Текст книги "Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц"

Автор книги: Adam Makkai

Соавторы: Maya Glinberg
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Текущая страница: 44 (всего у книги 61 страниц)

[put all one’s eggs in one basket]{v. phr.} To place all your efforts, interests, or hopes in a single person or thing. •/Going steady in high school is putting all your eggs in one basket too soon./ •/To buy stock in a single company is to put all your eggs in one basket./ •/He has decided to specialize in lathe work, although he knows it is risky to put all his eggs in one basket./

[put a new face on]{v. phr.} To alter the aspect of something; change. •/Mr. Merry man’s announcement of his candidacy for governor puts an entirely new face on the political scene in our state./

[put an end to] or [put a stop to]{v. phr.} 1. To make (something) end; stop; end. •/The farmer built an electric fence around his field to put an end to trespassing./ •/The principal said that running in the halls was dangerous, and told the teachers to put a stop to it./ 2. To destroy or kill. •/The new highway took most of the traffic from the old road and put an end to Mr. Hanson’s motel business./ •/When the horse broke his leg, the farmer put an end to him./

[put aside]{v. phr.} 1. To save; put something aside for a special purpose. •/Peter puts $100 aside every week./ 2. To let go of; put away. •/The teacher to the students, «Put your books aside and start writing your tests!»/

[put away]{v.} 1. To put in the right place or out of sight. •/She put away the towels./ 2. To lay aside; stop thinking about. •/He put his worries away for the weekend./ 3. {informal} To eat or drink. •/He put away a big supper and three cups of coffee./ Compare: STOW AWAY. 4. {informal} To put in a mental hospital. •/He had to put his wife away when she became mentally ill./ 5. To put to death for a reason; kill. •/He had his dog put away when it became too old and unhappy./

[put back the clock] or [turn back the clock]{v. phr.} To go back in time; relive the past. •/If I could put back the clock I’d give more thought to preparing for a career./ •/Richard wishes that he had lived in frontier days, but he can’t turn back the clock./

[put by]{v.} To save for the future; lay aside. •/He had put by a good sum during a working lifetime./

[putdown]{n.} An insult, •/It was a nasty putdown when John called his sister a fat cow./

[put down]{v. phr.} 1. To stop by force, crush. •/In 24 hours the general had entirely put down the rebellion./ 2. To put a stop to; check. •/She had patiently put down unkind talk by living a good life./ 3. To write a record of; write down. •/He put down the story while it was fresh in his mind./ 4. To write a name in a list as agreeing to do something. •/The banker put himself down for $1000./ •/Sheila put Barbara down for the decorations./ 5. To decide the kind or class of; characterize. •/He put the man down as a bum./ •/He put it down as a piece of bad luck./ 6. To name as a cause; attribute. •/He put the odd weather down to nuclear explosions./ 7. To dig; drill; sink. •/He put down a new well./

[put forth]{v. phr.} To produce; issue; send out. •/In the spring the apple trees put forth beautiful white blossoms./ •/The chairman of the board put forth an innovative proposal that was circulated by mail./

[put ideas into one’s head]{v. phr.} To persuade someone to do something negative; put one up to something. •/Billy would never have poured glue into his father’s shoes if the neighbor’s son hadn’t been putting ideas into his head./

[put in]{v.} 1. To add to what has been said; say (something) in addition to what others say. •/While the boys were discussing the car accident, Ben put in that the road was icy./ •/My father put in a word for me and I got the job./ 2. To buy and keep in a store to sell. •/He put in a full stock of drugs./ 3. To spend (time). •/He put in many years as a printer./ •/He put in an hour a day reading./ 4. To plant. •/He put in a row of radishes./ 5. To stop at a port on a journey by water. •/After the fire, the ship put in for repairs./ 6. To apply; ask. – Used with «for». •/When a better job was open, he put in for it./ •/The sailor put in for time to visit his family before the ship went to sea./

[put in a word for]{v. phr.} To speak in favor of someone; recommend someone. •/«Don’t worry about your job application,» Sam said to Tim. «I’ll put in a word for you with the selection committee.»/

[put in an appearance] also [make an appearance]{v. phr.} To be present, esp. for a short time; visit; appear. •/He put in an appearance at work, but he was too ill to stay./ •/The president put in an appearance at several dances the evening after he was sworn in./

[put in mind of]{v. phr.}, {nonstandard} To remind of; suggest to; call up the memory of. •/She puts me in mind of my sister./ •/That puts me in mind of a story./

[put in one’s place]{v. phr.}, {informal} To criticize someone for impolite boldness; remind someone of low rank or position; reduce someone’s unsuitable pride; deflate. •/The assistant was trying to take command when the professor put him in his place by saying, «No, I’m the boss here.»/ •/She was a teacher who could put a troublemaker in his place with just a glance./ Syn.: CUT DOWN TO SIZE.

[put in one’s two cents worth] See: TWO CENTS(2).

[put in one’s way] See: PUT IN THE WAY OF.

[put in the way of] or [put in one’s way]{v. phr.} To set before (someone); give to (someone); show the way to; help toward. •/After Joe graduated, the coach put him in the way of a good job./ •/The librarian put me in the way of a lot of new material on the subject of my report./

[put (it) in black and white] See: BLACK AND WHITE.

[put (it) in writing] See: BLACK AND WHITE.

[put it on thick] See: LAY IT ON.

[put off]{v.} 1. {informal} To cause confusion in; embarrass; displease. •/I was rather put off by the shamelessness of his proposal./ •/The man’s slovenliness put me off./ 2. To wait and have (something) at a later time; postpone. •/They put off the picnic because of the rain./ 3. To make (someone) wait; turn aside. •/When he asked her to name a day for their wedding, she put him off./ •/When the bill collector called, Mrs. Smith managed to put him off./ 4. To draw away the attention; turn aside; distract. •/Little Jeannie began to tell the guests some family secrets, but Father was able to put her off./ 5. To move out to sea; leave shore. •/They put off in small boats to meet the coming ship./ Syn.: PUT OUT.

[put on]{v. phr.} 1. To dress in. •/The boy took off his clothes and put on his pajamas./ •/Mother put a coat on the baby./ 2a. To pretend; assume; show. •/Mary isn’t really sick; she’s only putting on./ •/He put on a smile./ •/The child was putting on airs./ 2b. To exaggerate; make too much of. •/That’s rather putting it on./ Compare: LAY IT ON. 3. To begin to have more (body weight); gain (weight). •/Mary was thin from sickness, and the doctor said she must put on ten pounds./ •/Too many sweets and not enough exercise will make you put on weight./ 4a. To plan and prepare; produce; arrange; give; stage. •/The senior class put on a dance./ •/The actor put on a fine performance./ 4b. To make (an effort). •/The runner put on an extra burst of speed and won the race./ 5. To choose to send; employ on a job. •/The school put on extra men to get the new building ready./

[put-on]{n.} An act of teasing; the playing of a practical joke on someone. •/Eric didn’t realize that it was a put-on when his friends phoned him that he won the lottery./

[put on airs]{v. phr.} To show conceit; act in a superior or condescending manner. •/The fact that her parents own a villa in Capri is no reason for Amanda to keep putting on airs./

[put on an act]{v. phr.} 1. To perform a play. •/The seventh grade put on a lovely act for Christmas for the parents./ 2. To pretend. •/«If you always put on an act,» her father said, «people will never know who you really are.»/

[put on ice] See: ON ICE(2).

[put one in one’s place] See: CUT DOWN TO SIZE.

[put one in the picture]{v. phr.} To inform someone of all the facts about a given situation. •/Once you’re back from your overseas trip, we’ll put you in the picture about recent developments at home./

[put one on a pedestal]{v. phr.} To exaggeratedly worship or admire a person. •/Daniel puts Elaine on a pedestal and caters to her every whim./

[put one on one’s feet] See: ON ONE’S FEET(2).

[put one out of the way] See: OUT OF THE WAY(3).

[put one through one’s paces]{v. phr.} To train and discipline someone; test one’s abilities. •/The new recruits were certainly put through their paces by the drill sergeant./

[put one wise]{v. phr.} To bring one up-to-date; inform someone; explain. •/Our old friend David put us wise as to where the best used cars could be found in Chicago./

[put one’s back to it]{v. phr.} To make a real effort; to try. •/You can finish the job by noon if you put your back to it./ •/I’m sure you can make the football team if you put your back to it./

[put one’s best foot forward]{v. phr.}, {informal} To try to make a good impression; try to make a good appearance; do one’s best. •/During courtship, it is natural to put your best foot forward./ •/When Ted applied for the job he put his best foot forward./

[put one’s cards on the table] See: LAY ONE’S CARDS ON THE TABLE.

[put oneself in another’s place] or [put oneself in another’s shoes]{v. phr.} To understand another person’s feeling imaginatively; try to know his feelings and reasons with understanding; enter into his trouble. •/It seemed like a dreadful thing for Bob to do, but I tried to put myself in his place./ •/If you will put yourself in the customer’s shoes you may realize why the thing isn’t selling./

[put one’s finger on] also [lay one’s finger on]{v. phr.} To find exactly. •/The engineers couldn’t put their fingers on the reason for the rocket’s failure to orbit./ •/We called in an electrician hoping he could put a finger on the cause of the short circuit./

[put one’s foot down]{v. phr.}, {informal} To take a decided stand; be stubborn in decision. •/John didn’t want to practice his piano lesson, but his teacher put his foot down./ •/When it came to smoking pot at parties, our parents put their foot down./

[put one’s foot in it] or [put one’s foot in one’s mouth]{v. phr.}, {informal} To speak carelessly and rudely; hurt another’s feelings without intending to; make a rude mistake. •/He put his foot in it with his remark about self-made men because Jones was one of them./ •/She put her foot in her mouth with her joke about that church, not knowing that one of the guests belonged to it./

[put one’s hand on] See: LAY ONE’S HANDS ON(3).

[put one’s hand to] or [set one’s hand to] or [turn one’s hand to]{v. phr.} To start working at; try to do. •/Hal does a good job at everything mat he turns his hand to./ •/After Mr. Sullivan found farming unprofitable, he moved to town and turned his hand to carpentry./

[put one’s hand to the plow] or [set one’s hand to the plow]{v. phr.} To start doing something of importance; give yourself to a big job. •/We felt that he had put his hand to the plow, and we didn’t like it when he quit./

[put one’s head in the sand] See: HIDE ONE’S HEAD IN THE SAND.

[put one’s heart on one’s sleeve] See: HEART ON ONE’S SLEEVE.

[put one’s money on a scratched horse]{v. phr.}, {informal} To bet on a certain failure; to gamble without a chance of winning. •/You bet on the New York Mets to win the World Series? Why put your money on a scratched horse?/ Compare: STACK THE CARDS.

[put one’s nose out of joint]{v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To make you jealous; leave you out of favor. •/When Jane accepted Tom’s invitation it put Jack’s nose out of joint./ 2. To ruin your plans; cause you disappointment. •/Joe’s mother put his nose out of joint by not letting him go to the movie./

[put one’s house in order] or [set one’s house in order]{v. phr.} To arrange your affairs in good order. •/Grandfather knew he would not live long and set his house in order./ •/When Mr. Black died, his lawyer helped the widow put her house in order./

[put one’s shoulder to the wheel]{v. phr.} To make a great effort yourself or with others; try hard; cooperate. •/The effort to get a new high school succeeded because everyone put his shoulder to the wheel./ •/The company was failing in business until a new manager put his shoulder to the wheel./

[put on one’s thinking cap]{v. phr.} To think hard and long about some problem or question. •/Miss Stone told her pupils to put on their thinking caps before answering the question./

[put on paper] See: BLACK AND WHITE.

[put on the back burner] See: ON ICE.

[put on the dog]{v. phr.} To behave ostentatiously in terms of dress and manner. •/«Stop putting on the dog with me,» Sue cried at Roy. «I knew the real you from way hack!»/

[put on the line] See: LAY ON THE LINE.

[put on the map]{v. phr.} To make (a place) well known. •/The first successful climb of Mount Matterhorn put Zermatt, Switzerland, on the map./ •/Shakespeare put his hometown of Stratford-on-Avon on the map./

[put out]{v.} 1. To make a flame or light stop burning; extinguish; turn off. •/Please put the light out when you leave the room./ •/The firemen put out the blaze./ 2. To prepare for the public; produce; make. •/For years he had put out a weekly newspaper./ •/It is a small restaurant, which puts out an excellent dinner./ 3. To invest or loan money. •/He put out all his spare money at 4 percent or better./ 4. To make angry; irritate; annoy. •/It puts the teacher out to be lied to./ •/Father was put out when Jane spilled grape juice on his new suit./ 5. {informal} To cause inconvenience to; bother. •/He put himself out to make things pleasant for us./ •/Will it put you out if I borrow your pen?/ Compare: GO OUT OF ONE’S WAY. 6. To retire from play in baseball. •/The runner was put out at first base./ 7. To go from shore; leave. •/A Coast Guard boat put out through the waves./ 8. {vulgar}, {avoidable} Said of women easy and ready to engage in sexual intercourse. •/It is rumored that Hermione gets her promotions as fast as she does because she puts out./

[put out of action] See: OUT OF ACTION.

[put out of the way]{v. phr.} To kill. •/When people spoke against the dictator, he had them put out of the way./ •/The old dog was very sick, and Father had the animal doctor put him out of the way./

[put over]{v.} 1. To wait to a later time; postpone. •/They put over the meeting to the following Tuesday./ Syn.: PUT OFF. 2. {informal} To make a success of; complete. •/He put over a complex and difficult business deal./ Syn.: BRING OFF, PUT ACROSS, SLIP OVER. 3. {informal} To practice deception; trick; fool. – Used with «on». •/George thought he was putting something over on the teacher when he said he was absent the day before because his mother was sick and needed him./ •/Tom really slipped one over on us when he came to the Halloween party dressed as a witch./

[put someone on]{v.} To play a joke on someone by saying or doing things that are only pretense; kid. •/When the voice on the phone told Mrs. Jones she had won a $10,000 prize, she thought someone was putting her on./

[put that in your pipe and smoke it]{v. phr.}, {informal} To understand something told you; accept something as fact or reality; not try to change it. – Usually used as a command, normally only in speech, and often considered rude. •/People don’t vote against Santa Claus, and you might as well put that in your pipe and smoke it./ •/I am not going to do that and you can put that in your pipe and smoke it./

[put the bite on]{v. phr.}, {slang} To ask (for money, favors, etc.) •/John put the bite on his friend for several tickets to the dance./ •/Willie Mays put the bite on the Giants for a large raise./

[put the cart before the horse] See: CART BEFORE THE HORSE.

[put their heads together] or [lay their heads together]{v. phr.}, {informal} To plan or consider things together; discuss something as a group; talk it over. •/They put their heads together and decided on a gift./ •/We laid our heads together and decided to have a picnic./

[put through]{v. phr.} 1. To carry out; arrange. •/If Jim can put through one more financial transaction like this one, we will be rich./ 2. To connect (said of telephone calls). •/The telephone operator had to put me through to Zambia as there is no direct dialing there yet./

[put through one’s paces]{v. phr.}, {informal} To test the different abilities and skills of a person or a thing; call for a show of what one can do. •/He put his new car through its paces./ •/Many different problems put the new mayor through his paces in the first months of his term./

[put to bed]{v. phr.} 1. To put to rest for the night. •/Father put the three children to bed./ •/The boy seemed ill, so the nurse put him to bed./ 2. {informal} To complete preparations and print. •/The newspaper was put to bed at 1:15 A.M./ •/The pressroom was late in putting the sports section to bed./

[put to it]{adj. phr.} Hard pressed; having trouble; in difficulty; puzzled. •/When he lost his job, he was rather put to it for a while to provide for his family./ •/The boy was put to it to answer the teacher’s question./

[put to rights] or [set to rights]{v. phr.}, {informal} To put in good order; clean up. •/It took the company a long time to put the office to rights after the fire./ •/It took Mrs. Smith an hour to set the room to rights after the party./

[put to sea]{v. phr.} To start a voyage. •/The captain said the ship would put to sea at six in the morning./ •/In the days of sailing ships, putting to sea depended on the tides./

[put to shame]{v. phr.} 1. To disgrace. •/The cleanliness of European cities puts our cities to shame./ •/That filthy dump puts our town to shame./ 2. To do much better than surpass. •/Einstein put other physicists to shame when he proved his theory of relativity correct./

[put to sleep]{v. phr.} 1. To cause to fall asleep. •/Mother used to put us to sleep by telling us a good-night story and giving us a kiss./ 2. To kill with an injection (said of animals). •/Dr. Murphy, the veterinarian, put our sick, old dog to sleep./

[put to the sword]{v. phr.}, {literary} To kill (people) in war, especially with a sword. •/The Romans put their enemies to the sword./ •/In some wars captives have been put to the sword./

[put to use]{v. phr.} To use. •/During the early part of the Korean war the cooks and office workers of the U.S. Army were put to use in battle./ •/Henry decided to put his dictionary to use./ •/I wish you’d put the lawn mower to use!/

[put two and two together]{v. phr.} To make decisions based on available proofs; reason from the known facts; conclude; decide. •/He had put two and two together and decided where they had probably gone./ •/It was just a mater of putting two and two together: the facts seemed to permit only one decision./

[put up]{v.} 1a. To make and pack (especially a lunch or medicine); get ready; prepare. •/Every morning Mother puts up lunches for the three children./ •/The druggist put up the medicine that the doctor had prescribed./ Compare: MAKE UP(1). 1b. To put food into jars or cans to save; can. •/Mother is putting up peaches in jars./ 1c. To store away for later use. •/The farmer put up three tons of hay for the winter./ 2. To put in place; put (something) where it belongs. •/After he unpacked the car, John put it up./ •/After the hard ride, the doctor gave the horse to the stable boy to put up./ •/After the battle, the knight put up his sword./ Syn.: PUT AWAY. 3. To suggest that (someone) be chosen a member, officer, or official. •/The club decided to take in another member, and Bill put up Charles./ – Often used with «for». •/The Republicans put Mr. Williams up for mayor./ 4. To put (hair) a special way; arrange. •/Aunt May puts up her hair in curlers every night./ Compare: DO UP(3a). 5. To place on sale; offer for sale. •/She put the house up for sale./ 6a. To provide lodging for; furnish a room to. •/The visitor was put up in the home of Mr. Wilson./ •/They put Frank up at a good hotel./ 6b. To rent or get shelter; take lodging; stay in a place to sleep. •/The traveler put up at a motel./ •/We put up with friends on our trip to Canada./ 7. To make; engage in. •/He put up a good fight against his sickness./ Compare: CARRY ON. 8. To furnish (money) or something needed; pay for. •/He put up the money to build a hotel./

[put-up]{adj.} Artificially arranged; plotted; phony; illegal. •/The FBI was sure that the bank robbers worked together with an insider and that the whole affair was a put-up job./

[put up a (brave, good, etc.) flght]{v. phr.} To resist. •/He put up a good fight but he was bound to lose in the end to the older, more experienced chess player./

[put up a (brave] or [good) front]{v. phr.} To act courageously, even though one is actually afraid. •/When Joe was taken in for his open heart surgery, he put up a brave front, although his hands were shaking./

[put up or shut up]{v. phr.}{informal} 1. To bet your money on what you say or stop saying it. – Often used as a command; often considered rude. •/The man from out of town kept saying their team would beat ours and finally John told him «Put up or shut up.»/ 2. To prove something or stop saying it. – Often used as a command; often considered rude. •/George told Al that he could run faster than the school champion and Al told George to put up or shut up./

[put upon]{v.} To use (someone) unfairly; expect too much from. – Used in the passive or in the past participle. •/Martha was put upon by the bigger girls./ •/Arthur was a much put-upon person./

[put up to]{v. phr.}, {informal} To talk to and make do; persuade to; get to do. •/Older boys put us up to painting the statue red./ Compare: EGG ON.

[put up with]{v.} To accept patiently; bear. •/We had to put up with Jim’s poor table manners because he refused to change./ •/The mother told her children, «I refuse to put up with your tracking in mud!»/ Compare: STAND FOR.

[put wise]{v.}, {slang} To tell (someone) facts that will give him an advantage over others or make him alert to opportunity or danger. •/The new boy did not know that Jim was playing a trick on him, so I put him wise./ – Often used with «to». •/Someone put the police wise to the plan of the bank robbers, and when the robbers went into the bank, the police were waiting to catch them./ Compare: TIP OFF.

[put words into one’s mouth]{v. phr.} To say without proof that another person has certain feelings or opinions; claim a stand or an idea is another’s without asking; speak for another without right. •/When he said «John here is in favor of the idea.» I told him not to put words in my mouth./