Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц
Шрифт:
[whitewash something]{v.}, {informal} To explain a major, national scandal in soothing official terms so as to assure the public that things are under control and there is no need to panic. •/Many people in the United States believe that President Kennedy’s assassination was whitewashed by the Warren Commission./ See: WHITEWASH.
[whiz] See: GEE WHIZ.
[who] See: SAYS WHO.
[whodunit]{n.} A detective story; a murder story; a thriller. •/Agatha Christie was a true master of the whodunit./
[who is who] See: WHO’S WHO.
[who laughs last laughs best] See: HE LAUGHS BEST WHO LAUGHS LAST.
[whole] See: ALL THE WAY or THE WHOLE WAY, GO THE WHOLE HOG, ON THE WHOLE, WITH A WHOLE SKIN or IN A WHOLE SKIN.
[whole cheese]{slang} or {informal}[whole show]{n.}, {informal} The only important person; big boss. •/Joe thought he was the whole cheese in the game because he owned the ball./ •/You’re not the whole show just because you got all A’s./ Compare: BIG CHEESE.
[whole hog] See: GO THE WHOLE HOG.
[whole lot] See: A LOT.
[whole show] See: WHOLE CHEESE.
[whoop it up]{v. phr.}, {slang} 1. To make a loud noise; have a noisy celebration; enjoy yourself noisily. •/The team whooped it up after winning the game./ 2. To praise something enthusiastically; encourage enthusiasm or support. — Often used with "for". •/Father wanted to go to the country, but the children whooped it up for the beach./
[who’s who] or [who is who]{informal} 1. Who this one is and who that one is; who the different ones in a group of people are or what their names or positions are. •/It is hard to tell who is who in the parade because everyone in the band looks alike./ •/It took the new teacher a few days to remember who was who in the class./ Compare: WHICH IS WHICH. 2. Who the important people are. •/John didn’t recognize the champion on television. He doesn’t know who is who in boxing./ •/After about a year, Mr. Thompson had lived in this town long enough to know who was who./ Compare: WHAT’S WHAT.
[why and wherefore]{n.} The answer to a question or problem. Usually used in the plural. •/Father told him not to always ask the whys and wherefores when he was told to do something./
[wide] See: FAR AND WIDE, GIVE A WIDE BERTH.
[wide-eyed] See: ROUND-EYED.
[wide of the mark]{adv.} or {adj. phr.} 1. Far from the target or the thing aimed at. •/James threw a stone at the cat but it went wide of the mark./ 2. Far from the truth; incorrect. •/You were wide of the mark when you said I did it, because Bill did it./ Contrast: HIT THE BULL’S-EYE, HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD.
[widow] See: GOLF WIDOW.
[wiener roast] or [hot dog roast]{n.} A party where frankfurters are cooked and eaten over an outdoor fire. •/For his birthday party, John had a wiener roast in his backyard./ •/Mary’s Girl Scout troop had a hot dog roast on their overnight hike./
[wig] See: BIG CHEESE or BIG WIG.
[wild] See: RUN WILD, SOW ONE’S WILD OATS.
[wildcat strike]{n.}, {informal} A strike not ordered by a labor union; a strike spontaneously arranged by a group of workers. •/The garbage collectors have gone on a wildcat strike, but the union is going to stop it./
[wild goose chase]{n. phr.} An absurd and completely futile errand. •/I was on a wild goose chase when I was sent to find a man who never really existed./
[wild pitch]{n.} A pitch in baseball that is so high, so low, or so far from the plate that the catcher cannot catch it and a base runner can move to the next base. •/The runner went to second base on a wild pitch./
[will] See: AT WILL, OF ONE’S OWN ACCORD or OF ONE’S OWN FREE WILL.
[will not hear of]{v. phr.} Will not allow or consider, refuse attention to or permission for. •/I want to go to the show tonight, but I know my mother will not hear of it./ •/Mary needs another day to finish her book report, but the teacher won’t hear of any delay./ •/John’s father told him he would not hear of his having a car./
[win] See: HEADS I WIN, TAILS YOU LOSE.
[wind] See: GET WIND OF, GOD TEMPERS THE WIND TO THE SHORN LAMB, GONE WITH THE WIND, IN THE WIND, IT’S AN ILL WIND THAT BLOWS NOBODY GOOD, SECOND WIND, STRAW IN THE WIND, TAKE THE WIND OUT OF ONE’S SAILS, THREE SHEETS IN THE WIND or THREE SHEETS TO THE WIND, THROW CAUTION TO THE WIND, WAY THE WIND BLOWS or HOW THE WIND BLOWS.
[windbag]{n.} Someone who talks too much; a boring person. •/Uncle Joe goes on and on; he is a boring windbag./
[windfall]{n.} An unexpected gift or gain of sizeable proportion. •/The unexpected retroactive pay raise was a most welcome windfall./
[window] See: GO OUT THE WINDOW.
[window dressing]{n. phr.} An elaborate exterior, sometimes designed to conceal one’s real motives. •/All those fancy invitations turned out to be nothing but window dressing./ •/All he really wanted was to be introduced to my influential father-in-law./