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ugly duckling
- an ugly or plain child who grows up to be pretty and
attractive She was an ugly duckling when she was a child but now she
is very beautiful.
under a cloud
- under suspicion, not trusted The politician has been
under a cloud over the possibility of taking bribes.
under a cloud
- depressed, sad She has been under a cloud of
depression since her cat died.
under cover
- hidden, concealed The police officer went under
cover to look for the drug dealers.
under fire
- being shot at or attacked, under (verbal) attack The
owner of the company is under fire for not paying his employees a fair salary.
under one`s belt
- in one`s experience, memory or possession When he
has more experience as a cook under his belt he will begin to look for a job.
under one`s belt
- in one`s stomach After he has a big breakfast under
his belt he is ready for work.
under one`s breath
- in a whisper, with a low voice He was talking under
his breath in the movie theater and someone complained.
under one`s nose
- in sight of, in an easily seen or noticeable
place He found his driver`s license right under his nose where he had
left it.
under one`s own steam
- by one`s own efforts, without help He was able to go
home under his own steam even though he was feeling very sick.
under one`s thumb
- obedient to someone, controlled by someone He is
only an assistant salesman but he has his boss under his thumb.
under one`s wing
- under the care or protection of He took the new
employee under his wing to help him in the new job.
under the counter
- secretly bought or sold The drugs are being sold
under the counter although the government has not given its approval.
under the hammer
- up for sale at an auction The painting went under
the hammer and sold for a very high price.
under the table
- in secret and usually illegal He paid some money
under the table in order to get his product exported into the country.
under the weather
- feel ill (but not seriously ill) He is feeling under
the weather so he is going to bed early tonight.
under wraps
- not allowed to be seen until the right time, in
secrecy The new car was still under wraps when the auto show started.
unearthly hour
- absurdly early or inconvenient We got up at an
unearthly hour this morning so we could get ready to go camping.
until hell freezes over
- forever, for an eternity He said that he would not
talk to his girlfriend again until hell freezes over.
up against
- close to The ladder was standing up against the tree
in the yard.
up against
- confronted with He was up against a lot of problems
when he went to university but recently he is doing very well.
up and about
- recovered from an illness He has been up and about
for a couple of days since he left the hospital.
up for grabs
- available for anyone to try to get, ready to be competed
for The new championship of the city is up for grabs.
up front
- honestly, correctly He was very up front when giving
me the information about the new office.
up in arms
- equipped with guns or weapons and ready to fight, very angry
and ready to fight The villagers were up in arms over the proposal to
take some of their land away from them.
up in the air
- not settled, undecided Whether or not I will be able
to go to London is still up in the air.
up one`s alley
- something one is good at or enjoys Computer
programming is right up his alley and he is very good at it.
up one`s sleeve
- kept secretly ready for the right time or for a time when
needed He probably has something up his sleeve and will be able to get
a job when he needs one.
upper crust
- richest, most famous or important people in a certain place,
the highest class The private club was full of what looked like the
upper crust of the city.
upper hand
- controlling power, advantage The union members have
the upper hand in the negotiations with the company.
ups and downs
- alternate good and bad fortune He is having a few
ups and downs but generally he is doing well.
upset the applecart
- ruin or spoil a plan or idea Try not to upset the
applecart as we have spent a lot of time working on this project.
up the creek
- in trouble She is up the creek now that she has lost
her passport.
up the river/creek with no paddle
- in trouble and unable to do anything about it I
think that we are up the river with no paddle now that our car has run out of
gasoline.
uptight
- worried, irritated, excessively eager or anxious My
sister has been uptight all week because of her exams.
up to
- as far as, as deep or as high as, close to,
approaching The water in the swimming pool came up to my waist.
up to
- doing or planning secretly, ready for mischief I
don`t know what he was up to last night but it was probably something bad.
up to
- depending on It is up to his wife whether or not he
goes to the movie.
up to it/the job
- capable of, fit for, equal to If he is up to it we
should let him drive the truck to the new office.
up to/till/until
- until Up until last week he had never been inside of
a bowling alley.
up to here with
- sick of someone`s continual bad or irritating
behavior I have had it up to here with his always coming late to work.
up to one`s ears in work
- have a lot of work to do I`d like to go with you but
I`m up to my ears in work at the moment.
up to par/scratch/snuff/the mark
- meeting normal standards, equal to the usual level or
quality His work was not up to par and he was asked to leave and look
for another job.
up to someone to do something
- be responsible to take care of something It is up to
her to decide when the meeting will start.
(in) up to the chin
- very busy with, deeply involved in something, guilty
of He has been in up to the chin in the project to build a new
convention center.
used to
- accustomed to He is not used to living in such a big
city.
use one`s head/bean/noodle/noggin
- think carefully about You should use your head a
little more and try not to make the same mistake again.
use up
- use until nothing is left, spend or consume
completely They used up all of the paper in the copy machine this
morning.
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