Adam Makkai - Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц

[live up to] {v.} To act according to; come up to; agree with; follow. •/ So far as he could, John had always tried to live up to the example he saw in Lincoln. / •/ Bob was a man who lived up to his promises. / •/ The new house didn’t live up to expectations. /

[live wire] {n. phr.} 1. An electrically charged wire, usually uninsulated. •/ The electrician was severely burned by the live wire. / 2. An alert or energetic person. •/ To sell the new merchandise, our company needs several salespeople who are live wires. /

[living daylights]See: BEAT THE --- OUT OF, KNOCK THE --- OUT OF.

[living end] {adj.} , {slang} Great; fantastic; the ultimate. •/ That show we saw last night was the living end. /

[load]See: GET A LOAD OF.

[loaded for bear] {adj. phr.} , {slang} Ready for action; prepared and eager. •/ Frank liked the new merchandise and as he set out on his rounds as a salesman, he felt really loaded for bear. / •/ The football team arrived Friday noon, loaded for bear. /

[load the bases]or [fill the bases] {v. phr.} To get men on all three bases in baseball. •/ The Mets loaded the bases with two singles and a base on balls. / •/ Don hit a home run with the bases loaded. /

[loaf]See: HALF A LOAF IS BETTER THAN NONE or HALF A LOAF IS BETTER THAN NO BREAD.

[loan shark] {n. phr.} A money lender who charges excessive interest. •/ Why go to a loan shark when you can borrow from the bank at the legal rate? /

[local yokel] {n.} , {slang} , {citizen’s hand radio jargon} City police officer, as opposed to state police or highway patrol. •/ There’s a local yokel westbound on the move. /

[lock]See: SCALP LOCK.

[lock, stock, and barrel] {n. phr.} Everything; completely. •/ The robbers emptied the whole house — lock, stock, and barrel. / Compare: HOOK, LINE, AND SINKER.

[lock the barn door after the horse is stolen]To be careful or try to make something safe when it is too late. — A proverb. •/ After Mary failed the examination, she said she would study hard after that. She wanted to lock the barn door after the horse was stolen. /

[lock up] {v. phr.} , {slang} To be assured of success. •/ How did your math test go? — I locked it up, I think. /

[lodge a complaint] {v. phr.} To make a complaint; complain. •/ If our neighbors don’t stop this constant noise, I will have to lodge a complaint with the management. /

[loggerhead]See: AT LOGGERHEADS.

[loin]See: GIRD UP ONE’S LOINS.

[lone wolf] {n.} A man who likes to work or live alone. •/ The man who paints a picture or establishes a business is often a lone wolf; so is the criminal outlaw. / •/ Jones is a good pitcher, but he is a lone wolf. /

[long]See: AT LAST or AT LONG LAST, BEFORE LONG, COME A LONG WAY, IN THE LONG RUN, NO LONGER, SO LONG, THE LONG AND THE SHORT.

[long and short of it] {n. phr.} The essence; the whole story in a nutshell. •/ The long and short of it is that he is lazy and doesn’t really want to find a job. /

[long ball] {n.} A baseball hit far enough to be a home run. •/ The White Sox need a player who can hit the long ball. /

[long face] {n.} A sad look; disappointed look. •/ He told the story with a long face. / — Often used in the phrase "pull a long face". •/ Don’t pull a long face when I tell you to go to bed. /

[longhair(1)]1. {n.} , {slang} A male hippie. •/ Who’s that longhair? — It’s Joe. / 2. An intellectual who prefers classical music to jazz or acid rock. •/ Catwallender is a regular longhair; he never listens to modern jazz. /

[longhair(2)] {adj.} , {slang} Pertaining to classical art forms, primarily in dancing and music. •/ Cut out that longhair Mozart Symphony and put on a decent pop record! /

[long haul]or [long pull] {n.} , {informal} 1. A long distance or trip. •/ It is a long haul to drive across the country. / Contrast SHORT HAUL. 2. A long length of time during which work continues or something is done; a long time of trying. •/ A boy crippled by polio may learn to walk again, but it may be a long haul. / — Often used in the phrase "over the long haul". •/ Over the long haul, an expensive pair of shoes may save you money. / Contrast: SHORT HAUL.

[long pull]See: LONG HAUL. [long shot] {n.} 1. A bet or other risk taken though not likely to succeed. •/ The horse was a long shot, but it came in and paid well. / •/ Jones was a long shot for mayor. / •/ The business long shot that succeeds often pays extremely well. / 2. See: BY A LONG SHOT.

[long-winded] {adj.} Tedious; overlong; given to too much talking. •/ Everyone was bored by the old man’s long-winded stories. /

[look]See: DIRTY LOOK.

[look after]also [see after] {v.} To watch over; attend to. •/ John’s mother told him to look after his younger brother. / •/ When he went to Europe, Mr. Jenkins left his son to see after the business. / Syn.: TAKE CARE OF(1). Compare: LOOK OUT(3).

[look a gift horse in the mouth]To complain if a gift is not perfect. — A proverb. Usually used with a negative. •/ John gave Joe a baseball but Joe complained that the ball was old. His father told him not to look a gift horse in the mouth. /

[look alive] {v.} Act lively; be quick; wake up and work; be busy; hurry. — Often used as a command. •/ "Look alive there," the boss called. /

[look as if butter wouldn’t melt in one’s mouth]See: BUTTER WOULDN’T MELT IN ONE’S MOUTH.

[look as if one has come out of a bandbox] {v. phr.} , {informal} To look very clean and fresh; look as if you had just had a bath and put on all-new clothing. •/ In spite of the long, hot train ride, Jody arrived looking as if she had come out of a bandbox. / •/ After a day at the rodeo we were all dusty and tired except for Hope, who looked as if she’d come out of a bandbox. /

[look at] {v.} To have a way of thinking or feeling toward; think about something in a certain way. •/ Is he a hero or a villain? That depends on how you look at it. / •/ Depending on how you looked at it, the tea party could be called a pleasure or a bore. /

[look at the world through rose-colored glasses]or [see with rose-colored glasses] {v. phr.} To see everything as good and pleasant; not see anything hard or bad. •/ When Jean graduated from high school, she looked at the world through rose-colored glasses. / •/ If you see everything through rose-colored glasses, you will often be disappointed. /

[look back] {v.} To review the past; think of what has happened. •/ As John looked back, his life seemed good to him. / •/ Murphy looked back on his early struggles as having made him feel especially alive. / •/ When Ed applied for a job and asked the school to recommend him, the principal looked back over his records. /

[look bleak] {v.} To indicate misfortune; appear threatening or ruinous. •/ As prices dropped lower and lower, things looked bleak for Henry’s company. / •/ Many witnesses gave testimony against Jerry and his case looked bleak. / •/ The future looked bleak when Father got hurt and could not work. /

[look daggers] {v. phr.} To show anger with a look; express hate or enmity by a look or stare; look fiercely. •/ The other driver looked daggers at Morris for turning in before him. / •/ Mary did not dare talk back to her father, but she looked daggers. /

[look down on]also [look down upon] {v.} To think of (a person or thing) as less good or important; feel that (someone) is not as good as you are, or that (something) is not worth having or doing; consider inferior. •/ Mary looked down on her classmates because she was better dressed than they were. / •/ Jack looked down on Al for his poor manners. / •/ Miss Tracy likes tennis but she looks down on football as too rough. /

[look down one’s nose at] {v. phr.} , {informal} To think of as worthless; feel scorn for. •/ The banker’s wife has beautiful china cups, and she looked down her nose at the plastic cups that Mrs. Brown used. / •/ Harry has never had to work, and he looks down his nose at people in business. / •/ Jerry was the athlete who looked down his nose at the weak student. /

[look for] {v.} 1. To think likely; expect. •/ We look for John to arrive any day now. / •/ The frost killed many oranges, and housewives can look for an increase in their price. / •/ Bob wouldn’t go for a ride with the boys because he was looking for a phone call from Julie. / 2. To try to find; search for; hunt. •/ Fred spent all day looking for a job. / •/ Mary and Joe looked for the Smiths at the play. / 3. To do things that cause (your own trouble); make (trouble) for yourself; provoke. •/ Joe often gets into fights because he is always looking for trouble. / •/ If you say the opposite of everything that others say, you are looking for a quarrel. /

[look for a needle in a haystack]See: NEEDLE IN A HAY STACK.

[look forward to] {v.} 1. To expect. •/ At breakfast, John looked forward to a difficult day. / 2. To expect with hope or pleasure. •/ Frank was looking forward to that evening’s date. /

[look high and low for] {v. phr.} To look everywhere; search all over. •/ Everyone has been looking high and low for the lost key but no one could find it. /

[look-in] {n.} , {informal} A chance or hope. — Usually used with a negative. •/ It wasn’t much of a look-in, but it was the only chance they let him have. / •/ Charlie didn’t realize it, but he never had a look-in with Bonnie. /

[look in on] {v.} To go to see; make a short visit with; make a call on. •/ On his way downtown, Jim looked in on his aunt. / •/ The doctor looked in on Mary each day when he went by. /

[look in the eye]or [look in the face] {v. phr.} To meet with a steady look; to face bravely or without shame. •/ Mary looked the gangster in the eye, and he turned away without hurting her. / •/ John had looked death in the face many times. / •/ We often believe a person who looks us in the eye, but it does not prove he is truthful. / •/ U promised Harry to write to him while I was on vacation, and if I don’t do it, I won’t be able to look him in the eye. /