Adam Makkai - Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц

[dilemma]See: HORNS OF A DILEMMA.

[dim]See: TAKE A DIM VIEW OF.

[dime a dozen] {adj. phr.} , {informal} Easy to get and so of little value; being an everyday thing because there are many of them; common. •/ Mr. Jones gives A’s to only one or two students, but in Mr. Smith’s class, A’s are a dime a dozen. /

[dime store]or [five-and-dime]or [five-and-ten] {n. phr.} A store that sells things that cost little. •/ Charles bought a pencil at the five-and-dime. /

[dine out] {v. phr.} To not eat at home but to go to a restaurant. •/ "Let’s dine out tonight, honey," she said to her husband. "I am tired of cooking dinner every night." / See: EAT OUT.

[dint]See: BY DINT OF.

[dip into] {v. phr.} 1. To scan or sample lightly and briefly (said of printed materials). •/ I didn’t get a chance to read all of War and Peace, but I dipped into it here and there. / 2. To take money out of a savings account or a piggy bank. •/ I am sorry to have to say that I had to dip into the piggy bank; I took out $6.75. /

[dirt]See: EAT DIRT, HIT THE DIRT, PAY DIRT.

[dirt cheap] {adj.} Extremely inexpensive. •/ The apartment we are renting is dirt cheap compared to other apartments of similar size in this neighborhood. /

[dirty]See: AIR ONE’S DIRTY LINEN IN PUBLIC or WASH ONE’S DIRTY LINEN IN PUBLIC.

[dirty look] {n.} , {informal} A look that shows dislike. •/ Miss Parker sent Joe to the principal’s office for giving her a dirty look. /

[dirty old man] {n. phr.} An older man who shows an unhealthy interest in young girls. •/ "Stay away from Uncle Algernon, Sally," her mother warned. "He is a dirty old man." /

[dirty one’s hands]or [soil one’s hands] {v. phr.} To lower or hurt one’s character or good name; do a bad or shameful thing. •/ The teacher warned the children not to dirty their hands by cheating in the examination. / •/ I would not soil my hands by going with bad people and doing bad things. /

[dirty story] {n. phr.} An improper or obscene story. •/ Uncle Bill is much too fond of telling dirty stories in order to embarrass his friends. /

[dirty trick] {n. phr.} A treacherous action; an unfair act. •/ That was a dirty trick John played on Mary when he ran away with her younger sister. /

[disappear]or [evaporate]or [vanish into thin air] {v. phr.} To disappear quickly, without leaving a trace. •/ Money seems to disappear into thin air these days. / •/ Jack just vanished into thin air before the meeting had started. /

[discretion]See: THROW CAUTION TO THE WINDS also THROW DISCRETION TO THE WINDS.

[discretion is the better part of valor] {literary} When you are in danger or trouble, good sense helps more than foolish risks; it is better to be careful than to be foolishly brave. — A proverb. •/ When you are facing a man with a knife, discretion is the better part of valor. /

[dish]See: COVERED-DISH SUPPER.

[dish of tea]See: CUP OF TEA.

[dish out] {v.} 1. To serve (food) from a large bowl or plate. •/ Ann’s mother asked her to dish out the beans. / 2. {informal} To give in large quantities. •/ That teacher dished out so much homework that her pupils complained to their parents. / 3. {slang} To scold; treat or criticize roughly. •/ Jim likes to dish it out, but he hates to take it. / Compare: HAND OUT.

[dish the dirt] {v. phr.} , {slang} To gossip, to spread rumors about others. •/ Stop dishing the dirt. Sally, it’s really quite unbecoming! /

[disk jockey] {n.} An employee at a radio station or in a dance club who puts on the records that will be broadcast. •/ Jack is working as a disk jockey at the local FM station. /

[dispose of] {v.} 1. To throw away; give away, or sell; get rid of. •/ John’s father wants to dispose of their old house and buy a new one. / •/ The burglars had difficulty in disposing of the stolen jewelry. / 2. To finish. with; settle; complete. •/ The boys were hungry, and quickly disposed of their dinner. / •/ The committee soon disposed of all its business. / 3. To destroy or defeat. •/ The champion disposed of the other fighter by knocking him out in the second round. / •/ Our planes disposed of two enemy planes. /

[dispute]See: IN DISPUTE.

[distance]See: KEEP AT A DISTANCE, KEEP ONE’S DISTANCE.

[ditch]See: LAST DITCH,

[dive]See: GO INTO A TAIL SPIN or GO INTO A NOSE DIVE.

[do]See: HAVE DONE, HAVE DONE WITH, HAVE TO DO WITH, LET GEORGE DO IT, LET ONE’S RIGHT HAND KNOW WHAT ONE’S LEFT HAND IS DOING, LET’S DON’T, MAKE DO, WELL-TO-DO, WHAT’S UP or WHAT’S DOING.

[do a double take] {v. phr.} , {informal} To look again in surprise; suddenly understand what is seen or said. •/ John did a double take when he saw Bill in girls' clothes. / •/ When Evvie said she was quitting school, I did a double take. /

[do a job on] {v. phr.} , {slang} To damage badly; do harm to; make ugly or useless. •/ The baby did a job on Mary’s book. / •/ Jane cut her hair and really did a job on herself. /

[Doakes]See: JOE DOAKES.

[do a stretch] {v. phr.} To spend time in jail serving one’s sentence. •/ Jake has disappeared from view for a while; he is doing a stretch for dope smuggling. /

[do away with] {v.} 1. To put an end to; stop. •/ The teachers want to do away with cheating in their school. / •/ The city has decided to do away with overhead wires. / Compare: RID OF. 2. To kill; murder. •/ The robbers did away with their victims. /

[do by someone or something] {v.} To deal with; treat. — Used with a qualifying adverb between "do" and "by". •/ Andy’s employer always does very well by him. /

[do credit]or [do credit to]also ( {informal} ) [do proud]To add to or improve the reputation, good name, honor, or esteem of; show (you) deserve praise. •/ Your neat appearance does you credit. / •/ Mary’s painting would do credit to a real artist. /

[doctor]See: JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED.

[doctor up] {v. phr.} To meddle with; adulterate. •/ You don’t have to doctor up this basic salad with a lot of extras as I am trying to lose weight. /

[do duty for] {v. phr.} To substitute for; act in place of. •/ The bench often does duty for a table. /

[Doe]See: JOHN DOE.

[doesn’t add up to a can of beans] {v. phr.} To be of little or no value. (Said of plans, ideas, etc.) •/ "That’s a fairly interesting concept you got there, Mike, but the competition is bound to say that it doesn’t add up to a can of beans." /

[do for] {v.} , {informal} To cause the death or ruin of; cause to fail. — Used usually in the passive form "done for". •/ The poor fellow is done for and will die before morning. / •/ Andy’s employer always does very well by him. / •/ If Jim fails that test, he is done for. /

[dog]See: EVERY DOG HAS HIS DAY, GO TO THE DOGS, HOT DOG, LEAD A DOG’S LIFE, LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE, RAIN CATS AND DOGS.

[dog days] {n. phr.} The hottest days of the year in the Northern Hemisphere (July and August). (The ancient Romans associated this time with the "Dog Star" — Sirius — which becomes visible in the heavens at this time of year.) •/ "The dog days are upon us," John said. "It’s time to go swimming in the lake." /

[dog-eat-dog(1)] {n.} A way of living in which every person tries to get what he wants for himself no matter how badly or cruelly he must treat others to get it; readiness to do anything to get what you want. •/ In some early frontier towns it was dog-eat-dog. /

[dog-eat-dog(2)] {adj.} Ready or willing to fight and hurt others to get what you want. •/ During the California gold rush, men had a dog-eat-dog life. /

[doghouse]See: IN THE DOGHOUSE.

[dog in the manger] {n. phr.} A person who is unwilling to let another use what he himself has no use for. •/ Although Valerie lives alone in that big house, she is like a dog in the manger when it comes to letting someone sharing it with her. /

[dog one’s steps] {v. phr.} To follow someone closely. •/ All the time he was in Havana, Castro’s police were dogging his steps. /

[dog’s age]or [coon’s age] {n.} , {informal} A very long time. Usually used after "for" or "in" with a negative. •/ Charlie Brown! I haven’t seen you for a coon’s age. / •/ Father hasn’t had a night out with the boys in a dog’s age. / •/ I waited for him for a dog’s age, but he didn’t come. / Syn.: MONTH OF SUNDAYS.

[dog’s life] {n. phr.} A life of misery, poverty, and unhappiness. •/ Diogenes, the Greek philosopher, lived a dog’s life inside an empty barrel. /

[do in] {v.} , {slang} 1. To ruin; destroy. •/ Mr. Smith’s business was done in by a fire that burned down his store. / 2a. To kill; murder. •/ The poor man was done in by two gangsters who ran away after the crime. / 2b. To make tired; exhaust. •/ The boys were done in after their long hike. / Syn.: WEAR OUT(2). 3. To cheat; swindle. •/ Mr. Jones was done in by two men who claimed to be collecting money for orphans and widows. /

[doing]See: NOTHING DOING.

[do justice to] {v. phr.} 1. To do (something) as well as you should; do properly. •/ Barbara had so many things to do that she could not do justice to her lessons. / •/ The newspaper man did not do justice to the story. / 2. To eat or drink with enthusiasm or enjoyment. •/ The boy did justice to the meal. /

[dole out] {v. phr.} To measure out sparingly. •/ Since the water ration was running low in the desert, the camp commandant doled out small cups of water to each soldier. /

[dollar]See: BET ONE’S BOTTOM DOLLAR at BET ONE’S BOOTS, FEEL LIKE A MILLION or FEEL LIKE A MILLION DOLLARS, LOOK LIKE A MILLION DOLLARS.

[doll up] {v.} , {slang} 1. To dress in fine or fancy clothes. •/ The girls dolled up for the big school dance of the year. / •/ The girls were all dolled up for the Christmas party. / 2. To make more pretty or attractive. •/ The classrooms were all dolled up with Christmas decorations. / Compare: DECKED OUT.