Словарь американских идиом (8000 единиц)
Шрифт:
[red-letter day] <n. phr.> A holiday; memorable day (usually printed in red on calendars). * /The Fourth of July is a red-letter day./ * /It was a red-letter day for Felix, when he won the lottery./
[red-light district] <n. phr.> A district of brothels or where prostitutes hang out. * /Most unwisely, the young sailor decided to spend his leave on shore by haunting the red-light districts of the port of call./
[red tape] <n. phr.> Unnecessary bureaucratic routine; needless but official delays. * /If you want to get anything accomplished in a hurry, you have to find someone in power who can cut through all that red tape./
[reel off] See: RATTLE OFF.
[reference] See: IN REFERENCE TO or WITH REFERENCE TO.
[refine on] or [refine upon] <v.> 1. To make better; improve. * /Mary was asked to refine on her first outline to make it clearer and more exact./ 2. To be better than; surpass. * /Modern medical techniques refine on those of the past./
[regain one's feet] <v. phr.> To get back up again after falling down. * /Tom fell while he skied down the hill but he regained his feet quickly./ Compare: TO ONE'S FEET.
[regard] See: IN REFERENCE TO or IN REGARD TO or WITH REGARD TO.
[regular guy] or [regular fellow] <n.>, <informal> A friendly person who is easy to get along with; a good sport. * /You'll like Tom. He's a regular guy./ Syn.: GOOD EGG.
[rein] See: FREE REIN, GIVE REIN TO or GIVE FREE REIN TO.
[relation] See: IN RELATION TO or WITH RELATION TO.
[relative to] 1. On the subject of; about. * /Relative to school athletics, the principal said the students should not allow athletics to interfere with homework./ 2. In comparison with; in proportion to. * /Relative to the size of an ant, a blade of grass is as tall as a tree./
[repeat oneself] <v. phr.> To say the same thing over again, often in the same words; repeat ideas because you forget what you said or because you want to stress their importance. * /Grandfather is forgetful and often repeats himself when he tells a story./ * /A teacher often has to repeat herself several times before her pupils remember what she tells them./
[resign oneself] <v. phr.> To stop arguing; accept something which cannot be changed. * /When Jane's father explained that he could not afford to buy her a new bicycle, she finally resigned herself to riding the old one./ Compare: GIVE UP.
[resistance] See: LINE OF LEAST RESISTANCE.
[rest] See: LAY TO REST, PARADE REST.
[rest assured] <v. phr.> To be convinced; persuaded; certain and unworried. * /"Please rest assured," he said seriously, "that I will keep all of my promises."/
[rest home] See: CONVALESCENT HOME.
[rest on one's laurels] <v. phr.> To be satisfied with the success you have already won; stop trying to win new honors. * /Getting an A in chemistry almost caused Mike to rest on his laurels./
[rest on one's oars] <v. phr.> To stop trying; stop working for a while; rest. * /The man who wants to become a millionaire can never rest on his oars./ * /A high school student who wants to go to college cannot rest on his oars./
[rest room] <n.> A room or series of rooms in a public building which has things for personal comfort and grooming, such as toilets, washbowls, mirrors, and often chairs or couches. * /Sally went to the rest room to powder her nose./ Compare: POWDER ROOM.
[retreat] See: BEAT A RETREAT.
[return] See: IN RETURN.
[return the compliment] <v. phr.> To say or do the same to someone that he has said or done to you; pay someone back. * /Mary said, "I love your new hairdo" and Suzy returned the compliment with "What a pretty dress you're wearing, Mary."/ * /John punched Jerry in the nose, and Jerry returned the compliment./
[reverse] See: DOUBLE REVERSE, IN REVERSE.
[rev up] <v. phr.>, <informal>, <slang> 1. To press down sharply several times on the accelerator of an idling car in order to get maximum acceleration. * /The race driver revved up his car by pumping his accelerator./ 2. To get oneself ready in order to accomplish a demanding or difficult task. * /The boys were getting all revved up for the football game./ See: PSYCHED UP.
[rhyme or reason] <n. phr.> A good plan or reason; a reasonable purpose or explanation.
– Used in negative, interrogative, or conditional sentences. * /Don could see no rhyme or reason to the plot of the play./ * /It seemed to Ruth that her little brother had temper tantrums without rhyme or reason./
[rib] See: STICK TO ONE'S RIBS or STICK TO THE RIBS.
[rich] See: STRIKE IT RICH.
[ride] See: ALONG FOR THE RIDE, LET RIDE, RUN WITH HARE AND HUNT (RIDE) WITH THE HOUNDS, TAKE FOR A RIDE, THUMB A RIDE.
[ride herd on] <v. phr.> 1. To patrol on horseback around a herd of animals to see that none of them wanders away. * /Two cowboys rode herd on the cattle being driven to market./ 2. <informal> To watch closely and control; take care of. * /A special legislative assistant rides herd on the bills the president is anxious to have congress pass./ * /Mary rode herd on the small children walking home from school to keep them from running into the street./
[ride on one's coattails] <v. phr.> To succeed in a certain endeavor by attaching oneself to the greater weight of another person or corporate body. * /"We will never get our Ph.D. program approved on our own," said the head of the modern dance department, "but we might succeed if we stay in the Division of Fine Arts, riding on their coattails, as it were."/
[ride out] <v.> To survive safely; endure. * /The captain ordered all sails lowered so the ship could ride out the storm./ * /Jack decided to ride out his troubles by saying that he had made a mistake but that he had learned his lesson./
[ride roughshod over] <v. phr.> To do as you wish without considering the wishes of (another person); treat with scorn or lack of courtesy; show no sympathy for. * /The city officials rode roughshod over the people who did not want their homes torn down for a new school./ * /The boss rode roughshod over the men when they asked for higher wages./