Adam Makkai - Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц

[cover one’s tracks]or [cover up one’s tracks] {v. phr.} 1. To hide and not leave anything, especially foot marks, to show where you have been, so that no one can follow you. •/ The deer covered his tracks by running in a stream. / 2. {informal} To hide or not say where you have been or what you have done; not tell why you do something or what you plan to do. •/ The boys covered their tracks when they went swimming by saying that they were going for a walk. / Compare: COVER UP(1).

[cover the waterfront] {v. phr.} To talk or write all about something; talk about something all possible ways. •/ The principal pretty well covered the waterfront on student behavior. /

[cover up] {v.} , {informal} 1. To hide something wrong or bad from attention. •/ The spy covered up his picture-taking by pretending to be just a tourist. / •/ A crooked banker tried to cover up his stealing some of the bank’s money by starting a fire to destroy the records. / Compare: COVER ONE’S TRACKS(2). 2. In boxing: To guard your head and body with your gloves, arms, and shoulders. •/ Jimmy’s father told him to cover up and protect his chin when he boxed. / 3. To protect someone else from blame or punishment; protect someone with a lie or alibi. — Often used with "for". •/ The teacher wanted to know who broke the window and told the boys not to try to cover up for anyone. / •/ The burglar’s friend covered up for him by saying that he was at his home when the robbery occurred. /

[cover-up] {n.} , {slang} A plan or excuse to escape blame or punishment; lie, alibi. •/ When the men robbed the bank, their cover-up was to dress like policemen. / •/ Joe’s cover-up to his mother after he had been fighting was that he fell down. /

[cow]See: HOLY CATS or HOLY COW, SACRED COW.

[cowboy] {n.} , {slang} , {informal} A person who drives his car carelessly and at too great a speed in order to show off his courage. •/ Joe’s going to be arrested some day — he is a cowboy on the highway. /

[cow college] {n.} , {slang} 1. An agricultural college; a school where farming is studied. •/ A new, bigger kind of apple is being grown at the cow college. / 2. A new or rural college not thought to be as good as older or city colleges. •/ John wanted to go to a big college in New York City, not to a cow college. /

[cows tail] {n.} , {dialect} A person who is behind others. •/ John was the cow’s tail at the exam. / •/ Fred was always the old cow’s tail for football practice. /

[cozy up] {v.} , {slang} To try to be close or friendly; try to be liked. — Usually used with "to". •/ John is cozying up to Henry so he can join the club. /

[crack]See: HARD NUT TO CRACK or TOUGH NUT TO CRACK.

[crack a book] {v. phr.} , {slang} To open a book in order to study. — Usually used with a negative. •/ John did not crack a book until the night before the exam. / •/ Many students think they can pass without cracking a book. /

[crack a bottle] {v. phr.} To open a new bottle of alcoholic beverage. •/ On birthdays it is customary to crack a bottle and offer one’s best wishes. /

[crack a joke] {v. phr.} , {informal} To make a joke; tell a joke. •/ The men sat around the stove, smoking and cracking jokes. /

[crack a smile] {v. phr.} , {informal} To let a smile show on one’s face; permit a smile to appear. •/ Bob told the whole silly story without even cracking a smile. / •/ Scrooge was a gloomy man, who never cracked a smile. / •/ When we gave the shy little boy an ice cream cone, he finally cracked a smile. /

[crack down] {v. phr.} , {informal} To enforce laws or rules strictly; require full obedience to a rule. •/ After a speeding driver hit a child, the police cracked down. / — Often used with "on". •/ Police suddenly cracked down on the selling of liquors to minors. / •/ The coach cracked down on the players when he found they had not been obeying the training rules. /

[crack of dawn] {n. phr.} The time in the morning when the sun’s rays first appear. •/ The rooster crows at the crack of dawn and wakes up everybody on the farm. /

[cracked up] {adj. phr.} , {informal} Favorably described or presented; praised. — Usually used in the expression "not what it’s cracked up to be". •/ The independent writer’s life isn’t always everything it’s cracked up to be. / •/ In bad weather, a sailing cruise isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. /

[cracking]See: GET CRACKING — at GET GOING(2).

[crackpot] {n.} , {attrib. adj.} , {informal} 1. {n.} An eccentric person with ideas that don’t make sense to most other people. •/ Don’t believe what Uncle Noam tells you — he is a crackpot. / 2. {attrib. adj.} •/ That’s a crackpot idea. /

[crack the whip] {v. phr.} , {informal} To get obedience or cooperation by threats of punishment. •/ If the children won’t behave when I reason with them, I have to crack the whip. /

[crack up] {v.} 1. To wreck or be wrecked; smash up. •/ The airplane cracked up in landing. / •/ He cracked up his car. / 2. {informal} To become mentally ill under physical or mental overwork or worry. •/ He had kept too busy for years, and when failures came, he cracked up. / •/ It seemed to be family problems that made him crack up. / 3. Burst into laughter or cause to burst into laughter. •/ That comedian cracks me up. /

[cradle]See: ROB THE CRADLE.

[cradle robber], [cradle robbing]See: ROB THE CRADLE.

[cramp]See: WRITER’S CRAMP.

[cramp one’s style] {v. phr.} , {informal} To limit your natural freedom; prevent your usual behavior; limit your actions or talk. •/ He cramped his style a good deal when he lost his money. / •/ Army rules cramped George’s style. /

[crash dive] {n.} A sudden dive made by a submarine to escape an enemy; a dive made to get deep under water as quickly as possible. •/ The captain of the submarine told his crew to prepare for a crash dive when he saw the enemy battleship approaching. /

[crash-dive] {v.} 1. To dive deep underwater in a submarine as quickly as possible. •/ We shall crash-dive if we see enemy planes coming. / 2. To dive into (something) in an airplane. •/ When the plane’s motor was hit by the guns of the enemy battleship, the pilot aimed the plane at the ship and crash-dived into it. /

[crash the gate] {v. phr.} , {slang} To enter without a ticket or without paying; attend without an invitation or permission. •/ Bob got into the circus without paying. He crashed the gate. / •/ Three boys tried to crash the gate at our party but we didn’t let them in. /

[craw]See: STICK IN ONE’S CRAW.

[crawl up]See: RIDE UP.

[crazy]or [mad]or [nuts about] {adj. phr.} , {informal} Excessively fond of; infatuated with. •/ Jack is totally nuts about Liz, but she is not too crazy about him. /

[cream]See: VANISHING CREAM.

[cream of the crop] {n. phr.} The best of a group; the top choice. •/ May Queen candidates were lovely, but Betsy and Nancy were the cream of the crop. / •/ The students had drawn many good pictures and the teacher chose the cream of the crop to hang up when the parents came to visit. /

[creature of habit] {n. phr.} A person who does things out of habit rather than by thought. •/ Our boss is a creature of habit, so let us not confuse him with too many new ideas. /

[credibility gap] {n.} , {hackneyed phrase} , {politics} An apparent discrepancy between what the government says and what one can observe for oneself. •/ There was a tremendous credibility gap in the USA during the Watergate years. /

[credit]See: DO CREDIT.

[creek]See: UP THE CREEK or UP THE CREEK WITHOUT A PADDLE.

[creep]See: THE CREEPS.

[creep up on] {v.} 1. To crawl towards; move along near the ground; steal cautiously towards so as not to be seen or noticed. •/ The mouse did not see the snake creeping up on it over the rocks. / •/ Indians were creeping up on the house through the bushes. / 2. or [sneak up on]To come little by little; arrive slowly and unnoticed. •/ The woman’s hair was turning gray as age crept up on her. / •/ Winter is creeping up on us little by little. / •/ The boys didn’t notice the darkness creeping up on them while they were playing. / Compare: COME OVER.

[crew]See: SECTION GANG or SECTION CREW.

[crew cut]or [crew haircut] {n.} A boy’s or man’s hair style, cut so that the hair stands up in short, stiff bristle. •/ Many boys like to get crew cuts during the summer to keep cooler. /

[crisp]See: BURN TO A CRISP.

[crocodile tears] {n.} Pretended grief; a show of sorrow that is not really felt. •/ When his rich uncle died, leaving him his money, John shed crocodile tears. / (From the old legend that crocodiles make weeping sounds to attract victims and then shed tears while eating them.)

[crook]See: BY HOOK OR BY CROOK.

[crop]See: CASH CROP, CREAM OF THE CROP, STICK IN ONE’S CRAW or STICK IN ONE’S CROP.

[crop out] {v.} To appear at the surface; come through or show through from hiding or concealment. •/ Rocks often crop out in New England pasture land. / •/ A hidden hate cropped out in his words. /

[cropper]See: COME A CROPPER.

[crop up] {v.} To come without warning; appear or happen unexpectedly. •/ Problems cropped up almost every day when Mr. Reed was building his TV station. / •/ Serious trouble cropped up just when Martin thought the problem of his college education was solved. / Compare: TURN UP.

[cross]See: AT CROSS PURPOSES, CARRY ONE’S CROSS, DOUBLE CROSS, KEEP ONE’S FINGERS CROSSED at CROSS ONE’S FINGERS(1b).

[cross a bridge before one comes to it] {v. phr.} To worry about future events or trouble before they happen. — Usually used in negative sentences, often as a proverb. •/ "Can I be a soldier when I grow up, Mother?" asked Johnny. "Don’t cross that bridge until you come to it," said his mother. / Compare: BORROW TROUBLE.