Словарь американских идиом (8000 единиц)

[do a job on] <v. phr.>, <slang> To damage badly; do harm to; make ugly or useless. * /The baby did a job on Mary's book./ * /Jane cut her hair and really did a job on herself./

[Doakes] See: JOE DOAKES.

[do a stretch] <v. phr.> To spend time in jail serving one's sentence. * /Jake has disappeared from view for a while; he is doing a stretch for dope smuggling./

[do away with] <v.> 1. To put an end to; stop. * /The teachers want to do away with cheating in their school./ * /The city has decided to do away with overhead wires./ Compare: RID OF. 2. To kill; murder. * /The robbers did away with their victims./

[do by someone or something] <v.> To deal with; treat.
– Used with a qualifying adverb between "do" and "by". * /Andy's employer always does very well by him./

[do credit] or [do credit to] also (<informal>) [do proud] To add to or improve the reputation, good name, honor, or esteem of; show (you) deserve praise. * /Your neat appearance does you credit./ * /Mary's painting would do credit to a real artist./

[doctor] See: JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED.

[doctor up] <v. phr.> To meddle with; adulterate. * /You don't have to doctor up this basic salad with a lot of extras as I am trying to lose weight./

[do duty for] <v. phr.> To substitute for; act in place of. * /The bench often does duty for a table./

[Doe] See: JOHN DOE.

[doesn't add up to a can of beans] <v. phr.> To be of little or no value. (Said of plans, ideas, etc.) * /"That's a fairly interesting concept you got there, Mike, but the competition is bound to say that it doesn't add up to a can of beans."/

[do for] <v.>, <informal> To cause the death or ruin of; cause to fail.
– Used usually in the passive form "done for". * /The poor fellow is done for and will die before morning./ * /Andy's employer always does very well by him./ * /If Jim fails that test, he is done for./

[dog] See: EVERY DOG HAS HIS DAY, GO TO THE DOGS, HOT DOG, LEAD A DOG'S LIFE, LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE, RAIN CATS AND DOGS.

[dog days] <n. phr.> The hottest days of the year in the Northern Hemisphere (July and August). (The ancient Romans associated this time with the "Dog Star" - Sirius - which becomes visible in the heavens at this time of year.) * /"The dog days are upon us," John said. "It's time to go swimming in the lake."/

[dog-eat-dog(1)] <n.> A way of living in which every person tries to get what he wants for himself no matter how badly or cruelly he must treat others to get it; readiness to do anything to get what you want. * /In some early frontier towns it was dog-eat-dog./

[dog-eat-dog(2)] <adj.> Ready or willing to fight and hurt others to get what you want. * /During the California gold rush, men had a dog-eat-dog life./

[doghouse] See: IN THE DOGHOUSE.

[dog in the manger] <n. phr.> A person who is unwilling to let another use what he himself has no use for. * /Although Valerie lives alone in that big house, she is like a dog in the manger when it comes to letting someone sharing it with her./

[dog one's steps] <v. phr.> To follow someone closely. * /All the time he was in Havana, Castro's police were dogging his steps./

[dog's age] or [coon's age] <n.>, <informal> A very long time. Usually used after "for" or "in" with a negative. * /Charlie Brown! I haven't seen you for a coon's age./ * /Father hasn't had a night out with the boys in a dog's age./ * /I waited for him for a dog's age, but he didn't come./ Syn.: MONTH OF SUNDAYS.

[dog's life] <n. phr.> A life of misery, poverty, and unhappiness. * /Diogenes, the Greek philosopher, lived a dog's life inside an empty barrel./

[do in] <v.>, <slang> 1. To ruin; destroy. * /Mr. Smith's business was done in by a fire that burned down his store./ 2a. To kill; murder. * /The poor man was done in by two gangsters who ran away after the crime./ 2b. To make tired; exhaust. * /The boys were done in after their long hike./ Syn.: WEAR OUT(2). 3. To cheat; swindle. * /Mr. Jones was done in by two men who claimed to be collecting money for orphans and widows./

[doing] See: NOTHING DOING.

[do justice to] <v. phr.> 1. To do (something) as well as you should; do properly. * /Barbara had so many things to do that she could not do justice to her lessons./ * /The newspaper man did not do justice to the story./ 2. To eat or drink with enthusiasm or enjoyment. * /The boy did justice to the meal./

[dole out] <v. phr.> To measure out sparingly. * /Since the water ration was running low in the desert, the camp commandant doled out small cups of water to each soldier./

[dollar] See: BET ONE'S BOTTOM DOLLAR at BET ONE'S BOOTS, FEEL LIKE A MILLION or FEEL LIKE A MILLION DOLLARS, LOOK LIKE A MILLION DOLLARS.

[doll up] <v.>, <slang> 1. To dress in fine or fancy clothes. * /The girls dolled up for the big school dance of the year./ * /The girls were all dolled up for the Christmas party./ 2. To make more pretty or attractive. * /The classrooms were all dolled up with Christmas decorations./ Compare: DECKED OUT.

[done for] <adj. phr.> Finished; dead. * /When the police burst in on the crooks, they knew they were done for./

[done to a turn] See: TO A T or TO A TURN.

[done with] <adj. phr.> Finished; completed. * /As soon as you're done with your work, give us a call./

[don't cross your bridges until you come to them] See: CROSS A BRIDGE BEFORE ONE COMES TO IT.

[don't cry before you're hurt] See: CRY BEFORE ONE IS HURT.

[don't let's] See: LET'S DON'T.

[don't look a gift horse in the mouth] See: LOOK A GIFT HORSE IN THE MOUTH.

[do one a good turn] <v. phr.> To perform an act of kindness, friendship, or help to another person, unselfishly, without expectation of reward. * /"I'll be happy to help you any time you need it," John said. "After all you have done me so many good turns."/

[do one good] <v. phr.> To benefit. * /The fresh air will do you good after having been inside the house all day./

[do one good] or [do one's heart good] <v. phr.> To give satisfaction; please; gratify. * /It does my heart good to see those children play./

[do one's best] <v. phr.> To perform at one's optimum capacity; spare no effort in fulfilling one's duties. * /"I've really done my best teaching you people," the tired professor said on the last day of classes. "I hope you got something out of this course."/

[do one's bit] or [part] <v. phr.> To shoulder one's share of responsibility in a communal undertaking; shirk one's obligation. * /"Let me go home and rest, fellows, " John said. "I think I've done my bit for this project. "/

[do one's thing] or [do one's own thing] <v. phr.>, <informal> 1. To do what one does well and actually enjoys doing. * /Two thousand fans paid $15 each to hear the rock group do their thing./ 2. To follow one's bent; for example, to be engaged in left-wing politics, some sort of meditation, or use of drugs (particularly in the sixties). * /The hippies were doing their own thing when the cops came and busted them./ 3. To be engaged in an unusual activity that strikes others as odd. * /Leave Jim alone, he's just doing his own thing when he's standing on his head./