Словарь американских идиом (8000 единиц) - неизвестен Автор

[purpose] See: AT CROSS PURPOSES, ON PURPOSE, TO ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES.

[purse] See: LINE ONE'S POCKETS also LINE ONE'S PURSE.

[purse strings] <n.> Care or control of money. * /Dad holds the purse strings in our family./ * /The treasurer refused to let go of the club's purse strings./

[push around] <v.>, <informal> To be bossy with; bully. * /Don't try to push me around!/ * /Paul is always pushing the smaller children around./

[push off] or [shove off] <v.> 1. To push a boat away from the shore. * /Before Tom could reach the boat, Jake had shoved off./ 2. <slang> To start; leave. * /We were ready to push off at ten o'clock, but had to wait for Jill./ * /Jim was planning to stay at the beach all day, but when the crowds arrived he shoved off./

[push on] <v. phr.> To press forward; proceed forward laboriously. * /The exhausted mountain climbers pushed on, despite the rough weather, as the peak was already in sight./

[push one's luck] See: PRESS ONE'S LUCK.

[pushover] <n.> 1. Something easy to accomplish or overcome. * /For Howard steering a boat is a pushover as he was raised on a tropical island./ 2. A person easily seduced. * /It is rumored that she is a pushover when she has a bit to drink./

[push over] <v. phr.> To upset; overthrow. * /She is standing on her feet very solidly; a little criticism from you certainly won't push her over./ * /The wind in Chicago can be so strong that sometimes I'm afraid I'll get pushed over./

[push the panic button] <v. phr.>, <slang> To become very much frightened; nervous or excited, especially at a time of danger or worry. * /John thought he saw a ghost and pushed the panic button./ * /Keep cool; don't hit the panic button!/ Syn.: LOSE ONE'S HEAD.

[push-up] <n.> An exercise to build strong arms and shoulders, in which you lie on your stomach and push your body up on your hands and toes. * /At the age of seventy, Grandpa still does twenty push-ups every day./ * /The football team does push-ups every day./

[push up daisies] <v. phr.>, <slang> To be dead and buried. * /I'll be around when you're pushing up daisies./ * /Don't play with guns or you may push up the daisies./

[put] See: HARD PUT or HARD PUT TO IT, STAY PUT.

[put about] <v. phr.> - Nautical usage. To turn in the opposite direction; turn around. * /When we saw the storm clouds thickening in the sky, we put about quickly and raced ashore./

[put a bee in one's bonnet] See: BEE IN ONE'S BONNET.

[put a bug in one's ear] or [put a flea in one's ear] See: BUG IN ONE'S EAR.

[put across] <v.> 1. To explain clearly; make yourself understood; communicate. * /He knew how to put his ideas across./ Compare: GET ACROSS. 2. <informal> To get (something) done successfully; bring to success; make real. * /He put across a big sales campaign./ * /The new librarian put across a fine new library building./ Syn.: PUT OVER(2). Compare: PULL OFF.

[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./