Adam Makkai - Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц

[cold]See: BLOOD RUNS COLD, BLOW HOT AND COLD, CATCH COLD or TAKE COLD, IN COLD BLOOD, OUT COLD, OUT IN THE COLD, PASS OUT(2), STONE-COLD, STOP COLD, THROW COLD WATER ON.

[cold cash]or [hard cash] {n.} Money that is paid at the time of purchase; real money; silver and bills. •/ Mr. Jones bought a new car and paid cold cash for it. / * •/ Some stores sell things only for cold cash. / Compare: CASH ON THE BARRELHEAD.

[cold comfort] {n.} Something that makes a person in trouble feel very little better or even worse. •/ When Tim lost the race, it was cold comfort to him to hear that he could try again in two weeks. / •/ Mary spent her vacation sick in bed and Jane’s letter about her trip was cold comfort. /

[cold feet] {n. phr.} , {informal} A loss of courage or nerve; a failure or loss of confidence in yourself. •/ Ralph was going to ask Mary to dance with him but he got cold feet and didn’t. /

[cold fish] {n.} , {informal} A queer person; a person who is unfriendly or does not mix with others. •/ No one knows the new doctor, he is a cold fish. / •/ Nobody invites Eric to parties because he is a cold fish. /

[cold-shoulder] {v.} , {informal} To act towards a person; with dislike or scorn; be unfriendly to. •/ Fred cold-shouldered his old friend when they passed on the street. / •/ It is impolite and unkind to cold-shoulder people. / Compare: BRUSH OFF(2), HIGH-HAT, LOOK DOWN ONE’S NOSE AT.

[cold shoulder] {n.} , {informal} Unfriendly treatment of a person, a showing of dislike for a person or of looking down on a person. — Used in the cliches "give the cold shoulder" or "turn a cold shoulder to" or "get the cold shoulder". •/ When Bob asked Mary for a date she gave him the cold shoulder. / •/ The membership committee turned a cold shoulder to Jim’s request to join the club. /

[cold snap] {n.} A short time of quick change from warm weather to cold. •/ The cold snap killed everything in the garden. /

[cold turkey] {adv.} , {slang} , {informal} 1. Abruptly and without medical aid to withdraw from the use of an addictive drug or from a serious drinking problem. •/ Joe is a very brave guy; he kicked the habit cold turkey. / 2. {n.} An instance of withdrawal from drugs, alcohol, or cigarette smoking. •/ Joe did a cold turkey. /

[cold war] {n.} A struggle that is carried on by other means and not by actual fighting; a war without shooting or bombing. •/ After World War II, a cold war began between Russia and the United States. /

[collar]See: HOT UNDER THE COLLAR, ROMAN COLLAR, SAILOR COLLAR.

[collective farm] {n.} A large government-run farm made by combining many small farms. •/ The Russian farmers used to live on collective farms. /

[collector’s item] {n.} Something rare or valuable enough to collect or save. •/ Jimmy’s mother found an old wooden doll in the attic that turned out to be a collector’s item. /

[College Boards] {n.} A set of examinations given to test a student’s readiness and ability for college. •/ John got a high score on his College Boards. / •/ College Boards test both what a student has learned and his ability to learn. /

[color]See: CHANGE COLOR, GIVE COLOR TO or LEND COLOR TO, HAUL DOWN ONE’S COLORS, HORSE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR, NAIL ONE’S COLORS TO THE MAST, OFF-COLOR or OFF-COLORED, SAIL UNDER FALSE COLORS, SEE THE COLOR OF ONE’S MONEY, SHOW ONE’S COLORS, WITH FLYING COLORS.

[color guard] {n.} A military guard of honor for the flag of a country; also: a guard of honor to carry and protect a flag or banner (as of a club). •/ There were four Marines in the color guard in the parade. / •/ Bob was picked to be a color guard and to carry the banner of the drum corps at the football game. /

[color scheme] {n.} A plan for colors used together as decoration. •/ The color scheme for the dance was blue and silver. / •/ Mary decided on a pink and white color scheme for her room. /

[comb]See: FINE-TOOTH COMB.

[come]See: CHICKENS COME HOME TO ROOST, CROSS A BRIDGE BEFORE ONE COMES TO IT, EASY COME — EASY GO, FIRST COME — FIRST SERVED, GET WHAT’S COMING TO ONE, HAVE IT COMING, HOW COME also HOW’S COME, IF WORST COMES TO WORST, JOHNNY-COME-LATELY, KNOW ENOUGH TO COME IN OUT OF THE RAIN, KNOW IF ONE IS COMING OR GOING, LOOK AS IF ONE HAS COME OUT OF A BANDBOX, SHIP COME IN.

[come about] {v.} To take place; happen, occur. •/ Sometimes it is hard to tell how a quarrel comes about. / •/ When John woke up he was in the hospital, but he didn’t know how that had come about. /

[come a cropper]1. To fall off your horse. •/ John’s horse stumbled, and John came a cropper. / 2. To fail. •/ Mr. Brown did not have enough money to put into his business and it soon came a cropper. / Compare: RIDING FOR A FALL.

[come across] {v.} 1. or [run across]To find or meet by chance. •/ He came across a dollar bill in the suit he was sending to the cleaner. / •/ The other day I ran across a book that you might like. / •/ I came across George at a party last week; it was the first time I had seen him in months. / Compare: COME ON(3), RUN INTO(3b). 2. To give or do what is asked. •/ The robber told the woman to come across with her purse. / •/ For hours the police questioned the man suspected of kidnapping the child, and finally he came across with the story. /

[come again] {v.} , {informal} Please repeat; please say that again. — Usually used as a command. •/ "Harry has just come into a fortune," my wife said. "Come again? " I asked her, not believing it. / •/ "Come again," said the hard-of-hearing man. /

[come alive]or [come to life] {v.} 1. {informal} To become alert or attentive; wake up and look alive; become active. •/ When Mr. Simmons mentioned money, the boys came alive. / •/ Bob pushed the starter button, and the engine came alive with a roar. / 2. To look real; take on a bright, natural look. •/ Under skillful lighting, the scene came alive. / •/ The President came alive in the picture as the artist worked. /

[come along] {v.} To make progress; improve; succeed. •/ He was coming along well after the operation. / •/ Rose is coming right along on the piano. /

[come a long way] {v. phr.} To show much improvement; make great progress. •/ The school has come a long way since its beginnings. / •/ Little Jane has come a long way since she broke her leg. /

[come apart at the seams] {v. phr.} , {slang} , {informal} To become upset to the point where one loses self-control and composure as if having suffered a sudden nervous breakdown. •/ After his divorce Joe seemed to be coming apart at the seams. /

[come around]See: COME ROUND.

[come at] {v.} 1. To approach; come to or against; advance toward. •/ The young boxer came at the champion cautiously. / 2. To understand (a word or idea) or master (a skill); succeed with. •/ The sense of an unfamiliar word is hard to come at. /

[come back] {v.} , {informal} 1. To reply; answer. •/ The lawyer came back sharply in defense of his client. / •/ No matter how the audience heckled him, the comedian always had an answer to come back with. / 2. To get a former place or position back, reach again a place which you have lost. •/ After a year off to have her baby, the singer came back to even greater fame. / •/ It is hard for a retired prize fighter to come hack and beat a younger man. /

[comeback] {n.} , {v. phr.} , {slang} , {citizen’s band radio jargon} A return call. •/ Thanks for your comeback. /

[come back to earth]or [come down to earth] {v. phr.} To return to the real world; stop imagining or dreaming; think and behave as usual. •/ After Jane met the movie star it was hard for her to come back to earth. / •/ Bill was sitting and daydreaming so his mother told him to come down to earth and to do his homework. / Compare: COME TO ONE’S SENSES, DOWN-TO-EARTH. Contrast: IN THE CLOUDS.

[come between] {v.} To part; divide; separate. •/ John’s mother-in-law came to live in his home, and as time passed she came between him and his wife. / •/ Bill’s hot rod came between him and his studies, and his grades went down. /

[come by] {v.} To get; obtain; acquire. •/ A good job like that is hard to come by. / •/ Money easily come by is often easily spent. / •/ How did she come by that money? /

[come by honestly] {v. phr.} , {informal} To inherit (a characteristic) from your parents. •/ Joe comes by his hot temper honestly; his father is the same way. /

[come clean] {v. phr.} , {slang} To tell all; tell the whole story; confess. •/ The boy suspected of stealing the watch came clean after long questioning. /

[comedown] {n.} Disappointment; embarrassment; failure. •/ It was quite a comedown for Al when the girl he took for granted refused his marriage proposal. /

[come down] {v.} 1. To reduce itself; amount to no more than. — Followed by "to". •/ The quarrel finally came down to a question of which boy would do the dishes. / Syn.: BOIL DOWN(3). 2. To be handed down or passed along, descend from parent to child; pass from older generation to younger ones. •/ Mary’s necklace had come down to her from her grandmother. /

[come down hard on] {v.} , {informal} 1. To scold or punish strongly. •/ The principal came down hard on the boys for breaking the window. / 2. To oppose strongly. •/ The minister in his sermon came down hard on drinking. /

[come down in the world] {v. phr.} To lose a place of respect or honor, become lower (as in rank or fortune). •/ The stranger plainly had come down a long way in the world. / Compare: DOWN ON ONE’S LUCK.

[come down off one’s high horse] {v. phr.} To become less arrogant; to assume a more modest disposition. •/ The boastful candidate for Congress quickly came down off his high horse when he was soundly beaten by his opponent. /

[come down on like a ton of bricks] {v. phr.} , {slang} To direct one’s full anger at somebody. •/ When the janitor was late for work, the manager came down on him like a ton of bricks. /