Adam Makkai - Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц

[down and out] {adj. phr.} Without money; without a job or home; broke. •/ Poor Sam lost his job after his wife had left him; he is really down and out. /

[down-and-outer] {n. phr.} A person who has lost everything and is penniless. •/ Joe goes from shelter to shelter asking for food and a place to sleep; he’s become a regular down-and-outer. /

[down-at-heel]or [down-at-the-heel]or [down-at-the-heels] {adj.} Poorly kept up or dressed shabby; not neat; sloppy. •/ John is always down-at-the-heels, but his sister is always very neat. / •/ Old houses sometimes look down-at-the-heel. /

[down east]or [Down East] {n.} The northeast coastal part of the United States and part of Canada; especially: the coastal parts of Maine. •/ Many people in Boston like to go down east for their summer vacation. / Compare: I WOULDN’T DO IT FOR A FARM DOWN EAST.

[down in the dumps]or [down in the mouth] {adj. phr.} , {informal} Sad or discouraged; gloomy; dejected. •/ The boys were certainly down in the dumps when they heard that their team had lost. /

[down on] {adj. phr.} , {informal} Having a grudge against; angry at. •/ John is down on his teacher because she gave him a low grade. /

[down one’s alley]or [up one’s alley] {adj. phr.} , {slang} Suited to your tastes and abilities; what you like or like to do. •/ Baseball is right down Jim’s alley. / Compare: CUP OF TEA.

[down one’s neck]See: BREATHE DOWN ONE’S NECK.

[down one’s nose]See: LOOK DOWN ONE’S NOSE.

[down one’s throat]See: JUMP DOWN ONE’S THROAT, SHOVE DOWN ONE’S THROAT or RAM DOWN ONE’S THROAT.

[down on one’s luck] {adj.} , {informal} Having bad luck; having much trouble; not successful in life. •/ Harry asked me to lend him ten dollars, because he was down on his luck. / •/ The teacher is easy on Jane because Jane has been down on her luck lately. / Compare: HARD ROW TO HOE, HARD SLEDDING, ON ONE’S UPPERS.

[down payment] {n.} A retainer paid to a prospective seller. •/ How much of a down payment do you require for this new car? /

[down the drain] {adj.} or {adv. phr.} , {informal} Wasted; lost. •/ It is money down the drain if you spend it all on candy. / •/ Our plans to go swimming went down the drain when it rained. / Compare: GO BY THE BOARD.

[down the hatch!] {v. phr.} , {informal} Let us drink! •/ When we celebrated Mom’s birthday, we all raised our glasses and cried in unison, "Down the hatch!" /

[down the line] {adv. phr.} , {informal} 1. Down the road or street; straight ahead. •/ The church is down the line a few blocks. / 2. All the way; completely; thoroughly. •/ Bob always follows the teacher’s directions right down the line. /

[down-to-earth] {adj.} Showing good sense; practical. •/ The committee’s first plan for the party was too fancy, but the second was more down-to-earth. / •/ Mr. Jenkins never seems to know what is happening around him, but his wife is friendly and down-to-earth. / Compare: COME BACK TO EARTH.

[down to the wire] {adj.} , {slang} 1. Running out of time, nearing a deadline. •/ Bob is down to the wire on his project. / 2. Being financially almost broke, being very low on cash or other funds. •/ We can’t afford going to a restaurant tonight — we’re really down to the wire! /

[down with a disease] {adj. phr.} Ill or sick. •/ Aunt Liz is down with the flu this week; she has to stay in bed. /

[dozen]See: BY THE DOZEN, DAILY DOZEN, DIME A DOZEN, SIX OF ONE AND HALF-A-DOZEN OF THE OTHER.

[drag in] {v.} To insist on bringing (another subject) into a discussion; begin talking about (something different.) •/ No matter what we talk about, Jim drags in politics. / •/ Whenever anyone mentions travel, Grace has to drag in the trip to Mexico she took ten years ago. /

[drag on]or [drag out] {v.} 1. To pass very slowly. •/ The cold winter months dragged on until we thought spring would never come. / 2. To prolong; make longer. •/ The meeting would have been over quickly if the members had not dragged out the argument about dues. /

[drag on the market] {n. phr.} An article for which the demand has fallen off thus causing an oversupply. •/ Your type of word processor went out of style and is now a drag on the market. /

[drag oneself up by one’s boot straps]See: PULL ONESELF UP BY THE BOOT STRAPS.

[drag one’s feet]or [drag one’s heels] {v. phr.} To act slowly or reluctantly. •/ The children wanted to watch television, and dragged their feet when their mother told them to go to bed. / •/ The city employees said the mayor had promised to raise their pay, but was now dragging his feet. /

[drag out]See: DRAG ON.

[drag race] {n.} , {slang} An automobile race in which the drivers try to cover a certain distance (usually one quarter mile) in the shortest possible time. •/ Drag races are often held on airport landing strips. / •/ Holding drag races is a good way to stop teenage hot rod racing on public highways. / Compare: DRAG STRIP.

[drag strip] {n.} , {slang} A place where drag races are held. •/ Before the race Paul loaded his racer onto the trailer to take it out of town to the drag strip for the race. / Compare: DRAG RACE.

[drain]See: DOWN THE DRAIN.

[draw]See: BEAT TO THE PUNCH or BEAT TO THE DRAW.

[draw a bead on] {v. phr.} {informal} 1. To aim at; sight (with a gun). •/ The deer bounded into the forest before the hunters could draw a bead on them. / •/ John drew a bead on the elk, but didn’t have the heart to pull the trigger. / 2. To take (something) as an aim or goal. •/ "I’m drawing a bead on the Literary Society president’s office," said Tom. / 3. To use as a target of attack; criticize. •/ Whenever a politician makes a mistake, his opponents are ready to draw a bead on him. /

[draw a blank] {v. phr.} , {informal} 1. To obtain nothing in return for an effort made or to get a negative result. •/ I looked up all the Joneses in the telephone book but I drew a blank every time I asked for Archibald Jones. / 2. To fail to remember something. •/ I am trying to think of the name but I keep drawing a blank. / 3. To be consistently unsuccessful at doing something. •/ I keep trying to pass that math exam but each time I try it I draw a blank. /

[draw a conclusion] {v. phr.} To make an inference. •/ After he failed to keep an appointment with me for the third time, I drew the conclusion that he was an unreliable person. /

[draw a line]or [draw the line] {v. phr.} 1. To think of as different. •/ The law in this country draws a line between murder and manslaughter. / •/ Can you draw the line between a lie and a fib? / 2. To set a limit to what will be done; say something cannot be done. •/ We would like to invite everybody to our party, but we have to draw a line somewhere. / — Often used with "at". •/ Mrs. Jones draws the line at permitting the children to play in their father’s den. / •/ People fighting for their freedom often do not draw the line at murder. /

[draw a long breath]or [take a long breath] {v. phr.} To breathe deeply when getting ready to speak or act. •/ Father asked who broke the window. Jim drew a long breath and admitted that he had done it. / •/ The salesman took a long breath and started his talk. /

[draw a parallel] {v. phr.} To make a comparison. •/ It is easy to draw a parallel between the characters of Saint Francis of Assisi and Great Saint Theresa of Aquila, but this doesn’t mean that all saints are alike. /

[draw and quarter] {v. phr.} , {literary} 1. To execute someone in the barbaric medieval fashion of having him torn into four pieces by four horses tearing his body in four different directions. •/ The captured foreign marauders were drawn and quartered by the angry citizens of ancient Frankfurt. / 2. To punish someone very severely. •/ "If you miss another homework assignment, John," the teacher said, "I’ll have you drawn and quartered." /

[draw aside] {v. phr.} To separate; take to one side. •/ He drew her aside and whispered into her ear, "Johanna, please marry me!" /

[draw back] {v.} To move back; back away; step backward; withdraw; move away from. •/ When the man spotted the rattlesnake, he drew back and aimed his shotgun. / •/ The children drew back from the dog when it barked at them. / •/ When the pitcher drew back his arm to pitch the ball, Tom ran as fast as he could to steal second base. / •/ Some juice from the grapefruit that Father was eating squirted in his eye and he drew back in surprise. / Compare: DROP BACK.

[drawback] {n.} Disadvantage; obstacle; hindrance. •/ The biggest drawback of Bill’s plan is the cost involved. /

[draw blood] {v. phr.} , {informal} To make someone feel hurt or angry. •/ If you want to draw blood, ask Jim about his last money-making scheme. / •/ Her sarcastic comments drew blood. /

[drawer]See: TOP-DRAWER.

[draw fire] {v. phr.} 1. To attract or provoke shooting; be a target. •/ The general’s white horse drew the enemy’s fire. / 2. To bring criticism or argument; make people say bad things about you. •/ Having the newest car in your group is sure to draw fire. /

[drawing card] {n.} The most important figure in a multi-person event; the top entertainer during a show; the best professor or researcher at a university, etc. •/ During the concert series Barbra Streisand was the biggest drawing card. / •/ The biggest drawing card at many a university is the resident Nobel Laureate. /

[draw in one’s horns]See: PULL IN ONE’S HORNS.

[draw interest] {v. phr.} To earn interest on invested capital. •/ My savings account draws 4.5% interest. /

[draw lots] {v. phr.} To select at random from a series in order to determine precedents or apportionment. •/ The refugees to be evacuated drew lots on who would get a place on the first airplane out of the besieged city. /