! O In Christian symbolism, the old Adam ! represents fallen man as contrasted with the \ \ second Adam, Jesus Christ. 1993 Outdoor Canada It is the Old Adam in us. We are descendants of a long line of dirt farmers, sheepherders... and so...
more! O In Christian symbolism, the old Adam ! represents fallen man as contrasted with the \ \ second Adam, Jesus Christ. 1993 Outdoor Canada It is the Old Adam in us. We are descendants of a long line of dirt farmers, sheepherders... and so forth. add add fuel to the fire: see FUEL. add insult to injury: see INSULT. adder deaf as an adder: see DEAF. admirable an admirable Crichton a person who excels in all kinds of studies and pursuits, or who is noted for supreme competence. | O This expression originally referred to j James Crichton of Clunie (1560-85?), a j Scottish nobleman renowned for his i intellectual and physical prowess. In J. M. ! Barrie's play The Admirable Crichton (1902), i i the eponymous hero is a butler who takes j charge when his master's family is shipi wrecked on a desert island. adrift 4 adrift cast (or cut) someone adrift ©leave someone in a boat or other craft which has nothing to secure or guide it. © abandon or isolate someone. 01998 Oldie The various dissenting movements ... should be cut adrift and left to their own devices. advance any advance on-? any higher bid than-? j O This phrase is said by an auctioneer to I elicit a higher bid, and so is used figuratively i j as a query about general progress in a I particular matter. advocate play devil's advocate: see DEVIL. afraid afraid of your own shadow: see SHADOW. Africa for Africa in abundance; in large numbers. South African informal 1980 C. Hope A Separate Development An entire museum of vintage stuff including... Bentleys for Africa. after be after doing something be on the point of doing something or have just done it. Irish 1988 Roddy Doyle The Commitments I'm after rememberin'. I forgot to bring mine back. It's under me bed. age act your age: see ACT. the awkward age: see AWKWARD. come of age Q (of a person) reach adult status, ©(of a movement or activity) become fully established. feel your age: see FEEL. a golden age: see GOLDEN. under age: see UNDER. agenda a hidden agenda: see HIDDEN. agony pile on the agony: see PILE. prolong the agony: see PROLONG. agree agree to differ cease to argue about something because neither party will compromise or be persuaded. agreement a gentleman's agreement: see GENTLEMAN. ahead ahead of the game ahead of your competitors or peers in the same sphere of activity. 1996 Daily Telegraph The smart money headed for Chinatown, where you can pick up all those Eastern looks the designers are promoting for next spring ahead of the game. ahead of your (or its) time innovative and radical by the standards of the time. streets ahead: see STREET. aid aid and abet help and encourage someone to do something wrong, especially to commit a crime. j O Abet comes from an Old French term j meaning 'to encourage a hound to bite'. 1986 Frank Peretti This Present Darkness She strained to think of... any friend who would still aid and abet a fugitive from the law, without questions. in aid of in support of; for the purpose of raising money for. chiefly British 1999 Teesdale Mercury A wine and savoury evening in aid of cancer research will be held... on Friday. what's all this in aid of? what is the purpose of this? British informal air airs and graces an affected manner of behaving, designed to attract or impress. British give yourself airs act pretentiously or snobbishly. 1948 Christopher Bush The Case of the Second Chance It was said she gave herself airs, and it was also hinted that she was no better-as they say-than she might be. : O Air in the sense of 'an affected manner' j has been current since the mid 17th century; j I from the early 18th century the plural i form has been more usual in this derogatory i j sense. hot air: see HOT. up in the air (of a plan or issue) still to be settled; unresolved. O This phrase is used particularly in the area of computer technology, but it was originally used to describe show-business acts. Ultimately, it may come from a series of 1929 posters which advertised the addition of sound to motion pictures. The first Hollywood musical, MGM's Broadway Melody, was promoted with the slogan All Talking All Singing All Dancing. all-clear 6 1991 Computing Each of the major independents launched an all-singing all-dancing graphics-oriented version last year. all systems go: see SYSTEM. be all that be very attractive or good. US informal 2002 Guardian I can't believe how she throws herself at guys, she thinks she's all that. not all there not in full possession of your mental faculties, informal be all things to all men: see THING.-and all used to emphasize something additional that is being referred to. informal 1992 Kenichi Ohmae The Borderless World You can whip up nationalist passions and stagemanage protectionist rallies, bonfires and all. be all go: see GO. be all up with: see UP. for all-in spite of-. 1989 Independent For all their cruel, corrupt and reckless vices, the Maharajahs were worshipped as gods by tens of thousands of their subjects. all of a sudden: see SUDDEN. on all fours: see FOUR. all-clear give (or get) the all-clear indicate {or get a sign) that a dangerous situation is now safe. i O In wartime a signal or siren is often j sounded to indicate that a bombing raid is i over. alley a blind alley: see BLIND. up your alley: see up your street at STREET. ally pass in your ally: see PASS. along along about round about a specified time or date. North American informal or dialect 1989 Motor Trend Along about this time, it had started raining, so they red-flagged the race for a change to rain tires. alpha alpha and omega Othe beginning and the end. ©the essence or most important features. 1998 New Scientist This report ups the ante on the pace at which these cases need to be identified and treated. ant have ants in your pants be fidgety or restless. informal any not be having any of it be absolutely unwilling to cooperate, informal anyone anyone's game an evenly balanced contest. be anyone's (of a person) be open to sexual advances from anyone, informal anything anything goes: see GOES. apart be poles apart: see POLE. come apart at the seams: see SEAM. ape go ape go wild; become violently excited. informal i O Originally mid 20th-century North ! American slang, this expression possibly i refers to the 1933 movie King Kong, which | stars a giant ape-like monster. apology an apology for a very poor example of. 1998 Imogen de la Bere The Last Deception of Palliser Wentwood It's an apology for a bridge, built of left-over stones. with apologies to used before the name of an author or artist to indicate that something is a parody or adaptation of their work. 2001 This Old House With apologies to Robert Frost, boundary expert Walter Robillard says, ' Good fences on the proper line make good neighbours'. appeal appeal from Philip drunk to Philip sober ask someone to reconsider, with the suggestion that an earlier opinion or decision represented only a passing mood. 11 aye where it's at the most fashionable place, possession, or activity, informal 1990 Ellen Feldman Looking for Love New York is where it's at, stylewise. atmosphere an atmosphere that you could cut with a knife a general feeling of great tension or malevolence. attendance dance attendance on: see DANCE. auld for auld lang syne for old times' sake. i © The phrase literally means'for old long ; since', and is the title and refrain of a song by j ! Robert Burns (1788). auspice under the auspices of with the help, support, or protection of. ; O Auspice (since the late 18th century ! almost always used in the plural), comes from ! the Latin word auspicium, which means the ! act of divination carried out by an auspex in j ancient Rome. The auspex observed the flight j of birds in order to foretell future events. If | the omens were favourable he was seen as ! the protector of the particular enterprise ! foretold. authority have something on good authority have ascertained something from a reliable source. away away with something used as an exhortation to overcome or be rid of something. get away with you! used to express scepticism. Scottish far and away: see FAR. out and away: see OUT. 1997 Times I am a non-smoker, and have no personal axe to grind. aye the ayes have it the affirmative votes are in the majority. j O /Aye is an archaic or dialect word meaning j ! 'yes', now used in standard speech only when j j voting. Compare with the noes have it j (at NO). 2000 Guardian The arguments will continue. But we think the 'ayes' have it. I O This phrase developed as an allusion to i the way a cat arches its back when it is angry i ! or threatened. get your own back: see GET. know something like the back of your hand be entirely familiar with something. not in my back yard: see NOT. on your back in bed recovering from an injury or illness. 1989 Looks Making the film was a whole new ball game... for Kylie. ballistic go ballistic fly into a rage, informal 1998 New Scientist The French nuclear industry, local authorities around La Hague and some government agencies went ballistic. Viel was fiercely condemned for his findings. balloon go down like a lead balloon: see LEAD. when (or before) the balloon goes up when (or before) the action or trouble starts. informal ! O The balloon alluded to is probably one j released to mark the start of an event. 1959 Punch The international rules of war are apt to be waived when the balloon goes up. ballpark in the ballpark in a particular area or range. informal i O The phrase originated in the USA, where a j ! ballpark is a baseball ground. bamboo the bamboo curtain an impenetrable political, economic, and cultural barrier between China and non-Communist countries. j O Formed on the pattern of the iron curtain j j (see at IRON), this phrase dates back to the j 1940s. banana banana republic a small tropical state, 1998 Spectator 'She's no better than she ought to be'. (British mothers of my generation... often used that enigmatic phrase. They would use it about female neighbours of whom...
