Read Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook Online

Authors: Gail Brenner

Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook (33 page)

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break one’s neck

to try very hard to accomplish something; to make a huge effort ♦
He practically
broke his neck
to get tickets to the concert.
♦ I broke my neck
trying to get here in time for the meeting.

at breakneck speed

to go very fast, excessively fast ♦
We’ll have to work
at breakneck speed
to be ready for the conference.
♦
The poor guy was running
at breakneck speed
to catch the bus.

risk one’s neck

to risk physical harm; to risk something like a job or money in order to accomplish something ♦
I’ll never
risk my neck
going mountain climbing.
♦
They
risked their necks
trying to save their business.

stick one’s neck out

to risk something in order to help someone or for some gain ♦
We
stuck our necks out
buying a new house before our old house sold.
♦
He
stuck his neck out
for me at the meeting, and I appreciate that.

save one’s neck

to rescue one from a problem situation ♦
You can help
save my neck.
Just tell my parents that I was at your house last night.
♦
You
saved my neck
by finishing this project for me.

A Few Other
Neck
Idioms

be up to one’s neck (in something)

to have a large excess of something or be very occupied with something, usually work or a demanding project ♦
After the harvest, we were
up to our necks
in squash!
♦
I am
up to my neck
in work. I can’t get together this week.

breathe down someone’s neck

to watch over someone’s activities very closely; to supervise and observe closely, possibly looking over someone’s shoulder ♦
The manager kept
breathing down my neck
today, making me nervous.
♦
You kids have been
breathing down my neck
all afternoon. Go outside and play.

neck of the woods

a region or general area ♦
Please come visit next time you’re in our
neck of the woods. ♦
I really like this little
neck of the woods.
It’s a great place to live.

be neck-and-neck

to be exactly even; to be tied in a race or contest or election. Alludes to horse racing. ♦
The two runners
were neck-and-neck
to the finish line.
♦
The candidates
were neck-and-neck
until the absentee ballots were counted.

[See
necking
in Chapter 8.]

The Shoulders

The following idioms use
shoulder
or
shoulders,
often to imply responsibility.

Shoulders That Are Responsible

The shoulders are sturdy, capable of carrying heavy loads or weights. A number of idioms with
shoulder
mean to carry the weight of responsibility, blame, or troubles. The following idioms have this meaning:

shoulder

to carry or take on responsibility, blame, or troubles ♦
He
shouldered
the blame for the mistake, though it wasn’t totally his fault.
♦
He has a lot of responsibility
to shoulder,
with five kids and his elderly parents to care for.
♦
When I was on vacation, Jill
shouldered
the load at work.

on one’s shoulders

to bear the responsibility of something ♦
The success of this deal is
on his shoulders. ♦ S
he has a lot
on her shoulders
right now, with a new job and new baby.

carry the weight of the world on one’s shoulders

to appear to be burdened with excess responsibility ♦
She seems to be
carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders;
maybe we can help her.
♦
He always looks like he’s
carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
He needs a vacation!

a shoulder to cry on

sympathetic support; a friend who listens to one’s problems. Often said as
to be
or
have a shoulder to cry on.
♦
If you need
a shoulder to cry on,
I’m here.
♦
Thanks for always being
a shoulder that I can cry on.

A Few Other Shoulder Idioms

If you
rub shoulders with someone,
it means that you associate with them, especially if they are well known, influential, or a celebrity. For example

In her work as a reporter she
rubs shoulders with
some very interesting people.

On the other hand if you
give someone the cold shoulder,
then you refuse to associate with him or her. You are cold and unfriendly, often because of something unacceptable that the person has done. For example

When I first came to the new school, some kids
gave me the cold shoulder.
They’ve
given him the cold shoulder
ever since he tried to cheat them.

If you say “He
has a chip on his shoulder
,” that means the person is carrying resentment and anger. He may want to argue for no reason, or try to challenge people to a fight. The
chip
alludes to an old practice of placing a wood chip on one’s shoulder, and then daring someone to knock it off, thus starting a fight. For example

If you get rid of that
chip on your shoulder,
people will be friendlier to you.
Ted: What’s the matter with John? Ron: Oh, he’s
had a chip on his shoulder
ever since he got fired from his job.

[See
have a good head on one’s shoulders
earlier in this chapter.]

Idioms with
Face, Eyes, Ears, Nose,
and
Mouth

In this section, you’ll find expressions with
face, eyes, ears, nose,
and
mouth.
In many of these idioms, the expression alludes to functions of the five senses or to the expressiveness of the face and eyes.

The Face

The face is one’s outward identity, and it often shows what’s true—or hides the truth. Most idioms using
face
allude to truth or to the expressive nature of the face.

Shows on One’s Face
and Related Idioms

If something
shows on your face,
then a person can tell something about you just by looking at your face. For example: “He says he’s not in pain, but it
shows on his face.
” Something can also be
written all over someone’s face.
For example: “Although he denied the crime, guilt was
written all over his face.
” A number of other idioms with
face
refer to the truth and reality:

tell it to one’s face

to express one’s displeasure or anger at someone directly, rather than telling other people ♦
If she really doesn’t like my idea, I wish she’d
tell it to my face. ♦
I’m so angry at him, and I need
to tell it to his face.

look someone in the face

to be direct and honest with someone about something difficult (alludes to making direct eye contact as a show of honesty); also to
look someone in the eyes
♦
It will be hard
to look him in the face
and say that I want to break our engagement, but I have to.

take something at face value

to accept someone or something as true from its outward appearance; to accept it as it appears ♦
We
took him at face value,
but he wasn’t as honest as he appeared.
♦
You can’t just accept the offer
at face value,
because there may be hidden conditions.

show one’s true face

to reveal one’s true feelings or character ♦
She rarely
shows her true face
to anyone except her closest friends.
♦
It’s hard for me not
to show my true face.
I don’t hide my feelings very well.

Face It!
and Related Idioms

To
face something
or to
look something in the face
mean to accept the reality of something that is difficult to accept. The following expressions also mean to accept the truth, accept reality, although it might be unpleasant:

Face it!
♦ Face it!
You’re not going to get a raise unless you work harder.

Let’s face it!
♦ Let’s face it,
we work a third of the year just to pay our taxes.

Face the facts!
♦ Face the facts,
man. She left you because you drink too much.

Two other expressions,
face up to something
and
face the music,
mean to accept responsibility, or to accept punishment for one’s wrongdoings. The following examples show how to use these expressions:

The error is mine. I’ll have to tell the boss and
face the music.
He didn’t want to
face up to it,
but his parents knew that he’d broken the window.

Plain as the Nose on One’s Face
and Related Idioms

When something is
as plain as the nose on one’s face,
then it’s very obvious and clear. For example

After he explained it, it was
as plain as the nose on my face.
The problem is
as plain as the nose on his face.
He needs to get a job!

When something is
staring one in the face,
it’s obvious, but one doesn’t see it; one doesn’t realize the truth about a situation, though there are many clues. Here’s how to use this expression:

She never realized they were stealing from her, though it was
staring her in the face!
The solution to my problem was
staring me right in the face,
but I couldn’t see it.

Show Your Face
and Related Idioms

If you don’t want to
show your face
or you want to
hide your face,
then you are probably ashamed or embarrassed. For example

He was ashamed to
show his face
after the scandal was publicized.
When I saw how the newspaper misquoted me, I wanted to
hide my face.
The mistake made me sound like a fool!

[Also see
show one’s face
(around here) later in this chapter.]

Losing face
happens when one is publicly humiliated, shamed, or embarrassed, and thus loses respect or status in others’ eyes. The opposite of
losing face
is
saving face
, meaning to keep from being shamed.

If he told his friends he was afraid,
he’d lose face.
In order
to save face,
the President resigned rather than being impeached.

If you
have egg on your face,
then your embarrassment is obvious and shows clearly. People use this expression when a person has embarrassed him or herself by making a serious social mistake or doing something wrong. For example

Now look who has
egg on his face!
You have to admit you were wrong.
He going to have
egg on his face
if he doesn’t keeps talking.

Make a Face
and Related Idioms

make a face

(v)
to create a funny, twisted, or unpleasant gesture with one’s face for fun or to show displeasure ♦
The children
made a face
when they saw spinach on their plate.
♦
He can get everyone laughing by
making
funny
faces.

make a face at someone

(v)
to create an unpleasant face in order to communicate one’s dislike or displeasure ♦
Mom, Bobby is
making faces
at me!

a long face

(n)
a sad or depressed look on one’s face; often said as to
have a long face
♦
Hey, why the
long face?
Is something bothering you?

keep a straight face

(v)
to stop oneself from laughing; to look serious ♦
It was hard for the security guard
to keep a straight face
when he overheard a funny joke.

screw up one’s face

(v)
to make an unpleasant face to show displeasure or disgust ♦
My sister and I always
screwed up our faces
when dad put worms on the fishing hook.

Red and Blue Faces

One might
have a red face
(be embarrassed) or
talk until one is blue in the face
(talk excessively trying to persuade someone), which alludes to talking so long that one stops breathing and becomes blue from lack of oxygen. Here are some examples of these expressions: