Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц
Шрифт:
[give oneself away]{v. phr.} To show guilt; show you have done wrong. •/The thief gave himself away by spending so much money./ •/Carl played a joke on Bob and gave himself away by laughing./ Compare: GIVE AWAY.
[give oneself up]{v.} To stop hiding or running away; surrender. •/The thief gave himself up to the police./ •/Mr. Thompson hit another car, and his wife told him to give himself up./ Compare: TURN IN.
[give oneself up to]{v. phr.} Not to hold yourself back from; let yourself enjoy. •/Uncle Willie gave himself up to a life of wandering./ •/John came inside from the cold and gave himself up to the pleasure of being in a warm room./ Compare: ENJOY ONESELF, LET ONESELF GO.
[give one some of his] or [her own medicine]{v. phr.} To treat someone the way he or she treats others (used in the negative). •/The gangster beat up an innocent old man, so when he resisted arrest, a policeman gave him a little of his own medicine./
[give one’s due]{v. phr.} To be fair to (a person), give credit that (a person) deserves. •/The boxer who lost gave the new champion his due./ •/We should give a good worker his due./ Compare: GIVE THE DEVIL HIS DUE.
[give one’s right arm for]{v. phr.} To give something of great value; sacrifice. •/During our long hike in the desert, I would have given my right arm for an ice cold drink./
[give one’s word]{v. phr.} To seriously promise. •/"You gave me your word you would marry me," Mary bitterly complained, "but you broke your word."/
[give one the eye]{v. phr.}, {slang} 1. To look at, especially with interest and liking. •/A pretty girl went by and all the boys gave her the eye./ 2. To look or stare at, especially in a cold or unfriendly way. •/Mrs. Jones didn’t like Mary and didn’t speak. She just gave her the eye when they met on the street./
[give one the works] See: THE WORKS.
[give or take]{v. phr.} To add or subtract. Used with a round number or date to show how approximate it is. •/The house was built in 1900, give or take five years./
[give out]{v.} 1. To make known; let it be known; publish. •/Mary gave out that she and Bob were going to be married./ 2. To let escape; give. •/The cowboy gave out a yell./ Syn.: GIVE OFF, LET GO. 3. to give to people; distribute. •/The barber gives out free lollipops to all the children./ Compare: HAND OUT, PASS OUT. 4. To fail; collapse. •/Tom’s legs gave out and he couldn’t run any farther./ •/The chair gave out under the fat man./ Compare: WEAR OUT. 5. To be finished or gone. •/When the food at the party gave out, they bought more./ •/The teacher’s patience gave out./ Syn.: RUN OUT, RUN SHORT. Compare: USE UP, WEAR OUT. 6. {slang} Not to hold back; act freely; let yourself go. — Often used in the imperative. •/You’re not working hard, Charley. Give out!/ 7. {informal} To show how you feel. •/When Jane saw the mouse, she gave out with a scream./ •/Give out with a little smile./ Compare: LET GO.
[give pause]{v. phr.} To cause you to stop and think; make you doubt or worry. •/The heavy monthly payments gave Mr. Smith pause in his plans to buy a new car./ •/The bad weather gave Miss Carter pause about driving to New York City./
[give place to] See: GIVE RISE TO.
[give rein to] or [give free rein to]{v. phr.} To remove all restrictions or limitations from someone or something. •/When she wrote her first mystery novel, the talented novelist gave rein to her imagination./
[give rise to]{v. phr.} To be the reason for; cause. •/A branch floating in the water gave rise to Columbus' hopes that land was near./ •/John’s black eye gave rise to rumors that he had been in a fight./
[give someone his rights] or [read someone his rights]{v. phr.}, {informal} 1. The act of advising arrested criminals that they have the right to remain silent and that everything they say can be held against them in a court of law; that they have the right to the presence of an attorney during questioning and that if they can’t afford one and request it, an attorney will be appointed for them by the State. •/The cops gave Smith his rights immediately after the arrest./ 2. To sever a relationship by telling someone that he or she can go and see a divorce lawyer or the like. •/Sue gave Mike his rights before she slammed the door in his face./ Compare: READ THE RIOT ACT.
[give the air] See: GIVE THE BOUNCE(1).
[give the ax]{v. phr.}, {colloquial} 1. Abruptly to finish a relationship. •/She gave me the ax last night./ 2. To fire an employee in a curt manner. •/His boss gave John the ax last Friday./
[give the benefit of the doubt]{v. phr.} To believe (a person) is innocent rather than guilty when you are not sure. •/The money was stolen and John was the only boy who had known where it was, but the teacher gave him the benefit of the doubt./ •/George’s grade was higher than usual and he might have cheated, but his teacher gave him the benefit of the doubt./
[give the bounce] or [give the gate]{v. phr.}, {slang} 1. or [give the air] To stop being a friend or lover to (a person); separate from. •/Mary gave John the bounce after she saw him dating another girl./ •/Bill and Jane had an argument and Bill is giving her the gate./ 2. or [give the sack] also [give the hook] To fire from a job; dismiss. •/The ball team gave Joe the gate because he never came to practice./ Contrast: GET THE BOUNCE.
[give the creeps] See: THE CREEPS.
[give the devil his due]{v. phr.} To be fair, even to someone who is bad; tell the truth about a person even though you don’t like him, •/I don’t like Mr. Jones, but to give the devil his due, I must admit that he is a good teacher./
[give the gate] See: GIVE THE BOUNCE.
[give the glad eye]{v. phr.}, {slang} To give (someone) a welcoming look as if saying "come over here, I want to talk to you." •/I was surprised when Joe gave me the glad eye./