Adam Makkai - Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц

[lost upon]adj. Wasted. •/ Tim’s generosity is completely lost upon Sue; he can’t expect any gratitude from her. /

[lot]See: A LOT, CAST ONE’S LOT WITH, SAND LOT, THINK A GREAT DEAL OF or THINK A LOT OF, THROW IN ONE’S LOT WITH or CAST IN ONE’S LOT WITH.

[loud]See: ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, OUT LOUD, THINK ALOUD or THINK OUT LOUD.

[loud mouth]or [big mouth] {n.} , {slang} A noisy, boastful, or foolish talker. •/ Fritz is a loud mouth who cannot be trusted with secrets. / •/ When he has had a few drinks, Joe will make empty boasts like any other big mouth. /

[loud-mouthed]or [big-mouthed] {adj.} , {slang} Talking noisily, boastfully, or foolishly. •/ Fred was a loud-mouthed fellow, whose talk no one listened to. / •/ If I were you, I would not listen to that loud-mouthed boy. /

[lounge lizard] {n. phr.} A well-dressed male fortune hunter who sits around in bars and other public places, and attends many social events to try to pick up wealthy women through smart conversation. •/ Harry has the reputation of being a lounge lizard; he is looking for a rich wife. /

[louse up] {v.} , {slang} To throw into confusion; make a mess of; spoil; ruin. •/ When the man who was considering John’s house heard that the basement was wet, that was enough to louse up the sale. / •/ Fred’s failure in business not only lost him his business but loused him up with his wife. / •/ The rain loused up the picnic. / See: MESS UP(2), FUCK UP.

[love]See: FOR LOVE OR MONEY, IN LOVE, LABOR OF LOVE, MAKE LOVE, NO LOVE LOST, PUPPY LOVE also CALF LOVE.

[love affair] {n.} A friendship between lovers; a romance or courtship. •/ The love affair of Bob and Jane went on for months. / •/ Harry had many love affairs, but he never married. /

[love game] {n.} A game of tennis which is won without the opponent scoring. •/ Britain took a love game on Songster’s service. /

[love-in] {n.} , {slang} , {informal} A festival or occasion to celebrate life, human sensuality, the beauty of nature, human sexuality, and universal love; affairs so conceived by some frequently deteriorate into obscenity and drug using sessions in parody of their stated purpose. •/ The hippies gathered for a big love-in in the Halght-Ashbury district of San Francisco. /

[lovers' lane] {n.} A hidden road or walk where lovers walk or park in the evening. •/ A parked car in a lonely lovers' lane often is a chance for holdup men. /

[low]See: LAY LOW, LIE LOW.

[lowbrow] {n.} A person of limited culture; a nonintellectual. •/ Some people claim that only lowbrows read the comics. / Contrast: HIGH BROW.

[lowdown] {n.} , {slang} , {informal} The inside facts of a matter; the total truth. •/ Nixon never gave the American people the lowdown on Watergate. /

[lower the boom] {v. phr.} , {informal} To punish strictly; check or stop fully. •/ The mayor lowered the boom on outside jobs for city firemen. / •/ Father lowered the boom on the girls for staying out after midnight. / Syn.: CRACK DOWN. •/ The police lowered the boom on open gambling. /

[low-key] {adj.} Relaxed and easygoing. •/ Surprisingly, dinner with the governor was a low-key affair. /

[low season]Contrast: HIGH SEASON.

[luck]See: DOWN ON ONE’S LUCK, LUCK OUT, PRESS ONE’S LUCK or PUSH ONE’S LUCK, IN LUCK, OUT OF LUCK.

[luck out] {v. phr.} , {slang} , {informal} 1. Suddenly to get lucky when in fact the odds are against one’s succeeding. •/ I was sure I was going to miss the train as I was three minutes late, but I lucked out, the train was five minutes late. / 2. To be extraordinarily fortunate. •/ Catwallender really lucked out at Las Vegas last month; he came home with $10,000 in cash. / 3. (By sarcastic opposition) to be extremely unfortunate; to be killed. •/ Those poor marines sure lucked out in Saigon, didn’t they? /

[lucky]See: THANK ONE’S LUCKY STARS.

[lucky star] {n.} A certain star or planet which, by itself or with others, is seriously or jokingly thought to bring a person good luck and success in life. •/ John was born under a lucky star. / •/ Ted was unhurt in the car accident, for which he thanked his lucky stars. /

[lump in one’s throat] {n. phr.} A feeling (as of grief or pride) so strong that you almost sob. •/ John’s mother had a lump in her throat at his college graduation. / •/ All during her husband’s funeral, Aunt May had a lump in her throat. / •/ The bride’s mother had a lump in her throat. /

[lump sum] {n.} The complete amount; a total agreed upon and to be paid at one time. •/ The case was settled out of court with the plaintiff receiving a lump sum of half a million dollars for damages. /

[lunar module (L.M.)]or [Lem] {n.} , {Space English} That portion of the rocket assemblage on a flight to the Moon in which the astronauts descend to the Moon’s surface. •/ Building the L.M. was one of the most expensive parts of the American space program. /

[lung]See: AT THE TOP OF ONE’S VOICE or AT THE TOP OP ONE’S LUNGS.

[lurch]See: LEAVE IN THE LURCH.

[lust for] {v. phr.} To physically yearn for; hanker after; want something very strongly. •/ Ed has been lusting after Meg for a very long time. /

[luxury]See: IN THE LAP OF LUXURY.

[mackerel]See: HOLY CATS or HOLY MACKEREL.

[mad about] {adj. phr.} 1. Angry about. •/ What is Harriet so mad about? / 2. Enthusiastic about. •/ Dan is mad about pop music. /

[mad as a hatter]or [mad as a March hare] {adj. phr.} Not able to think right; crazy. •/ Anyone who thinks the moon is made of green cheese is mad as a hatter. /

[mad as a hornet]or [mad as hops]or [mad as a wet hen] {adj. phr.} , {informal} In a fighting mood; very angry. •/ When my father sees the dent in his fender, he’ll be mad as a hornet. / •/ Bill was mad as hops when the fellows went on without him. / •/ Mrs. Harris was mad as a wet hen when the rabbits ate her tulips. /

[mad as a March hare]See: MAD AS A HATTER.

[mad as hops]See: MAD AS A HORNET.

[made of money] {adj. phr.} Very rich; wealthy. •/ Mr. Jones buys his children everything they want. He must be made of money. / Compare: MONEY TO BURN.

[made-to-measure]or [tailor-made] {adj.} Made to fit a special set of measurements or needs. •/ John has a new made-to-measure suit. / •/ The club is tailor-made for Jane. / Syn.: MADE TO ORDER.

[made to order] {adj. phr.} 1. Made specially in the way the buyer wants instead of all the same in large amounts; made especially for the buyer. •/ Mr. Black’s clothes were all made to order. / Compare: MADE-TO-MEASURE. 2. Just right. •/ The weather was made to order for the hike. /

[made up out of whole cloth]See: OUT OF WHOLE CLOTH.

[magic carpet] {n.} 1. A rug said to be able to transport a person through the air to any place he wishes. •/ The caliph of Baghdad flew on his magic carpet to Arabia. / 2. Any form of transportation that is comfortable and easy enough to seem magical. •/ Flying the Concord from Dallas to London seemed like boarding the magic carpet. / •/ Mr. Smith’s new car drove so smoothly it seemed like a magic carpet. /

[maiden speech] {n. phr.} One’s first public speech, usually before some legislative body. •/ It was the new congressman’s maiden speech and everyone was listening very keenly. /

[maiden voyage] {n. phr.} The first voyage of a boat. •/ The Titanic sank on her maiden voyage to America from England. /

[mail order] {n. phr.} A purchase made by mail. •/ If you don’t have a chance to go to a store, you can sometimes make a purchase by mail order. /

[main]See: IN THE MAIN, WITH MIGHT AND MAIN.

[main drag] {n.} , {colloquial} 1. The most important street or thoroughfare in a town. •/ Lincoln Avenue is the main drag of our town. / 2. The street where the dope pushers and the prostitutes are. •/ Wells Street is the main drag of Chicago, actionwise. /

[main squeeze] {n.} , {slang} 1. The top ranking person in an organization or in a neighborhood; an important person, such as one’s boss. •/ Mr. Bronchard is the main squeeze in this office. / 2. The top person in charge of an illegal operation, such as drug sales, etc. •/ Before we can clean up this part of town, we must arrest the main squeeze. / 3. One’s principal romantic or sexual partner. •/ The singer’s main squeeze is a member of the band. /

[majority leader] {n.} The leader of the political party with the most votes in a legislative house. •/ The majority leader of the House of Representatives tried to get the members of his party to support the bill. / Compare: MINORITY LEADER.

[make]See: ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY, HAVE IT MADE, MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK, ON THE MAKE.

[make a beeline for] {v. phr.} To go in a straight line toward. •/ The runner made a beeline for first base. / •/ When the bell rang Ted made a beeline for the door of the classroom. /

[make a big deal about] {v. phr.} , {informal} To exaggerate an insignificant event. •/ Jeff said, "I’m sorry I banged into you in the dark. Don’t make a big deal out of it." /

[make a clean breast of] {v. phr.} To admit (your guilt); tell all about (your wrong doing); confess everything. •/ The police caught the hit-and-run driver and he made a clean breast of his crime. / •/ Arthur worried because he cheated on the test, and finally he went to the teacher and made a clean breast of it. / Compare: OFF ONE’S CHEST.

[make a clean sweep of] {v. phr.} 1. Achieve a complete victory. •/ In 7980 the Reagan Republicans made a clean sweep of the western states. / 2. To eliminate thoroughly and completely. •/ The new attorney general is expected to make a clean sweep of all the old administrative personnel. /