Adam Makkai - Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц

[weather the storm] {v. phr.} To survive some disaster. •/ When Peter and Sue started their business they had very little money, but in a year they weathered the storm. /

[wedge]See: FLYING WEDGE.

[wedlock]See: BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK.

[wee hours]The crack of dawn, or just before it, usually between 1 A.M. and 4 A.M. or 2 A.M. and 5 A.M. •/ He stayed up all night when they were expecting their first child; finally, a boy was born in the wee hours of the morning. / Compare: SMALL HOURS.

[weeper]See: FINDERS KEEPERS or FINDERS KEEPERS LOSERS WEEPERS.

[weed out] {v.} 1. To remove what is unwanted, harmful, or not good enough from. •/ Mother weeded out the library because there were too many books. / •/ Many colleges and universities weed out their freshman classes to make room for better students. / 2. To take (what is not wanted) from a collection or group; remove (a part) for the purpose of improving a collection or group; get rid of. •/ The coach is weeding out the weak players this week. / •/ The teacher told Elizabeth to read over her English composition and weed out every sentence that was not about the subject. /

[wee folk]or [little folk]or [little people] {n. phr.} Fairy people; brownies; elves; fairies; or goblins. •/ Mother read me a story about the wee folk who lived in the forest and came out at night. / •/ There are many stories about little people dancing in the moonlight. /

[week in, week out]See: DAY IN, AND DAY OUT.

[week of Sundays] {n. phr.} A long time; seven weeks. •/ I haven’t seen them in a week of Sundays. /

[weigh anchor] {v. phr.} To set sail; get going. •/ After a week in Hawaii, we weighed anchor and sailed south toward Tahiti. /

[weigh down]also [weight down]1. To make heavy; cause to go down or bend with weight; overload. •/ The evergreens are weighed down by the deep snow. / — Often used with "with" or "by". •/ There are so many children in the back seat that they are weighing down the back of the car. / 2a. To overload with care or worry; make sad or low in spirits. — Usually used in the passive. •/ The family is weighed down by sorrow. / •/ The company is weighed down by debt. / 2b. To make heavy, hard, or slow; make dull or uninteresting. — Often in the passive used with "by" or "with". •/ The book is weighted down with footnotes. / •/ The TV program is weighed down by commercials. /

[weigh in] {v.} 1a. To take the weight of; weigh. •/ The man at the airport counter weighed in our bags and took our plane tickets. / •/ A doctor weighed in the wrestlers. / 1b. To have yourself or something that you own weighed. — Often used with "at". •/ I weighed in at 100 pounds on the scale today. / •/ We took our bags to the airport counter to weigh in. / 1c. To have yourself weighed as a boxer or wrestler by a doctor before a match. — Often used with "at". •/ The champion didn’t want to weigh in at more than 160 pounds. / 2. {slang} To join or interfere in a fight, argument, or discussion. •/ We told Jack that if we wanted him to weigh in with his opinion we would ask him. / Compare: TAKE PART.

[weigh on]or [weigh upon] {v.} 1. To be a weight or pressure on; be heavy on. •/ The pack weighed heavily on the soldier’s back. / 2. To make sad or worried; trouble; disturb; upset. •/ Sadness weighed on Mary’s heart when her kitten died. / •/ John’s wrongdoing weighed upon his conscience. / •/ The teacher’s advice weighed upon Tom’s mind. / 3. To be a burden to. •/ His guilt weighed heavily upon him. /

[weigh on one’s mind]See: WEIGH ON(2).

[weigh one’s words] {v. phr.} To choose your words carefully; be careful to use the right words. •/ When a teacher explains about religion, he must weigh his words because his pupils may be of several different faiths. / •/ When old Mr. Jones talked to the students about becoming teachers, he spoke slowly, weighing his words. / •/ In a debate, a political candidate has little time to weigh his words, and may say something foolish. /

[weight]See: PULL ONE’S WEIGHT, SWING ONE’S WEIGHT, THROW ONE’S WEIGHT AROUND.

[weight down]See: WEIGH DOWN.

[weight of the world on one’s shoulders]or [world on one’s shoulders]or [world on one’s back] {n. phr.} A very heavy load of worry or responsibility; very tired or worried behavior, as if carrying the world; behavior as if you are very important. •/ Don’t look as if you had the weight of the world on your shoulders, Henry, just because you have to mow the lawn. / •/ John acts as if he were carrying the world on his back because he has a paper route. /

[weigh upon]See: WEIGH ON.

[welcome]See: WEAR OUT ONE’S WELCOME.

[welcome mat] {n.} 1. A mat for wiping your shoes on, often with the word "welcome" on it, that is placed in front of a door. •/ Mother bought a welcome mat for our new house. / 2. {informal} A warm welcome; a friendly greeting. — Used in such phrases as "the welcome mat is out" and "put out the welcome mat". •/ Our welcome mat is always out to our friends. / •/ Spread out the welcome mat, children, because Uncle Bill is visiting us tonight. / Syn.: LATCH STRING(2). Compare: ROLL OUT THE RED CARPET, WITH OPEN ARMS.

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

[well]See: ALL VERY WELL, AS WELL, AS WELL AS, HAIL FELLOW WELL MET, LET WELL ENOUGH ALONE, PLAY ONE’S CARDS RIGHT or PLAY ONE’S CARDS WELL, VERY WELL, WEAR WELL.

[well and good] {adj. phr.} Good; satisfactory. •/ If my daughter finishes high school, I will call that well and good. / — Often used without a verb to show agreement or understanding. •/ Well and good; I will come to your house tomorrow. / Compare: ALL RIGHT, ALL VERY WELL, VERY WELL.

[well-heeled] {adj.} , {slang} Wealthy; having plenty of money. •/ Bob’s father, who is well-heeled, gave him a sports car. / Compare: IN CLOVER, ON EASY STREET.

[well-off] {adj. phr.} 1. Rich. •/ They may not be millionaires, but they are sufficiently well-off. / 2. In good condition; free of problems or difficulties./ •/ He is pleased that his business is well-off. /

[well put] {adj. phr.} Well expressed or defined. •/ His remarks about too much violence on television were extremely well put. /

[well-to-do] {adj.} Having or making enough money to live comfortably; prosperous. •/ John’s father owns a company and his family is well-to-do. / — Often used with "the" like a plural noun. •/ This is the part of town where the well-to-do live. / Compare: IN THE LAP OF LUXURY, IN THE CHIPS, ON EASY STREET.

[wet]See: ALL WET, GET ONE’S FEET WET, MAD AS A WET HEN, WRINGING WET.

[wet behind the ears] {adj. phr.} , {informal} Not experienced; not knowing how to do something; new in a job or place. •/ The new student is still wet behind the ears; he has not yet learned the tricks that the boys play on each other. / Compare: DRY BEHIND THE EARS.

[wet blanket] {n.} , {informal} A person or thing that keeps others from enjoying life. •/ The teenagers don’t invite Bob to their parties because he is a wet blanket. / •/ The weatherman throws a wet blanket on picnic plans when he forecasts rain. / Compare: CREPE HANGER.

[wet one’s whistle] {v. phr.} , {slang} To have a drink, especially of liquor. •/ Uncle Willie told John to wait outside for a minute while he went in to the cafe to wet his whistle. /

[whack]See: OUT OF WHACK.

[whale away] {v.} , {informal} 1. To beat or hit hard; strike again and again. — Often used with "at". •/ The boxer is whaling away at his opponent with both fists. / 2. To attack severely or again and again; go on without stopping or with great force; pound away. •/ Mary has been whaling away on the typewriter for an hour. / — Often used with "at". •/ During the election the Mayor whaled away at the other party in his speeches. /

[whale the --- out of]See: BEAT THE --- OUT OF.

[what]See: COME WHAT MAY, GET WHAT’S COMING TO ONE, I’LL TELL YOU WHAT, JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED, SO WHAT.

[what about] {interrog.} 1. About or concerning what; in connection with what. — Often used alone as a question. •/ "I want to talk to you." "What about?" / Compare: WHAT FOR. 2. See: WHAT OF IT. 3. See: HOW ABOUT.

[what about that]See: HOW ABOUT THAT.

[What a pity!]How unfortunate! What a shame! •/ What a pity that he couldn’t join us on our Hawaiian trip. /

[what for(1)] {interrog.} For what reason; why? •/ I told Mary what I was going to town for. / •/ What are you running for? / — Often used alone as a question. •/ Billy’s mother told him to wear his hat. "What for?" he asked. / Compare: HOW COME.

[what for(2)] {n. phr.} , {informal} A scolding, or other punishment. — Usually used with "get" or "give". •/ Tom got what for from his father for answering him rudely, and I heard him crying in the house. / •/ The teacher gave me what for because I was late. /

[what have you]or [what not] {n. phr.} , {informal} Whatever you like or want; anything else like that. •/ The store sells big ones, small ones, medium ones, or what have you. / •/ We found suits, coats, hats and what not in the closet. / Syn.: AND SO FORTH.

[what if]What would, or will, happen if; what is the difference if; suppose that. •/ What if you go instead of me? / •/ What if we paint it red. How will it look? / •/ "You can’t go now" said mother. "What if I do?" Dick asked. / •/ What if Jack scores a touchdown? /

[what is what]See: WHAT’S WHAT.

[what of it]or [what about it] {interj.} , {informal} What is wrong with it; what do you care. •/ Martha said "That boy is wearing a green coat." Jan answered, "What of it?" / •/ "John missed the bus." "What of it?" / Syn.: SO WHAT.

[what not]See: WHAT HAVE YOU.

[what’s cooking]See: WHAT’S UP.

[what’s doing]See: WHAT’S UP..

[what’s sauce for the goose, is sauce for the gander]What goes for the one, also goes for the other. — A proverb. •/ If Herb gets a speeding ticket, so should Erica, who was right behind him; after all, what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. /