Словарь американских идиом (8000 единиц)

[take the bread out of one's mouth] <v. phr.> To take away or not give your rightful support, especially through selfish pleasure. * /She accused her husband of drinking and gambling - taking bread out of his children's mouths./

[take the bull by the horns] <v. phr.>, <informal> To take definite action and not care about risks; act bravely in a difficulty. * /He decided to take the bull by the horns and demand a raise in salary even though it might cost him his job./ Compare: TAKE THE BIT IN ONE'S MOUTH, TAKE THE LAW INTO ONE'S OWN HANDS.

[take the cake] <v. phr.>, <slang> 1. To take the first prize; be the best; rank first. * /Mr. Jones takes the cake as a storyteller./ 2. To be the limit; to be the worst; have a lot of nerve; be a very rude, bold, or surprising action. * /I let Jack borrow my baseball and he never gave it back. Doesn't that take the cake?/ * /For being absent-minded, Mr. Smith takes the cake./ Compare: BEAT ALL.

[take the day off] See: DAY OFF.

[take the defensive] Contrast: TAKE THE OFFENSIVE.

[take the edge off] also [take off the edge] <v. phr.> To lessen, weaken, soften or make dull. * /Eating a candy bar before dinner has taken the edge off Becky's appetite./ * /Bob was sorry for hurting Tom and that took the edge off Tom's anger./ * /A headache took the edge off Dick's pleasure in the movie./

[take the fifth] <v. phr.>, <informal> 1. Taking refuge behind the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States which guarantees any witness the right not to incriminate himself while testifying at a trial. * /Alger Hiss took the Fifth when asked whether he was a member of the Communist Party./ 2. Not to answer any question in an informal setting. * /Have you been married before?
– I take the Fifth./

[take the floor] <v. phr.> To get up and make a speech in a meeting. * /The audience became very attentive the moment the president took the floor./

[take the law into one's own hands] <v. phr.> To protect one's supposed rights or punish a suspected wrongdoer without reference to a court.
– An overused expression. * /When the men of the settlement caught the suspected murderer, they took the law into their own hands and hanged him to a tree./ * /His farm was going to be sold for taxes, but he took the law into his own hands and drove the sheriff away with a shotgun./ Compare: LAW UNTO ONESELF, TAKE THE BIT IN ONE'S MOUTH.

[take the lid off] <v. phr.> 1. To let out in the open; divulge. * /It's about time to take the lid off the question of how many prisoners of war are still in enemy hands./ 2. To start to face an issue. * /"The best way to deal with your divorce," the doctor said to Fran, "is to take the lid off of it."/ Compare: BLOW THE LID OFF, LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG.

[take the measure of] See: TAKE ONE'S MEASURE.

[take the offensive] <v. phr.> To make oneself the attacking party. * /After many months of preparation, the freedom fighters were ready to take the offensive./ Contrast TAKE THE DEFENSIVE.

[take the pledge] <v. phr.> To swear to give up drinking, smoking, or using drugs. * /Gary finally took the pledge and he has kept it thus far./

[take the plunge] <v. phr.> To take a fatal or decisive step; venture. * /When I asked Don when he and Melissa were going to get married, he answered that they'll take the plunge in September./

[take the rap] <v. phr.>, <slang> To receive punishment; to be accused and punished. * /All of the boys took apples, but only John took the rap./ * /Joe took the burglary rap for his brother and went to prison for two years./

[take the stand] <v. phr.> To assume one's position in the witness box during a trial. * /The judge asked the defendant to take the stand./

[take the starch out of] <v. phr.>, <informal> 1. To make (someone) feel weak or tired. * /The hot weather took the starch out of Mrs. Jones, and she didn't feel like doing a thing./ * /The cross-country run took all the starch out of the boys./ 2. See: TAKE THE WIND OUT OF ONE'S SAILS.

[take the stump] or [take to the stump] <v. phr.> To travel around to different places making political speeches. * /The men running for president took to the stump to attract votes./

[take the trouble] See: GO TO THE TROUBLE.

[take the wind out of one's sails] <v. phr.> To surprise someone by doing better or by catching him in an error. * /John came home boasting about the fish he had caught; it took the wind out of his sails when he found his little sister had caught a bigger one./ * /Dick took the wind out of Bob's sails by showing him where he was wrong./ Compare: TAKE THE STARCH OUT OF(2).

[take the words out of one's mouth] <v. phr.> To say what another is just going to say; to put another's thought into words. * /"Let's go to the beach tomorrow." "You took the words right out of my mouth; I was thinking of that."/ * /I was going to suggest a movie, but she took the words out of my mouth and said she would like to see one./

[take things easy] See: TAKE IT EASY(2).

[take time off] See: TIME OFF; Compare: DAY OFF.

[take time out] See: TIME OUT.

[take to] <v.> 1. To go to or into; get yourself quickly to. Often used in the imperative. * /Take to the hills! The bandits are coming!/ * /We took to the woods during the day so no one would see us./ * /Take to the boats! The ship is sinking./ * /We stopped at a hotel for the night but took to the road again the next morning./ 2. To begin the work or job of; make a habit of. * /He took to repairing watches in his spare time./ * /She took to knitting when she got older./ * /Grandfather took to smoking cigars when he was young and he still smokes them./ * /Uncle Willie took to drink while he was a sailor./ * /The cat took to jumping on the table at mealtime./ 3. To learn easily; do well at. * /Father tried to teach John to swim, but John didn't take to it./ * /Mary takes to mathematics like a duck takes to water./ 4. To like at first meeting; be pleased by or attracted to; accept quickly. * /Our dog always takes to children quickly./ * /Mary didn't take kindly to the new rule that her mother made of being home at 6 o'clock./

[take to heart] also [lay to heart] <v. phr.> To be seriously affected by; to feel deeply. * /He took his brother's death very much to heart./ * /He took his friend's advice to heart./

[take to one's heels] also [show a clean pair of heels] <v. phr.> To begin to run or run away. * /When he heard the police coming, the thief took to his heels./

[take to task] <v. phr.> To reprove or scold for a fault or error. * /He took his wife to task for her foolish wastefulness./ * /The principal took Bill to task for breaking the window./

[take to the cleaners] <v. phr.>, <slang> 1. To win all the money another person has (as in poker). * /Watch out if you play poker with Joe; he'll take you to the cleaners./ 2. To cheat a person out of his money and possessions by means of a crooked business transaction or other means of dishonest conduct. * /I'll never forgive myself for becoming associated with Joe; he took me to the cleaners./

[take to the woods] <v. phr.>, <informal> To run away and hide. * /When John saw the girls coming, he took to the woods./ * /Bob took to the woods so he would not have to mow the grass./ Compare: HEAD FOR THE HILLS.