Словарь американских идиом (8000 единиц)
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[off the record(1)] <adv. phr.> Confidentially. * /"Off the record," the boss said, "you will get a good raise for next year, but you'll have to wait for the official letter."/ Contrast: ON RECORD, GO ON RECORD, JUST FOR THE RECORD.
[off the record(2)] <adj. phr.> Not to be published or told; secret; confidential. * /The president told the reporters his remarks were strictly off the record./ - Sometimes used with hyphens, before the noun. * /The governor was angry when a newspaper printed his off-the-record comments./
[off the top of one's head] <adv.> or <adj. phr.>, <informal> Without thinking hard; quickly. * /Vin answered the teacher's question off the top of his head./ * /When Lorraine was asked to recite, she talked off the top of her head./
[off the wagon] <adj. phr.>, <slang> No longer refusing to drink whiskey or other alcoholic beverages; drinking liquor again, after stopping for a while. * /When a heavy drinker quits he must really quit. One little drink of whiskey is enough to drive him off the wagon./ Contrast: ON THE WAGON.
[off the wall] <adj. phr.> Strange; out of the ordinary; stupid. * /He has been making off-the-wall remarks all day; something must he the matter with him./
[of it] See: WHAT OF IT.
[of late] <adv. phr.>, <formal> In the recent past; not long ago; a short time ago; lately; recently. * /There have been too many high school dropouts of late./
[of necessity] <adv. phr.> Because there is no other way; because it must be; necessarily. * /Being a professional actor of necessity means working nights and Sundays./
[of no avail] See: TO NO AVAIL.
[of old(1)] <adj. phr.> Of ancient times; of long ago. * /Knights of old had to wear armor in battle./
[of old(2)] <adv. phr.> From earlier experience. * /You won't get any money from Freddie. I know him of old./
[of oneself] See: GIVE OF ONESELF.
[of one's life] <adj. phr.> The best or worst; greatest.
– Usually describing a time or effort. * /At Disneyland, Tommy had the time of his life./ * /His race for the presidency was the political fight of his life./
[of one's own accord] or [of one's own free will] <adv. phr.> Without suggestion or help from anyone else; without being told; voluntarily. * /On her mother's birthday, Betsy did the dishes of her own accord./ * /But Johnny hates baths. I can't believe he would take one of his own free will./
[of one's own free will] See: OF ONE'S OWN ACCORD.
[of service] <adj. phr.> Valuable as a source of aid; helpful; useful. * /When a visitor seems lost or confused, the courteous student will ask "May I be of service?"/ * /A good jackknife is often of service to a camper./
[of sorts] or [of a sort] <adj. phr.> Not especially good; not very good; of common quality. * /Joel was a magician of sorts, and popular at parties./
[often] See: EVERY NOW AND THEN or EVERY SO OFTEN, MORE OFTEN THAN NOT.
[of die devil] See: SPEAK OF THE DEVIL AND HE APPEARS.
[of the first water] <adj. phr.>, <informal> Of the finest quality; superior; very good; best. * /The jeweler chose diamonds of the first water for the queen's crown./ * /The dance program at graduation was of the first water./ Compare: FIRST-CLASS.
[of the same mind] <adv. phr.> In agreement; in consonance. * /It is a good thing when father and son are of the same mind regarding business and politics./
[oil] See: POUR OIL ON TROUBLED WATERS.
[oil the wheels] See: GREASE THE WHEELS.
[ointment] See: PLY IN THE OINTMENT.
[old] See: CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK, COMFORTABLE AS AN OLD SHOE, COMMON AS AN OLD SHOE, OF OLD.
[old as the hills] <adj. phr.> Very old; ancient. * /"Why didn't you laugh?" she asked. "Because that joke is as old as the hills," he answered./
[old boy network] <n. phr.> A system whereby men who went to the same school help each other to get good jobs, regardless of their ability or training. * /Peter got his lucrative job thanks to the old boy network rather than because of his qualifications./ Compare: OLD COLLEGE TRY.
[old boy] or [old chap] <n.>, <chiefly British> One of the men educated at the same institution and bound by strong ties of loyalty to each other. * /He got the job because the boss was another old boy./
[old college try] <n. phr.> An attempt to win a favor from another by mentioning the fact that one had gone to the same college or university as the party from whom the favor is requested. * /Since he needed a job, he decided to use the old college try when he contacted Jerry, but it didn't work./ Compare: OLD BOY NETWORK.
[old country] <n. phr.> Primarily Europe, but also any country other than the United States where one originally came from. * /Al's wife was born in Chicago but Al himself is from the old country, Ireland./
[old flame] <n. phr.> An erstwhile lover. * /Did you know that Meg was one of Howard's old flames?/
[old guard] <n. phr.> People whose ideas may be out of date, but who have been in power for a long time. * /There will not be any change in policy at the company, as long as the old guard still works here./
[old hand] <n. phr.> An experienced and highly skilled expert at some particular job. * /Uncle Joe is an old hand at repairing car engines./
[old hat] <adj.>, <informal> Old-fashioned; not new or different. * /By now, putting satellites in orbit is old hat to space scientists./ * /Andrea thought her mother's ideas about dating were old hat./