Словарь американских идиом (8000 единиц) - неизвестен Автор

[radio ham] <n. phr.> Someone whose hobby is the operating of shortwave radio. * /The code letters C.Q. are used by radio hams to invite other radio hams to join in the conversation./

[rag] See: CHEW THE FAT or CHEW THE RAG, GLAD RAGS.

[rag doll] <n.> A doll made of cloth and filled with soft stuffing. * /My baby brother won't go to bed without his rag doll./

[ragged] See: RUN RAGGED.

[rag trade] <n. phr.> The clothing industry. * /My brother is working in the rag trade, manufacturing dresses./

[railroad] <v.> To force through; push through by force. * /The bill was railroaded through the state legislature due to the influence of some very wealthy sponsors./

[rain] See: IT NEVER RAINS BUT IT POURS, KNOW ENOUGH TO COME IN OUT OF THE RAIN.

[rain cats and dogs] or [rain buckets] or [rain pitchforks] <v. phr.>, <informal> To rain very hard; come down in torrents. * /In the middle of the picnic it started to rain cats and dogs, and everybody got soaked./ * /Terry looked out of the window and said, "It's raining pitchforks, so we can't go out to play right now."/

[rain check] <n.> 1. A special free ticket to another game or show which will be given in place of one canceled because of rain. * /When the drizzle turned into a heavy rain the manager announced that the baseball game would be replayed the next day. He told the crowd that they would be given rain checks for tomorrow's game as they went out through the gates./ 2. <informal> A promise to repeat an invitation at a later time. * /Bob said, "I'm sorry you can't come to dinner this evening, Dave. I'll give you a rain check."/

[rained out] <adj.> Stopped by rain. * /The ball game was rained out in the seventh inning./ * /The Friday night rally in the stadium was rained out./

[rain on] <v. phr.>, <slang> To bring misfortune to (someone); to complain to (someone) about one's bad luck. * /Don't rain on me./

[rain or shine] <adv. phr.> 1. If the weather is stormy or if it is fair. * /The parade will start promptly, rain or shine./ 2. No matter; if your luck is good or bad. * /Sam knows he can depend on his family, rain or shine./

[rainproof] <adj.> Resistant to rain; something that will not soak in water; referring to a material that repels water. * /"I don't need an umbrella," she said, "as my coat is rainproof."/

[rainy day] <n.> A time of need; especially: a time when you really need money. * /Squirrels gather acorns for a rainy day./ * /Each week Mrs. Carlson saved a little money for a rainy day./

[raise a hand] See: LIFT A FINGER.

[raise a row] <v. phr.> To cause a disturbance, a fuss, or a scene. * /He raised quite a row when he noticed that someone had scratched his brand new car./

[raise a stink] <v. phr.> To cause a disturbance; complain; protest strongly. * /Quite a stink was raised in the office when the boss discovered that several employees had left early./

[raise Cain] <v. phr.>, <slang> To be noisy; cause trouble. * /When John couldn't go on the basketball trip with the team he raised Cain./ * /The children raised Cain in the living room./ Compare: KICK UP A FUSS, RAISE THE DEVIL.

[raise eyebrows] <v. phr.> To shock people; cause surprise or disapproval. * /The news that the princess was engaged to a commoner raised eyebrows all over the kingdom./

[raise funds] or [money] <v. phr.> To solicit donations for a charity or a specific project. * /Our church is trying to raise the funds for a new organ./

[raise hackles] or [raise one's hackles] <v. phr.> To make (someone) upset or annoyed; arouse hostility. * /Attempts to add new ingredients to the beer raised hackles among all the old brew masters./

[raise havoc] See: PLAY HAVOC WITH.

[raise heck] See: RAISE THE DEVIL.

[raise hob] See: RAISE THE DEVIL.

[raise one's sights] <v. phr.> To aim high; be ambitious. * /Teenage boys sometimes think too much of themselves and have a tendency to raise their sights too high./

[raise one's voice] <v. phr.> To speak loudly, as if in anger or in protest. * /"I'm sorry, Mom," Peter said. "I didn't mean to raise my voice."/

[raise the devil] or [raise heck] or [raise hob] or [raise ned] <v. phr.>, <informal> To make trouble; start a fight or an argument. * /Mr. Black raised heck when he saw the dented fender. He blamed the other driver./ * /Some teenage boys raised the devil in town on Halloween night and damaged a lot of property./ Compare: KICK UP A FUSS.

[raise the roof] <v. phr.>, <informal> 1. To make a lot of noise; be happy and noisy. * /The gang raised the roof with their singing./ 2. To scold loudly. * /Mother raised the roof when she saw the dog's muddy footprints on her new bedspread./ Compare: KICK UP A FUSS, RAISE CAIN.

[rake in] <v. phr.> To realize great profits; take in money. * /Because of the heavy snowfall, ski lodge operators in the Rocky Mountains have been raking in the dough this winter season./

[rake off] <v. phr.> To illegally expropriate part of a sum paid. * /The secretary-treasurer of the association has been caught raking off some of the membership dues./

[rake-off] See: KICKBACK.

[rake over the coals] See: HAUL OVER THE COALS.

[rake up] <v. phr.> To expose; gather; bring to light. * /Let's forget about the past; there's no need to rake up all those old memories./

[ramble on about] <v. phr.> To chatter on idly and without a purpose. * /When Ted has too much to drink, he always rambles on about the good old days./

[ram down one's throat] See: SHOVE DOWN ONE'S THROAT.

[random] See: AT RANDOM.

[rank] See: CLOSE RANKS, PULL RANK.

[rank and file] <n. phr.> Ordinary people; the regular membership of an organization; the enlisted privates in the Army. * /The general usually inspects the rank and file on specific national holidays./ * /The secretary of the association sends letters annually to the rank and file./

[rap] See: TAKE THE RAP.

[rap one's knuckles] <v. phr.> To scold or punish. * /The principal rapped our knuckles for cheating on the test./ * /If you talk back to Dad, you'll get your knuckles rapped./ * /The club got its knuckles rapped by the principal for hazing new members./ * /Why rap my knuckles? It wasn't my fault./ Compare: DRESSING DOWN, GIVE IT TO(2).

[rat] See: SMELL A RAT.

[rate] See: AT ANY RATE, FIRST RATE.

[rather] See: HAD RATHER.

[rat on] See: BLOW THE WHISTLE, RAT OUT.

[rat out] or [rat out on] <v. phr.>, <slang> To desert; to leave at a critical time. * /Joe ratted out on Sue when she was seven months pregnant./

[rat race] <n.>, <slang> A very confusing, crowded, or disorderly rush; a confusing scramble, struggle, or way of living that does not seem to have a purpose. * /The dance last night was a rat race. It was too noisy and crowded./ * /School can be a rat race if you don't keep up with your studies./ * /This job is a rat race. The faster you work, the faster the boss wants you to work./

[rate with someone] <v. phr.> To be esteemed highly by another. * /The professor really rates with both the graduate students and the undergraduates./

[rattle] See: SABRE RAITLING.

[rattle off] or [reel off] <v.> To say quickly without having to stop to think; recite easily and rapidly. * /When Roger was seven he could rattle off the names of all the states in alphabetical order./ * /Joan memorized the "Gettysburg Address" so well that she could reel it off./ * /We asked the waitress what flavors of ice cream she had, and she rattled them off./

[rattle one's saber] <v. phr.> To threaten another government or country without subsequent acts of war. * /It is considered an act of demagoguery on the part of politicians to rattle their sabers./ Compare: YELLOW JOURNALISM.

[rave about] <v. phr.> To talk very enthusiastically about someone or something. * /Hank praised the new TV show very highly but we didn't think it was anything to rave about./

[raw] See: IN THE RAW.

[raw deal] <n. phr.> Unfair treatment; inequity. * /Barry got a raw deal when he was sent to teach the class on advanced nuclear physics; he's an inexperienced graduate student./

[razzle-dazzle] <n.>, <slang> Fancy display; showing off. * /He is such a good player that he doesn't have to add razzle-dazzle to his game./ * /Do we need all this razzle-dazzle to advertise our fair?/

[reach] See: BOARDING HOUSE REACH.

[reach first base] See: GET TO FIRST BASE.

[reach for the sky] <v. phr.>, <slang> 1. To put your hands high above your head or be shot. - Usually used as a command. * /A holdup man walked into a gas station last night and told the attendant "Reach for the sky!"/ Syn.: HANDS UP. 2. To set one's aims high. * /"Why medical technician?" asked her father. "Reach for the sky! Become a physician!"/

[read between the lines] <v. phr.> To understand all of a writer's meaning by guessing at what he has left unsaid. * /Some kinds of poetry make you read between the lines./ * /A clever foreign correspondent can often avoid censorship by careful wording, leaving his audience to read between the lines./

[read into] <v. phr.> To attribute extra meaning to; deduce from; consider to be implicit in. * /Just because Fred's letters sounded so friendly Mary was wrong to read anything serious into them./

[read off] <v. phr.> To read in a speaking voice from a list. * /The secretary read off the names of those present in alphabetical order./

[read one like a book] <v. phr.>, <informal> To understand someone completely; know what he will think or do at any time. * /John's girlfriend could read him like a book./ Compare: READ ONE'S MIND.

[read one one's rights] <v. phr.> To give to an arrested person the legally required statement regarding the rights of such a person. * /"Read him his rights," Sergeant," the captain said, "and book him for breaking and entering."/

[read one's mind] <v. phr.> To know what someone else is thinking. * /I have known John so long that I can read his mind./ - [mind reader] <n.> * /That's exactly what I was going to say. You must be a mind reader!/ Compare: READ LIKE A BOOK.

[read the riot act] <v. phr.> To give someone a strong warning or scolding. * /Three boys were late to class and the teacher read the riot act to them./

[read over] <v. phr.> To read hurriedly in a rather superficial manner. * /The professor said he had no time to read my essay thoroughly but that he had read it over and would comment later in detail./

[read up on] <v. phr.> To study carefully in preparation for an examination or other special purpose. * /Since Mr. and Mrs. Lee are going to take their American citizenship exams soon, they must read up on the Constitution and the three branches of government./

[ready] See: AT THE READY, ROUGH-AND-READY.

[ready-made] <adj.> Mass-produced; machine made. * /I buy all my dresses ready-made because I can't afford to have them made to order./

[ready money] <n. phr.> Cash on hand. * /Frank refuses to buy things on credit, but, if he had the ready money, he would buy that lovely old house./

[real] See: FOR REAL, IT'S BEEN REAL.

[rear] See: BRING UP THE REAR.

[rear end] <n.> 1. The back part (usually of a vehicle) * /The rear end of our car was smashed when we stopped suddenly and the car behind us hit us./ - Often used like an adjective, with a hyphen. * /A head-on crash is more likely to kill the passengers than a rear-end crash./ Contrast: HEAD-ON. 2. Rump; backside. * /Bobby's mother was so annoyed with his teasing that she swatted his rear end./

[rear its head] <v. phr.> To appear; emerge. * /After decades of certainty that tuberculosis had been eradicated globally, it suddenly reared its ugly head right here in the United States./

[reason] See: IN REASON, LISTEN TO REASON, RHYME OR REASON, STAND TO REASON, WITHIN REASON.

[receive with open arms] See: WITH OPEN ARMS.

[reckon with] <v.> To consider as one of the things which may change a situation; consider (something) that will make a difference in the results. * /The coach said the opposing pitcher had a fast ball to be reckoned with./ Syn.: TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.

[reckon without] <v.> To fail to consider as one of the things which might change a situation; not think about. * /The committee for the class picnic party made careful plans for a beach party but they reckoned without a sudden change in the weather./

[record] See: MATTER OF RECORD, OFF THE RECORD, ON RECORD.

[red] See: IN THE RED, PAINT THE TOWN RED, SEE RED.

[redcap] <n.> A porter at an airport or at a railroad station. * /Mr. Smith works as a redcap at Chicago's O'Hare Airport./

[red carpet] See: ROLL OUT THE RED CARPET.

[red cent] <n. phr.> The one-cent coin; a copper coin; very little money. * /Poor Oscar is so broke he doesn't have a red cent to his name./

[red eye] <adj. phr.> Bloodshot eyes that are strained from too much reading. * /Poor Tim has a red eye; he must have been studying too late again./

[red eye] <n. phr.>, <informal> A night flight. * /The company refused to pay for him to take a more expensive daytime flight, so he had to come in on the red eye./

[red-handed] <adj.> In the very act; while committing a crime or evil action. * /The criminal was caught red-handed while holding up the neighborhood bank at gunpoint./

[red herring] <n. phr.> A false scent laid down in order to deceive; a phony or misleading story designed to cause confusion. * /That story about the president having an affair was a red herring created by the opposition in order to discredit him./

[red-letter day] <n. phr.> A holiday; memorable day (usually printed in red on calendars). * /The Fourth of July is a red-letter day./ * /It was a red-letter day for Felix, when he won the lottery./

[red-light district] <n. phr.> A district of brothels or where prostitutes hang out. * /Most unwisely, the young sailor decided to spend his leave on shore by haunting the red-light districts of the port of call./

[red tape] <n. phr.> Unnecessary bureaucratic routine; needless but official delays. * /If you want to get anything accomplished in a hurry, you have to find someone in power who can cut through all that red tape./

[reel off] See: RATTLE OFF.

[reference] See: IN REFERENCE TO or WITH REFERENCE TO.

[refine on] or [refine upon] <v.> 1. To make better; improve. * /Mary was asked to refine on her first outline to make it clearer and more exact./ 2. To be better than; surpass. * /Modern medical techniques refine on those of the past./

[regain one's feet] <v. phr.> To get back up again after falling down. * /Tom fell while he skied down the hill but he regained his feet quickly./ Compare: TO ONE'S FEET.

[regard] See: IN REFERENCE TO or IN REGARD TO or WITH REGARD TO.