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McGraw-Hill’s
Dictionary
of
American Idioms
and
Phrasal Verbs
Richard A. Spears, Ph.D.
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Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the
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Contents
About This Dictionary v
How to Use This Dictionary ix
Acknowledgments xv
Terms and Symbols xvii
Dictionary 1
Phrase-Finder Index 783
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About This Dictionary
All languages have phrases that cannot be under- GOALS OF THE DICTIONARY
stood literally and, therefore, cannot be used with
confidence. They are opaque or unpredictable A major goal of this dictionary is to make certain
because they don’t have expected, literal meaning. that each definition of a phrase illustrates the
Even if you know the meaning of all the words in meaning of the phrase and matches it in syntax.
a phrase and understand all the grammar of the The major exceptions are definitions that begin
phrase completely, the meaning of the phrase may with “a phrase” or “an expression.” Similarly, the
still be confusing. A phrase or sentence of this examples for each sense must match the defini-
type is said to be idiomatic. This dictionary is a tion in meaning and syntax. The best use of the
collection of the idiomatic phrases and sentences entries is to study the entry head, definition, and
that occur frequently in American English. Many example carefully. Look for the meaning that is
of them occur in some fashion in other varieties common to all three. If the diligent user can see
of English also. the elements of meaning shared by the entry
Many overlapping terms have been used to phrase, the definition, and the example(s), the
describe the idiomatic phrases included here: ver- dictionary entry has done its task well.
bal collocations, idioms, idiomatic expressions, A second goal is to provide the learner with
clichés, proverbs, set phrases, fixed phrases, enough information about the many forms that
phrasal verbs, common phrases, prepositional an idiom might take to allow the user to recog-
verbs, and phrasal/prepositional verbs. They all nize it in a variety of contexts and to be able to
offer the same kinds of problems to the speaker use it in speech and writing.
and writer of English. They are unclear because A third goal is to make the details accessible
the meaning of the phrase is not literal or pre- to the learner. Idiomatic expressions and their
dictable. Phrasal verbs, also called two-word verbs, variants are complex and unpredictable. There are
are idiomatic expressions because the second ele- many synonyms and near synonyms. General
ment of the verb (the adverb or preposition) is cross-referencing in the body of the dictionary
not necessarily predictable. For instance, why the will help users find synonymous phrases. The
word up in call up a friend? Why not say call on a Phrase-Finder Index provides a powerful tool for
friend or call in a friend? Actually, those are three locating entry forms embedded in other entries
separate, unpredictable combinations, and they and partially remembered phrases. The form of
each mean something completely different. For the entry is quite straightforward, consisting of
example, you can call up a friend on the telephone, entry, definition, comments (if any), and exam-
call on a friend to have a visit, and call in a friend ples. Senses are numbered and may include vari-
to come and help you with something. ants in addition to those found in the entry head.
Although there are some entries that are very A minimum of abbreviations and symbols are
casual or informal English, slang and idioms used, and these are explained in the section
should not be confused. Some slang is also “Terms and Symbols.” The user who understands
idiomatic, and some idioms are also slang, but the meaning of entry head, variable, and wild
generally they refer to different aspects of lan- card term is equipped to understand everything
guage. There are a few slang terms in this dictio- that follows.
nary, because they are also fairly commonly
known idioms.
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About This Dictionary
WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM THIS These differences may never be revealed if the
DICTIONARY? entry heads are just bail out and see through,
with no object indicated. This dictionary presents
The dictionary will prove useful for native speak- the additional details that a native speaker already
ers who are looking for synonymous idiomatic knows. The information needed for the learner
phrases. Many phrases can be expressed in a vari- includes whether the verb can take an object and,
ety of ways, and this dictionary, through cross- if so, what kind of object (human, nonhuman,
referencing, can lead the native speaker to equiv- or both) is needed. The learner also needs to
alent forms with the same or similar meaning. know what additional prepositional phrases are
The index provides a means for a writer to find required or optional for the correct use of the
the most appropriate phrase for a given purpose. expressions.
Native speakers can find most of what they want
by looking up words representing key ideas in the
index and following the references to phrases in PHRASE ORIGINS
the dictionary itself.
Likewise, near-native speakers who need help A surprising number of phrases have literary or
with phrasal verbs and common idiomatic phrases Biblical origins. The works of Shakespeare, in par-
will find this reference very useful. Speakers and ticular, have provided many memorable phrases
writers trained in British English will find this that are in constant use around the world. When
dictionary a good reference for checking on the the source is the Bible or Shakespeare, as well as
American form and meaning of expressions pre- other authors, that is noted in the dictionary
viously encountered in British English. entries. Most of the phrasal or two-word verbs are
The format of the dictionary is designed to due to the Germanic origins of English. The
provide the information needed by learners who choice of which particle (the second part of a
are attempting to read and write conventional two-word verb) is an ancient problem.
American English. It contains far more detail and There are many instances, recorded in this dic-
specificity than is required by people who have tionary, of a figurative phrasal verb being derived
heard, spoken, and written standard American from a more literal interpretation of the same
English all their lives. For instance, a dictionary phrasal verb. In these instances, the phrasal verbs
designed for native speakers of English might (or two-word verbs) appear in both figurative and
include the subentries bail out and see through. literal senses in the same entry. One sense helps
However, there are major differences in meaning the user understand the other sense. In this case,
between the idiomatic expressions that can be the figurative sense has its origin in the literal
based on these words. sense. In entries where this occurs, the literal
senses are marked Lit. and the figurative senses
bail out (of something) “jump out” are marked Fig.
bail someone out (of something) “post bond to get A high percentage of the entries in this dictio-
a person out of jail” nary have their origins in a figurative usage where
bail something out (of something) “remove water there is no matching literal sense. That is why they
from a boat” offer special difficulty in understanding. Wher-
bail something out “empty a boat (of accumulated ever necessary or possible there is a note in the
water)” entry suggesting what a figurative entry is based
on or alluding to. Sometimes the relationship is
see something through “work at something until completely obvious and no explanation is offered.
it is finished” Quite a few of the similes (for example, as
see through something “see through something busy as a beaver) are contrived and appear to
that is transparent” be part of an ever-expanding repertory of color-
see through something “detect a trick or decep- ful and quaint comparisons. Similarly, the senses
tion” marked Rur. (rural) are often contrived and may
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About This Dictionary
appear more often as colorful expressions in writ- the early use of a word by consulting a historical
ing than they ever did in real life. That these rural- dictionary, such as the Oxford English Dictionary.
sounding expressions actually had a rural origin That will show the earliest usage recorded in the
can be debated. Nor can all the similes be taken books and other documents that have been con-
seriously. They are included because they might sulted for the creation of the dictionary. Some
be encountered by the learner and their listing phrases and idioms may be included in the entries
here might be useful for a writer—if nothing and quotations, but that is not the primary focus
more than as something to be avoided. of a historical dictionary. As more and more data
There is another kind of “origin” that needs become available in a searchable, digital format,
to be mentioned. There are a few idioms that seem it is possible to find examples of the early uses of
to invite very clever but totally baseless tales of specific phrases more easily. A very careful writer
origin. Many of these tales are quite popular and of historical novels or screenplays will be inter-
widely known. Two examples of such “story” ested in making sure that a certain word or phrase
idioms involve sleep tight and a dead ringer. was actually in use during the period in question.
The first is associated with sleeping on a tightly The OED can be helpful in determining this kind
strung, rope-supported mattress, and the second of information. An early date for a phrase (or
refers to a corpse ringing a bell. The details word) does not necessarily indicate the earliest
depend on the teller of the tale. Such tales of ori- use of the item nor the period of widespread com-
gin are very entertaining to many people. The prehension in the population, however.
idioms on which these stories are based are This dictionary offers the user help in seeing
included in this dictionary, but the tale is neither semantic relationships and allusions, but it has
told nor debunked here. goals that are quite different from those of a his-
There are many additional phrases that are just torical dictionary. The major concern here is
the customary patterns used to say things in both contemporary usage, and it probably reflects
casual and more formal situations. Common idiomatic English over the last 50 years. The older
greetings and responses are included in this cat- members of the native-speaking population know
egory, and these expressions have their origins in more of the entries than the younger people, but
the functions they were meant to serve. the latter will learn more as they age. Probably 75
percent of the entries are widely known, conven-
tional English for 75 percent of the educated,
WHEN WERE THEY FIRST USED? native-speaking adult population.
Users often have an interest in dating the origins
of a phrase. It is possible to put a specific date on
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How to Use This Dictionary
For most users, most of the time, a single instruc- which entry head to look up. Those entry heads
tion will be enough, and that is to start with the will include wild card terms. It is much easier to
Phrase-Finder Index. look up these expressions in the dictionary itself
if the wild card terms are included in the alpha-
betization.
In the index, look up a major word in the
idiom, preferably a verb, and go to the most
appropriate dictionary entry listed in the OVERCOMING OPAQUE AND
right-hand column. If no appropriate entry UNPREDICTABLE PHRASES
is listed at the verb, try an adverb, preposi-
tion, or other word. There are three general reasons why idiomatic
expressions are problems for students, writers,
and other adults wishing to expand their skills
Further hints can be found at the beginning of the with conventional American English. The three
Phrase-Finder Index. The organization and phi- problems involve (1) difficulties with extracting
losophy of the dictionary is discussed in much the core of the idiomatic expression from a sen-
greater detail below. tence or paragraph, (2) the variable nature of
idioms, and (3) the basic opaque nature of these
phrases. There is little that can be done about
ALPHABETIZATION opacity other than use a dictionary, but there is
some information about the other problems that
In the dictionary, phrasal verbs (or two-word can help the user. What follows will explain the
verbs) and their related prepositional verbs are organization of the dictionary and the way the
alphabetized on the verb. All other idiomatic peculiarities of English phrases have been han-
expressions are alphabetized in their complete dled here. It is not necessary to be able to under-
forms with no inversion of parts. Entries are not stand the following discussion to use the dictio-
listed by “key word” unless the “key word” is the nary.
first word. On the other hand, the index lists all
the key words in a phrase. In that way, the key
word is the user’s choice and not the compiler’s EXTRACTING THE IDIOMATIC PART
choice. All alphabetizing is word by word, rather OF A SENTENCE
than letter by letter. Initial a, an, and the are
ignored in the alphabetization. Significant vari- Idiomatic phrases are usually found included
ants are cross-referenced to a main entry head. within a sentence, and it is difficult to extract the
In most instances, an object of a verb or preposi- core of the idiom so that it can be looked up in a
tion is shown by a wild card term, either someone, dictionary. These expressions are often learned in
something, someone or something, or some other expres- a list, and, unfortunately, the form of the expres-
sion such as some amount of money. Showing whether sion presented in the list is probably only one of
an object is human, nonhuman, or of some other many variants. In the real world, these expres-
semantically limited category is essential to sions are never seen or heard except in a complete
explaining meaning and distinguishing the senses. sentence. In order to look them up in a dictionary,
Wild card terms are included in the alphabetiza- they have to be extracted from the sentence in
tion. In the Phrase-Finder Index, you are shown which they are found. You cannot look up a
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