|
wade into
- attack, join in The football player waded into the
fight to protect his teammates.
wait on (someone) hand and foot
- serve in every possible way, do everything for
someone He always waits on his wife hand and foot.
wait table
- serve food He spent the summer waiting tables at the
resort.
wait up for
- not go to bed until someone arrives or something
happens The woman waited up for her daughter to come home.
walk all over someone
- take advantage of someone, win a game easily They
walked all over the other team at the football tournament.
walk away/off with
- take and go away with, take away, steal Someone
walked away with the computer from the library last night.
walking papers
- a statement that one is fired from one`s job,
dismissal He was given his walking papers from his company last week.
walk of life
- way of living, manner in which people live People
from every walk of life came to the concert in the park.
walk on air
- feel happy and excited She has been walking on air
all morning since she heard that she had passed her exams.
walk out
- go on strike More than half of the workers at the
factory decided to walk out on strike this morning.
walk out
- leave suddenly Three people walked out of the
meeting yesterday.
walk (all) over
- make someone do whatever one wishes, make selfish use
of He tried to walk all over me when I began the job but after I
became used to the company he stopped.
walk the floor
- walk back and forth across the floor, pace He spent
the night in the hospital walking the floor while waiting for his wife to have a
baby.
walk the plank
- be forced to resign from a job The vice-president
was forced to walk the plank when the new president joined the company.
walk the plank
- be forced by pirates to walk a long plank from the ship out
over the water to your death The pirates seized the small ship and
forced the captain to walk the plank.
waltz off with
- to take, get or win easily My favorite team waltzed
off with the championship again last night.
warm one`s blood/heart
- make one feel warm or excited The sight of the small
boy looking after his dog warmed the heart of the people on the street.
warm up
- become friendly or interested His wife finally
warmed up to the idea of going to Italy for a holiday.
warm up
- get ready for a game or other event by exercising or
practising We spent two hours warming up for the game on Saturday.
wash one`s hands of
- abandon, refuse responsibility for He washed his
hands of the problem after they refused to deal with it.
washed up
- no longer successful or needed The boxer was all
washed up and had to retire last year.
waste one`s breath
- speak pointlessly without the desired results He is
very stubborn and you are wasting your breath to try and argue with him.
watch it
- be careful (usually used as a command) "Watch it!
That truck is going very fast and may hit you."
watch/mind one`s P`s and Q`s
- be well-behaved, be careful The boy was told to
watch his P`s and Q`s by his teacher after he caused too many problems at
school.
water down
- make weak, dilute The new policy was a watered down
version of the earlier one.
water under the bridge
- something that happened in the past and can`t be
changed It was terrible that your house was robbed but it is water
under the bridge now and you must move on.
way the wind blows
- direction or course something may go, what may
happen We will have to see which way the wind blows as far as our
plans to go to London or not.
wear and tear
- damage as a result of ordinary use They put a lot of
wear and tear on their car during their long holiday.
wear down
- make something become less useful or smaller or weaker by
wearing or aging Little by little the water wore down the rocks at the
edge of the river.
wear down
- exhaust or tire someone out He was worn down after
the meeting that took seven hours.
wear off/away
- remove or disappear little by little by use, time or
weather The name on the front of my passport has worn off from using
it too much.
wear on
- anger or annoy, tire His constant complaining is
beginning to wear on my nerves.
wear one`s heart on one`s sleeve
- show one`s feelings openly He was wearing his heart
on his sleeve after the meeting with his boss.
wear out
- use or wear something until it becomes useless My
shoes wore out during my trip to Paris.
wear out one`s welcome
- visit somewhere too long or come back too often so that one is
not welcome anymore My friend has worn out his welcome at our house as
he always comes to visit us without calling first.
wear the pants in a family
- be the boss in a family She is very strong and seems
to be the one who wears the pants in her family.
wear thin
- become thin from use or the passing of time The
silver dollar had begun to wear thin after it was in use for many years.
wear thin
- grow less or less interesting or believable His
excuses have begun to wear thin after he keeps using the same ones over and
over.
weed out
- remove what is unwanted, get rid of I spent the
morning weeding out the clothes that I didn`t need anymore.
weigh on/upon
- be a weight or pressure on someone or something, worry or
upset someone The pressure of her exams has begun to weigh upon my
sister.
weigh one`s words
- be careful of what one says You should weigh your
words carefully before you tell him your decision to quit.
well and good
- good, satisfactory It is well and good that he will
go and talk to his supervisor about the problem.
well-heeled
- rich He seems rather well-heeled and is always
wearing expensive clothes and driving a nice car.
well-off
- wealthy Her parents are well-off and don`t need to
worry about money during their retirement.
well-to-do
- having or making enough money to live comfortably He
comes from a rather well-to-do family.
wet behind the ears
- inexperienced, immature He is a little wet behind
the ears and doesn`t know much about the company yet.
wet blanket
- person who discourages others from having fun He is
a wet blanket so we never invite him to any parties.
wet one`s whistle
- have a drink, especially alcohol They decided to
stop at a bar on the way home from work to wet their whistle.
what about
- about or concerning something I know that he wants
to borrow my tent but what about my sleeping bag.
what have you
- whatever one likes or wants "I`ll have a blueberry
ice cream cone or what have you."
(have) what it takes
- ability for a job, courage He really has what it
takes to be a success at his job.
what`s the big idea
- what is the purpose, what do you have in
mind "What`s the big idea. Why are you using my bicycle?"
what`s up/cooking/doing
- what is happening, what is planned, what is
wrong "What`s up ", he said as he entered the room.
what`s what
- what each thing is in a group, one thing from
another It is hard to tell what`s what at an auction of old furniture.
what`s (up) with
- what is happening/wrong, how is everything "What`s
with the new supervisor? He seems very angry this morning."
what with
- because, as a result of We wanted to go away for a
holiday but what with the move to a new building and the expansion we are too
busy to go anywhere.
wheel and deal
- take part in political or commercial scheming There
was a lot of wheeling and dealing going on before they built the new convention
center.
when hell freezes over
- never He said that he would come to an office party
when hell freezes over.
when the chips are down
- at the most important or dangerous time, when the winner and
loser of a bet or a game will be decided When the chips are down he
will always come and help his friends.
while away the time
- make time go by pleasantly We spent the afternoon
whiling away the time by the river.
(a) while back
- several weeks or months in the past I saw him a
while back but recently I have no idea where he is.
whip up
- make or do quickly or easily It was very late when
we got home last night so we whipped up something to eat very quickly.
whip up
- make active, stir to action The union leader whipped
up the crowd with his speech.
whistle a different tune
- change one`s attitude, contradict previous ideas He
is whistling a different tune now that he has been promoted and has
responsibility for the office.
whistle in the dark
- try to stay brave and forget one`s fear Although he
felt very frightened he began to whistle in the dark which helped to calm him
down.
white elephant
- a useless possession They are having a white
elephant sale at the school next week.
white lie
- a harmless lie (eg. told for the sake of
politeness) I told her a white lie when I said that I would be too
busy to meet her.
white sale
- selling at reduced prices of towels, linens, etc. We
went to the white sale at the department store last Saturday.
whole show
- everything The new boss always tries to run the
whole show.
wide of the mark
- far from the target or the thing aimed at,
incorrect His ideas for the new company were wide of the mark from
what everyone expected.
wildcat strike
- a strike not ordered by a labor union but spontaneously by a
group of workers There was a wildcat strike at the factory last night.
will not hear of
- will not allow or consider My aunt said that she
will not hear of us staying at a hotel when we come to see her.
wild goose chase
- absurd or hopeless search He led them all on a wild
goose chase when he told them about the sale at the computer store.
will power
- strength of mind He has very strong will power and
was able to quit smoking easily.
wind up
- end, finish, settle Let`s wind things up now and
then we can all go home.
wind up
- tighten the spring of a machine to make it work or
run Every night before he goes to bed my grandfather winds up his
alarm clock.
wind up
- make very excited, nervous or upset I was really
wound up yesterday after work so I couldn`t get to sleep easily.
wing it
- act without preparation He wasn`t prepared for the
examination so he had to wing it.
wink at
- allow and pretend not to know about something (a law or rule
being broken) The librarian always winks at the rule about borrowing a
maximum of three books.
winning streak
- a series of several wins one after the other Our
baseball team has been on a winning streak for several weeks now.
win out
- be victorious or successful after hard work or
difficulty We have had a lot of problems with our boss recently but
finally we won out and he agreed to listen to our complaints.
wipe out
- remove, kill or destroy completely The city spends a
lot of money trying to wipe out rats near the river.
wipe-out
- a disaster, a calamity My exams were a total
wipe-out. I think that I failed all of them.
wisecrack
- sarcastic or nasty remark She made a funny wisecrack
during the speech which caused the audience to start laughing.
wise guy
- a person who acts as if he were smarter than other
people He always acts like a wise guy when he is in a big group.
wise up to
- finally understand what is really going on after a period of
ignorance He finally wised up to the fact that he was never going to
get a promotion in his company.
wishy-washy
- unable to decide, have no definite opinion He is
very wishy-washy and can never make up his mind what he wants to do.
with child
- pregnant, going to have a baby I think that the new
teacher at our school is with child.
with flying colors
- with great or total success I was able to pass my
final exams with flying colors.
within an inch of one`s life
- until one is almost dead The elderly man was beaten
to within an inch of his life.
within reason
- sensible, reasonable I think that, within reason,
you should be able to take as much time off as you want to go to school.
with open arms
- greet someone warmly or eagerly My aunt and uncle
were at the airport to greet us with open arms.
with the best of them
- as well as anyone He can play soccer with the best
of them when he makes the effort.
wit`s end
- not knowing what to do, at the end of one`s mental
resources I have been at my wit`s end all week trying to decide what
to wear to the party.
wolf in sheep`s clothing
- a person who pretends to be good but really is
bad He is a wolf in sheep`s clothing and you should be very careful
when you have to deal with him.
word for word
- in exactly the same words I told her word for word
exactly what had happened before the accident.
word of mouth
- passing information orally from one person to
another He heard about the new restaurant by word of mouth.
worked up
- feeling excited, angry, worried He is all worked up
about the fact that he wasn`t invited to the party.
work in
- rub in We spent a long time trying to work the
softening cream into the leather.
work in
- slip in, mix in, put in I was able to work in a part
in the play for my best friend.
work into
- force into little by little He was able to work his
foot into his boot but it was still very tight.
work off
- make something go away - especially by working He
was able to work off his hangover and is now feeling much better.
work on/upon
- have an effect on, try to influence or convince I am
working on my boss to let me have some time off this summer.
work one`s fingers to the bone
- work very hard She has been working her fingers to
the bone for years trying to raise her three children.
work out
- end successfully, be efficient I hope that
everything will work out for her when she moves to London next week.
work out
- solve, find an answer to I was unable to work out
the math problem on the final examination.
work out
- accomplish, arrange, plan Recently we worked out a
unique system for filling out our expenses at work.
work out
- exercise He spends most weekends working out at the
health club.
work over
- beat someone up very roughly in order to intimidate them or
get money The gang worked over the storeowner in order to get some
money from him.
work up
- stir up, arouse, excite He really likes to work up a
sweat when he does his exercises.
world is one`s oyster
- everything is possible for one, one can get
anything The world is her oyster now that she has received her MBA
from Harvard University.
worse for wear
- not as good as new, worn out I borrowed my friend`s
canoe for a month and it is now beginning to look the worse for wear.
worth a cent
- worth anything, of any value His new car is broken
down and not worth a cent.
worth one`s salt
- worth what one is paid He is definitely worth his
salt in our company and is one of our best employees.
would just as soon
- prefer to do one thing rather than another She would
just as soon stay at home as go to the movie.
wrap around one`s finger
- have complete control over someone and be able to make them do
anything you want She has her boss wrapped around her finger and can
do anything that she wants.
wrapped up in
- thinking only of, interested only in He is always
wrapped up in playing with his computer.
wrap up
- put on warm clothes, dress warmly She wrapped
herself up in her warm clothes and went out.
write off
- remove (an amount) from a business record, cancel (a
debt) The bank was forced to write off a large amount of its debt.
write off
- accept (a loss or trouble) and not worry any more about
it He was forced to write off his bad experience at his old job.
write up
- write or describe in writing, give a full account
of After our trip to Vietnam I spent a couple of weeks trying to write
it up for a magazine.
wrong side of the tracks
- the poor side of town He married a girl who everyone
said was from the wrong side of the tracks because he loved her.
| 