Adam Makkai - Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц

[take the words out of one’s mouth] {v. phr.} To say what another is just going to say; to put another’s thought into words. •/ "Let’s go to the beach tomorrow." "You took the words right out of my mouth; I was thinking of that." / •/ I was going to suggest a movie, but she took the words out of my mouth and said she would like to see one. /

[take things easy]See: TAKE IT EASY(2).

[take time off]See: TIME OFF; Compare: DAY OFF.

[take time out]See: TIME OUT.

[take to] {v.} 1. To go to or into; get yourself quickly to. — Often used in the imperative. •/ Take to the hills! The bandits are coming! / •/ We took to the woods during the day so no one would see us. / •/ Take to the boats! The ship is sinking. / •/ We stopped at a hotel for the night but took to the road again the next morning. / 2. To begin the work or job of; make a habit of. •/ He took to repairing watches in his spare time. / •/ She took to knitting when she got older. / •/ Grandfather took to smoking cigars when he was young and he still smokes them. / •/ Uncle Willie took to drink while he was a sailor. / •/ The cat took to jumping on the table at mealtime. / 3. To learn easily; do well at. •/ Father tried to teach John to swim, but John didn’t take to it. / •/ Mary takes to mathematics like a duck takes to water. / 4. To like at first meeting; be pleased by or attracted to; accept quickly. •/ Our dog always takes to children quickly. / •/ Mary didn’t take kindly to the new rule that her mother made of being home at 6 o’clock. /

[take to heart]also [lay to heart] {v. phr.} To be seriously affected by; to feel deeply. •/ He took his brother’s death very much to heart. / •/ He took his friend’s advice to heart. /

[take to one’s heels]also [show a clean pair of heels] {v. phr.} To begin to run or run away. •/ When he heard the police coming, the thief took to his heels. /

[take to task] {v. phr.} To reprove or scold for a fault or error. •/ He took his wife to task for her foolish wastefulness. / •/ The principal took Bill to task for breaking the window. /

[take to the cleaners] {v. phr.} , {slang} 1. To win all the money another person has (as in poker). •/ Watch out if you play poker with Joe; he’ll take you to the cleaners. / 2. To cheat a person out of his money and possessions by means of a crooked business transaction or other means of dishonest conduct. •/ I’ll never forgive myself for becoming associated with Joe; he took me to the cleaners. /

[take to the woods] {v. phr.} , {informal} To run away and hide. •/ When John saw the girls coming, he took to the woods. / •/ Bob took to the woods so he would not have to mow the grass. / Compare: HEAD FOR THE HILLS.

[take turns] {v. phr.} To do something one after another instead of doing it all at the same time. •/ In class we should not talk all at the same time; we should take turns. / •/ Jean and Beth took turns on the swing. / •/ The two boys took turns at digging the hole. / •/ The three men took turns driving so one would not be too tired. /

[take under one’s wing]See: UNDER ONE’S WING.

[take up] {v.} 1. To remove by taking in. •/ Use a blotter to take up the spilled ink. / •/ When the vacuum cleaner bag is full, it will not take up dirt from the rug. / 2. To fill or to occupy. •/ All his evenings were taken up with study. / •/ The oceans take up the greater part of the earth’s surface. / •/ The mayor has taken up residence on State Street. / 3. To gather together; collect. •/ We are taking up a collection to buy flowers for John because he is in the hospital. / 4. To take away. •/ John had his driver’s license taken up for speeding. / 5a. To begin; start. •/ The teacher took up the lesson where she left off yesterday. / 5b. To begin to do or learn; go into as a job or hobby. •/ He recently took up gardening. / •/ He took up the carpenter’s trade as a boy. / Compare: GO INTO(3), GO IN FOR, TAKE TO. 6. To pull and make tight or shorter; shorten. •/ The tailor took up the legs of the trousers. / •/ Take up the slack on the rope! / Compare: TAKE IN(3). 7. To take or accept something that is offered. •/ The boss offered me a $5 raise and I took him up. / •/ I took John up on his bet. / Compare: JUMP AT.

[take up arms] {v. phr.} , {literary} . To get ready to fight; fight or make war. •/ The people were quick to take up arms to defend their freedom. / •/ The President called on people to take up arms against poverty. / Contrast: LAY DOWN ONE’S ARMS.

[take upon oneself]See: TAKE ON ONESELF.

[take up the cudgels for] {v. phr.} , {literary} To come to the defense of; to support or fight for. •/ He was the first to take up the cudgels for his friend. / Compare: STAND UP FOR.

[take up with] {v.} To begin to go around with (someone); see a lot of. •/ Frank has taken up with Lucy lately. /

[take with a grain of salt]also [take with a pinch of salt] {v. phr.} To accept or believe only in part; not accept too much. •/ A man who says he is not a candidate for President should usually have his statement taken with a grain of salt. / •/ We took Uncle George’s stories of the war with a pinch of salt. /

[taking pictures] {v. phr.} , {slang} , {citizen’s band radio jargon} To use a radar-operated speed indicator in order to enforce the 55 MPH speed limit. •/ The Smokeys are taking pictures! /

[tale]See: TELL TALES OUT OF SCHOOL.

[talent scout] {n. phr.} A person employed by a large organization to seek out promising and gifted individuals. •/ Gordon has been working as a talent scout for a television program. / Compare: HEAD HUNTING(2).

[talent show] {n.} An entertainment in which new entertainers try to win a prize. •/ Mary won the talent show by her dancing. / •/ The people liked Bill’s singing in the talent show. /

[talk]See: DOUBLE-TALK, PEP TALK, SALES TALK, SWEET TALK.

[talk a blue streak] {v. phr.} , {informal} To talk on and on, usually very fast. •/ Sue is a nice girl but after one drink she talks a blue streak and won’t stop. /

[talk back]also [answer back] {v.} {informal} To answer rudely; reply in a disrespectful way; be fresh. •/ When the teacher told the boy to sit down, he talked back to her and said she couldn’t make him. / •/ Mary talked back when her mother told her to stop watching television; she said, "I don’t have to if I don’t want to." / •/ Russell was going somewhere with some bad boys, when his father told him it was wrong, Russell answered him back, "Mind your own business." /

[talk big] {v.} , {informal} To talk boastfully; brag. •/ He talks big about his pitching, but he hasn’t won a game. /

[talk down] {v.} 1. To make (someone) silent by talking louder or longer. •/ Sue tried to give her ideas, but the other girls talked her down. / Compare: SHOUT DOWN(2). To use words or ideas that are too easy. •/ The speaker talked down to the students, and they were bored. /

[talking book] {n.} A book recorded by voice on phonograph records for blind people. •/ Billy, who was blind, learned history from a talking book. /

[talking point] {n.} Something good about a person or thing that can be talked about in selling it. •/ The streamlined shape of the car was one of its talking points. / •/ John tried to get Mary to date Bill. One of his talking points was that Bill was captain of the football team. /

[talk in circles] {v. phr.} To waste time by saying words that don’t mean very much. •/ After three hours at the negotiating table, the parties decided to call it quits because they realized that they had been talking in circles. /

[talk into] {v.} 1. To get (someone) to agree to; make (someone) decide on (doing something) by talking; persuade to. — Used with a verbal noun. •/ Bob talked us into walking home with him. / Compare: TALK OVER(2). Contrast TALK OUT OF. 2. To cause to be in or to get into by talking. •/ You talked us into this mess. Now get us out! / •/ Mr. Jones lost the customer in his store by arguing with him. / •/ "You’ll talk us into the poor house yet!" said Mrs. Jones. / Contrast: TALK OUT OF.

[talk of the town] {n. phr.} Something that has become so popular or prominent that everyone is discussing it. •/ Even after three decades, Picasso’s famous metal statue is still the talk of the town in Chicago. /

[talk out] {v.} To talk all about and leave nothing out; discuss until everything is agreed on; settle. •/ After their quarrel, Jill and John talked things out and reached full agreement. /

[talk out of] {v.} 1. To persuade not to; make agree or decide not to. — Used with a verbal noun. •/ Mary’s mother talked her out of quitting school. / Contrast: TALK INTO. 2. To allow to go or get out by talking; let escape by talking. •/ Johnny is good at talking his way out of trouble. / Contrast: TALK INTO.

[talk out of turn]See: SPEAK OUT OF TURN.

[talk over] {v.} 1. To talk together about; try to agree about or decide by talking; discuss. •/ Tom talked his plan over with his father before he bought the car. / •/ The boys settled their argument by talking it over. / 2. To persuade; make agree or willing; talk and change the mind of. •/ Fred is trying to talk Bill over to our side. / Compare: TALK INTO.

[talk rot] {v. phr.} To say silly things; talk nonsense. •/ He’s talking rot when he says that our company is almost bankrupt. /

[talk shop] {v. phr.} , {informal} To talk about things in your work or trade. •/ Two chemists were talking shop, and I hardly understood a word they said. /

[talk through one’s hat] {v. phr.} , {informal} To say something without knowing or understanding the facts; talk foolishly or ignorantly. •/ John said that the earth is nearer the sun in summer, but the teacher said he was talking through his hat. /

[talk turkey] {v. phr.} , {informal} To talk about something in a really businesslike way; talk with the aim of getting things done. •/ Charles said, "Now, let’s talk turkey about the bus trip. The fact is, it will cost each student $1.50." / •/ The father always spoke gently to his son, but when the son broke the windshield of the car, the father talked turkey to him. /