Словарь американских идиом (8000 единиц)

[on borrowed time] See: LIVE ON BORROWED TIME.

[on call] <adj. phr.> 1. Having to be paid on demand. * /Jim didn't have the money ready even though he knew the bill was on call./ 2. Ready and available. * /This is Dr. Kent's day to be on call at the hospital./ * /The nurse is on call for emergency cases./

[once] See: AT ONCE, EVERY NOW AND THEN or EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE.

[once and for all] <adv. phr.> 1. One time and never again; without any doubt; surely; certainly; definitely. * /Let me say, for once and for all, you may not go to the party Saturday./ * /For once and for all, I will not go swimming with you./ 2. Permanently. * /Bill and Tom asked the teacher to settle the argument once and for all./ * /The general decided that two bombs would destroy the enemy and end the war once and for all./

[once bitten, twice shy] See: BURNT CHILD DREADS THE FIRE.

[once for all] See: ONCE AND FOR ALL.

[once in a blue moon] <adv. phr.> Very rarely; very seldom; almost never. * /Coin collecting is interesting, hut you find a valuable coin only once in a blue moon./ * /Once in a blue moon someone grows a very pale marigold, but no truly white marigolds have been raised./

[once in a while] <adv. phr.> Not often; not regularly; sometimes; occasionally. * /We go for a picnic in the park once in a while./ * /Once in a while the puppy would run away, but usually he stayed in the yard./ Syn.: AT TIMES, FROM TIME TO TIME, NOW AND THEN.

[once-over] <n.>, <slang> 1. A quick look; a swift examination of someone or something.
– Usually used with "give" or "get". * /The new boy got the once-over from the rest of the class when he came in./ * /Bob gave his paper the once-over before handing it in./ 2. or [once-over-lightly] A quick or careless job, especially of cleaning or straightening; work done hastily for now. * /Ann gave her room a quick once-over-lightty with the broom and dust cloth./ * /"Just give my hair the once-over," Al said to the barber./ Compare: LICK AND A PROMISE.

[once upon a time] <adv. phr.> Sometime before now, long ago. * /Once upon a time she was thought to be the most talented actress in the country./ - Often used at the beginning of fairy stories. * /Once upon a time there lived a king who had an ugly daughter./

[on cloud nine] <adj. phr.>, <slang> Too happy to think of anything else; very happy. * /Ada has been on cloud nine since the magazine printed the story she wrote./ * /We were on cloud nine when our team won the state championship./ Compare: ON TOP OF THE WORLD, WALK ON AIR.

[on condition that] <conj.> Providing that; if. * /I will lend you the money on condition that you pay it back in one month./ * /She agreed to act in the play on condition that she could keep her costumes./

[on deck] <adv.> or <adj. phr.> 1. On a floor of a ship open to the outdoors. * /The passengers were playing shufflehoard on deck./ * /The sailors kept busy cleaning and painting on deck./ 2. <informal> Ready to do something; present. * /The scout leader told the boys to be on deck at 8:00 Saturday morning for the hike./ * /Dick was at bat, and Bob was on deck./

[on deposit] <adv. phr.> In a bank. * /I have almost $500 on deposit in my account./ * /The children save their pennies and each month place them on deposit./

[on duty] <adj. phr.> Doing one's job; supervising. * /Two soldiers are on duty guarding the gates./ * /There is always one teacher on duty during study hour./ Contrast: OFF DUTY.

[one] See: AT ONE, FOR ONE, GO IN ONE EAR AND OUT THE OTHER, HANG ONE ON, HOLE IN ONE, KILL TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE, NUMBER ONE, SIX OF ONE AND HALF-A-DOZEN OF THE OTHER, SLIP ONE OVER ON, TEN TO ONE, TWO TO ONE, WORDS OF ONE SYLLABLE.

[one and the same] <adj. phr.> The same; identical. * /Erle Stanley Gardner and A.A. Fair are one and the same person./ * /The spider lily and the Peruvian Daffodil are one and the same./

[one-armed bandit] <n.>, <slang> A slot machine, like those used in Las Vegas and other gambling places. * /Joe was playing the one-armed bandit all day - and he lost everything he had./

[on earth] See: IN THE WORLD.

[on easy street] <adj. phr.>, <informal> Having enough money to live very comfortably; rather rich. * /After years of hard work, the Grants found themselves on easy street./ * /Jim's novel was a success and put him on easy street./ Compare: IN CLOVER, IN THE CHIPS, WELL-TO-DO.

[one damn thing after another] or [ODTAA] (pronounced owed-tay) <n. phr.> If there is one problem, there will be more. * /First I lost my wallet, then a kid broke the window, and, lastly, my car refused to start. It was just one damn thing after another!/ Compare: IF IT'S NOT ONE THING IT'S ANOTHER.

[on edge] <adj. phr.> Excited or nervous; impatient. * /The magician kept the children on edge all through his show./ * /We were all on edge as we listened to the TV for news of the election results./ * /Father was on edge after driving home through the heavy holiday traffic./ See: SET ONE'S TEETH ON EDGE. Contrast: AT EASE(2).

[one eye on] <informal> Watching or minding (a person or thing) while doing something else; part of your attention on.
– Used after "have", "keep", or "with". * /Jane had one eye on the baby as she ironed./ * /Bill kept one eye on his books and the other on the clock./ * /Chris tried to study with one eye on the TV set./ Compare: KEEP AN EYE ON.

[one foot in the grave] <n. phr.> Near to death. * /The dog is fourteen years old, blind, and feeble. He has one foot in the grave./ * /Grandfather has never been sick a day in his life, but Mother cares for him as if he had one foot in the grave./

[one for the books] <n, phr.>, <informal> Very unusual; a remarkable something. * /The newspaper reporter fumed in a story that was one for the books./ * /Their trip through the Rocky Mountains was one for the books./

[one-horse] <adj. phr.> Insignificant; modest; provincial. * /Arnold's business is a one-horse operation; he never had a single employee./

[one man's meat is another man's poison] What is good for one person is not necessarily good for another.
– A proverb, * /Even though Jeff likes to swim in ice cold water, his brother Tun hates it. This is understandable, however, because one's man's meat is another man's poison./ Contrast: WHAT'S SAUCE FOR THE GOOSE IS SAUCE FOR THE GANDER.

[on end] <adj. phr.> Seemingly endless.
– Used with plural nouns of time. * /Judy spent hours on end writing and rewriting her essay./ * /During July and August there was no rain for weeks on end./

[one-night stand] <n. phr.> 1. A single performance given by a traveling company while on a tour. * /After they went bankrupt in the big cities, the traveling jazz quartet played one-night stands in the country./ 2. A brief affair or sexual encounter. * /"With AIDS all around us?" said Jane. "Nobody is having one-night stands anymore."/