weren't really necessary./
[new leaf] See: TURN OVER A NEW LEAF.
[new lease on life] A new chance to live; an improved manner of living. * /After his illness and his retirement, living in Hawaii was a new lease on life./
[new man] A person who has become very much better. * /Diet and exercise made a new man of him./
[new money] People who have become rich recently. * /Since Bobby's father invented a new computer component, Bobby and his family are new money./ Contrast: OLD MONEY.
[newshawk] A newspaper reporter. * /There are always a lot of newshawks following the president./
[next door] or 1. In or to the next house or apartment. * /He lived next door to me./ * /She telephoned next door to ask about John./ * /The house next door caught fire./ 2. Very close. - Used with "to". * /The sick man was next door to death./ * /Printing secrets about our country's missiles is next door to treason./
[next to(1)] Almost; nearly. * /It was next to impossible to believe that in a month the grass would be green and flowers would be blooming./ * /It was next to unthinkable that the boy would steal./
[next to(2)] Just after; second to. * /Next to his family, baseball was his greatest love./ * /Next to pizza, Bob liked hamburger best./
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