Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц
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[cream] See: VANISHING CREAM.
[cream of the crop]{n. phr.} The best of a group; the top choice. •/May Queen candidates were lovely, but Betsy and Nancy were the cream of the crop./ •/The students had drawn many good pictures and the teacher chose the cream of the crop to hang up when the parents came to visit./
[creature of habit]{n. phr.} A person who does things out of habit rather than by thought. •/Our boss is a creature of habit, so let us not confuse him with too many new ideas./
[credibility gap]{n.}, {hackneyed phrase}, {politics} An apparent discrepancy between what the government says and what one can observe for oneself. •/There was a tremendous credibility gap in the USA during the Watergate years./
[credit] See: DO CREDIT.
[creek] See: UP THE CREEK or UP THE CREEK WITHOUT A PADDLE.
[creep] See: THE CREEPS.
[creep up on]{v.} 1. To crawl towards; move along near the ground; steal cautiously towards so as not to be seen or noticed. •/The mouse did not see the snake creeping up on it over the rocks./ •/Indians were creeping up on the house through the bushes./ 2. or [sneak up on] To come little by little; arrive slowly and unnoticed. •/The woman’s hair was turning gray as age crept up on her./ •/Winter is creeping up on us little by little./ •/The boys didn’t notice the darkness creeping up on them while they were playing./ Compare: COME OVER.
[crew] See: SECTION GANG or SECTION CREW.
[crew cut] or [crew haircut]{n.} A boy’s or man’s hair style, cut so that the hair stands up in short, stiff bristle. •/Many boys like to get crew cuts during the summer to keep cooler./
[crisp] See: BURN TO A CRISP.
[crocodile tears]{n.} Pretended grief; a show of sorrow that is not really felt. •/When his rich uncle died, leaving him his money, John shed crocodile tears./ (From the old legend that crocodiles make weeping sounds to attract victims and then shed tears while eating them.)
[crook] See: BY HOOK OR BY CROOK.
[crop] See: CASH CROP, CREAM OF THE CROP, STICK IN ONE’S CRAW or STICK IN ONE’S CROP.
[crop out]{v.} To appear at the surface; come through or show through from hiding or concealment. •/Rocks often crop out in New England pasture land./ •/A hidden hate cropped out in his words./
[cropper] See: COME A CROPPER.
[crop up]{v.} To come without warning; appear or happen unexpectedly. •/Problems cropped up almost every day when Mr. Reed was building his TV station./ •/Serious trouble cropped up just when Martin thought the problem of his college education was solved./ Compare: TURN UP.
[cross] See: AT CROSS PURPOSES, CARRY ONE’S CROSS, DOUBLE CROSS, KEEP ONE’S FINGERS CROSSED at CROSS ONE’S FINGERS(1b).
[cross a bridge before one comes to it]{v. phr.} To worry about future events or trouble before they happen. — Usually used in negative sentences, often as a proverb. •/"Can I be a soldier when I grow up, Mother?" asked Johnny. "Don’t cross that bridge until you come to it," said his mother./ Compare: BORROW TROUBLE.
[cross-check(1)]{v.} To test the truth of by examining in different ways or by seeing different reports about. •/If you see something in a book that may not be true, be sure to crosscheck it in other books./
[cross-check(2)]{n.} The testing of the truth of by checking one report against another or others. •/A cross-check with other books will show us if this story is true./
[cross fire]{n.} 1. Firing in a fight or battle from two or more places at once so that the lines of fire cross. •/The soldiers on the bridge were caught in the crossfire coming from both sides of the bridge./ 2. Fast or angry talking back and forth between two or more people; also, a dispute; a quarrel. •/There was a cross fire of excited questions and answers between the parents and the children who had been lost in the woods./ •/The principal and the graduates quarreled about the football team, and the coach was caught in the cross fire and lost his job./
[cross one’s fingers]{v. phr.} 1a. To cross two fingers of one hand for good luck. •/Mary crossed her fingers during the race so that Tom would win./ 11b. or [keep one’s fingers crossed]{informal} To wish for good luck. •/Keep your fingers crossed while I take the test./ 2. To cross two fingers of one hand to excuse an untruth that you are telling. •/Johnny crossed his fingers when he told his mother the lie./
[cross one’s heart] or [cross one’s heart and hope to die]{v. phr.}, {informal} To say that what you have said is surely true; promise seriously that it is true. — Often used by children in the longer form. Children often make a sign of a cross over the heart as they say it, for emphasis. •/"Cross my heart, I didn’t hide your bicycle," Harry told Tom./ •/"I didn’t tell the teacher what you said. Cross my heart and hope to die," Mary said to Lucy./