Adam Makkai - Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц

[give as good as one gets] {v. phr.} To be able to give back blow for blow; defend yourself well in a fight or argument. •/ The Americans gave as good as they got in the war with the English. / •/ George gave as good as he got in his fight with the older boy. / Compare: EYE FOR AN EYE, GAME AT WHICH TWO CAN PLAY.

[give away] {v.} 1. To give as a present. •/ Mrs. Jones has several kittens to give away. / 2. To hand over (a bride) to her husband at the wedding. •/ Mr. Jackson gave away his daughter. / 3. To let (a secret) become known; tell the secret of. •/ The little boy gave away his hiding place when he coughed. / •/ Mary said she didn’t care anything about John, but her blushing face gave her away. / Compare: SPILL THE BEANS, LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG. 4. See: GIVE ONESELF AWAY.

[giveaway]or [dead giveaway] {n.} (stress on "give") 1. An open secret. •/ By mid-afternoon, it was a dead giveaway who the new boss would be. / 2. A forced or sacrifice sale at which items are sold for much less than their market value. •/ The Simpson’s garage sale was actually a big giveaway. / 3. A gift; something one doesn’t have to pay for. •/ The tickets to the concert were a giveaway. /

[give a wide berth] {v. phr.} To keep away from; keep a safe distance from. •/ Mary gave the barking dog a wide berth. / •/ Jack gave a wide berth to the fallen electric wires. / •/ After Tom got Bob into trouble. Bob gave him a wide berth. /

[give birth to] {v. phr.} 1. To bear live offspring. •/ The mother gave birth to twin baby girls. / 2. To bring about; create; occasion. •/ Beethoven gave birth to a new kind of symphony. /

[give chase] {v. phr.} To chase or run after someone or something. •/ The dog saw a rabbit and gave chase. / •/ The policeman gave chase to the man who robbed the bank. /

[give color to]or [lend color to] {v. phr.} To make (something) seem true or likely. •/ The boy’s torn clothes gave color to his story of a fight. / •/ The way the man ate lent color to his story of near starvation. /

[give credence to] {v. phr.} 1. To be willing to believe that something is true. •/ Larry gave credence to the rumor that Fred used to be a convict. / •/ Give no credence to the rumor that our state is bankrupt; nothing could be farther from the truth. /

[give fits] {v. phr.} {informal} To upset; bother very much. •/ Paul’s higher grades give John fits. / •/ The short guard gave his tall opponent fits. / Compare: GIVE A HARD TIME.

[give forth] {v. phr.} To emit; produce. •/ When the gong was struck it gave forth a rich, resounding sound. /

[give free rein to]See: GIVE REIN TO.

[give gray hair] {v. phr.} , {informal} To make (someone) anxious, confused, or worried. •/ The traffic problem is enough to give a policeman gray hairs. / Compare: GET GRAY HAIR.

[give ground] {v. phr.} To go backward under attack; move back; retreat. •/ After fighting for a while the troops slowly began to give ground. / •/ Although they were outnumbered by the enemy, the men refused to give ground. / Compare: DRAW BACK, DROP BACK, LOSE GROUND. Contrast: HOLD ONE’S GROUND, STAND OFF, STAND ONE’S GROUND, STAND PAT, STAVE OFF.

[give her the gun]See: GIVE IT THE GUN.

[give in] {v.} To stop fighting or arguing and do as the other person wants; give someone his own way; stop opposing someone. •/ Mother kept inviting Mrs. Smith to stay for lunch, and finally she gave in. / •/ After Billy proved that he could ride a bicycle safely, his father gave in to him and bought him one. / Compare: GIVE UP, SAY UNCLE.

[give it some thought] {v. phr.} To wait and see; consider something after some time has elapsed. •/ "Will you buy my car?" Fred asked. "Let me give it some thought," Jim answered. / Contrast: SLEEP ON.

[give it the gun]or [give her the gun] {v. phr.} , {slang} To gun or speed up a motor; make a car, airplane, or something driven by a motor go faster. •/ The race driver gave it the gun. / •/ The speedboat pilot gave her the gun. / Compare: STEP ON IT.

[give it to] {v. phr.} , {informal} 1. To give punishment to; beat. •/ The crowd yelled for the wrestler to give it to his opponent. / Syn.: LET HAVE IT. 2. To scold. •/ Jerry’s mother gave it to him for coming home late. / Compare: GIVE A PIECE OF ONE’S MIND, LACE INTO. Contrast: CATCH IT.

[give it to one straight] {v. phr.} To be direct; be frank. •/ I asked the doctor to give it to me straight how long I have to live. /

[give no quarter] {v. phr.} To be ruthless and show no mercy. •/ The enemy soldiers gave no quarter and shot all the prisoners. /

[give notice] {v. phr.} To inform an employer, an employee, a landlord, or a tenant of the termination of a contractual agreement of service or tenancy. •/ Max gave notice at the bank where he was working. / •/ Sally was given notice by her landlord. /

[given to] {adj. phr.} Having a tendency to; addicted to. •/ Phil is given to telling fantastic tales about his chateau in France. /

[give off] {v.} To send out; let out; put forth. •/ Rotten eggs give off a bad smell. / •/ Burning leaves give off thick smoke. / Syn.: GIVE OUT(2).

[give of oneself] {v. phr.} , {literary} To give your time and effort to help others. •/ You should give of yourself sometimes. / •/ During World War II, Governor Baldwin gave of himself by sweeping the halls of a hospital every afternoon. /

[give one a dressing down]See: DRESSING DOWN.

[give one a free hand]See: FREE HAND.

[give one a (good) going-over]See: GO OVER(1).

[give one a lift] {v. phr.} 1. To give someone a ride. •/ Jack gave me a lift in his new car. / 2. To comfort someone. •/ Talking to my doctor yesterday gave me a lift. /

[give one an inch, and he will take a mile]If you give some people a little or yield anything, they will want more and more; some people are never satisfied. •/ I gave Billy a bite of candy and he wanted more and more. If you give him an inch, he’ll take a mile. / •/ The counselor said to Jack, "No, I can’t let you get a haircut until Saturday. It’s against the rules, and if I give an inch, someone will take a mile." /

[give one a piece of one’s mind] {v. phr.} , {informal} To scold angrily; say what you really think to (someone). •/ Mr. Allen gave the other driver a piece of his mind. / •/ The sergeant gave the soldier a piece of his mind for not cleaning his boots. / Syn.: TELL OFF. Compare: BAWL OUT, DRESS DOWN, GIVE IT TO, TONGUE LASHING.

[give one a ring]also {informal} [give a buzz]To call on the telephone. •/ Mrs. Jacobs promised to give her husband a ring in the afternoon. / •/ Alice will give her friend a buzz tonight. /

[give one enough rope and he will hang himself] {informal} Give a bad person enough time and freedom to do as he pleases, and he may make a bad mistake or get into trouble and be caught. — A proverb. •/ Johnny is always stealing and hasn’t been caught. But give him enough rope and he’ll hang himself. / — Often used in a short form, "give one enough rope". •/ Mother didn’t know who robbed the cookie jar, but she thought she could catch him if she gave him enough rope. /

[give one pause] {v. phr.} To astonish someone; cause one to stop and think. •/ "Your remark gives me pause," Tom said, when Jane called him an incurable gambler. /

[give one short shrift]See: SHORT SHRIFT.

[give oneself airs] {v. phr.} To act proud; act vain. •/ Mary gave herself airs when she wore her new dress. / •/ John gave himself airs when he won first prize. /

[give oneself away] {v. phr.} To show guilt; show you have done wrong. •/ The thief gave himself away by spending so much money. / •/ Carl played a joke on Bob and gave himself away by laughing. / Compare: GIVE AWAY.

[give oneself up] {v.} To stop hiding or running away; surrender. •/ The thief gave himself up to the police. / •/ Mr. Thompson hit another car, and his wife told him to give himself up. / Compare: TURN IN.

[give oneself up to] {v. phr.} Not to hold yourself back from; let yourself enjoy. •/ Uncle Willie gave himself up to a life of wandering. / •/ John came inside from the cold and gave himself up to the pleasure of being in a warm room. / Compare: ENJOY ONESELF, LET ONESELF GO.

[give one some of his]or [her own medicine] {v. phr.} To treat someone the way he or she treats others (used in the negative). •/ The gangster beat up an innocent old man, so when he resisted arrest, a policeman gave him a little of his own medicine. /

[give one’s due] {v. phr.} To be fair to (a person), give credit that (a person) deserves. •/ The boxer who lost gave the new champion his due. / •/ We should give a good worker his due. / Compare: GIVE THE DEVIL HIS DUE.

[give one’s right arm for] {v. phr.} To give something of great value; sacrifice. •/ During our long hike in the desert, I would have given my right arm for an ice cold drink. /

[give one’s word] {v. phr.} To seriously promise. •/ "You gave me your word you would marry me," Mary bitterly complained, "but you broke your word." /

[give one the eye] {v. phr.} , {slang} 1. To look at, especially with interest and liking. •/ A pretty girl went by and all the boys gave her the eye. / 2. To look or stare at, especially in a cold or unfriendly way. •/ Mrs. Jones didn’t like Mary and didn’t speak. She just gave her the eye when they met on the street. /

[give one the works]See: THE WORKS.

[give or take] {v. phr.} To add or subtract. Used with a round number or date to show how approximate it is. •/ The house was built in 1900, give or take five years. /

[give out] {v.} 1. To make known; let it be known; publish. •/ Mary gave out that she and Bob were going to be married. / 2. To let escape; give. •/ The cowboy gave out a yell. / Syn.: GIVE OFF, LET GO. 3. to give to people; distribute. •/ The barber gives out free lollipops to all the children. / Compare: HAND OUT, PASS OUT. 4. To fail; collapse. •/ Tom’s legs gave out and he couldn’t run any farther. / •/ The chair gave out under the fat man. / Compare: WEAR OUT. 5. To be finished or gone. •/ When the food at the party gave out, they bought more. / •/ The teacher’s patience gave out. / Syn.: RUN OUT, RUN SHORT. Compare: USE UP, WEAR OUT. 6. {slang} Not to hold back; act freely; let yourself go. — Often used in the imperative. •/ You’re not working hard, Charley. Give out! / 7. {informal} To show how you feel. •/ When Jane saw the mouse, she gave out with a scream. / •/ Give out with a little smile. / Compare: LET GO.