Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц - Makkai Adam - Страница 42

[clothes] See: BEST BIB AND TUCKER or SUNDAY-GO-TO-MEETING CLOTHES.

[clothing] See: WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING.

[cloud] See: EVERY CLOUD HAS A SILVER LINING, IN THE CLOUDS, ON CLOUD NINE, UNDER A CLOUD.

[clover] See: FOUR-LEAF CLOVER, IN CLOVER or IN THE CLOVER.

[club] See: CHRISTMAS CLUB.

[cluck and grunt]{n.}, {slang}, {avoid it in restaurants} The familiar restaurant dish of ham and eggs; since ham is made of pork (and pigs grunt) and eggs come from hens (which cluck.) •/"I am sorry I can’t fix you an elaborate meal, but I can give you a quick cluck and grunt."/

[clutch] See: RIDE THE BRAKE.

[coal] See: CARRY COALS TO NEWCASTLE, HAUL OVER THE COALS or RAKE OVER THE COALS, HEAP COALS OF FIRE ON ONE’S HEAD.

[coast is clear] No enemy or danger is in sight; there is no one to see you. •/When the teacher had disappeared around the corner, John said, "Come on, the coast is clear."/ •/The men knew when the night watchman would pass. When he had gone, and the coast was clear, they robbed the safe./ •/When Father stopped the car at the stop sign, Mother said, "The coast is clear on this side."/

[coat tail] See: ON ONE’S COAT TAILS.

[cock] See: GO OFF HALF-COCKED also GO OFF AT HALF COCK.

[cock-and-bull story]{n. phr.} An exaggerated or unbelievable story. •/"Stop feeding me such cock-and-bull stories," the detective said to the suspect./

[cockeyed]{adj.} Drunk; intoxicated. •/Frank has been drinking all day and, when we met, he was so cockeyed he forgot his own address./

[cocksure]{adj.} Overconfident; very sure. •/Paul was cocksure that it wasn 't going to snow, but it snowed so much that we had to dig our way out of the house./

[C.O.D.]{n. phr.} Abbreviation of "cash on delivery." •/If you want to receive a piece of merchandise by mail and pay when you receive it, you place a C.O.D. order./

[coffee break]{n.} A short recess or time out from work in which to rest and drink coffee. •/The girls in the office take a coffee break in the middle of the morning and the afternoon./

[coffee hour]{n.} A time for coffee or other refreshments after a meeting; a time to meet people and have refreshments. •/After the business meeting we had a coffee hour./ •/The Joneses had a coffee hour so their visitor could meet their neighbors./

[coffee table]{n.} A low table used in a living room. •/There were several magazines on the coffee table./

[coffin nail]{n.}, {slang} A cigarette. •/"I stopped smoking," Algernon said. "In fact, I haven’t had a coffin nail in well over a year."/

[cog] See: SLIP A COG or SLIP A GEAR.

[coin money] or [mint money] {v. phr.}, {informal} To make a lot of money quickly; profit heavily; gain big profit. •/Fred coined money with many cigarette vending machines and juke boxes./

[cold] See: BLOOD RUNS COLD, BLOW HOT AND COLD, CATCH COLD or TAKE COLD, IN COLD BLOOD, OUT COLD, OUT IN THE COLD, PASS OUT(2), STONE-COLD, STOP COLD, THROW COLD WATER ON.

[cold cash] or [hard cash] {n.} Money that is paid at the time of purchase; real money; silver and bills. •/Mr. Jones bought a new car and paid cold cash for it./ * •/Some stores sell things only for cold cash./ Compare: CASH ON THE BARRELHEAD.

[cold comfort]{n.} Something that makes a person in trouble feel very little better or even worse. •/When Tim lost the race, it was cold comfort to him to hear that he could try again in two weeks./ •/Mary spent her vacation sick in bed and Jane’s letter about her trip was cold comfort./

[cold feet]{n. phr.}, {informal} A loss of courage or nerve; a failure or loss of confidence in yourself. •/Ralph was going to ask Mary to dance with him but he got cold feet and didn’t./

[cold fish]{n.}, {informal} A queer person; a person who is unfriendly or does not mix with others. •/No one knows the new doctor, he is a cold fish./ •/Nobody invites Eric to parties because he is a cold fish./

[cold-shoulder]{v.}, {informal} To act towards a person; with dislike or scorn; be unfriendly to. •/Fred cold-shouldered his old friend when they passed on the street./ •/It is impolite and unkind to cold-shoulder people./ Compare: BRUSH OFF(2), HIGH-HAT, LOOK DOWN ONE’S NOSE AT.

[cold shoulder]{n.}, {informal} Unfriendly treatment of a person, a showing of dislike for a person or of looking down on a person.?—?Used in the cliches "give the cold shoulder" or "turn a cold shoulder to" or "get the cold shoulder". •/When Bob asked Mary for a date she gave him the cold shoulder./ •/The membership committee turned a cold shoulder to Jim’s request to join the club./

[cold snap]{n.} A short time of quick change from warm weather to cold. •/The cold snap killed everything in the garden./

[cold turkey]{adv.}, {slang}, {informal} 1. Abruptly and without medical aid to withdraw from the use of an addictive drug or from a serious drinking problem. •/Joe is a very brave guy; he kicked the habit cold turkey./ 2. {n.} An instance of withdrawal from drugs, alcohol, or cigarette smoking. •/Joe did a cold turkey./

[cold war]{n.} A struggle that is carried on by other means and not by actual fighting; a war without shooting or bombing. •/After World War II, a cold war began between Russia and the United States./

[collar] See: HOT UNDER THE COLLAR, ROMAN COLLAR, SAILOR COLLAR.

[collective farm]{n.} A large government-run farm made by combining many small farms. •/The Russian farmers used to live on collective farms./

[collector’s item]{n.} Something rare or valuable enough to collect or save. •/Jimmy’s mother found an old wooden doll in the attic that turned out to be a collector’s item./

[College Boards]{n.} A set of examinations given to test a student’s readiness and ability for college. •/John got a high score on his College Boards./ •/College Boards test both what a student has learned and his ability to learn./

[color] See: CHANGE COLOR, GIVE COLOR TO or LEND COLOR TO, HAUL DOWN ONE’S COLORS, HORSE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR, NAIL ONE’S COLORS TO THE MAST, OFF-COLOR or OFF-COLORED, SAIL UNDER FALSE COLORS, SEE THE COLOR OF ONE’S MONEY, SHOW ONE’S COLORS, WITH FLYING COLORS.

[color guard]{n.} A military guard of honor for the flag of a country; also: a guard of honor to carry and protect a flag or banner (as of a club). •/There were four Marines in the color guard in the parade./ •/Bob was picked to be a color guard and to carry the banner of the drum corps at the football game./

[color scheme]{n.} A plan for colors used together as decoration. •/The color scheme for the dance was blue and silver./ •/Mary decided on a pink and white color scheme for her room./

[comb] See: FINE-TOOTH COMB.

[come] See: CHICKENS COME HOME TO ROOST, CROSS A BRIDGE BEFORE ONE COMES TO IT, EASY COME?—?EASY GO, FIRST COME?—?FIRST SERVED, GET WHAT’S COMING TO ONE, HAVE IT COMING, HOW COME also HOW’S COME, IF WORST COMES TO WORST, JOHNNY-COME-LATELY, KNOW ENOUGH TO COME IN OUT OF THE RAIN, KNOW IF ONE IS COMING OR GOING, LOOK AS IF ONE HAS COME OUT OF A BANDBOX, SHIP COME IN.

[come about]{v.} To take place; happen, occur. •/Sometimes it is hard to tell how a quarrel comes about./ •/When John woke up he was in the hospital, but he didn’t know how that had come about./