Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц
Шрифт:
[nobody’s fool]{n. phr.} A smart person; a person who knows what he is doing; a person who can take care of himself. •/In the classroom and on the football field, Henry was nobody’s fool./ Contrast: BORN YESTERDAY.
[nod] See: LAND OF NOD.
[nodding acquaintance]{n.} Less than casual acquaintance. •/I have never spoken to the chancellor; we have only a nodding acquaintance./
[no deal] or [no dice] or [no go] or [no sale] or [no soap]{slang} Not agreed to; refused or useless; without success or result; no; certainly not. — Used in the predicate or to refuse something. •/Billy wanted to let Bob join the team, but I said that it was no deal because Bob was too young./ •/"Let me have a dollar." "No dice!" answered Joe./ •/I tried to get Mary on the telephone but it was no go./ •/"Let’s go to the beach tomorrow." "No sale, I have my music lesson tomorrow."/ •/I asked Dad for a new bicycle but it was no soap./ Compare: NOTHING DOING, NO USE.
[no doubt]{adv.} 1. Without doubt; doubtless; surely; certainly. •/No doubt Susan was the smartest girl in her class./ 2. Probably. •/John will no doubt telephone us if he comes to town./
[no end]{adv.}, {informal} 1. Very much; exceedingly. •/Jim was no end upset because he couldn’t go swimming./ 2. Almost without stopping; continually. •/The baby cried no end./
[no end to] or {informal}[no end of] So many, or so much of, as to seem almost endless; very many or very much. •/There was no end to the letters pouring into the post office./ •/Bob and Dick became close friends and had no end of fun together./
[no frills]{n. phr.} A firm or product that offers no extras; a generic product that carries no expensive label. •/We went on a no frills trip to Europe with few luxuries./
[noggin] See: USE ONE’S HEAD or USE ONE’S NOGGIN.
[no go] See: NO DEAL.
[no good]{adj. phr.} Not satisfactory; not adequate; not approved. •/"That’s no good," I told him when he began to cry./ •/He was no good at arithmetic./ •/He tried appealing to the man’s pride, but it did no good./
[no great shakes]{adj.}, {informal} Mediocre; unimportant. •/Joe Wilson is no great shakes./
[no hard feelings]{n. phr.} A lack of resentment or anger; a state of peace and forgiveness. •/"No hard feelings," he said. "You should feel free to make constructive criticism any time."/
[no kidding]{n. phr.} Without jokes or teasing; honestly spoken. •/"You actually won the lottery?" Dick asked. "No kidding," Joe replied. "I really did."/
[no longer]{adv.} Not any more; not at the present time. •/He could no longer be trusted and they had to let him go./ •/The shore was no longer in sight./
[no love lost]{n. phr.} Bad feeling; ill will. •/Bob and Dick both wanted to be elected captain of the team, and there was no love lost between them./ •/There was no love lost between the sales and the accounting departments./
[no matter] 1. Not anything important. •/I wanted to see him before he left but it’s no matter./ 2. It makes no difference; regardless of. •/She was going to be a singer no matter what difficulties she met./ •/He had to get the car fixed no matter how much it cost./ •/No matter what you try to do, it is important to be able to speak well./ •/You can’t go in no matter who you are./ •/Mary wanted to get to school on time, no matter if she went without breakfast./
[no matter what]{adv. phr.} Under any circumstances. •/We will go to Europe this summer, no matter what./ •/Charles had decided to go to the football game and he felt he must go no matter what./ Compare: COME HELL OR HIGH WATER.
[nonce] See: FOR THE TIME BEING also FOR THE NONCE.
[none] See: HALF A LOAF IS BETTER THAN NONE, HAVE NONE OF.
[none too]{adv.} Not very; not at all. •/The doctor arrived none too soon as Lucy’s fever was alarmingly high./
[nonsense] See: STUFF AND NONSENSE.
[nonstarter]{n.} An idea, plan, or project that doesn’t work or is obviously no good. •/His plan to start a new private school is a nonstarter because he is unable to organize anything./
[noodle] See: USE ONE’S HEAD or USE ONE’S NOODLE.
[no picnic]{n. phr.} Something arduous; something that requires great effort to accomplish. •/It is no picnic to climb Mount Everest./ Contrast: A PIECE OF CAKE, A CINCH, EASY AS APPLE PIE.