Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook (38 page)

to give credit to or acknowledge people for something they have managed to do, usually in spite of difficulty. Usually said as
have to hand it to (someone)
♦
I’ve got to
hand it to him.
He managed to get his law degree while working full time.
♦
Boy, I
have to hand it to you.
You dealt with that rude customer a lot better than I would have.

to applaud, clap; also to
get a big hand
♦
Wasn’t that a great show? Let’s
give the performers a hand. ♦
When her speech was finished, everyone
gave her a big hand.

refers to information that comes directly from the source ♦
Believe me. I heard it
firsthand
from people who were there and saw what happened.
♦
You should call her and get the information
firsthand
rather than trusting what someone else says.
♦
As a newspaper reporter, I’m interested in
firsthand
reports, not hearsay.

1.
refers to information that comes from someone who heard it from the source, in other words, the information has come through two people. This idiom can imply that the information is less reliable because it didn’t come directly from the source. ♦
I heard it
secondhand
from Jane, but she wouldn’t lie, so I believe it.
♦
Check with the manager on the details. I just have
secondhand information.

Note:
If the information comes through three people before you hear it, then it’s referred to as
thirdhand.
Thirdhand
information is considered unreliable. It’s also possible to say
fourth hand
or
fifth hand,
but people rarely do.

2.
refers to used items that are sold or given away by their original owners ♦
There’s a good
secondhand
shop downtown. They have some great deals on clothes and household items.
♦
I bought all my furniture
secondhand
at yard sales.

Grammar Note:
The expressions
firsthand, secondhand,
and so on can function as adjectives, as in “It’s secondhand information” or adverbs, as in “I heard it secondhand.”

(n)
a person who has a lot of experience doing something ♦
Of course I can make you an apple pie. I’m
an old hand at
making pies.
♦
He’s
an old hand at
playing poker, so you’ll probably lose if you play with him.

handy, nearby, where one can easily reach or get something; often phrased
close at hand
♦
When I’m working on an art project, I need all my supplies close
at hand. ♦
I don’t live with either of my children, but they’re close
at hand
if I get sick or need something.

(adj)
having nothing in one’s hands or carrying nothing when one arrives or leaves; often implies that one leaves without the thing he or she came to get or that one has arrived without bringing a customary gift ♦
Please take some of these oranges from our tree. I don’t want you leave
empty-handed. ♦
My mother told me that when you visit someone’s home, you should never arrive
empty-handed.
Always bring a small gift.

available when one needs it; in stock; often used with the verbs
to have
and
to keep
♦
Do we have enough soda
on hand
for the party, or do we need to buy some more?
♦
We keep a number of different brands of paint
on hand,
but not the one you’re looking for.

to attend to someone’s every need, to attentively serve someone ♦
She
waits on her son hand and foot.
It’s time he started taking care of himself.
♦
On Mother’s Day, everyone
waits on me hand and foot.
It’s wonderful!

to wish or hope for good luck, success; literally and figuratively crossing the middle finger over the index finger; often put as
to keep one’s fingers crossed
♦
He doesn’t know if he got the job yet. We’re
keeping our fingers crossed
for him.
♦
Keep
your fingers crossed;
we’re going to start the car and see if I was able to fix it.

to make a vulgar gesture of anger and contempt; literally and figuratively holding up the middle finger with fist clenched ♦
When the car zoomed past us, the driver
gave us the finger. ♦
We really laughed when we saw grandma
give that rude guy the finger!
Note:
This gesture is also called
flipping the bird
or
flipping someone off.

to blame or accuse someone of something. Alludes to the actual gesture of pointing at someone or something; also said with a plural noun as
point fingers at.
♦
Don’t
point the finger at
me.
It isn’t my fault.
♦
Now scientists are
pointing the finger at
environmental pollution
as a major cause of cancer.

handy, accessible, easy to find, reach, or get
;
usually said as
have
or
keep something at one’s fingertips
♦
I keep my reading glasses in my shirt pocket so that I have them
at my fingertips
when I need them.
♦
The Internet keeps the world
at our fingertips.

food that one typically eats with one’s fingers, for example, pizza, fried chicken, chips, and most appetizers ♦
I’m not going to serve a meal at my party, I’ll just have some
finger food. ♦
Come over and watch the game at my house. Bring some
finger food!

1.
to touch with the intent to harm someone or something; to attempt to take something that one shouldn’t take. Often said in the negative, and used in a threat. ♦
Don’t you kids
lay a finger on
those hors d’oeuvres until the guests arrive.
♦
Don’t worry. I won’t let those mean boys
lay a finger on
my little brother.

2.
to touch someone sexually ♦
If he
lays a finger on
my sister, I’m going to break his neck!

to make the slightest effort; to do the least amount of work possible. Almost always used in the negative, as in
didn’t lift a finger.
♦
On my birthday, my kids do everything for me. I don’t have to
lift a finger. ♦
What jerks! They didn’t
lift a finger
to help while she was sick.

to be able to identify, remember, or figure out something; often used in the negative to mean that someone can’t quite remember something ♦
I’ve met that man before, but I can’t
put my finger on where. ♦
What’s the name of that song they’re playing? I can’t quite
put my finger on it.

to miss an opportunity, to let something get away by not paying attention or acting on it in time ♦
She could have gotten the scholarship but she missed the deadline and the chance
slipped through her fingers. ♦
He had a wonderful girlfriend, but he
let her
slip through his fingers
by not proposing.

to work very hard with one’s hands; usually refers to cleaning and housework ♦
I
worked my fingers to the bone
getting the house ready for our guests.
♦
You
work your fingers to the bone
in this job, and the pay is bad.
♦
All her life, she was
working her fingers to the bone
trying to support her kids.

to have someone in one’s control; to create a situation where a person will do anything one wants them to do; also
to have someone wrapped
or
twisted around someone’s finger
♦
He’s so in love that his girlfriend could
wrap
him
around her little finger
if she wanted to.
♦
Face the facts; the boss has you
twisted around his finger
and he’s taking advantage of you.

to hitchhike, literally to stick out one’s thumb toward traffic in an effort to get a ride from a passing motorist; figuratively to ask an acquaintance or friend for a ride ♦
We
thumbed rides
all the way across the country. What at trip!
♦
We used to
thumb rides,
but it’s not safe anymore.
♦
Hey John, can I
thumb a ride
to work with you tomorrow?

to sit idle and bored, usually while waiting for something; to do nothing. Refers to the habit of folding one’s hands together and circling one’s thumbs around each other; usually said as
sit twiddling one’s thumbs.
♦
The speaker was late, so we just sat there
twiddling our thumbs
for a half hour.
♦
Don’t just sit
twiddling your thumbs.
Help me clean up this mess!

very good/not good. These expressions are said as a way of showing approval or disapproval, or reporting good news or bad news; refers to the literal gesture of the thumb pointing up (good) or down (not good) with the fist clenched. ♦
After she read my report, she gave it a
thumbs up. ♦
When he came out of the audition, he gave us a
thumbs up,
and we knew he got the part.
♦
Man, I give that movie a
thumbs down.
Don’t waste your money going to see it.

clumsy with one’s hands, not good with handling or fixing things ♦
Don’t ask mom to make your costume. She’s
all thumbs
around a sewing machine.
♦
I could never be a brain surgeon;
I’m all thumbs.

to be very good at growing plants, to be an expert gardener ♦
Richard
really has a green thumb.
Have you ever seen his beautiful garden?!
♦
I don’t
have a green thumb.
Every time I plant something, it dies.

to be highly visible and obvious because of some peculiar feature; to be conspicuous ♦
With his hair dyed green, he
sticks out like a sore thumb. ♦
We won’t have trouble finding her in this crowd. She’s so tall, she
sticks out like a sore thumb.