NTC's American Idioms Dictionary [antikvár]

TO THE USER Every language has phrases or sentences that cannot be understood literally. Even if you know the meanings of all the words in a phrase and understand the grammar completely, the meaning of the phrase may still be confusing. Many clichés, proverbs, slang phrases, phrasal verbs, and common sayings offer this kind of problem. A phrase or sentence of this type is usually said to be idiomatic. This Dictionary is a collection of the idiomatic phrases and sentences that occur frequently in American English. How to Use This Dictionary 1. First, try looking up the phrase in the Dictionary. Each expression is alphabetized by the first word of the phrase. For example, in so many words will be found in the section dealing with the letter "i." Entry phrases are never inverted or reordered like so many words, in; words, in so many; or many words, in so. Remember that in the entry phrase, the words "someone" or "one" are used to stand for persons and "something" stands for things. 2. If you do not find the phrase or if you cannot decide exactly what the phrase is, look up any major word in the phrase in the Phrase-Finder Index which begins on page 361. There you will find all of the phrases that contain the key word you have looked up. Pick out the phrase you want and look it up. The Index has its own instructions for use. 3. A main entry may have one or more alternate forms. The main entry and its alternates are printed in boldface type, and the alternate forms are preceded by "and." (Two or more alternate forms are separated by a semicolon.) For example: I I