Adam Makkai - Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц

[robbery]See: HIGHWAY ROBBERY.

[robin]See: ROUND ROBIN.

[rob Peter to pay Paul] {v. phr.} To change one duty or need for another; take from one person or thing to pay another. •/ Bill owed Sam a dollar, so he borrowed another from Joe to pay Sam back. He robbed Peter to pay Paul. / •/ Trying to study a lesson for one class during another class is like robbing Peter to pay Paul. /

[rob the cradle] {v. phr.} , {informal} To have dates with or marry a person much younger than yourself. •/ When the old woman married a young man, everyone said she was robbing the cradle. / —  [cradle-robber] {n.} •/ The judge died when he was seventy. He was a real cradle-robber because he left a thirty-year-old widow. / —  [cradle-robbing] {adj.} or {n.} •/ Bob is seventeen and I just saw him with a girl about twelve years old. Has he started cradle-robbing? No, that girl was his sister, not his date! /

[rob the till]or [have one’s hand in the till] {v. phr.} , {informal} To steal money in your trust or for which you are responsible. •/ The supermarket manager suspected that one of the clerks was robbing the till. / •/ Mr. Jones deposited one thousand dollars in their joint savings account and told his wife not to rob the till. / •/ The store owner thought his business was failing until he discovered that the treasurer had his hand in the till. /

[rock]See: HAVE ROCKS IN ONE’S HEAD, ON THE ROCKS.

[rock and roll]See: ROCK N ROLL.

[rock-bottom] {n.} The lowest possible point. •/ The nation’s morale hit rock bottom in the hours following the president’s assassination. / — Often used like an adjective, with a hyphen. •/ The rock-bottom price of this radio is $25. /

[rocker]See: OFF ONE’S ROCKER.

[rock hound] {n.} , {slang} A person who studies and collects rocks for a hobby. •/ Many young rock hounds grow up to be geologists. / •/ Tony is an eager rock hound, and we have rocks all through our house. /

[rock’n'roll]or [rock and roll] {n.} A style of popular music with heavily accented rhythm. •/ Rock’n'roll appeals mostly to youngsters nine to sixteen years old. / •/ Rock and roll became popular for dances about 1954. /

[rock the boat] {v. phr.} , {informal} To make trouble and risk losing or upsetting something; cause a disturbance that may spoil a plan. •/ The other boys said that Henry was rocking the boat by wanting to let girls into their club. / •/ Politicians don’t like to rock the boat around election time. / Compare: UPSET THE APPLE CART. Contrast: LET WELL ENOUGH ALONE.

[rod]See: HOT ROD.

[roll]See: GET THE BALL ROLLING, KEEP THE BALL ROLLING, ROCK N ROLL OT ROCK AND ROLL.

[roll around] {v.} , {informal} To return at a regular or usual time; come back. •/ When winter rolls around, out come the skis and skates. /

[rolling stone gathers no moss]A person who changes jobs or where he lives often will not be able to save money or things of his own. — A proverb. •/ Uncle Willie was a rolling stone that gathered no moss. He worked in different jobs all over the country. /

[roll out the red carpet] {v. phr.} 1. To welcome an important guest by putting a red carpet down for him to walk on. •/ They rolled out the red carpet for the Queen when she arrived in Australia. / 2. To greet a person with great respect and honor; give a hearty welcome. •/ Margaret’s family rolled out the red carpet for her teacher when she came to dinner. / Compare: WELCOME MAT. —  [red-carpet] {adj.} •/ When the president visited the foreign country, he was given the red-carpet treatment and welcomed by a great crowd. / •/ We gave Uncle Willie the red-carpet treatment when he returned from Hong Kong. /

[roll up one’s sleeves]To get ready for a hard job; prepare to work hard or seriously. •/ When Paul took his science examination, he saw how little he knew about science. He rolled up his sleeves and went to work. /

[Roman collar] {n.} The high, plain, white collar worn by priests and clergymen. •/ The man with the Roman collar is the new Episcopalian preacher. / •/ Many Protestant churches do not require their ministers to wear Roman collars. /

[Rome]See: ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME.

[Rome wasn’t built in a day]Great things are not accomplished overnight; great deeds take a long time. — A proverb. •/ A takes a long time to write a successful novel, but don’t worry; Rome wasn’t built in a day, as the saying goes. /

[roof]See: HIT THE CEILING or HIT THE ROOF, RAISE THE ROOF.

[rooftop]See: SHOUT PROM THE HOUSE- TOPS or SHOUT FROM THE ROOFTOPS.

[room]See: CONTROL ROOM, POWDER ROOM, UTILITY ROOM.

[room and board] {n. phr.} A room for rent with meals included. •/ A room alone in that country costs only $10 a day, but room and board together run $22 a day. /

[room clerk]or [desk clerk] {n.} A person who is responsible for assigning rooms and providing service to guests in hotels, motels, inns, etc. •/ At first-class hotels, room clerks are trained to be at the service of every guest. / •/ Sometimes resort hotels in the mountains hire college students as room clerks during the summer. /

[room to]See: LIVE IN.

[room service] {n.} Service provided to hotel guests in their rooms. Also: The hotel workers who give this service. •/ We called for room service when we wanted ice. / •/ Room service will install a TV set in your room upon demand. /

[room with] {v. phr.} 1. To live in a furnished room with someone as a roommate without having an affair. •/ I roomed with him in college for four years. / 2. To live together as husband and wife without the benefit of marriage. •/ Dan and Sue have been rooming together for quite a while and people are wondering if they will ever get married. /

[roost]See: CHICKENS COME HOME TO ROOST, RULE THE ROOST.

[root]See: TAKE ROOT.

[root-bound] {adj.} 1. Having a limited amount of space for root growth. •/ After seven or eight years day lilies become root-bound and will not bloom well unless they are divided. / 2. Liking the familiar place where you live and not wanting to go away from it; having a sentimental attachment to one place. •/ Mr. Jones has lived in Connecticut all his life. He is too root-bound to consider moving to another state. /

[root for] {v. phr.} To cheer for; applaud; support. •/ During the Olympics one usually roots for the team of one’s own country. /

[rope]See: END OF ONE’S ROPE, GIVE ONE ENOUGH ROPE AND HE WILL HANG HIMSELF, ON THE ROPES, THE ROPES.

[rope in] {v.} , {informal} 1. To use a trick to make (someone) do something; deceive; fool. •/ The company ropes in high school students to sell magazine subscriptions by telling them big stories of how much money they can earn. / Syn.: TAKE UP(5a). 2. To get (someone to join or help); persuade to do something. •/ Martha roped in Charles to help her decorate the gym for the party. / •/ I didn’t want the job of selling tickets for the dance, but I was roped in because everyone else was too busy to do it. /

[rope Into] {v.} , {informal} 1. To trick into; persuade dishonestly. •/ Jerry let the big boys rope him into stealing some apples. / 2. To get (someone) to join in; persuade to work at. •/ It was Sue’s job to bathe the dog but she roped Sam into helping her. / •/ Mother did not go to the first meeting of the club because she was afraid she would be roped into something. / Compare: TALK INTO.

[rope off] {v. phr.} To divide into sections by use of a rope. •/ The police roped off the section of the street where the president was expected to jog. /

[rose]See: BED OF ROSES, LOOK AT THE WORLD THROUGH ROSE-COLORED GLASSES.

[rose-colored glasses]See: LOOK AT THE WORLD THROUGH ROSE-COLORED GLASSES.

[rotten egg] {n.} , {informal} A person whose character or way of acting is not good. •/ His friends have all learned he is a rotten egg. / Often used by children in fun, as of someone who is slow in doing something. •/ The boys ran to the river to go swimming and Dick cried, "Last one in is a rotten egg!" /

[rotten to the core] {adj. phr.} 1. Thoroughly decayed or spoiled. •/ This apple is inedible; it is brown and soft and rotten to the core. / 2. In total moral collapse. •/ The Communist government of Cuba is rotten to the core. /

[rough]See: DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH.

[rough-and-ready] {adj.} 1. Not finished in detail; not perfected; rough but ready for use now. •/ We asked Mr. Brown how long it would take to drive to Chicago and his rough-and-ready answer was two days. / 2. Not having nice manners but full of energy and ability. •/ Jim is a rough-and-ready character; he’d rather fight than talk things over. /

[rough-and-tumble]1. {n.} Very rough, hard fighting or arguing that does not follow any rules. •/ There was a rough-and-tumble on the street last night between some soldiers and sailors. / •/ Many people don’t like the rough-and-tumble of politics. / 2. {adj.} Fighting or arguing in a very rough and reckless way; struggling hard; not following rules or laws. •/ It took strong men to stay alive in the rough-and-tumble life of the western frontier. /

[rough diamond]See: DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH.

[roughhouse] {n.} Riotous play or commotion. •/ ? told the boys they can play in the attic if there is no roughhouse. /

[roughhouse] {v.} To play very wildly; be running around as young boys usually do. •/ "Stop roughhousing this minute," Grandma cried. "Your father will be home soon." /

[rough it] {v. phr.} To live like primitive people; live with little of the comfort and equipment of civilization. •/ Scouts like to rough it in the woods on weekend hikes. /

[roughneck] {n.} A low, coarse fellow. •/ The only boys in the neighborhood are a bunch of roughnecks, and Mrs. Smith is unhappy about the fact that her son is rapidly becoming one of them. /

[rough-shod]See: RIDE ROUGH-SHOD OVER.

[rough sledding]See: HARD SLEDDING.