Словарь американских идиом (8000 единиц)

[house detective] <n.> A detective employed by a hotel, store, or other business to watch for any trouble. * /The one-armed man sweeping the bank floor was really the house detective./

[house of cards] <n. phr.> Something badly put together and easily knocked down; a poorly founded plan, hope, or action. * /John's business fell apart like a house of cards./

[house of ill fame] or [of ill repute] <n. phr.> A bordello; a brothel. * /At the edge of town there is a house of ill repute run by a Madame who used to be a singer in a bar./

[housetop] See: SHOUT FROM THE HOUSETOPS or SHOUT FROM THE ROOFTOPS.

[hover over] <v. phr.> 1. To remain close or above. * /The rescue helicopter was carefully hovering above the stranded rock climbers./ 2. To watch over; supervise. * /"Mother!" Phillip cried, "if you don't stop hovering over me, I'll go bananas!"/

[how] See: AND HOW!

[how about] or [what about] <interrog.> - Used to ask for a decision, action, opinion, or explanation. 1. Will you have or agree on? * /How about another piece of pie?/ * /What about a game of tennis?/ * /How about going to the dance with me Saturday?/ 2. Will you lend or give me? * /How about five dollars until Friday?/ * /What about a little help with these dishes?/ 3. What is to be done about? * /What about the windows? Shall we close them before we go?/ 4. How do you feel about? What do you think about? What is to be thought or said? * /What about women in politics?/ * /How about this button on the front of the typewriter?/

[how about that] or [what about that] <informal> An expression of surprise, congratulation, or praise. * /When Jack heard of his brother's promotion, he exclaimed, "How about that!"/ * /Bill won the scholarship! What about that!/

[how come] <informal> also <nonstandard> [how's come] <interrog.> How does it happen that? Why? * /How come you are late?/ * /You're wearing your best clothes today. How come?/ Compare: WHAT FOR.

[how do you do] <formal> How are you?
– Usually as a reply to an introduction; it is in the form of a question but no answer is expected. * /"Mary, I want you to meet my friend Fred. Fred, this is my wife, Mary." "How do you do, Mary?" "How do you do, Fred?"/

[how goes it?] <v. phr.>, <interrog.> How are you and your affairs in general progressing? * /Jim asked Bill, "how goes it with the new wife and the new apartment?"/

[howling success] <n.>, <informal> A great success; something that is much praised; something that causes wide enthusiasm. * /The party was a howling success./ * /The book was a howling success./

[how's come] See: HOW COME.

[how so] <interrog.> How is that so? Why is it so? How? Why? * /I said the party was a failure and she asked. "How so?"/ * /He said his brother was not a good dancer and I asked him, "How so? "/

[how's that] <informal> What did you say? Will you please repeat that? * /"I've just been up in a balloon for a day and a half." "How's that?"/ * /"The courthouse is on fire." "How's that again?"/

[how the land lies] See: LAY OF THE LAND.

[how the wind blows] See: WAY THE WIND BLOWS.

[huddle] See: GO INTO A HUDDLE.

[hue and cry] <n.> 1. An alarm and chase after a supposed wrongdoer; a pursuit usually by shouting men. * /"Stop, thief," cried John as he ran. Others joined him, and soon there was a hue and cry./ 2. An excited mass protest, alarm, or outcry of any kind. * /The explosion was so terrible that people at a distance raised a great hue and cry about an earthquake./

[hug the road] <v. phr.> To stay firmly on the road; ride smoothly without swinging. * /A heavy car with a low center of gravity will hug the road./ * /At high speeds a car will not hug the road well./

[huh-uh] or [hum-um] or [uh-uh] <adv.>, <informal> No.
– Used only in speech or to record dialogue. * /Did Mary come? Huh-uh./ * /Is it raining out? Uh-uh./ Contrast: UH-UH.

[humble] See: EAT HUMBLE PIE.

[hump] See: OVER THE HUMP.

[hundred] See: BY THE DOZEN or BY THE HUNDRED or BY THE THOUSAND.

[hunky-dory] <adj.> OK; satisfactory; fine. * /The landlord asked about our new apartment and we told him that so far everything was hunky-dory./

[hunt] See: RUN WITH THE HARE AND HUNT (RIDE) WITH THE HOUNDS.

[hunt and peck] <n. phr.>, <informal> Picking out typewriter keys by sight, usually with one or two fingers; not memorizing the keys. * /Many newspaper reporters do their typing by hunt and peck./ - Often used, with hyphens, as an adjective. * /Mr. Barr taught himself to type, and he uses the hunt-and-peck system./

[hunt down] <v.> 1. To pursue and capture; look hard for an animal or person until found and caught. * /The police hunted down the escaped prisoner./ Compare: TRACK DOWN. 2. To search for (something) until one finds it. * /Professor Jones hunted down the written manuscript in the Library of Congress./ Syn.: TRACK DOWN.

[hunting] See: HAPPY HUNTING GROUND.

[hunt up] <v.> To find or locate by search. * /When John was in Chicago, he hunted up some old friends./ * /The first thing Fred had to do was to hunt up a hotel room./

[hurry on with] or [make haste with] <v. phr.> To make rapid progress in an undertaking. * /Sue promised to hurry on with the report and send it out today./

[hurry up] <v. phr.> To rush (an emphatic form of hurry). * /Hurry up or we'll miss our plane./

[hurt] See: CRY BEFORE ONE IS HURT or HOLLER BEFORE ONE IS HURT.

[hush-hush] <adj.>, <informal> Kept secret or hidden; kept from public knowledge; hushed up; concealed. * /The company had a new automobile engine that it was developing, but kept it a hush-hush project until they knew it was successful./

[hush up] <v.> 1. To keep news of (something) from getting out; prevent people from knowing about. * /It isn't always easy to hush up a scandal./ 2. <informal> To be or make quiet; stop talking, crying, or making some other noise.
– Often used as a command. * /"Hush up," Mother said, when we began to repeat ugly gossip./

I

[ice] See: BLOOD RUNS COLD or BLOOD TURNS TO ICE, BREAK THE ICE, CUT ICE, ON ICE, SKATE ON THIN ICE.

[iceberg] See: COOL AS AN ICEBERG.

[idea] See: THE IDEA, WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA or WHAT'S THE IDEA.

[I declare] <interj.>, <dialect> Well; oh my; truly.
– Used for emphasis. * /I declare, it has been a very warm day!/ * /Mother said, "I declare, John, you have grown a foot."/

[idiot box] <n.> A television set. * /Phil has been staring at the idiot box all afternoon./

[if] See: WHAT IF.

[if anything] <adv. phr.> More likely; instead; rather. * /The weather forecast is not for cooler weather; if anything, it is expected to be warmer./ * /Joe isn't a bad boy. If anything he's a pretty good one./ Compare: MATTER OF FACT.