accountable. •/When you walk my dog, please remember that he answers to thename "Caesar."/ •/As head of the company she does not have to answer toanyone./
[ante up]{v.}, {informal} To produce the required amount of moneyin order to close a transaction; to pay what one owes. •/"I guess I’d betterante up if I want to stay an active member of the Association", Max said./
[ants in one’s pants]{n. phr.}, {slang} Nervous over-activity;restlessness. •/Jane can not sit still; she has ants in her pants./ •/Youhave ants in your pants today. Is something wrong?/
[a number]{n.} A rather large number; numbers. — Used when there arcmore than several and fewer than many. •/The parents were invited to see theprogram, and a number came./ •/We knew the Smiths rattier well; we hadvisited them a number of times./ — Used like an adjective before "less","more". •/We have not set up enough folding chairs; we need a number more./Compare: QUITE A FEW.
[any] See: HARDLY ANY or SCARCELY ANY.
[any number]{n.}, {informal} A large number; many. •/There areany number of reasons for eating good food./ •/Don’t ask George what hisexcuse is. He can invent any number./ Compare: A LOT, A NUMBER, GOOD MANY.
[any old how] / [any old way]{adv. phr.}, {informal} Doingsomething in a casual, haphazard, or careless way. •/"John," the teachersaid, "you can’t just do your homework any old way; you must pay attention tomy instructions!"/
[any port in a storm] Any help is welcome in an emergency. — A proverb.•/The motel we stopped in was nothing to brag about, but we were so exhaustedthat it was a clear case of any port in a storm./
[anything] See: HAVE NOTHING ON or NOT HAVE ANYTHING ON, IF ANYTHING.
[anything but]{adv. phr.} Quite the opposite of; far from being. •/Idon’t mean he’s lazy — anything but!/ •/The boys knew they had broken therules, and they were anything but happy when they were called to the office./
[anything like] or [anywhere near]{adv.} Nearly. — Used innegative, interrogative, and conditional sentences, often in the negative forms"nothing like" or "nowhere near". •/It’s not anything like as hot today as itwas yesterday./ •/Do you think that gold ring is worth anywhere near ahundred dollars?/ •/Today’s game was nowhere near as exciting asyesterday’s game./ •/Studying that lesson should take nothing like twohours./
[anywhere near] See: ANYTHING LIKE or ANYWHERE NEAR.
[any which way] See: EVERY WHICH WAY.
[apart] See: JOKING ASIDE or JOKING APART, POLES APART, TELL APART.
[apart from] or [aside from]{prep. phr.} Beside or besides; inaddition to. •/The children hardly see anyone, apart from their parents./•/Aside from being fun and good exercise, swimming is a very useful skill./Syn.: EXCEPT FOR, OUTSIDE OF.
[ape] See: GO APE.
[appear] See: SPEAK OF THE DEVIL AND HE APPEARS.
[appearance] See: PUT IN AN APPEARANCE also MAKE AN APPEARANCE.
[apple] See: POLISH THE APPLE.
[applecart] See: UPSET THE APPLECART or UPSET ONE’S APPLECART.
[apple of one’s eye]{n. phr.} Something or someone that is adored; acherished person or object. •/Charles is the apple of his mother’s eye./•/John’s first car was the apple of his eye. He was always polishing it./
[apple-pie order]{n. phr.}, {informal} Exact orderly arrangement,neatness; tidy arrangement. •/The house was in apple-pie order./ •/Like agood secretary, she kept the boss’s desk in apple-pie order./
[apple polisher]; [apple polishing] See: POLISH THE APPLE.
[approval] See: ON APPROVAL.
[a pretty pass]{n. phr.} An unfortunate condition; a critical state.•/While the boss was away, things at the company had come to a prettypass./
[apron] See: TIED TO ONE’S MOTHER’S APRON STRINGS.
[apropos of]{prep.}, {formal} In connection with; on the subjectof, about; concerning. •/Apropos of higher tuition, Mr. Black told the boyabout the educational loans that banks are offering./ •/Mr. White went tosee Mr. Richards apropos of buying a car./
[arm] See: GIVE ONE’S RIGHT ARM, KEEP AT A DISTANCE Or KEEP AT ARM’SLENGTH, SHOT IN THE ARM, TAKE UP ARMS, TWIST ONE’S ARM, UP IN ARMS, WITH OPENARMS, COST AN ARM AND A LEG.
[arm and a leg]{n.}, {slang} An exorbitantly high price that mustbe paid for something that isn’t really worth it. •/It’s true that to get adecent apartment these days in New York you have to pay an arm and a leg./
[armed to the teeth]{adj. phr.} Having all needed weapons; fullyarmed. •/The paratroopers were armed to the teeth./
[arm in arm]{adv. phr.} With your arm under or around another person’sarm, especially in close comradeship or friendship. •/Sally and Joan werelaughing and joking together as they walked arm in arm down the street./•/When they arrived at the party, the partners walked arm in arm to meet thehosts./ Compare: HAND IN HAND.
[around one’s ears] See: ABOUT ONE’S EARS.
[around the clock] also [the clock around]{adv. phr.} For 24 hoursa day continuously all day and all night. •/The factory operated around theclock until the order was filled./ •/He studied around the clock for hishistory exam./ — [round-the-clock]{adj.} •/That filling stationhas round-the-clock service./
[around the corner]{adv. phr.} Soon to come or happen; close by; nearat hand. •/The fortuneteller told Jane that there was an adventure for herjust around the corner./
[arrest] See: UNDER ARREST.
[as] See: FOR AS MUCH AS, IN AS MUCH AS.
[as a last resort]{adv. phr.} In lieu of better things; lacking bettersolutions. •/"We’ll sleep in our sleeping bags as a last resort," John said,"since all the motels are full."/
[as a matter of fact]{adv. phr.} Actually; really; in addition to whathas been said; in reference to what was said. — Often used as an interjection.•/It’s not true that I cannot swim; as a matter of fact, I used to work as alifeguard in Hawaii./ •/Do you think this costs too much? As a matter offact, I think it is rather cheap./
[as an aside]{adv. phr.} Said as a remark in a low tone of voice; usedin theaters where the actor turns toward the audience as if to "think outloud." •/During the concert Tim said to his wife as an aside, "The conductorhas no idea how to conduct Beethoven."/
[as a rule]{adv. phr.} Generally; customarily. •/As a rule, the bossarrives at the office about 10 A.M./
[as an old shoe] See: COMFORTABLE AS AN OLD SHOE, COMMON AS AN OLD SHOE.
[as --- as ---] — Used with an adjective or adverb in a comparison or withthe effect of a superlative. •/John is as tall as his father now./ •/Ididn’t do as badly today as I did yesterday./ •/John’s father gave him ahard job and told him to do as well as possible./ •/The sick girl was nothungry, but her mother told her to eat as much as she could./ — Also used inthe form "so --- as" in some sentences, especially negative sentences. •/Thishill isn’t nearly so high as the last one we climbed./ — Often used insimiles (comparisons that are figures of speech). •/The baby mouse looked asbig as a minute./ •/Jim’s face was red as a beet after he made the foolishmistake./ — Most similes in conventional use are cliches, avoided by carefulspeakers and writers.
[as best one can]{adv. phr.} As well as you can; by whatever means areavailable; in the best way you can. •/The car broke down in the middle of thenight, and he had to get home as best he could./ •/George’s foot hurt, buthe played the game as best he could./ •/The girl’s mother was sick, so thegirl got dinner as best she could./
[as catch can] See: CATCH AS CATCH CAN.
[as far as] or [so far as]{adv. phr.} 1. To the degree or amountthat; according to what, how much, or how far. •/John did a good job as faras he went, but he did not finish it./ •/So far as the weather isconcerned, I do not think it matters./ •/As far as he was concerned, thingswere going well./ 2. To the extent that; within the limit that. •/He has nobrothers so far as I know./ Compare: FOR ALL(2).
[as far as that goes] or [as far as that is concerned] or [so far asthat is concerned] also [so far as that goes]{adv. phr.} While weare talking about it; also; actually. •/You don’t have to worry about thegirls. Mary can take care of herself, and as far as that goes, Susan is prettyindependent, too./ •/I didn’t enjoy the movie, and so far as that isconcerned, I never like horror movies./ Syn.: FOR THAT MATTER, IN FACT.Compare: COME TO THINK OF IT.
[as follows] A list of things that come next; what is listed next. — Followed by a colon. •/My grocery list is as follows: bread, butter, meat,eggs, sugar./ •/The names of the members are as follows: John Smith, MaryWebb, Linda Long, Ralph Harper./ •/The route is as follows: From City Hallgo south on Main Street to Elm Street, east on Elm to 5th Street, and south on5th two blocks to the school./
[as for]{prep.} 1. In regard to; speaking of; concerning. •/