Словарь американских идиом (8000 единиц)
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[chickens come home to roost] <informal> Words or acts come back to cause trouble for a person; something bad you said or did receives punishment; you get the punishment that you deserve. * /Fred's chickens finally came home to roost today. He was late so often that the teacher made him go to the principal./ - Often used in a short form. * /Mary's selfishness will come home to roost some day./
[chicken switch] <n.>, <slang>, <Space English> 1. The emergency eject button used by test pilots in fast and high flying aircraft by means of which they can parachute to safety if the engine fails; later adopted by astronauts in space capsules. * /Don't pull the chicken switch, unless absolutely necessary./ 2. The panic button; a panicky reaction to an unforeseen situation, such as unreasonable or hysterical telephone calls to friends for help. * /Joe pulled the chicken switch on his neighbor when the grease started burning in the kitchen./
[child] See: BURNT CHILD DREADS THE FIRE, WITH CHILD.
[children and fools speak the truth] Children and fools say things without thinking; they say what they think or know when grown-ups might not think it was polite or wise to do so.
– A proverb. * /"Uncle Willie is too fat," said little Agnes. "Children and fools speak the truth," said her father./
[children should be seen and not heard] A command issued by adults to children ordering them to be quiet and not to interrupt.
– A proverb. * /Your children should not argue so loudly. Haven't you taught them that children should be seen and not heard?/
[child's play] <adj.> Easy; requiring no effort. * /Mary's work as a volunteer social worker is so agreeable to her that she thinks of it as child's play./
[chill] See: SPINE-CHILLING.
[chime in] <v.> 1. <informal> To join in. * /The whole group chimed in on the chorus./ * /When the argument got hot, John chimed in./ 2. To agree; go well together.
– Usually used with "with". * /Dick was happy, and the holiday music chimed in with his feelings./ * /When Father suggested going to the shore for the vacation, the whole family chimed in with the plan./
[chin] See: KEEP ONE'S CHIN UP, STICK ONE'S NECK OUT or STICK ONE'S CHIN OUT, TAKE IT ON THE CHIN, UP TO THE CHIN IN.
[china shop] See: BULL IN A CHINA SHOP.
[China syndrome] <n.>, <informal> From the title of the movie with Jane Fonda and Jack Lemmon. The possibility that an industrial nuclear reactor might explode, literally affecting the other side of the planet (as if by eating a hole through the earth all the way to China.) * /Antinuclear demonstrators are greatly worried about the China syndrome./
[chip] See: CASH IN ONE'S CHIPS at CASH-IN, IN THE CHIPS. LET THE CHIPS FALL WHERE THEY MAY, FISH-AND-CHIPS, WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN.
[chip in] or [kick in] <v.>, <informal> To give together with others, contribute. * /The pupils chipped in a dime apiece for the teacher's Christmas present./ * /All the neighbors kicked in to help after the fire./ * /Lee chipped in ten points in the basketball game./ * /Joe didn't say much but chipped in a few words./
[chip off the old block] <n. phr.> A person whose character traits closely resemble those of his parents. * /I hear that Tom plays the violin in the orchestra his father conducts; he sure is a chip off the old block./
[chip on one's shoulder] <n. phr.>, <informal> A quarrelsome nature; readiness to be angered. * /He went through life with a chip on his shoulder./ * /Jim often gets into fights because he goes around with a chip on his shoulder./
[chips] See: WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN.
[chisel] or [muscle in on] <v. phr.> To illegitimately and forcefully intrude into someone's traditional sales or professional arena of operation. * /Tim has a good sales territory, but he is always afraid that someone might chisel in on it./ * /Las Vegas casino owners are concerned that the Mafia might muscle in on their territory./
[choice] See: BY CHOICE, FIELDER'S CHOICE.
[choke off] <v.> To put a sudden end to; stop abruptly or forcefully. * /It was almost time for the meeting to end, and the presiding officer had to move to choke off debate./ * /The war choked off diamond shipments from overseas./
[choke up] <v.> 1a. To come near losing calmness or self-control from strong feeling; be upset by your feelings. * /When one speaker after another praised John, he choked up and couldn't thank them./ * /When Father tried to tell me how glad he was to see me safe after the accident, he choked up and was unable to speak./ 1b. <informal> To be unable to do well because of excitement or nervousness. * /Bill was a good batter, but in the championship game he choked up and did poorly./ 2. To fill up; become clogged or blocked; become hard to pass through. * /The channel had choked up with sand so that boats couldn't use it./
[choose] See: PICK AND CHOOSE.
[chooser] See: BEGGARS CAN'T BE CHOOSERS.
[choose up sides] <v. phr.> To form two teams with two captains taking turns choosing players. * /The boys chose up sides for a game of softball./ * /Tom and Joe were the captains. They chose up sides./
[chop] See: LICK ONE'S CHOPS.
[chow line] <n.>, <slang> A line of people waiting for food. * /The chow line was already long when John got to the dining hall./ * /The soldiers picked up trays and got into the chow line./
[Christmas] See: FATHER CHRISTMAS.
[Christmas card] <n.>, <slang>, <citizen's band radio jargon> A speeding ticket. * /Smokey just gave a Christmas card to the eighteen wheeler we passed./
[Christmas club] <n.> A plan for putting money in the bank to be saved for Christmas shopping. * /John deposits $10 each week in the Christmas club./ * /The woman will get her Christmas club money on December 10./
[chum around with] <v. phr.> 1. To be close friends with someone. * /They have been chumming around with one another for quite some time./ 2. To travel around with someone. * /Jack is planning to chum around with Tim in Europe this summer./
[cigar-store Indian] <n. phr.> A wooden statue of an Indian which in the past was placed in front of a cigar store. * /A cigar store Indian used to mean a cigar store in the same way a barber pole still means a barber shop./
[circle] See: COME FULL CIRCLE, IN A CIRCLE or IN CIRCLES, RUN CIRCLES AROUND also RUN RINGS AROUND.
[circulation] See: IN CIRCULATION, OUT OF CIRCULATION.
[circumstance] See: UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES also IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES.
[circumstances alter cases] <formal> The way things are, or happen, may change the way you are expected to act. * /John's father told him never to touch his gun, but one day when Father was away, John used it to shoot a poisonous snake that came into the yard. Circumstances alter cases./