Текст книги "Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц"

Автор книги: Adam Makkai

Соавторы: Maya Glinberg
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[good day]{interj.} Hello or goodbye. – Used as a formal greeting or salute when you meet or leave someone during the day. •/Miss Rogers said, «Good day!» when she met her friend on the street./ •/Mr. Lee said «Good day!» and left the office./

[good deal] or [great deal]{n.}, {informal} A large amount; much. – Used with "a". •/Mrs. Walker’s long illness cost her a good deal./ •/George spends a great deal of his time watching television./ – Often used like an adverb. •/Cleaning up after the party took a great deal more work than the girls expected./ •/Usually it takes Father half an hour to drive to work, but in bad weather it takes a good deal longer./ •/Mother likes the gloves Mary gave her, and she uses them a good deal./ •/George is a good deal like his father; they both love to eat./ Syn.: A LOT, QUITE A LITTLE. Compare: ALL KINDS OF, GOOD MANY. Contrast: A LITTLE.

[good egg]{slang} or {informal}[good scout]{n. phr.} A friendly, kind or good-natured person, a nice fellow. •/Tommy is such a good egg that everybody wants to be his friend./ Syn.: REGULAR GUY. Contrast: BAD EGG.

[good evening]{interj.} Hello or goodbye. – Used as a formal greeting or salute when you meet or leave someone in the evening. •/When the TV program began, an announcer appeared and said, «Good evening, everyone.»/ •/Finally Aunt May stood up and said, "I will not sell the house. Good evening, Mr. Flynn. "/

[good faith]{n.} 1. Belief in another person’s honesty; trust. •/Uncle Dick let me have the keys to his candy store to show his good faith./ – Often used in the phrase «in good faith». •/The teacher accepted Bob’s excuse for being late in good faith./ 2. Honesty of purpose; trustworthiness. •/John agreed to buy Ted’s bicycle for $20, and he paid him $5 right away to show his good faith./

[good for] or [hurrah for]{adj. phr.} Used with a name or pronoun to praise someone. •/Good for George! He won the 100-yard dash./ •/You got 100 on the test? Hurrah for you./

[good-for-nothing]{adj. phr.} Worthless. •/While Janice works hard each day, her good-for-nothing husband hangs around in the bars./

[good grief!]{interj.}, {informal} Wow! Indication of surprise, good or bad. •/«Good grief,» Joe cried out loud. «Is this all you will pay me for my hard work?»/ •/What a figure Melanie has, good grief! I wonder if she would be willing to go out with me./ Compare: GOODNESS GRACIOUS!, HEAVENLY DAYS!, HOLY CATS or HOLY COW or HOLY MACKEREL or HOLY MOSES. See: GOODNIGHT(2).

[good head on one’s shoulders]{n. phr.} Good sense; good judgment. •/Jack has a good head on his shoulders; he never drives too fast./ •/Alice is a girl with a good head on her shoulders, she always keeps good company./ •/George showed he had a good head on his shoulders by refusing to cheat./

[good many] or [great many]{n.} or {adj.} A large number (of); very many. Used with "a". •/We found some fall flowers, but the frost had already killed a good many./ •/A great many of the houses were knocked down by the earthquake./ •/Tom has a good many friends at school./ •/Mary has a great many ideas for interesting programs./ Syn.: QUITE A FEW. Compare: A LOT, ANY NUMBER, GOOD DEAL. Contrast: A FEW.

[good nature]{n.} Readiness to please others and to be pleased. Cheerfulness, pleasantness. •/Everybody likes Mr. Crowe because of his good nature./ •/Miss Reynolds was remembered by her students for her good nature./

[goodness] See: HONEST-TO-GOODNESS, MY GOD or MY GOODNESS.

[goodness gracious]{interj.}, {slightly archaic} Exclamation of surprise and a certain degree of disapproval. •/«Can my boyfriend stay overnight, Dad?» Melanie asked. «Goodness gracious, most certainly not!» her father replied. «What would the neighbors think?»/

[goodness knows] See: GOD KNOWS.

[good night]{interj.} 1. Used as a polite phrase when you leave someone at night. •/«Good night!» said Bob as he left Dick’s house after the party. «I’ll see you in the morning.»/ •/Bill said good night to his parents and went upstairs to bed./ 2. or [good grief] – Used to show surprise and often some fear or anger. •/Mr. Johnson’s eyes opened wide when he saw the fish his little boy had caught, and said, «Good night!»/ •/Mother was angry and said to Mary, «Good grief! Haven’t you started the dishes yet?»/

[good riddance]{n.} A loss that you are glad about. Often used as an exclamation, and in the sentence «good riddance to bad rubbish». To show that you are glad that something or somebody has been taken or sent away. •/The boys thought it was good riddance when the troublemaker was sent home./ •/When Mr. Roberts' old car was stolen he thought it was good riddance./ •/Betty thought it was good riddance when her little brother broke his toy drum./ •/«I’m going and won’t come back,» said John. «Good riddance to bad rubbish!» said Mary./

[goods] See: DELIVER THE GOODS, CONSUMER GOODS.

[good show!]{adj. phr.} Excellent; terrific; wonderful. •/«Good show, boys!» the coach cried, when our team won the game./

[good scout] See: GOOD EGG.

[go off]{v.} 1. To leave; to depart. •/Helen’s mother told her not to go off without telling her./ 2a. To be fired; explode. •/The firecracker went off and scared Jack’s dog./ 2b. To begin to ring or buzz. •/The alarm clock went off at six o’clock and woke Father./ 3. To happen. •/The party went off without any trouble./ •/The parade went off without rain./

[go off half-cocked] also [go off at half cock]{v. phr.}, {informal} To act or speak before getting ready; to do something too soon. •/Bill often goes off half cocked./ •/Mr. Jones was thinking about quilting his job, but his wife told him not to go at half cock./

[go off like clockwork] See: GO LIKE CLOCKWORK.

[go off the deep end] or [go overboard]{v. phr.}, {informal} To act excitedly and without careful thinking. •/John has gone off the deep end about owning a motorcycle./ •/Mike warned his roommate not to go off the deep end and get married./ •/Some girls go overboard for handsome movie and television actors./

[goof off]{v.}, {slang} To loaf or be lazy; not want to work or be serious; fool around. •/Tow didn’t get promoted because he goofed off all the time and never did his homework./ •/If you goof off on the job too much, you’ll be fired./

[go off in a huff]{v. phr.} To depart in anger. •/Marian went off in a huff just because Jeff failed to open the door for her./

[go on]{v.} 1a. To continue; not stop. •/After he was hit by the ball, Billy quit pitching and went home, but the game went on./ •/The TV picture began to jump, and it went on like that until Father turned a knob./ •/I asked Jane a question but she went on reading and didn’t answer./ •/Mother told Jim to stop, but he went on hitting Susan./ Syn.: KEEP ON. 1b. To continue after a pause; begin with the next thing. •/«Go on! I’m listening,» said Mother./ •/The teacher pointed to the map, and went on, «But the land that Columbus came to was not India.»/ – Often used before an infinitive. •/Father said Mother had gone to the hospital, and went on to say that Grandmother was coming to take care of us./ 1c. (Of time:) To pass. •/As time went on, Mary began to wonder if John had forgotten their date./ •/The years went on, and Betty’s classmates became gray-haired men and women./ 2. To happen. •/Mr. Scott heard the noise and went to see what was going on in the hall./ •/The teacher knows what goes on when she leaves the room./ Syn.: TAKE PLACE. 3. To talk for too long, often angrily. •/We thought Jane would never finish going on about the amount of homework she had./ 4. To fit on; be able to be worn. •/My little brother’s coat wouldn’t go on me. It was too small./ 5. Stop trying to fool me; I don’t believe you. – Used as a command, sometimes with «with». •/When Father told Mother she was the prettiest girl in the world. Mother just said, «Oh, go on, Charles.»/ •/«Aunt May, your picture is in the paper.» «Go on with you, boy!»/

[go on record]{v. phr.} To make an official statement as opposed to an informal one; say something officially that may be quoted with the person’s name added for reference. •/I want to go on record that I oppose the merger with the firm of Catwallender and Swartvik./

[go on the rocks] See: ON THE ROCKS.

[go one’s way]{v. phr.} 1. To start again or continue to where you are going. •/The milkman left the milk and went his way./ •/The man stopped and asked me for a match, then went his way./ Compare: GO ALONG, GO ON. 2. To go or act the way you want to or usually do. •/Joe just wants to go his way and mind his own business./ •/Don’t tell me how to do my job. You go your way and I’ll go mine./ •/George was not a good sport; when the game did not go his way, he became angry and quit./

[goose] See: COOK ONE’S GOOSE, FOX AND GEESE, KILL THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGG, GONE GOOSE.

[goose bumps] or [goose pimples]{n. plural}, {informal} Small bumps that come on a person’s skin when he gets cold or afraid. •/Nancy gets goose bumps when she sees a snake./ •/Ann, put on your sweater; you’re so cold you have goose pimples on your arms./

[go or drive to the wall] See: TO THE WALL.

[go out]{v. phr.} 1. To pass out of date or style. •/Short skirts are gradually going out./ 2. To stop giving off light or burning. •/Put more wood on the fire or it will go out./ 3. To leave. •/When I called Sue, her mother said that she had just gone out./

[go out for] or [come out for]{v. phr.} To try for a place on (an athletic team.) •/Ten boys went out for track that spring./ •/The coach asked Tom why he didn’t come out for basketball./

[go out of business]{v. phr.} To cease functioning as a commercial enterprise. •/The windows of the store are all boarded up because they went out of business./

[go out of one’s way]{v. phr.} To make an extra effort; do more than usual. •/Jane went out of her way to be nice to the new girl./ •/Don did not like Charles, and he went out of his way to say bad things about Charles./ Compare: BEND OVER BACKWARD, KNOCK ONESELF OUT.

[go out the window]{v. phr.}, {informal} To go out of effect; be abandoned. •/During the war, the school dress code went out the window./

[go over]{v.} 1. To examine; think about or look at carefully. •/The teacher went over the list and picked John’s name./ •/The police went over the gun for fingerprints./ 2. To repeat; do again. •/Don’t make me go all over it again./ •/We painted the house once, then we went over it again./ 3. To read again; study. •/After you finish the test, go over it again to look for mistakes./ •/They went over their lessons together at night./ 4. To cross; go to stop or visit; travel. •/We went over to the other side of the street./ •/I’m going over to Mary’s house./ •/We went over to the next town to the game./ 5. To change what you believe. •/Father is a Democrat, but he says that he is going over to the Republicans in the next election./ •/Many of the natives on the island went over to Christianity after the white men came./ 6. To be liked; succeed. – Often used in the informal phrase «go over big». •/Bill’s joke went over big with the other boys and girls./ •/Your idea went over well with the boss./

[go over like a lead balloon]{v. phr.}, {informal} To fail to generate a positive response or enthusiasm; to meet with boredom or disapproval. •/The president’s suggested budget cuts went over like a lead balloon./ •/Jack’s off-color jokes went over like a lead balloon./

[go over one’s head]{v. phr.} 1. To be too difficult to understand. •/Penny complains that what her math teacher says simply goes over her head./ 2. To do something without the permission of one’s superior. •/Fred went over his boss’s head when he signed the contract on his own./

[go over with a fine-tooth comb] See: FINE-TOOTH COMB.

[gopher ball]{n.}, {slang} A baseball pitch that is hit for a home run. •/The pitcher’s only weakness this year is the gopher ball./

[go places] See: GO TO TOWN(2).

[go sit on a tack]{v.}, {slang} Shut up and go away; stop bothering. – Usually used as a command and considered rude. •/Henry told Bill to go sit on a tack./ Compare: GO JUMP IN THE LAKE.

[gosling] See: GONE GOOSE also GONE GOSLING.

[go somebody one better]{v. phr.}, {informal} To do something better than (someone else); do more or better than; beat. •/Bill’s mother gave the boys in Bill’s club hot dogs for refreshments, so Tom’s mother said that she would go her one better next time by giving them hot dogs and ice cream./ •/John made a good dive into the water, but Bob went him one better by diving in backwards./

[go stag]{v. phr.} 1. To go to a dance or party without a companion of the opposite sex. •/When Sally turned him down, Tom decided to go stag to the college prom./ 2. To participate in a party for men only. •/Mrs. Smith’s husband frequently goes stag, leaving her at home./

[go steady]{v. phr.} To go on dates with the same person all the time; dale just one person. •/At first Tom and Martha were not serious about each other, but now they are going steady./ •/Jean went steady with Bob for a year; then they had a quarrel and stopped dating each other./ Syn.: KEEP COMPANY. Contrast: PLAY THE FIELD.

[go straight]{v. phr.}, {slang} To become an honest person; lead an honest life. •/After the man got out of prison, he went straight./ •/Mr. Wright promised to go straight if the judge would let him go free./

[got a thing going]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {informal} To be engaged in a pleasurable or profitable activity with someone else as a partner either in romance or in mutually profitable business. •/«You two seem to have got a thing going, haven’t you?»/ •/«You’ve got a good thing going with your travel bureau, why quit now?»/

[go the rounds]{v. phr.} To pass or be told from one person to another; spread among many people. •/There is a rumor going the rounds that Mr. Norton will be the new superintendent./ •/The story about Mr. Cox’s falling into the lake is making the rounds./ Syn.: GO AROUND.

[go the whole hog] or [go whole hog]{v. phr.}, {informal} To do something completely or thoroughly; to give all your strength or attention to something. •/When Bob became interested in model airplanes, he went the whole hog./ •/The family went whole hog at the fair, and spent a lot of money./ Compare: ALL OUT, ALL THE WAY, SHOOT THE WORKS.

[go through]{v.} 1. To examine or think about carefully; search. •/I went through the papers looking for Jane’s letter./ •/Mother went through the drawer looking for the sweater./ Syn.: GO OVER. 2. To experience; suffer; live through. •/Frank went through many dangers during the war./ 3. To do what you are supposed to do; do what you promised. •/I went through my part of the bargain, but you didn’t go through your part./ Syn.: CARRY OUT. 4. To go or continue to the end of; do or use all of. •/Jack went through the magazine quickly./ •/We went through all our money at the circus./ Syn.: RUN THROUGH. 5. To be allowed; pass; be agreed on. •/I hope the new law we want goes through Congress./ •/The sale of the store went through quickly./

[go through hell and high water]{v. phr.}, {informal} To go through danger, or trouble. •/John is ready to go through hell and high water to help his chum./ •/The soldiers went through hell and high water to capture the fort./ Compare: COME HELL OR HIGH WATER, THROUGH THE MILL.

[go through the motions]{v. phr.} To pretend to do something by moving or acting as if you were really doing it; do something without really trying hard or caring. •/Jane was angry because she couldn’t go out, and when her mother said to dust her room she just went through the motions./ •/The team was so far behind in the game that they just went through the motions of playing at the end./

[go through with]{v. phr.} To finish; do as planned or agreed; not stop or fail to do. •/The boys don’t think Bob will go through with his plans to spend the summer at a camp./ •/Mr. Trent hopes the city won’t go through with its plans to widen the street./ Syn.: CARRY OUT. Compare: CARRY THROUGH, LIVE UP TO.

[go to]{v.} To be ready to do; start doing something. •/When Jack went to write down the telephone number, he had forgotten it./

[go to any length]{v. phr.} To do everything you can. •/Bill will go to any length to keep Dick from getting a date with Mary./ Compare: ALL-OUT.

[go to bat for]{v. phr.}, {informal} To help out in trouble or need; give aid to. •/Everybody else thought Billy had broken the window, but Tom went to bat for him./ •/Mary went to bat for the new club program./ Syn.: STAND UP FOR.

[go to bed with the chickens]{v. phr.}, {informal} To go to bed early at night. •/On the farm John worked hard and went to bed with the chickens./ •/Mr. Barnes goes to bed with the chickens because he has to get up at 5 A.M./

[go together]{v.} 1. To go with the same boy or girl all the time; date just one person. •/Herbert and Thelma go together./ Compare: GO STEADY, GO WITH(2), KEEP COMPANY. 2. To be suitable or agreeable with each other; match. •/Roast turkey and cranberries go together./ •/Ice cream and cake go together./ •/Green and yellow go together./

[go to great lengths] See: GO TO ANY LENGTH.

[go to hell] See: GO TO THE DEVIL.

[go to it!]{v. phr.} An expression of encouragement meaning go ahead; proceed. •/«Go to it!» my father cried enthusiastically, when I told him I had decided to become a doctor./

[go to one’s head]{v. phr.} 1. To make one dizzy. •/Beer and wine go to a person’s head./ •/Looking out the high window went to the woman’s head./ 2. To make someone too proud; make a person think he is too important. •/Being the star player went to John’s head./ •/The girl’s fame as a movie actress went to her head./

[go to pieces]{v. phr.} To become very nervous or sick from nervousness; become wild. •/Mrs. Vance went to pieces when she heard her daughter was in the hospital./ •/The man went to pieces when the judge said he would have to go to prison for life./ •/Mary goes to pieces when she can’t have her own way./

[go to pot]{v. phr.}, {informal} To be ruined; become bad; be destroyed. •/Mr. Jones' health has gone to pot./ •/The motel business went to pot when the new highway was built./ Compare: GO TO WRACK AND RUIN, GO TO THE DOGS.

[go to prove] See: GO TO SHOW.

[go to seed] or [run to seed]{v. phr.} 1. To grow seeds. •/Onions go to seed in hot weather./ 2. To lose skill or strength; stop being good or useful. •/Sometimes a good athlete runs to seed when he gets too old for sports./ •/Mr. Allen was a good carpenter until he became rich and went to seed./

[go to show] or [go to prove]{v. phr.}, {informal} To seem to prove; act or serve to show (a fact); demonstrate. – Often used after «it». •/Our team beat a bigger team, and it just goes to show you can win if you play hard enough./ •/The hard winter at Valley Forge goes to show that our soldiers suffered a great deal to win the Revolution./

[go to the chair]{v. phr.} To be executed in the electric chair. •/After many stays of execution, the criminal finally had to go to the chair./

[go to the devil]{v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To go away, mind your own business. – Used as a command; considered rude. •/George told Bob to go to the devil./ •/«Go to the devil!» said Jack, when his sister tried to tell him what to do./ 2. To become bad or ruined; become useless. •/The boy got mixed up with bad company and began to steal and rob his friends. He went to the devil./ •/Mr. Jones went to the devil after he lost his business./

[go to the dogs]{v. phr.}, {informal} To go to ruin; to be ruined or destroyed. •/The man went to the dogs after he started drinking./ •/After the death of the owner, the business went to the dogs./ •/The team went to the dogs when its best players got hurt./ Compare: GO TO POT.

[go to the trouble] or [take the trouble]{v. phr.} To make trouble or extra work for yourself; bother. •/John told Mr. Brown not to go to the trouble of driving him home./ •/Since your aunt took the trouble to get you a nice birthday present, the least you can do is to thank her./ Compare: PUT OUT(5).

[go to town]{v. phr.}, {slang} 1. To do something quickly or with great force or energy; work fast or hard. •/The boys went to town on the old garage, and had it torn down before Father came home from work./ •/While Sally was slowly washing the dishes, she remembered she had a date with Pete that evening; then she really went to town./ Compare: IN NO TIME, MAKE TIME. Contrast: TAKE ONE’S TIME. 2. or [go places]. To do a good job; succeed. •/Our team is going to town this year. We have won all five games that we played./ •/Dan was a good student and a good athlete; we expect him to go places in business./

[go to waste]{v. phr.} To be wasted or lost; not used. •/The strawberries went to waste because there was nobody to pick them./ •/Joe’s work on the model automobile went to waste when he dropped it./ Compare: IN VAIN.

[go to wrack and ruin]{v. phr.} To fall apart and be ruined; to become useless. •/The barn went to wrack and ruin after the farmer moved./ •/The car will soon go to wrack and ruin standing out in all kinds of weather./

[go under]{v.} 1. To be sunk. •/The ship hit an iceberg and went under./ 2. To fail; be defeated. •/The filling station went under because there were too many others on the street./

[go under the hammer]{v. phr.} To be auctioned off. •/Our old family paintings went under the hammer when my father lost his job./

[go up]{v.} 1. To go or move higher; rise. •/Many people came to watch the weather balloon go up./ •/The path goes up the hill./ 2. To be able to become heard; become loud or louder. •/A shout went up from the crowd at the game./ 3. Grow in height while being built; to be built. •/The new church is going up on the corner./ 4. To increase. •/Prices of fruit and vegetables have gone up./

[go up in smoke] or [go up in flames]{v. phr.} To burn; be destroyed by fire. 1. •/The house went up in flames./ •/The barn full of hay went up in smoke./ 2. Disappear; fail; not come true. •/Jane’s hopes of going to college went up in smoke when her father lost his job./ •/The team’s chances to win went up in smoke when their captain was hurt./

[go up in the air]{v. phr.} To become angry; lose one’s temper. •/Herb is so irritable these days that he goes up in the air for no reason at all./

[gourd] See: SAW WOOD or SAW GOURDS.

[go with]{v.} 1. To match; to look good with. •/A yellow blouse goes with her blonde hair./ •/The woman bought a purse to go with her new shoes./ 2. To go out in the company of. •/Tom goes with the girl who lives across the street./

[go without] See: DO WITHOUT.

[go without saying]{v. phr.} To be too plain to need talking about; not be necessary to say or mention. •/It goes without saying that children should not be given knives to play with./ •/A person with weak eyes should wear glasses. That goes without saying./

[go wrong]{v. phr.} 1. To fail; go out of order. •/Something went wrong with our car and we stalled on the road./ 2. To sink into an immoral or criminal existence. •/In a large city many young people go wrong every year./

[gown] See: TOWN AND GOWN.

[grab bag]{n.} 1. A bag from which surprise packages are chosen; a bag in which there are many unknown things. •/The woman paid a quarter for a chance at the grab bag./ •/The children brought packages to be sold from the grab bag at the school carnival./ 2. A group of many different things from which to choose; a variety. •/The TV program was a grab bag for young and old alike./

[grab off]{v.}, {informal} To take quickly; take or grab before anybody else can; choose for yourself. •/The people who got to the show first grabbed off the best seats./ •/The women hurried to the store to grab off the things on sale./ •/The prettiest girls at the dance were grabbed off for partners first./ Compare: SNAP UP.

[grabs] See: UP FOR GRABS.

[grace] See: FALL FROM GRACE, IN ONE’S BAD GRACES, IN ONE’S GOOD GRACES, WITH BAD GRACE, WITH GOOD GRACE.

[grace period] or [period of grace]{n.} The time or extra time allowed in which to do something. •/Most insurance companies have a grace period of one month for payments./ •/The teacher gave the class a week’s period of grace to finish workbooks./

[grade] See: MAKE THE GRADE.

[grain] See: AGAINST THE GRAIN, TAKE WITH A GRAIN OF SALT.

[grand slam]{n.} A home run hit when there are three men on the bases. •/Tony’s grand slam won the game for the Yankees, 4-0./

[grandstand]{v.}, {slang}, {informal} To show off, to perform histrionics needlessly. •/Stop grandstanding and get down to honest work!/

[grandstander]{n.}, {slang}, {informal} A showoff, a person who likes to engage in histrionics. •/Many people think that Evel Knievel is a grandstander./

[granted] See: TAKE FOR GRANTED.

[grasp at straws] or [clutch at straws]{v. phr.} To depend on something that is useless or unable to help in a time of trouble or danger; try something with little hope of succeeding. •/To depend on your memory without studying for a test is to grasp at straws./ •/The robber clutched at straws to make excuses. He said he wasn’t in the country when the robbery happened./

[grass] See: LET GRASS GROW UNDER ONE’S FEET, SNAKE IN THE GRASS.

[grasshopper] See: KNEE-HIGH TO A GRASSHOPPER

[grass is always greener on the other side of the fence] or [grass is always greener on the other side of the hill] We are often not satisfied and want to be somewhere else; a place that is far away or different seems better than where we are. •/John is always changing his job because the grass always looks greener to him on the other side of the fence./

[grave] See: ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE, TURN IN ONE’S GRAVE or TURN OVER IN ONE’S GRAVE.

[graveyard shift]{n. phr.} The work period lasting from sundown to sunup, when one has to work in the dark or by artificial light. •/«Why are you always so sleepy in class?» Professor Brown asked Sam. «Because I have to work the graveyard shift beside going to school,» Sam answered./

[gravy] See: PAN GRAVY.

[gravy train]{n.}, {slang}, {informal} The kind of job that brings in a much higher income than the services rendered would warrant. •/Jack’s job at the Athletic Club as Social Director is a regular gravy train./

[gray] See: GET GRAY HAIR or GET GRAY, GIVE GRAY HAIR.

[grease-ball]{n.}, {slang}, {derogatory} (avoid) An immigrant from a southern country, such as Mexico, Italy, or Spain; a person with oily looking black hair. •/Mr. White is a racist; he calls Mr. Lopez from Tijuana a grease-ball because he has dark hair./

[grease monkey]{n.}, {slang} 1. A person who greases or works on machinery; a mechanic or worker in a garage or gasoline station. •/Hey, grease monkey, fill up my gas tank!/ •/The grease monkey was all dirty when he came out from under the car./ 2. Airplane mechanic. •/Jack was a grease monkey in the Air Force./

[grease one’s palm] or [grease the palm]{slang} 1. To pay a person for something done or given, especially dishonestly; bribe. •/Some politicians will help you if you grease their palms./ 2. To give a tip; pay for a special favor or extra help. •/We had to grease the palm of the waiter to get a table in the crowded restaurant./

[grease the wheels]{v. phr.}, {informal} To do something or act to make something go smoothly or happen in the way that is wanted. •/Mr. Davis asked a friend to grease the wheels so he could borrow money from the bank./ •/William’s father tried to grease the wheels for him to get a new job./

[greasy spoon]{n.}, {informal} Any small, inexpensive restaurant patronized by workers or people in a hurry; a place not noted for its excellence of cuisine or its decor. •/I won’t have time to eat lunch at the club today; I’ll just grab a sandwich at the local greasy spoon./

[great] See: THINK A GREAT DEAL OF.

[great deal] See: GOOD DEAL.

[great Godfrey] or [great guns] or [great Scott]{interj.}, {informal} A saying usually used to show surprise or anger. •/Great Godfrey! Uncle Willie is sitting on top of the flagpole!/ •/Great guns! The lion is out of his cage./ •/Great Scott! Who stole my watch?/

[great guns]{adv. phr.}, {informal} 1. Very fast or very hard. – Usually used in the phrases «blow great guns», «go great guns». •/The wind was blowing great guns, and big waves beat the shore./ •/The men were going great guns to finish the job./ Compare: FAST AND FURIOUS. 2. Very well; successfully. •/Smith’s new store opened last week and it’s going great guns./

[great many] See: GOOD MANY.

[great oaks from little acorns grow] As great oak trees grow from tiny acorns, so many great people or things grew from a small and unimportant beginning, so be patient. – A proverb. •/Many great men were once poor, unimportant boys. Great oaks from little acorns grow./

[Great Scott] See: GREAT GODFREY.

[green] See: GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE or GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HILL.

[green around the gills] or [pale around the gills]{adj. phr.}, {slang} Pale-faced from fear or sickness; sickly; nauseated. •/Bill’s father took him for a ride in his boat while the waves were rough, and when he came back he was green around the gills./ •/The car almost hit Mary crossing the street, and she was pale around the gills because it came so close./ – Also used with other prepositions besides «around», as «about», «at», «under», and with other colors, as «blue», «pink», «yellow», «white».

[green-eyed monster]{n. phr.} Jealousy; envy. •/When John’s brother got the new bicycle, the green-eyed monster made John fight with him./

[green power]{n.}, {slang}, {informal} The social prestige or power money can buy one. •/In American political elections the candidates that win are usually the ones who have green power backing them./

[green thumb]{n.}, {informal} A talent for gardening; ability to make things grow. – Considered trite by many. •/Mr. Wilson’s neighbors say his flowers grow because he has a green thumb./

[green with envy]{adj. phr.} Very jealous; full of envy. •/Alice’s girlfriends were green with envy when they saw her new dress./ •/The other boys were green with envy when Joe bought a second-hand car./ Compare: GREEN-EYED MONSTER.