Словарь американских идиом (8000 единиц)
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[walk on eggs] <v. phr.> To act with utmost caution due to being in a precarious position. * /Tom has been walking on eggs ever since he started working for a new boss in Cincinnati./
[walk out] <v.> 1. To go on strike. * /When the company would not give them higher pay, the workers walked out./ 2. To leave suddenly; especially to desert. * /He didn't say he wasn't coming back; he just walked out./ - Often used informally with "on". * /The man walked out on his wife and children./ Compare: LEAVE FLAT, LEAVE IN THE LURCH.
[walk over] or [walk all over] or [step all over] <v. phr.> <informal> To make (someone) do whatever you wish; make selfish use of; treat like a slave; impose upon. * /Jill is so friendly and helpful that people walk all over her./ * /We wanted the man's business, so we let him step all over us./ Compare: TAKE ADVANTAGE OF.
[walk the chalk] or [walk the chalk line] or [walk the chalk mark] To act exactly as you are supposed to; behave properly; obey. * /That new teacher really makes the students walk the chalk./ * /In some classes the students play and talk, but Mr. Parker makes them walk the chalk./ * /That theater owner wants his place to be orderly, and if boys and girls don't walk the chalk, he puts them out./ (From the fact that sailors used to be asked to walk a chalk line along the deck of the ship to prove they were not drunk.) Compare: TOE THE MARK.
[walk the floor] <v. phr.> To walk one direction and then the other across the floor, again and again; pace. * /Mr. Black walked the floor, trying to reach a decision./ * /The sick baby had his mother walking the floor all night./ * /Mrs. Black's toothache hurt so much that she got up and walked the floor./
[walk the plank] <v. phr.> 1. To walk off a board extended over the side of a ship and be drowned. * /The pirates captured the ship and forced the crew to walk the plank./ 2. <informal> To resign from a job because someone makes you do it. * /When a new owner bought the store, the manager had to walk the plank./
[wall] See: BACK TO THE WALL, BEAT ONE'S HEAD AGAINST A WALL, CLIMB THE WALL, FORWARD WALL, HANDWRITING ON THE WALL, HOLE-IN-THE-WALL, STONE WALL or BRICK WALL, TO THE WALL.
[wallflower] <n.> A girl who has to sit out dances because nobody is asking her to dance. * /"I used to be a wallflower during my high school days," Valerie complained, "but my luck changed for better once I got into college."/
[wallop] See: PACK A PUNCH or PACK A WALLOP.
[walls have ears] Sometimes one's most confidential conversations are overheard. * /"Be careful what you say," he whispered. "Remember that walls have ears."/
[want ad] <n.> A small advertisement on a special page in a newspaper that offers employment opportunities and merchandise. * /"You want a temporary job?" he asked the recent arrival in town. "Go and look at the want ads!"/
[war] See: COLD WAR, TUG OF WAR.
[war baby] <n.>, <informal> A person born during a war. * /War babies began to increase college enrollments early in the 1960s./ * /The war babies forced many towns to build new schools./
[ward off] <v. phr.> To deflect; avert. * /Vitamin C is known to ward off the common cold./
[warmer] See: BENCH WARMER.
[warm one's blood] <v. phr.> To make you feel warm or excited. * /When the Bakers came to visit on a cold night, Mr. Harmon offered them a drink to warm their blood./
[warm the bench] <v. phr.>, <informal> To act as a substitute on an athletic team. * /Bill has been warming the bench for three football seasons; he hopes that the coach will let him play this year./ [bench warmer] <n.>, <informal> A substitute player. * /Last year Ted was only a bench warmer, but this year he is the team's star pitcher./
[warm up] <v.> 1. To reheat cooked food. * /Mr. Jones was so late that his dinner got cold; his wife had to warm it up./ * /When the children had left for school, their mother warmed up the breakfast coffee./ 2. To become friendly or interested. * /It takes an hour or so for some children to warm up to strangers./ * /As he warmed up to his subject, Tom forgot his bashfulness./ 3. To get ready for a game or other event by exercising or practicing. * /The dancers began to warm up fifteen minutes before the performance./ * /The coach told us to warm up before entering the pool./
[warm-up] <n.> A period of exercise or practice in preparation for a game or other event. * /During the warm-up the baseball players were throwing the ball around and running up and down the side of the field./ * /Before the television quiz program, there was a warm-up to prepare the contestants./
[warpath] See: ON THE WARPATH.
[warrant] See: SIGN ONE'S OWN DEATH WARRANT.
[wash and wear] <adj.> Not needing to be ironed.
– Refers especially to synthetic and synthetic blend fabrics. * /Dick bought three wash and wear shirts to take on his trip./ * /Sally's dress is made of a wash and wear fabric./
[washed out] <adj.> Listless in appearance; pale, wan. * /Small wonder Harry looks so washed out; he has just recovered from major surgery./
[washed up] <adj.> Ruined; finished; a failure. * /Harry is looking awfully sad. I hear his business has collapsed and he is all washed up./
[wash one's dirty linen in public] See: AIR ONE'S DIRTY LINEN IN PUBLIC.
[wash one's hands of] <v. phr.> To withdraw from or refuse to be responsible for. * /We washed our hands of politics long ago./ * /The school washed its hands of the students' behavior during spring recess./
[washout] <n.> A dismal failure. * /As far as investments were concerned, Dick and his precious advice turned out to he a total washout./
[wash out] <v. phr.> To disappear; vanish. * /Do you think this stain will wash out?/
[waste] See: GO TO WASTE, LAY WASTE.
[waste away] <v.> To become more thin and weak every day. * /Jane is wasting away with tuberculosis./ * /After Mrs. Barnes died, her husband wasted away with grief./
[waste one's breath] <v. phr.> To speak or to argue with no result; do nothing by talking. * /The teacher saw that she was wasting her breath; the children refused to believe her./ * /I know what I want. You're wasting your breath./