Adam Makkai - Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц

[read off] {v. phr.} To read in a speaking voice from a list. •/ The secretary read off the names of those present in alphabetical order. /

[read one like a book] {v. phr.} , {informal} To understand someone completely; know what he will think or do at any time. •/ John’s girlfriend could read him like a book. / Compare: READ ONE’S MIND.

[read one one’s rights] {v. phr.} To give to an arrested person the legally required statement regarding the rights of such a person. •/ "Read him his rights," Sergeant," the captain said, "and book him for breaking and entering." /

[read one’s mind] {v. phr.} To know what someone else is thinking. •/ I have known John so long that I can read his mind. / —  [mind reader] {n.} •/ That’s exactly what I was going to say. You must be a mind reader! / Compare: READ LIKE A BOOK.

[read the riot act] {v. phr.} To give someone a strong warning or scolding. •/ Three boys were late to class and the teacher read the riot act to them. /

[read over] {v. phr.} To read hurriedly in a rather superficial manner. •/ The professor said he had no time to read my essay thoroughly but that he had read it over and would comment later in detail. /

[read up on] {v. phr.} To study carefully in preparation for an examination or other special purpose. •/ Since Mr. and Mrs. Lee are going to take their American citizenship exams soon, they must read up on the Constitution and the three branches of government. /

[ready]See: AT THE READY, ROUGH-AND-READY.

[ready-made] {adj.} Mass-produced; machine made. •/ I buy all my dresses ready-made because I can’t afford to have them made to order. /

[ready money] {n. phr.} Cash on hand. •/ Frank refuses to buy things on credit, but, if he had the ready money, he would buy that lovely old house. /

[real]See: FOR REAL, IT’S BEEN REAL.

[rear]See: BRING UP THE REAR.

[rear end] {n.} 1. The back part (usually of a vehicle) •/ The rear end of our car was smashed when we stopped suddenly and the car behind us hit us. / — Often used like an adjective, with a hyphen. •/ A head-on crash is more likely to kill the passengers than a rear-end crash. / Contrast: HEAD-ON. 2. Rump; backside. •/ Bobby’s mother was so annoyed with his teasing that she swatted his rear end. /

[rear its head] {v. phr.} To appear; emerge. •/ After decades of certainty that tuberculosis had been eradicated globally, it suddenly reared its ugly head right here in the United States. /

[reason]See: IN REASON, LISTEN TO REASON, RHYME OR REASON, STAND TO REASON, WITHIN REASON.

[receive with open arms]See: WITH OPEN ARMS.

[reckon with] {v.} To consider as one of the things which may change a situation; consider (something) that will make a difference in the results. •/ The coach said the opposing pitcher had a fast ball to be reckoned with. / Syn.: TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.

[reckon without] {v.} To fail to consider as one of the things which might change a situation; not think about. •/ The committee for the class picnic party made careful plans for a beach party but they reckoned without a sudden change in the weather. /

[record]See: MATTER OF RECORD, OFF THE RECORD, ON RECORD.

[red]See: IN THE RED, PAINT THE TOWN RED, SEE RED.

[redcap] {n.} A porter at an airport or at a railroad station. •/ Mr. Smith works as a redcap at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. /

[red carpet]See: ROLL OUT THE RED CARPET.

[red cent] {n. phr.} The one-cent coin; a copper coin; very little money. •/ Poor Oscar is so broke he doesn’t have a red cent to his name. /

[red eye] {adj. phr.} Bloodshot eyes that are strained from too much reading. •/ Poor Tim has a red eye; he must have been studying too late again. /

[red eye] {n. phr.} , {informal} A night flight. •/ The company refused to pay for him to take a more expensive daytime flight, so he had to come in on the red eye. /

[red-handed] {adj.} In the very act; while committing a crime or evil action. •/ The criminal was caught red-handed while holding up the neighborhood bank at gunpoint. /

[red herring] {n. phr.} A false scent laid down in order to deceive; a phony or misleading story designed to cause confusion. •/ That story about the president having an affair was a red herring created by the opposition in order to discredit him. /

[red-letter day] {n. phr.} A holiday; memorable day (usually printed in red on calendars). •/ The Fourth of July is a red-letter day. / •/ It was a red-letter day for Felix, when he won the lottery. /

[red-light district] {n. phr.} A district of brothels or where prostitutes hang out. •/ Most unwisely, the young sailor decided to spend his leave on shore by haunting the red-light districts of the port of call. /

[red tape] {n. phr.} Unnecessary bureaucratic routine; needless but official delays. •/ If you want to get anything accomplished in a hurry, you have to find someone in power who can cut through all that red tape. /

[reel off]See: RATTLE OFF.

[reference]See: IN REFERENCE TO or WITH REFERENCE TO.

[refine on]or [refine upon] {v.} 1. To make better; improve. •/ Mary was asked to refine on her first outline to make it clearer and more exact. / 2. To be better than; surpass. •/ Modern medical techniques refine on those of the past. /

[regain one’s feet] {v. phr.} To get back up again after falling down. •/ Tom fell while he skied down the hill but he regained his feet quickly. / Compare: TO ONE’S FEET.

[regard]See: IN REFERENCE TO or IN REGARD TO or WITH REGARD TO.

[regular guy]or [regular fellow] {n.} , {informal} A friendly person who is easy to get along with; a good sport. •/ You’ll like Tom. He’s a regular guy. / Syn.: GOOD EGG.

[rein]See: FREE REIN, GIVE REIN TO or GIVE FREE REIN TO.

[relation]See: IN RELATION TO or WITH RELATION TO.

[relative to]1. On the subject of; about. •/ Relative to school athletics, the principal said the students should not allow athletics to interfere with homework. / 2. In comparison with; in proportion to. •/ Relative to the size of an ant, a blade of grass is as tall as a tree. /

[repeat oneself] {v. phr.} To say the same thing over again, often in the same words; repeat ideas because you forget what you said or because you want to stress their importance. •/ Grandfather is forgetful and often repeats himself when he tells a story. / •/ A teacher often has to repeat herself several times before her pupils remember what she tells them. /

[resign oneself] {v. phr.} To stop arguing; accept something which cannot be changed. •/ When Jane’s father explained that he could not afford to buy her a new bicycle, she finally resigned herself to riding the old one. / Compare: GIVE UP.

[resistance]See: LINE OF LEAST RESISTANCE.

[rest]See: LAY TO REST, PARADE REST.

[rest assured] {v. phr.} To be convinced; persuaded; certain and unworried. •/ "Please rest assured," he said seriously, "that I will keep all of my promises." /

[rest home]See: CONVALESCENT HOME.

[rest on one’s laurels] {v. phr.} To be satisfied with the success you have already won; stop trying to win new honors. •/ Getting an A in chemistry almost caused Mike to rest on his laurels. /

[rest on one’s oars] {v. phr.} To stop trying; stop working for a while; rest. •/ The man who wants to become a millionaire can never rest on his oars. / •/ A high school student who wants to go to college cannot rest on his oars. /

[rest room] {n.} A room or series of rooms in a public building which has things for personal comfort and grooming, such as toilets, washbowls, mirrors, and often chairs or couches. •/ Sally went to the rest room to powder her nose. / Compare: POWDER ROOM.

[retreat]See: BEAT A RETREAT.

[return]See: IN RETURN.

[return the compliment] {v. phr.} To say or do the same to someone that he has said or done to you; pay someone back. •/ Mary said, "I love your new hairdo" and Suzy returned the compliment with "What a pretty dress you’re wearing, Mary." / •/ John punched Jerry in the nose, and Jerry returned the compliment. /

[reverse]See: DOUBLE REVERSE, IN REVERSE.

[rev up] {v. phr.} , {informal} , {slang} 1. To press down sharply several times on the accelerator of an idling car in order to get maximum acceleration. •/ The race driver revved up his car by pumping his accelerator. / 2. To get oneself ready in order to accomplish a demanding or difficult task. •/ The boys were getting all revved up for the football game. / See: PSYCHED UP.

[rhyme or reason] {n. phr.} A good plan or reason; a reasonable purpose or explanation. — Used in negative, interrogative, or conditional sentences. •/ Don could see no rhyme or reason to the plot of the play. / •/ It seemed to Ruth that her little brother had temper tantrums without rhyme or reason. /

[rib]See: STICK TO ONE’S RIBS or STICK TO THE RIBS.

[rich]See: STRIKE IT RICH.

[ride]See: ALONG FOR THE RIDE, LET RIDE, RUN WITH HARE AND HUNT (RIDE) WITH THE HOUNDS, TAKE FOR A RIDE, THUMB A RIDE.

[ride herd on] {v. phr.} 1. To patrol on horseback around a herd of animals to see that none of them wanders away. •/ Two cowboys rode herd on the cattle being driven to market. / 2. {informal} To watch closely and control; take care of. •/ A special legislative assistant rides herd on the bills the president is anxious to have congress pass. / •/ Mary rode herd on the small children walking home from school to keep them from running into the street. /

[ride on one’s coattails] {v. phr.} To succeed in a certain endeavor by attaching oneself to the greater weight of another person or corporate body. •/ "We will never get our Ph.D. program approved on our own," said the head of the modern dance department, "but we might succeed if we stay in the Division of Fine Arts, riding on their coattails, as it were." /