Read Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook Online
Authors: Gail Brenner
Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook (52 page)
Resulting In
These idioms often have a general meaning of to result in, end up, or eventually become.
Note:
Come out
is sometimes used for short-term results, while
turn out
is sometimes used for longer-term results. The definitions that follow show a few other differences in usage.
Grammar Note:
Come out
can be followed by an adverb or prepositional phrase, while
turn out
can be followed by an adverb, prepositional phrase, or by the infinitive
to be
plus an adjective.
come out
to end up, to result in the end, often after work or effort ♦
The meal
came out
very well.
♦
These set designs are
coming out
well. You’re doing a great job!
turn out
1.
to end up, to result in, to become in the end, sometimes by chance or luck, but also after work or effort;
turn out
can imply that the result is different from what was expected ♦
Their children all
turned out
to be professionals.
♦
This party is
turning out
better than we expected.
2.
to arrive in numbers or assemble for an event ♦
Thousands of people
turned out
for the peace march.
♦
All of her relatives
turned out
for her 90
th
birthday party.
3. (S)
to evict or expel, often from a house. Sometimes put
turn out on the streets
. ♦
He was
turned out
on the street when he failed to pay the rent.
♦
Don’t
turn
your rebellious teenagers
out.
They need a stable home.
4. (S)
to produce, often referring to mass production; to graduate, often individuals with specialized training ♦
The factory
turns out
500 new cars per day.
♦
This university has
turned out
many of the world’s top scientists.
Call Out and Speak Out
call out
1. (NS)
to call or shout loudly to get someone’s attention; often put as
call out to
or
for
♦
She
called out
to her children who were in the yard.
♦
He kept
calling out
for help until the rescue team found him.
2. (NS)
to use a telephone to make, but not receive, calls; also
dial out
♦
On this line you can only
call out.
3. (NS)
to order food by phone to be delivered ♦
Let’s
call out
for pizza.
4. (S)
to challenge someone to a fight ♦
He
called
the man
out
after they had argued in the bar.
♦
Hey! I’m
calling
you
out!
speak out
to express one’s opinions or support openly, freely, or forcefully; often put as
speak out on
or
about
(a topic) or
speak out for/against
(a cause) ♦
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
spoke out
for equal rights.
♦
He’s afraid he’ll lose his job if he
speaks out
about the long hours.
[See
speak up
later in this chapter.]
Give Out
and
Hold Out
These idioms have somewhat opposite meanings:
hold out
can mean to last or endure, while
give out
can mean to be depleted (not last) or to stop enduring.
give out
1. (NS)
to be depleted, as a supply of something; to stop operating, running, or moving because of poor condition or exhaustion ♦
Their money
gave out
before the end of the trip.
♦
Let’s sit down; I’m
giving out!
2. (S)
to distribute ♦
The teacher
gave out
stickers to all her students.
♦
Packages of food and clothing were
given out
to the refugees.
hold out
1.
to last, endure, or continue to operate or run despite being old or in poor condition ♦
I hope this old car
holds out
for a few more years.
♦
Their supply of canned food
held out
through the winter.
2.
to continue to resist, to not yield, to stand firm in one’s demands; often put
hold out for
or
against
♦
We’re
holding out
for the best offer on our house.
♦
The village
held out
against the rising flood waters.
3.
to withhold; to not give information on something that is expected; often put as
hold out on
♦
Tell me all the details; don’t
hold out on
me.
Drop Out
and Other Slang Expressions with
Out
All of the following idioms are slang expressions.
drop out
1.
to quit going to school, to stop participating, usually in a class or program ♦
He
dropped out
of school and joined the Navy.
♦
She had to
drop out
of the program.
2.
to stop being an active member of mainstream society ♦
He
dropped out
and lived in a cabin in the wilderness.
♦
In the 1960s some young people
dropped out
and lived on communes.
[See also
give up
later in this chapter.]
freak out (S)
to become upset, agitated, or afraid; to make someone have these feelings ♦
My dad really
freaked out
when he saw the dent in the car.
♦
Snakes
freak
me
out.
I’m afraid of them.
hang out
1.
to relax, spend idle time, do nothing ♦
Let’s just
hang out
this weekend.
2.
to spend time with friends or family, to get together, to associate with ♦
Do you want to
hang out? ♦
I usually
hang out
with my family on Sundays.
space out (S)
1.
to be forgetful, not able to remember; sometimes simply put as
spaced
♦
I
spaced out
some of the questions on the exam.
♦
I’m sorry, you told me your name, but I immediately
spaced
it
out.
2.
to disorient, often used in the adjective form
to be spaced out
♦
This pain medication the doctor gave me really
spaces
me
out.
wipe out (S)
to eliminate, destroy, make extinct, or kill ♦
Efforts to
wipe out
world hunger have not yet succeeded.
♦
Smallpox has nearly been
wiped out
worldwide.
Note:
Wipe out
often refers to disease, hunger, or other world problems, or to permanently destroying large numbers.
Cleaning
air out (S)
to allow fresh air to remove odors or mildew, or to replace stale air ♦
She opened a window and
aired out
the room.
♦
We
aired
our sleeping bags
out
after the camping trip.
clean out (S)
1.
to thoroughly clean or remove the dirt, bacteria, or clutter from the inside of something ♦
He
cleaned out
the cut and put disinfectant on it.
♦
We’re planning to
clean out
our garage this weekend.
2.
to completely use up, generally money or food ♦
When our grandsons came to visit, they
cleaned out
the refrigerator!
♦
Those house repairs really
cleaned
me
out.
Clean It Out!
When the preposition
out
is joined with a cleaning verb (
clean
,
sweep
,
wash
,
wipe
, and so on), the result is often an idiom that means to clean the dirt or clutter from the inside of something. For example, to
clean out
the car generally means to remove any clutter or dirt from the inside of the car or the floor of the car (while to
clean
the car generally implies to wash the outside). These “clean out” idioms are often used to refer to a thorough and complete cleaning or removal of clutter from the
inside
of something. Some idioms, such as
sweep out
and
vacuum out
, imply to sweep or vacuum an enclosed space.
Note:
Wash out
has two meanings: first, to wash the inside of something, concentrating on the dirt or leftover food that’s on the inside, and second, to wash the dirt or stains out of cloth or clothing, or to it wash by hand in a sink. The following sentences include the most common of these idioms:
- I
cleaned out
my desk when I quit my job. - Wipe out
the inside of the refrigerator with a damp cloth. - Sweep out
the garage. - Wash out
this pan. - I’ll try to
wash
the stains
out
of this shirt. - Vacuum out
the car.
Phrasal Verbs with
Up
and
Down
When the prepositions
up
and
down
are used with a verb, they often add emphasis or make the verb more specific. Therefore, many phrasal verbs that use
up
and
down
have a meaning similar to the verb itself. For example,
eat up
means to eat heartily or finish eating;
calm down
means to become calmer, less upset, or less angry;
close up
means to close and lock or to finalize. In these cases, the preposition extends the meaning of the verb, gives it added stress, or makes it less general. These types of idioms can be easier to learn because the basic definition of the verb isn’t changed by adding
up
or
down.
Note:
Phrasal verbs using the prepositions
up
and
down
are often transitive and separable. But there are plenty of exceptions. Each transitive idiom presented in this section is marked with either
(S)
for separable or
(NS)
for non-separable.
Up/Down
Opposites: Phrasal Verbs with Opposite Meanings
Some phrasal verbs with
up
and
down
have opposite meanings. For example,
turn up
and
turn down
can mean to increase or decrease the volume of a radio, TV, your voice, and so on. The following section includes phrasal verbs with
up
and
down
that are
antonyms
(having opposite meanings).
turn up/turn down (S)
1.
to increase/decrease volume, light, heat, or cooling ♦
Please
turn down
the music. It’s too loud.
♦
They
turned up
the lights in the theater during intermission.
2.
to turn something, like cards, so that the front side or face is showing, or so it is standing up, or to turn something so that the back side is showing ♦ Turn up
three cards and start playing.
♦
Your collar is
turned up
on one side. You should
turn
it
down.
[See
turn up
and
turn down
later in this section.]
go up/go down (NS)
1.
to increase/decrease; generally used with prices, statistics, quantity, or quality ♦
The price of a postage stamp just
went up
to 37 cents.
♦
The quality of service has
gone down
drastically.
2.
to ascend/descend, to rise/fall; generally used with the stock market or temperature ♦
The stock market
went up
50 points today.
♦
At night the temperature
goes down
pretty low.
Common Phrasal Verbs with the Preposition
Up
The preposition
up
is the most frequently used preposition in phrasal verbs. Often the preposition
up
adds emphasis to the meaning of the verb or makes the action of the verb more specific. For example, the idiom
look up
means to
look
for information, specifically in a reference book or source.
Write up
means to
write
an account or summary of one’s research or work, as in “I’ll
write up
the test results tomorrow,” or “Please
write up
a bill for me showing the cost of materials and labor.” Most phrasal verbs with
up
are transitive and separable, but of course there are exceptions.
The first four sections that follow include easy-to-learn idioms in which the preposition
up
extends or emphasizes the literal meaning of the verb. The remaining sections are organized into categories of idioms with similar or related meanings.