Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook (59 page)

to relinquish control and put something in someone else’s hands ♦
Tomorrow, we’ll
hand over
the deed to the house to the new owners.
♦
The mugger shouted, “
Hand over
your money!”

(slang) to reluctantly relinquish control, often of money; to return control of something to its rightful owner ♦
When are you going to
fork over
the $50 you owe me?
♦
We had to
fork over
a huge sum to the government for property taxes this year.

to relinquish control or responsibility to someone else ♦
My dad made me
turn over
the car keys after my accident.
♦
They
turned over
the job of fundraising to me.

to give something into someone else’s possession, often in reference to money ♦
The local citizens have already
given over
thousands of tax dollars to this project.
♦
They
gave over
some of their property for the new children’s center.

to review or look through carefully ♦
After I give you back your tests, we’ll
go over
them and discuss the errors.
♦
Would you please
go over
my manuscript and give me your feedback?

1.
to look through something checking for accuracy or content ♦
Mom, would you
look over
my essay and tell me if it’s okay?
♦
I
looked
the report
over
and found a few problems.

2.
to look at someone with specific interest, usually viewing him or her from head to foot. ♦
Man, that girl is really
looking
you
over.
I think she wants to meet you.
♦
He’s been
looking over
that car for ten minutes. He must be a serious buyer.
Note:
This idiom may have a positive or negative implication, and can imply sexual attraction, as in the second example. An expression similar in meaning to
look over
is to
give someone the once over.

to discuss an issue or problem in order to understand or solve it; to come to a conclusion or agreement. Also put as
talk things over.
♦
If something is bothering you, let’s
talk
it
over. ♦
Before accepting this job offer, I have to
talk
it
over
with my partner.

to think about something carefully, considering all of the pros, cons, or potential outcomes; to carefully consider before making a decision.
Mull over
often implies a more casual or longer period of thinking, possibly with no immediate decision required. ♦
I’ll
think over
your offer and let you know my decision in a few days.
♦
We’re looking for one more person to join us on the European tour. Why don’t you
think
it
over?

Turning It Over in One’s Mind

An expression that means to
think it
over
or
mull it
over
is to
turn something over in one’s mind.
Sometimes it’s just said as
to turn the idea over.
For example you might say, “I’ve been
turning the idea over in my mind
, but I haven’t yet come to a decision.”
Turning an idea over
can imply a longer, more careful consideration than
mulling over
or
thinking over.
Here’s another example: “We’ve
turned
the idea
over and over
and have finally decided to go ahead and do it.”

to climb or crawl, often carefully, to get from one place to a destination ♦
The monkey
climbed over
to another branch to get the best fruit.
♦ Climb over
to this side of the roof. I’ll show you the damaged roof tiles. But be careful!

to drive from one place to a destination ♦
I’ll
drive over
to your house and pick you up in 20 minutes.
♦
He
drove
his daughter
over
to the park for her soccer group.

to fly from one place to a destination ♦
While they were in Mexico, they
flew over
to Cuba to visit relatives.
♦
Our friend
flew
us
over
to one of the islands in his plane.
Grammar Note:
Fly over
is sometimes put in the passive voice as in this example: “Our supplies
were
flown over
to the research site before we arrived.”

1.
to relocate, moving from one locale to another locale ♦
We
moved over
to the other side of town last year.
♦
Ben helped
move
his mother
over
to her new apartment.

2.
to move slightly to the left or right in order to make more space for someone; to change the location of items in a room or elsewhere. Sometimes said as
scoot over
or
slide over.
♦
Would you mind
moving over
a bit so that someone else can sit down?
♦
If we
move
the table
over
a little, we can fit the bookshelf next to it.

1.
to run the distance from one location to another, usually to a destination ♦
We
ran over
to see if we could help the woman who had fallen on the ground.
♦
To play this game, you
run over
to the table, pick up an egg in your spoon, and
run
back
over
here.

2.
to do an errand quickly; to make a quick trip, generally for some business or chore ♦
She’s not here right now; she just
ran over
to the post office to mail some packages.
♦
I’m going to
run over
to Dan’s house for a minute.
Note:
In this context,
run
is generally not literal. The errand or quick trip is usually done on foot (walking), by car, bicycle, or other mode of transportation.

3.
to exceed a time limit ♦
The meeting
ran over,
as usual, and everyone was late leaving work.
♦
I’ll signal you when you have one minute left so that your speech doesn’t
run over
the time allotted.
Grammar Note:
In this context,
run over
is non-separable when it has a direct object.

4. (S)
to hit or bump into and possibly pass over the top of something ♦
He felt terrible when someone
ran over
his dog.
♦
He was walking so fast he nearly
ran
right
over
an elderly lady.
Note:
This context generally implies that one ran over something or someone with a vehicle, but you can also run over something or someone while walking or running.

to walk the distance from one location to another, usually to a destination ♦
Let’s
walk over
to the market and buy some fruit.
♦
Megan,
walk over
to that table and back to make sure that the shoes are comfortable before we buy them.

All Over the Place

The expression
all over
is often put after the verb
climb, drive, fly, run, walk,
and others, to mean “here, there, and everywhere; in every part.” If people say “We
walked all over,
” it implies that they walked to many different areas, sometimes with no specific goal or destination. But one can also
walk all over
in search of something. The expression
all over
is sometimes put as
all over town
or
all over the place.
Here are more examples:

• We
  drove all over
  town looking for the address
  (drove through many parts of town; spent a lot of time driving).
  
• I
  ran all over
  the place doing errands today
  (went to many places, typically by car; no actual running was involved).
  
• The kids
  climb all over
  their grandpa when he comes to visit
  (playfully climb in his lap, and maybe hang on his arms or shoulders).
  

Note:
To
walk all over someone
means to take advantage of someone’s generosity, kindness, or meekness.

[See
walk around, running around, drive around,
and so on, later in this chapter.]