unstuck come unstuck British & Australian if a person or something they are trying to achieve comes unstuck, they haveproblems which cause them to fail • Athletes who don't prepare prope
Trang 1ugly
an ugly duckling
someone or something that is ugly and
not successful when they are young or
new, but which develops into something
beautiful and successful • The most
successful company was last year's ugly
to have difficulty making a decision
• (often+about) She's still umming and
ahing about telling her mother • He
ummed and ahed and finally agreed to let
me seethe documents.
umbrage
take umbrageformal
to become upset and angry about
something someone has said or done
• (often+at) He took great umbrage at
newspaper reviews of his book • The
minister took umbrage when colleagues
queried her budget plans.
uncertain
in no uncertain terms
if someone tells you something in no
uncertain terms, they say it in a strong
and direct way • We were told in no
uncertain terms that dishonesty would not
be tolerated.
uncle
Uncle Sam
the government or the country of the
United States •These smaller countries
resent being so dependent on Uncle Sam for protection.
an Uncle Tom
a black person who is too eager to pleasewhite people ;b This phrase is from thebookUncle Tom's Cabinby H.B.Stowe,inwhich the main person in the story is ablack slave.(= someone who is legallyowned by another person) •She was seen
by other blacks in the neighborhood as an Uncle Tom for not complaining about police harassment.
say uncle American, informal
to admit that you have been defeated
;b In children's fights, a child being helddown had to say 'uncle' before beingallowed to get up • I'm determined to show them I can be a star I'm not going to say uncle.
unglued come unglued
1American, informal to lose control ofyour emotions After Dan's death shejust came unglued.
2American, informal if a person orsomething they are trying to achievecomes unglued, they have problemswhich cause them to fail • The negotiations are showing signs of coming unglued, with new questions coming up every day • The team played well in the first half but came unglued in the second.
unknown
an unknown quantity
if someone or something is an unknownquantity, you do not know much aboutthem or what effect they will have in thefuture • Turner may do well in the election, though he is an unknown quantity as a campaigner • The new computer system is still an unknown quantity for our department.
unstuck
come unstuck British & Australian
if a person or something they are trying
to achieve comes unstuck, they haveproblems which cause them to fail
• Athletes who don't prepare properly for the humid conditions will certainly come
Trang 2unstuck • The negotiations came unstuck
over disagreements about the wording.
up
Up yours!very informal
an angry and impolite way of telling
someone you do not care about their
opinion • 'You're not supposed to be
smoking in here.' 'Upyours, mate!'
be (right) up there withsb/sth
to be as good or as famous as someone or
something else>He's up there with the
foremost sculptors of our age.
be on the up
if someone or something is on the up,
they are becoming more successful •At
number27in the world tennis rankings he
is definitely on the up.• It's been a difficult
year for our family, but things are on the
up again now.
be on the up and up
1 informal if someone or something is on
the up and up they are becoming more
and more successful Since the recession
ended, our business has been on the up
and up.
2 American, informal if a person or an
activity is on the up and up, they are
honest> You can trust Mick - he's on the
up and up.
be upyourself British &Australian, very
informal
to think that you are better and more
important than other people She's so up
herself ever since she landed this new job,
it's unbearable.
be up againststh/sb
if you are up against a situation, a
person, or a group of people, they make it
very difficult for you to achieve what you
want to achieve When I saw how deeply
the racist views were held I began to
understand what we were up against.
• The Weish rugby team will really be up
against it (= have a lot of problems)
when they take on France next week.
be up and about/around
if someone is up and about after an
illness, they are well enough to get out of
up
bed and move around Trevor's up and about again, but he won't be able to drive for afeui weeks.
be up and down
1 if a person is up and down, they aresometimes happy and sometimes sad,usually after something very bad has
happened to them • She's been very up and down since her husband's death.
2 if a situation is up and down, it issometimes good and successful andsometimes bad and not successful
• Things are up and down for dairy farmers at the moment.
be up and running <,
if a system, an organization, or amachine is up and running, it isestablished and working Until the new computer system is up and running we will have to work on paper.
be up for sth informal :)<
to want to do something and to be able to
doit»It's a long walk Are you up for it?
• After a long day at work I wasn't really upfor a party.
be up to sth X
to be doing or planning something, often
secretly • We think those boys are up to something, or they wouldn't be behaving
so suspiciously • (often used in questions) What are you up to in there?
be up toyourears/eyeballs/eyes insth
British, American &Australian
be up toyourchin insth American ~
to have too much of something,
especially work We're up to our eyeballs
in decorating at the moment.
notbe up to muchBritish, informal
if something is not up to much, it is not
very good or effective· This hairdryer's not up to much - it only blows out cold air.
be up with the larkBritish, American &
Australian
be up with the crowsAustralian
to be awake and out of your bed early inthe morning tbLarks and crows arebirds that start singing very early in the
morning • You were up with the lark this morning!
Trang 3up-and-coming
up-and-coming
becoming more and more successful in a
job (always before noun)Shefounded a
musicians.
uphill
an uphill battle/fight/struggle <«
' -if something you are trying to do is an
uphill struggle, it is very difficult, often
because other people are causing
problems for you • Environmentalists
face an uphill struggle convincing
people to use their cars less.• We're trying
to expand our business, but it's an uphill
battle.
upper
the upper crust
people who have the highest social
position and who are usually rich Many
treasures were brought back to Britain
because its upper crust was wealthy and
liked travelling abroad.
upper-crust • He spoke with an
upper-crust accent.
gain/get the upper hand. (often +
over) Government troops are gradually
gaining the upper hand over the rebel
forces.• I shouldn't have read the letter,
but curiosity got the upper hand.
uppers
be (down) onyouruppersBritish, fashioned
old-to be in a very bad financial situation
• Hungary's once successful film industry
is on its uppers.• He was always ready to help anyone who was down on their uppers.
ups "'7Z
ups and downs
the mixture of good and bad things
which happen to people • Like most
married couples we've had our ups and
downs • The book charts the ups and downs of a career infashion.
upstairs kick sb upstairs
to give someone a new job which seemsmore powerful but is really less powerful,usually in order to stop them causing
trouble for you • Brown is being kicked upstairs to become chairman of the new company.
be slow on the uptake
to be slow to understand new ideas •I tried to explain the new database, but they were remarkably slow on the uptake.
OPPOSITE be quick on the uptake. Some
of the games were quite complex but the children were very quick on the uptake,
up-to-the-minute "~
up-to-the-minute
containing the most modern or recent
ideas or information • For top designer names and up-to-the-minutefashion, shop
at Taylors.
Trang 4variety ")<..'
Variety is the spice of life. >'
something that you say which means life
is more interesting when it changes often
and you have many different experiences
• I have to work in the heat of Sudan one
week and the cold of Alaska the next, but I
suppose variety is the spice of life.
veil
draw aveil oversth
if you draw a veil over a subject, you do
not talk about it any more because it
could cause trouble or make someone
embarrassed I think we should draw a
veil over this conversation and pretend it
if someone has verbal diarrhoea, they
talk too much • It was awful - a whole
evening with this guy who had verbal
diarrhoea.
vicious
a vicious circle K
a difficult situation that cannot be
improved because one problem causes
another problem that causes the first
problem again • I get depressed so I eat
and then I gain weight which depresses me
soI eat again - I'm caught in a vicious
circle.
villain
the villain of the piece
someone or something that has caused a
bad situation fbThis phrase was first
used to describe an evil character in a
void
play:• According to reports of the disaster, the villain of the piece is the mining company who failed to carry out proper safety checks.
vine wither on the vineBritish, American &
no one does anything to help or support it
• Plans to createcheap housingfor thepoor seem doomed to wither on the vine.
virtue make a virtue of necessityformal
to change something you must do into a
positive or useful experience It's a long way to drivesoI thought I'd make a virtue
interesting places along the way.
virtues extoll the virtues ofsb/sthformal
to praise the goodqualities of someoneor
something • He wrote several magazine articles extolling the virtues of country life.
vis-a-vis vis-ill-vis
in relation to • Can I talk to you vis-a-vis
meeting? • The current strength of the dollar vis-a-vis other currencies makes it hard selling American products overseas.
voice
a (lone) voice in the wilderness
a voice crying in the wilderness
if you are a voice in the wilderness, youare the only person expressing aparticular opinion, although later otherpeople understand that you were right
• With her passionate pleas for peace, she was a lone voice in the wilderness.
void fill althe void X
to replace something important that youhave lost, or to provide something
Trang 5important that you need • The country
needs a strong leader to help fill the void
left by the death of the president.
• Religion helped mefill a void in my life.
volte-face
a volte-face formal
a sudden change of a belief or plan to the
opposite of what it was before • In the
early 90's he made a complete political
Party to the Democrats.
volumes speak volumes X
if something speaks volumes, it makes asituation very clear without the use ofwords' (never in continuous tenses) He refused to comment on reports of his dismissal, but his furious expression spoke volumes.• (often +about) What
personality.
Trang 6shoot yourwad
1 American, informal to spend or use
everything that you have He's going to
shoot his wad on his night out - whatever
it costsfor a good time.
2 American, informal to say everything
that you want to say about a particular
subject Our opponents shot their wad at
the meeting and left everyone in no doubt
that they would opposeour plans.
3British, American &Australian, tabooif
a man shoots his wad, semen (=thick
liquid containing a man's seed) comes
out of his penis· He shot his wad as soon
as she took her blouse off.
wagon
be on the wagon
someone who is on the wagon has
decided not to drink any alcohol for a
period of time • He'd been an alcoholic
once, but when I met him he'd been on the
uiagon for about fiue years.
go on the wagon •The doctor ordered
her to go on the wagon, and she hasn't
touched a drop since.
fall off the wagon
to start drinking alcohol again,
especially too much alcohol, after a
period when you have not drunk any
• Six months later hefell off the wagon in
spectacular fashion with a three-day
drinking spree.
hitch yourwagon to sb/sth
hitch yourwagon to a star
to try to become successful by becoming
involved with someone or something that
is already successful or has a good
chance of becoming successful • He
wisely decided to hitch his wagon to the
environmentalist movement, which was
walking
then gamzng support throughout the country • She hitched her wagon to a rising young star on the music scene.
waifs waifs and strays British&Australian
people or animals who have no home and
no one to care for them • Emma was always bringing home waifs and strays and giving them a bed.for the night.
waiting
be waiting in the wings
to be ready to be used or employed
instead of someone or something else
{bIn the theatre, the wings are the sides
of the stage which cannot be seen by thepeople watching the play, where actorswait until it is their turn to walk on to the
stage • The rumour is that Green will be sacked and Brinkworth is waiting in the wings to take over as manager.
play althe waiting game
to delay doing something so that you cansee what happens or what other people dofirstsThose investors who are willing to play the waiting game may find it to their advantage.
wake-up
a wake-up callAmerican&Australian v\(
an event that warns someone that theyneed to deal with an urgent or dangerousproblem • (often + to do sth) The 1971
strengthen the city's bridges.• (often+to)
The World Trade Center bombing has served as a wake-up call to the FBI on terrorism.
to tell someone they must leave their job
• The manager gave his old secretary her
Trang 7walking papers and hired his daughter to
do the job.
get your walking papers American
• Since they got their walking papers from.
the chemical company, none of them has
been able tofind another job.
wall
be off the wallinformal X~
to be strange or very different from other
people or things' Even at school he was
considered off the wall by most of the
students.
off-the-wall informal • (always before
noun) She's got a really off-the-wall sense
of humour.
go to the wall >C.
if a business or other organization goes
to the wall, it fails and cannot continue
• After nine months of massive losses, the
company finally went to the wall • In
theory,good schools will grow and prosper
and bad schools will go to the wall.
hit althe (brick) wallinformal )~
if you hit the wall when you are trying to
achieve something, you reach a situation
where you cannot make any more
progress' We'vejust about hit the wall in
terms of what we can do to balance the
budget.• The enquiry hit a brick wall of
banking security.
nail sbto the wallinformal
to punish or hurt someone severely
because you are very angry with them' I
didn't care about why they did it, I just
wanted to nail the guys that robbed me to
the wall.
the writing is on the wallBritish, "- /'
the handwriting is on the wallAmerican
if the writing is on the wall for a person
or an organization, it is clear that they
will fail or be unable to continue (often
+ for)The team has lost its last six games
and the writing is definitely on the uiallfor
the manager.
read/see the writing on the wall
British, American & Australian
read/see the handwriting on the wall
American to understand that you are in a
dangerous situation and that somethingunpleasant is likely to happen to you
• They saw the writing on the wall and started to behave better.• Those whofailed
to read the handwriting on the wall losta
lot of money.
walls Walls have ears.
something that you say in order to warnsomeone to be careful what they saybecause someone may be listening' Why don't wego and talk about this somewhere quieter? Walls have ears,you know.
wall-to-wall wall-to-wall
wall-to-wall things or people exist in acontinuous supply or in large amounts
• Independent channels are promising wall-to-wall coverage of the Olympics.• It was one of those clubs, you know, with wall-to-wall men and lots of heavy dance music.
wandering wandering handsBritish&Australian, humorous
a person, usually a man, who haswandering hands often tries to touch
other people for sexual excitement Joe was notorious for having wandering hands and all the women tried to avoid going into his office.
for want of a bl!tter word' "
if you say that you are using a particularword for want of a better word, you meanthat it is not quite exact or suitable but
there is no better one • They have problems, which, for want of a better word, we call psychological.
How much do you want to bet?informal
Do you wantalto bet?informal
something that you say when you do notbelieve that what someone has just saidwill be true' 'I don't think she'd be stupid
Trang 8enough to lend him any money.' 'How
much do you want to bet?'
war
a war of words
a long argument between two people or
groups' (often+between) The war of
words between the two rivals for the
presidency continues to dominate the news
bulletins • (often + over) The article
describes the war of words over acid rain.
be on the warpath humorous ;<
to be looking for someone you are angry
with in order to speak angrily to them or
punish them' Look out, the boss is on the
warpath again!
wars
have been in the warsBritish &
Australian, humorous
someone, especially a child, who has
been in the wars, has been hurt • You
poor little boy,you have been in the wars!
warts
warts and all
if you describe or show someone or
something warts and all, you do not try to
hide the bad things about them Ib A
wart is a small hard lump which grows
on the skin and looks unpleasant •He
tried to portray the president as he was,
warts and all.
warts-and-all •(alwaysbefore noun) The
book is a warts-and-all portrait of the
socialist movement.
wash
come out in the wash informal
if something secret or unpleasant comes
out in the wash, people discover the truth
about it • They don't want the police to
investigate, because they're afraid of what
might come out in the wash.
It'll all come out in the wash. informal
something that you say in order to tell
someone not to worry because mistakes
or problems will not have a serious or
permanent effect»It was the wrong thing
to say, but don't get too upset, I'm sure it'll
all come out in the wash eventually.
water
will not wash
if an excuse or an argument will notwash, people will not believe it or accept
it • (often + with) That story about missing the last bus won't wash with me, young lady!
waste
be a waste of spaceinformal
if you say that someone is a waste ofspace, you mean that they do not doanything useful and you do not like them
• Her husband's a complete waste of space.
watched
A watched pot never boils.
something that you say which means ifyou wait anxiously for something tohappen, it seems to take a very long time
• There's no point sitting by the phone waiting for it to ring.Awatched pot never boils.
watching
be like watching grass grow humorous
be as interesting as watching grass grow humorous
if you say that watching an activity islike watching grass grow,you mean that
it is very boring' To watch fishing is like watching grass grow.
somebodyfly-be like watching paint dryhumorous
be as interesting as watching paint dry
water
be water under the bridge British, American&Australian
be water over the damAmerican
if a problem or an unpleasant situation iswater under the bridge, it happened a
Trang 9long time ago and no one is upset about it
now' Wecertainly had our disagreements
in the past, but that's all water under the
bridge now.
blowsth/sb out of the water X~
to destroy or defeat something or
someone completely' They came to court
with fresh evidence that would, they said,
blow the prosecution's case completely out
of the water.
nothold water X,
if an opinion or a statement does not hold
water, it can be shown to be wrong' Most
of the arguments put forward by our
opponents simply do not hold water.
OPPOSITE hold water' If his theory holds
water, it could be a breakthrough in
cancer research.
test the water/waters X,
to try to discover what people think about
an idea before you do anything about it,
or to try to discover what a situation is
really like before you become very
involved in it • I mentioned my idea to a
couple of friends as a way of testing the
water and they were very enthusiastic
about it • Perhaps you should go to a
couple of meetings to test the waters before
you decide whether tojoin the club.
tread water ~
someone who is treading water is not
doing anything to make progress' (often
in continuous tenses) I'm just treading
water until I get an opportunity to tryfor a
job with more responsibility.
waterfront
cover the waterfront American
to talk about every part of a subject, or to
deal with every part of a job • It was a
mistake to try and cover the waterfront in
her talk - one or two points would have
been enough.• It's obvious one salesman
can't cover the waterfront We'll need a
whole teamfor this area.
waterloo
meetyourWaterloo
if someone who has been successful in
the past meets their Waterloo, they are
defeated by someone who is too strong for
them or by a problem which is toodifficult for them IbThe French leaderNapoleon was finally defeated at the
battle of Waterloo in 1815.• She finally met her Waterloowhen she tried to take on the club champion.
waters muddy the waters
to make a situation more confused and
less easy to understand or deal with' The statistics you quoted didn't prove anything, they simply muddied the waters.
waterworks turn on the waterworks humorous
to start crying in order to get what you
want» He always turns on the waterworks
if he doesn't get exactly what he wants.
wave catch the waveAmerican&Australian
to try to get an advantage for yourself bybecoming involved with something that
is becoming popular or fashionable
expanding to try to catch the tapas wave.
ride (on) a1thewave
to become involved with and getadvantages from opinions or activitieswhich have become very common orpopular' (often+ of)She came to power riding on a wave of personal popularity.
wavelength
be on the same wavelength
if two people are on the samewavelength, it is easy for them tounderstand and agree with each other
• To my surprise, I found that we were absolutely on the same wavelength about most of the important issues • I can't discuss anything with her - we're simply not on the same wavelength.
Trang 10wax and wane
to grow bigger and stronger and then to
become smaller or weaker again Their
influence waxes and wanes depending on
which party is in power.
way
all the way K
if you support something or fight against
something all the way,you support it or
fight it as much as possible and as long as
it continues If you want to complain to
the boss, I'll support you all the way.• If
they go ahead with the plan, we'll light
them all the way.
along the way
during the time that something is
happening or that you are doing
something I've been in this job for thirty
years and I've picked up a good deal of
expertise along the way.• Along the way
we'll also be studying French, history and
geography.
(in) any way, shape or form
in any way at all> (often negative) I have
never been involved in any way, shape, or
form with criminal activities.
be out ofsb'sway
if a place is out of someone's way,it is not
in the direction in which they are going
• Are you sure you don't mind taking me
home, Ted?It's a bit out of your way.
be out of the way
if a place is out of the way, it is a long
distance from other villages or towns
• It's a lovely village but it's a little out of
the way.
out-of-the-way • We hired a car and
spent a few days visiting some
out-of-the-way places.
claw your way back fromsth
if you claw your way back from a bad
situation, you succeed in improving your
situation again by making a big effort
• They clawed their way backfrom almost
certain defeat to win by a single point.
couldn't [act/argue/fight] yourway out
of a paper baghumorous
if someone couldn't act, argue, fight etc
their way out of a paper bag, they act,
way
argue, fight etc very badly It's no good asking Jim to protect you - he couldn't flght his way out of a paper bag.
go all the wayinformal
1 informal to have sex, especially when you
have only been kissing and touching
before· I wouldn't go all the way with a boy if I didn't love him.
2 if you go all the way when you are doingsomething, you do it completely • We flnally decided to go all the way and redecorate the entire house • The government didn't go all the way; it
companies, but didn't ban it.
3 if a person or team goes all the way in asports competition, they win every part
of it • Doyou think she can go all the way
at Wimbledon this year?
go out ofyourwayto do sth
to try very hard to do something pleasant
for other people They really went out of their way to make usfeel welcome.
notknow which way to turn
to not know what to do or who to ask forhelp in a difficult situation •I had no home, no money, and I didn't know which Wayto turn.
open the way for/tosth
to make it possible for something to
happen • Removing customs controls could open the way to an increase in drug smuggling.
pave the way forsthX
to be a preparation which will make itpossible for something to happen in the
future • Scientists hope that data from this expedition will pave the way for a more detailed exploration of Mars.
pay your way
if someone pays their way,they pay for
all the things they have or use • We've always paid our own way and never taken
a penny from the state.
pay its way »:
if a machine or a piece of equipmentpays its way, using it saves you moremoney than it costs to buy or keep Our new combine harvester should be paying its way by next year.
Trang 11point the way
to show what can or should be done in the
future' Their recent work on developing
an AIDS vaccine points the way forward.
• (often+to) Her speechespointed the way
to several important social reforms.
see which way the cat jumpsAustralian,
informal
to delay making a decision or doing
something until you know what is going
to happen or what other people are going
to do • We'd better wait and see which way
the catjumps before we commit ourselves.
see your way (clear) to doing sth
to be able to do something and agree to do
it •Do you think you could see your way
clear to lending me a bit more money?
smooth the way for sb/sth
smooth sb's/sth's way
to make it easier for someone to do
something or for something to happen
• Parents can do a lot to smooth the way
for their children when they start school.
• To smooth the bill's way through
Republican leaders to hear their views.
That's the way the cookie crumbles.
British, American&Australian, informal
That's the way the ball bounces.
American, informal
something that you say which means that
bad things sometimes happen and there
is nothing you can do to prevent it, so it is
not worth becoming upset about it • I
can't believe they chose Sam for the job
and not me Ah well, that's the way the
cookie crumbles.
wing your/its way
to fly or travel very fast • Within a few
hours the package will be winging its way
across the Atlantic.
way-out informal "<:
new, different and often strange • He
produced some really way-out designs for
the opera house.
ways
ways and means
methods of achieving something' (often
+ of)Surely there are ways and means of
achieving our objectives which don't involve spending quitesomuch money.
change/mend yourways x -,
to improve the way in which you behave
• If he wants to carry on living here, he's going to have to change his ways.
cut both/two ways
to have two different effects at the sametime, usually one good and one bad
• (never in continuous tenses) Censorship cuts both ways; it prevents people from being corrupted, but it often also prevents themfrom knowing what is really going on.
wayside fall by the wayside
1 if someone falls by the wayside, they fail
to fmish an activity' A lot of students fall
by the wayside during their first year at university.
2 if something falls by the wayside, peoplestop doing it, making it, or using it
• Many new drugs fall by the wayside in the laboratory.
weak weak at the knees
if someone goes weak at the knees, theyfeel as if they might fall down becausethey have a sudden strong emotion about
something or someone' The very thought
of jumping out of an aircraft with a parachute made him go weak at the knees • He wassogorgeous, Ifelt weak at the knees every time he spoke to me.
a weak link (in the chain) r~~
the weakest part of a system or theweakest member of a group of peoplethat could cause the whole system orgroup to fail' It's a strong team, though the goalkeeper may be a weak link because he's rather inexperienced.• The weak link
in the chain is the computer software that controls the system.
have a weak spot forsb/ sth American'X
to feel attraction to or affection for
someone or something • Sarah has a weak spotfor basketball players.
wear wear and tear
the damage that happens to an object or a
Trang 12person when they are used or when they
do something • The guarantee covers
accidental damage but not ordinary wear
and tear.• (often+on) She made everyone
wear slippers inside the house to avoid
wear and tear on the carpet.• The wear
and tear of life in a busy office has taken
its toll on our staf!
wear the trousersBritish, American &
Australian, humorous
wear the pantsAmerican&Australian,
humorous
to be the person in a relationship who
makes all the important decisions • I
don't think there's any doubt about who
wears the trousers in their house.
weasel
weasel wordsmainly American
words that you use to avoid answering a
question or to deceive someone' She was
too experienced an interviewer to be taken
weigh weighyourwords ~ weigh each word K
to think carefully about something
before you say it • Jake explained the reasons for his decision, weighing each word as he spoke.
weight
be a weight offyourshoulders
if something is a weight off yourshoulders, you are happy that you do nothave to worry about it or feel responsible
for it any more' If you could take over the job of organizing the party, that would be
a tremendous weight off my shoulders.
carryweight;;<
if what you do or say carries weight withsomeone, it seems important to them andwill influence what they do or think
• (often+with) Her opinion carries a lot
of weight with the boss.
keep a weather eye onsth/sb British &
Australian
to watch something or someone carefully,
because they may cause trouble or they
may need help • I'd like you to keep a
weather eye on the situation and report
any major developments to me at once.
wedding
yourwedding tackleBritish, humorous
a man's sexual organs' He wears special
padding toprotect his wedding tackle.
wedge
drive a wedge between sb
if you drive a wedge between two people
or two groups of people, you do
something which spoils their
relationship • She thinks Samantha's
jealous and is trying to drive a wedge
throwyourweight around
to behave in a way which shows that youare more important or powerful than
other people' He tries to impress the rest
of us by throwing his weight around at committee meetings.
throw your weight behind sth/sb
to use your power and influence tosupport something or someone •If we
could persuade the chairman to throw his weight behind the plan, it would have a much better chance of success.
welcome outstay/overstayyourwelcome
to stay in a place longer than someone
wants you to stay • One more cup of tea and then we'll go Wedon't want to outstay our welcome!
Trang 13well
well and truly
completely • Many people remained in
their hiding places until they were sure the
war was well and truly over.
be well away
1British, informal to be completely
involved in doing something, especially
talking • They started talking about
football and were soon well away.
2British&Australian, informalto be drunk
• Annie was dancing on top of the table,so
she must have been well away last night.
3British & Australian, informal to be
sleeping' Her head started to nod and
soon she was well away.
be well inBritish&Australian
be in wellAmerican
to have a good relationship with a person
or group which gives you an advantage
• (usually + with) There won't be any
stopping him now - he's in well with the
manager of his company • Lunch with
her mother? You're well in there, mate!
be well up on sth
to have a good knowledge of a subject
• I'm not very well up on Ancient Greek
history.
leave well aloneBritish&Australian
leave well enough aloneAmerican
to not change or try to improve something
that is not causing any problems • Solong
as the machine still does what you want it
to, my advice is to leave well alone.
• Surgeons are aware that every operation
carries some risk, and sometimes decide to
leave well enough alone.
well-heeled
rich. You need to be well-heeled to be able
to afford to shop there.
well-hung
well-hung very informal
a well-hung man has a large penis' A
crowd of well-hung young men paraded
around in their underwear.
well-to-do 'y:
well-ta-do
rich • In Johannesburg's well-to-do
suburbs, residents are hiring security guards toprotect their homes.
west
go west
1old-fashionedif something goes west, it is destroyed or lost • My watch went west when I accidentally dropped it on a
the game gone west!
2British & Australian, old-fashioned if someone goes west, they die •He went west in a plane crash.
wet
a wet blanketinformal
someone who does or says something that stops other people from enjoying themselves • I don't want to be a wet blanket, but you really must play your music more quietly or you'll disturb the people next door.
a wet dream
1 a sexually exciting dream that makes semen (= thick liquid containing a man's seed) come out of a man's penis while he
is sleeping •Most boys start getting wet dreams in their early teens.
2very informal something that is very pleasant or very exciting for someone
• This new machine is a computer buff's wet dream.
be all wetAmerican
to be completely wrong •Most doctors agreed that the scientific evidence in the report was simply all wet.
be wet behind the ears
to be young and not very experienced
• He's fresli out of college, still wet behind the ears.
whack
out of whack
1American & Australian, informal if something is out of whack, it is not working as it should' You can use Carol's old bike - the gears are out of whack, but it still goes.• If I don't take any exercisefor
a while it throws my whole body out of whack.
2American & Australian, informal
confused and badly organized' The state
Trang 14budget is way out of whack and
politicians are blaming an influx of
immigrants.
whale
a whale of a [bill/difference/problem
etc.]American&Australian
a very large bill, difference, problem etc
• Another thousand dollars would make a
whale of a difference.• Weran up a whale
of a bill in the restaurant.
a whale of a [job/party/story etc.] r(
a very goodjob, party, story etc.• They've
done a whale of a job renovating the
building.
have a whale of a time
to enjoy yourself very much' 'Did Sam
enjoy himself at the party?' 'He had a
whale of a time '
what
(Well) what do you know!
something that you say when you are
surprised by a piece of information
tbThis phrase is often used humorously
to mean the opposite • And they're
getting married? Well, what do you know!
• (humorous) Well, what doyou know! The
Raiders lost again.
and what have youinformal
and other similar things • There were a
couple of bags full of old records,
magazines and what have you.
What's up?informal
something that you say in order to ask
someone what is wrong' What's up? Why
haven't you left yet? You're quiet - what's
up?' (often+with) What's up with Tom?
He hasn't spoken all morning.
whatever
Whatever turnsyouon.humorous
something that you say when you are
surprised at something that someonelikes
to do • Soyou stuff animals in your spare
time?Oh wen whatever turns you on.
:< separate the wheat from the chaff
to choose the things or people that are of
high quality from a group of mixed
quality' A preliminary look through the
wheels
applications will help you to separate the uiheatfrom the chaff.
wheel
be at/behind the wheel
x::: if you are at the wheel of a vehicle, you
are driving it • I always feel perfectly safe when Richard's at the wheel.
get behind the wheel. When Anna gets behind the wheel of a fast car; she's a danger to the public.
a fifthlthird wheelAmerican
someone who is in a situation where theyare not really needed or are ignored by
other people' I don't have a role in the officeany more - Ifeel like afifth wheel.
reinvent the wheel
;;;-C-to waste time trying ;;;-C-to develop products
or systems that you think are originalwhen in fact they have already been done
before • Why reinvent the wheel when there are drugs already on the market that are effective?
wheeling wheeling and dealing
complicated and sometimes dishonestagreements in business or politics thatpeople try to achieve in order to make
profits or get advantages' It's an article about all the wheeling and dealing that goes on infinancial markets.
wheel and deal. He's the sort of guy that likes to drive fast cars and wheel and deal
on the stock exchange.
a wheeler-dealer • He worked in the property business for a number of years, acquiring a reputation as a formidable wheeler-dealer.
wheels the wheels are turning
something that you say which means a
process is starting to happen' By the late 1940sthe wheels were turning that would make a manned space flight possible by the end of the next decade.
oil the wheels
to make it easier for something to happen
• (usually+ot) An aid programme was
established to oil the wheels of economic reform in the region.