Pearson Eduction United anburg Gate, Hari ssc h29 2, England ‘ond asec tte companies tough Pe worl © eorsan Educatitn Limited 2008 st our websites ww longman com ksionsres fags served no pat Fh publication may be reproduce, stored ita erie system 1 ransmated ay fxm a yay means, etionc, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise. ‘wthodt te por ite permisin of te Pubishess, Fist pubtehee 200% (905 206 008 07 204 Words hat the editors have easontobeleve cansttute trademarks have been descibed as such. Hawt nethethe presence nay the absence ef euch deserpion shoul be regarded as tfecting he legal status of any rademar, 138" 0582776634 Sein 7 Megas Normal by Peter Way Printed in China NPcCio3 Contents Using the Dictionary Idioms A-Z fo10M Acrivaron Problem Angry Understand Not understand/know Start Stop Easy Diffcutt same Diferent Io1oms Quiz More than meets the eye Inthe picture v 1 136 ur 138 139 140 tat uaa 43 34 Ms 282 288ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Directar Della Summers Eaitorial Director & Publisher Pletre-Henti Cousin Editor & Project Manager Wendy Lee Lexicographer Clare Vickers fHustrator Chris Simpson Design Alex Ingr Coverdesign Abbey Design, Harlow. Essex Proofreaders Jane Teil, uth Noble ‘and the Longman Dictionades tearm Using the Dictionary ‘What are idioms and how are they used? ‘An idiom is a group of words whose meaning as a group is different from the meaning those wards would have if you considered each ane separately, iioms add colour to the language, giving us lively and interesting ways of expressing. ‘ourselves. We use them in a wide variety of situations, from {rlendly conversations and business meetings to more formal ‘written contexts, The Longrsan Pocket idioms Dictlonary focuses on over 3000 ‘common idioms. It covers exaressions whose meanings are fairly easy to understand, such as put your heads together ‘and can’t hear yourself think, as well as some that ate less ‘obvious, tke face the music and keep your shirt on. Many Compound nouns (nouns made up of mere than one word but which have a single meaning), lke wild card and ‘cid test, are also included. So are phrases which you will frequentiy hear in everyday situations, such as it's just as Well and of al things. Examples show the Idiom in a typical ‘context, and give the reader access to real language and natural speech. The idiom Activator (pages 135-145) provides {further tool for language learners. grouping together idioms Which have a similar meaning and making it easier to choose ‘he right expression for a particular situation, How do | find the idiom | am looking for? ‘loms are entered under ‘keysiords, which ae isted in Alphabetical order and shown in CAPITAL LETTERS. Many of those keywords are nouns. I the idiom you ae looking for Contains a noun, of more than ane noun, (aok it up under the {ist noum tn the idiom. For example, go bananes is at BANANAS, cost the earth is at EARTH, and piece of cakeUSING THE DICTIONARY “ “ is at PIECE, Compound nouns are also found at the first nour. For example, you will ind wild card under CARD, and acid fest under ACID. IF there is no noun in the idiom, look under the first word which clearly carries a meaning. This will usually be an adjective or a verb. For example, thick and fast is at THICK, ‘sb has something to prove is at PROVE, and where it’s at is. at WHERE, ‘What happens when idioms have different forms? ‘ery few idioms are fixed inform. This dietlonary shows how 2 phrase can vary in the following ways Variations of the main form of the idiom which mean the same thing are shown in italics straight after it: the 64,08 dollar queston cso ‘he milion dete question ' It part of the expression can be left aut, itis shown in brackets: iniiiiiiandin —_{ Inidioms such as. a____-free zone, the space with a line under it means that many different words could fill the gap, depeading on what you are talking about; for example, a politcs,fee zone, a humourfree zone, Opposites are shown after the main entry and are followed only by an example. Variations which contain the same basic idiom as the main form but take a different standpoint are shown in the same way: USING THE DICTIONARY {ight toring bate to teee ting to Common adjectives and nouns which are related to the Idiom appear at the end of the entry: stab sb inthe Backio d something, Usually secret that harms someone {ou ae woking wit There wae @ ery compete atmosphere the snorting deportmet, it everyone ‘tabbing ea thee Dock & ‘tabinthe backs Keon decision tolecve theperty ws seen by hs candes or asta in th back. back: stabbing n> People work gether ie local pets: Sn like he back sabbing that goes nin ental goverment » Where there are two versions of the same idiom which contain different nouns, a cross-reference guides you frem the less common form to the main entry Hay. ithe hay > hit the SACK 1 Ihe sack als it the hay 29 £929 bed ad sleep / guess ef Better eaesck “wee gti