Словарь американских идиом (8000 единиц)

[lead one a merry dance] <v. phr.> To cause someone unusual discomfort or expense; tire someone by causing one to overdo. * /With her personal extravagances and constant social activities that cost a fortune, Carol led her husband a merry dance./

[lead the way] <v. phr.> To go before and show how to go somewhere; guide. * /The boys need someone to lead the way on their hike./ * /The men hired an Indian to lead the way to the Pueblo ruins./ * /That school led the way in finding methods to teach reading./

[lead to] <v. phr.> To result in. * /Such a heavy arms race can only lead to war./

[leaf] See: TURN OVER A NEW LEAF.

[leaf through] <v. phr.> To scan or glance through a book or other reading matter. * /I only had time to leaf through the program before the concert started./

[league] See: IN LEAGUE WITH, IVY LEAGUE.

[leaguer] See: TEXAS LEAGUER.

[leak out] <v. phr.> To become known; escape. * /The famous beauty queen tried to keep her marriage a secret, but news of it soon leaked out./

[leak to] <v. phr.> To purposely let a secret be known, as if conveying it in the strictest confidence. * /The movie star's secret divorce was leaked to the tabloids by her housekeeper./

[lean on] <v. phr.>, <slang>, <informal> To pressure (someone) by blackmailing, threats, physical violence, or the withholding of some favor in order to make the person comply with a wish or request. * /I would gladly do what you ask if you only stopped leaning on me so hard!/

[lean over backward] See: BEND OVER BACKWARD.

[lean-to] <n.> 1. A shed for tools, such as spades, hoes, etc., attached to the wall of a house, * /Joe looked for the garden hose in the lean-to./ 2. A small cabin in the country. * /They spend their weekends in their modest lean-to in Wisconsin./

[leap] See: BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS.

[leap year] <n.> Every fourth year during which the month of February contains 29 rather than 28 days. * /During a leap year one must wait a day longer for one's February pay check./

[learn] See: LIVE AND LEARN.

[learn by heart] See: BY HEART.

[learn by rote] <v. phr.> To blindly memorize what was taught without thinking about it. * /If you learn a subject by rote, it will be difficult to say anything original about it./

[learn one's way around] See: KNOW ONE'S WAY AROUND.

[learn the hard way] See: HARD WAY.

[learn the ropes] See: THE ROPES.

[least] See: AT LEAST, IN THE LEAST, LAST BUT NOT LEAST, LINE OF LEAST RESISTANCE.

[leatherneck] <n.>, <slang>, <informal> A member of the United States Marine Corps. * /I didn't know your son Joe became a leatherneck./

[leave] See: SHORE LEAVE, TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT, TAKE LEAVE OF, TAKE ONE'S LEAVE.

[leave a bad taste in one's mouth] <v. phr.> To feel a bad impression; make you feel disgusted. * /Seeing a man beat his horse leaves a bad taste in your mouth./ * /His rudeness to the teacher left a bad taste in my mouth./

[leave alone] See: LET ALONE.

[leave at the altar] <v. phr.> 1. To decide not to marry someone in the last minute; jilt. * /Ed left poor Susan at the altar./ 2. To overlook and skip for promotion; not fulfill deserved expectation. * /Once again I didn't get my promotion and was left at the altar./

[leave behind] <v. phr.> 1. Abandon. * /Refugees on the run must sometimes leave old and sick people behind./ 2. To forget; go away without. * /We had reached our car when we noticed that we had left our keys behind./

[leave flat] <v. phr.>, <informal> To quit or leave suddenly without warning when wanted or needed; desert; forsake; abandon. * /Sam found that being a member of the trail-clearing group was a lot of hard work, so he left them flat./ * /My car ran out of gas and left me flat, ten miles from town./ Compare: LEAVE IN THE LURCH, WALK OUT(2).

[leave hanging] or [leave hanging in the air] <v. phr.> To leave undecided or unsettled. * /Because the committee could not decide on a time and place, the matter of the spring dance was left hanging./ * /Ted's mother didn't know what to do about the broken window, so his punishment was left hanging in the air until his father came home./ Compare: UP IN THE AIR.

[leave high and dry] See: HIGH AND DRY.

[leave holding the bag] or [leave holding the sack] <v. phr.>, <informal> 1. To cause (someone) not to have something needed; leave without anything, * /In the rush for seats, Joe was left holding the bag./ 2. To force (someone) to take the whole responsibility or blame for something that others should share. * /When the ball hit the glass, the team scattered and left George holding the bag./ * /After the party, the other girls on the clean-up committee went away with their dates, and left Mary holding the bag./

[leave in the lurch] <v. phr.> To desert or leave alone in trouble; refuse to help or support. * /The town bully caught Eddie, and Tom left him in the lurch./ * /Bill quit his job, leaving his boss in the lurch./ Compare: LEAVE FLAT, HIGH AND DRY(2), WALK OUT(2).

[leave it at that] <v. phr.> To avoid further and more acrimonious disagreement; not argue or discuss any further. * /Our opinion on health care is obviously different, so let's just leave it at that./

[leave no stone unturned] <v. phr.> To try in every way; miss no chance; do everything possible.
– Usually used in the negative. * /The police will leave no stone unturned in their search for the bank robbers./ Compare: ALL OUT, BEND HEAVEN AND EARTH, FINE-TOOTH COMB.

[leave off] <v.> To come or put to an end; stop. * /There is a high fence where the school yard leaves off and the woods begin./ * /Don told the boys to leave off teasing his little brother./ * /Marion put a marker in her book so that she would know where she left off./ Contrast: TAKE UP.

[leave one's mark] <v. phr.> To leave an impression upon; influence someone. * /Tolstoy never won the Nobel Prize, but he left his mark on world literature./ See: MAKE ONE'S MARK.

[leave open] <v. phr.> To remain temporarily unsettled; subject to further discussion. * /Brad said that the question of health insurance would be left open until some future date./