kangaroo a kangaroo court a court of law which is not official and which judges someone in an unfair way • A kangaroo court was set up by the strikers to deal with people who had refused tostop working. keen be as keen as mustard British & Australian, old-fashioned to be very eager. Why don't we ask Tom tocaptain the cricket team?He'sas keenas mustard. keep Keep your shirt on! British, American & Australian, informal Keep your hair on! British & Australian, informal a slightly impolite way of telling someone who is angry to try to be calm and patient· Keep your shirt on! I'll be with you in a second. keep yourself to yourself >( if you keep yourself to yourself, youlive a quiet lifeand avoiddoingthings with or talking to other people » We don't know anything about her, she keeps herself to herself. keeper not be your brother's keeper not be sb's keeper to not be responsible for what someone doesor for what happens to them· It's all too easyfor us not to intervene in another country's problems, telling ourselves that we're not our brother's keeper. • You shouldn't blame yourself for what's happened to Simon. You're not his keeper, you know. 211 kerb-crawler keeping in keeping with sth in a way that is suitable or right for a particular situation, style, or tradition • In keeping with tradition, we always have turkey on Christmas Day. • Her millionaire lifestyle is very much in keeping with her celebritystatus. OPPOSITE out of keeping with sth • The antique desk seemsout of keeping with the modern.furniture in the rest of the house. keeps for keeps informal K for ever· 'Doyou want your tennis racket back?' 'No,it's yours for keeps.'. She said she's left himfor keeps this time. play for keeps American & Australian, informal to do something very seriously and not just for enjoyment • These arms dealers play for keeps - they want the best weapons available and will doanything to get them. ken be beyond sb's ken if a particular subject is beyond your ken, you do not understand it or know much about it • Don't talk to me about finance - it's beyond my ken. • Most of Derrida's work is beyond the ken of the average student. kept a kept man/woman humorous someone who does not work and who is given money and a place to live by the person who they are having a sexual relationship with. She was determined to find work and not become a kept woman like her sister. kerb-crawler a kerb-crawler British & Australian a curb-crawler American someone who drives slowly along a road looking for someone to have sex with. I don't like walking down this road at night - it'sfull of prostitutes and kerb-crawlers. kerb-craWling British & Australian curb-craWling American » There was a big scandal after thejudge was prosecuted for kerb-crawling. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. kettle kettle be another/a different kettle of fish if you say that something or someone is a different kettle of fish, you mean that they are completely different from something or someone else that has been talked about • Andy was never very interested in school, but Anna, now she was a completely different kettle of fish • I'd driven an automatic for years but learning to handle a car with gears was another kettle offish altogether. a fine/pretty kettle of fish mainly American a difficult situation. That's a fine kettle of fish. - the car won't start and I have to leave infiue minutes. key 'x hold the key ' to provide the explanation for something that you could not previously understand • Fiennes, who had been looking for the place for twenty years, became convinced that this road held the key. kibosh put the kibosh on sth old-fashioned, informal to prevent something that is planned from happening. The rain put the kibosii on ourplans for apicnic. kick kick sbwhen they're down to do something bad to someone when you know they already have a lot of problems • His wife left him last month and I don't want tokick a man when he's down, but wesimply don't have any more uiork for him. kick yourself if you say that you'll kick yourself when or if something happens, you mean that you will feel angry with yourself because you have done something stupid or missed an opportunity • You'll kick yourself when I tell you who came injust after you left.• If I don't get one now and they've sold out by next week, I'll kick myself. 212 kick up a fuss/row/stink to complain loudly in order to show that you are very annoyed about something • Ourfood was coldso myfather kicked up a fuss and refused to pay the service charge. kick sb in the teeth. She'd only been trying to help him and shefelt that she'd beenkicked in the teeth. a kick up the arselbackside British & Australian, very informal a kick in the butt/pants American & Australian, very informal if you give someone a kick up the arse, you do or say something to try to stop them being lazy • He does nothing but watch TV all day. His mother should give him a kick up the backside.• The threat of losing my job was the kick in the pants I needed. get a kick out of sth/ doing sth informal to enjoy doing something very much • Anyone who gets a kick out of horror movies will love this show.• I get a real kick out of shopping for new shoes. kick-off for a kick-off informal something that you say which means that what you are going to say next is the first of a list of things you could say. 'What's wrong with it?' 'Well,for a kick off, it hasn't beencookedproperly.' kicks for kicks informal if you do something for kicks, especially something dangerous, you do it because you think it is exciting. Local kids steal cars and racethem up and down the street, justfor kicks. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. kid be like a kid in a candy store American & Australian to be very happy and excited about the things around you, and often to react to them in a way which is silly and not controlled • You should have seen him when they arrived. He was like a kid in a candy store. handle/treat sbwith kid gloves to be very polite or kind to someone who is important or easily upset because you donot want to make them angry or upset Ib Kid glovesare glovesmade from very soft leather which would feel very soft if someone touched you with them.• Linda can be a very difflcult woman - you've really got tohandle her with kid gloves. kids kids' stuff British & Australian kid stuff American /' an activity or piece of work that is very easy' A five-mile bike ride? That's kids' stuff. kill kill or cure British & Australian a way of solving a problem which will either fail completely or be very successful > Having a baby can be kill or curefor a troubled marriage. move in for the kill go (in) for the kill to prepare to defeat someone completely in an argument or competition when they are already in a weak position • After two days of constant media coverage,journalists sensed the minister was weakening and they moved infor the kill .• At 6-3 6-2 up, Sampras went infor the kill and won tnettna: set 6-0. killing make a killing informal )Z to earn a lotof money very easily. (often + on) She made a killing on the house so she can't beshort of money. kilter outofkilter 1 if something is out of kilter, it is not operating or working as it should' Even 213 kingdom one sleepless night can throw your body out of kilter. 2 if two things are out of kilter, or if one thing is out of kilter with another, they are not similar any more' (often + with) Afurther tax increaseon cigarettes would put Britain out of kilter with the rest of Europe. kindly not take kindly to sth to not like something that someone says or does. Be careful what you say toMike- he doesn't take kindly to criticism. • I didn't take kindly to being thrown out of the team. kindness kill sbwith kindness to be too kind to someone' Rob's killing l1U! with kindness - he phones l1U! all the time to see if I'm alright when really Ijust need to beleft alone. king king of the castle British king of the hill American the most successful or most powerful person in a group of people • Jamie Spence was king of the castle yesterday when he beat the defending champion in the third round.• Our team is sure to be king of the hill this year. a king's ransom a verylarge amount of money' (not used with the) She was wearing a diamond necklace which must have been worth a king's ransom. live like a king to live in a very comfortable waywith all the luxuries you want • He lived like a king for six months, drinking champagne and driving a Porsche, until the money finally ran out. kingdom blastlblow sb/sth to kingdom come informal to kill someone or destroy something by using a gun or bomb • Fifteen soldiers wereblown to kingdom COl1U! in the attack. • Police discovered a bomb which was Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. kinks large enough to blast the whole town to kingdom come. till/until kingdom come for a very long time Ib 'Until Kingdom come' is a phrase from a prayer in the Bibleand means 'until the worldends'.• I don't want to wait until kingdom come for you todecide what you're doing. kinks iron out the kinks mainly American to get rid of any problems that you are having with the way that you are doing something. The team was still trying to iron out the kinks in their game in the last quarter. kiss kissand make up humorous if twopeoplekiss and make up,they stop being angry with each other and become friendly again. Ian and I used tofight a lot, but we always kissed and made up afterwards. kiss and tell to talk on television, in a newspaper etc. about a sexual relationship you havehad with a famousperson, especially inorder to get a lot of money. The singer's ex- girlfriend was paid £20,000by a tabloid newspaper tokiss and tell. kiss-and-tell • (always before noun) Her kiss-and-tell revelations scandalized Hollywood. the kissof death informal X, an event or action that causes something to fail or be spoiled. (often + for) Asking Jenny to cook is the kiss of death for any dinner party. give sbthe kissof life British & Australian to help someone who has stopped breathing to breathe again by blowing into their mouth and pressing their chest • A doctor who had witnessed the accident gave the victim the kiss of life butfatled to revive him. kissing a kissingcousin old-fashioned someone you are related to but not very closely s I didn't realize she knew Tony, but infact, they're kissing cousins. 214 kitchen everything but the kitchen sink X humorous a lot of different things, many of which you do not need • We were only going awayfor the weekend, but Jack insisted on taking everything but the kitchen sink. kitchen-sink kitchen-sink British & Australian a kitchen-sink play, film, or style of painting is one which shows ordinary people's lives • (always before noun) Kitchen-sink drama came into fashion in the 1950s.• In his latest work, he is moving away from kitchen-sink realism towards a more experimental style of painting. kite kite-flying British & Australian the act of telling people about an idea or plan so that you can find out what they think about it • Mr Baker's hint about US intervention in the war was undoubtedly an exercise in kite-flying. Go fly a kite! mainly American, informal something that you say in order to tell someonewho is annoying you togoaway • Goflya kite! It's just notfunny any more. kith kith and kin old-fashioned friends and relatives Ib Kith is an old- fashioned word which means friends. • They wanted tokeep alive the memory of their kith and kin who had died in the war. kittens have kittens informal to become very worried or upset about something> She nearly had kittens when I said I wasgoing to buy a motorbike. kitty-corner kitty-corner American kitty-cornered American in a direction from one corner of a square to the opposite,far corner· (often + to) You know the building - it's kitty- corner tomy office. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. knee put sbover your knee old-fashioned to punish a child by hitting them on the bottom· Herfather threatened toput her over his knee if she missed schoolagain. knee-deep be knee-deep in sth X to have too much of something s I'm knee- deep in work at the moment, so I'm not stoppingfor lunch. knee-high be knee-high to a grasshopper humorous to be very young Ib A grasshopper is an extremely small insect .• The last time 1 came here 1 was knee-high to a grasshopper. knees bring sb/sth to their knees to destroy or defeat someone or something s Sanctions wereimposed in an attempt to bring the country to its knees. • The strikes brought the economy to its knees. knickers get your knickers in a twist British & Australian, informal get your knickers in a knot Australian, informal to become very upset about something, usually something that is not important • Now, before you get your knickers in a twist, letme explain thesituation. knife cut/go through sth like a (hot) knife through butter to cut something very easily • A laser beam can cut through metal like a hot knife through butter. go under the knife X to have a medical operation • More and more women are choosing togo under the knifejust toimprove their appearance. under the knife humorous. The hospital is worried about the number Of patients who have died under the knife. 215 knight Knife is used in the following phrases connected with unpleasant behaviour. have your knife into sb British & Australian, informal to try to cause problems for someone because you donot like them. Mike's had his knife into me ever since hefound out 1 was seeinghis ex-girlfriend. put/stick the knife in British & Australian, informal to do or say something unpleasant to someone in an unkind way • 'No one in the office likes you, you know, Tim', she said, putting the knife in.• The reviewer from The Times really stuck the knife in, calling it the worstplay he'd seen inyears. turn/twist the knife to do or say something unpleasant which makes someone who is already upset feel worse· Having made thepoor girl cry,he twisted the knife by saying she was weak and unable tocopewith pressure. a turnltwist of the knife. '1 never loved you', she said, with a final twist of the knife. knife-edge on a knife-edge if a person or organization is on a knife- edge, they are in a difficult situation and are worried about what will happen in the future. She's been living on a knife- edge since her ex-husband was released from prison last month .• The theatre ison afinancial knife-edgeand must sell 75 % of its seats every night tosurvive. knight a knight in shining armour British & Australian a knight in shining armor American & Australian someone whohelps you when you are in a difficult situation Ib In stories about medieval times (= the time between 500 and 1500AD),knights were soldiers who rode on horses and helped women in difficult or dangerous situations. • She lookedaround the bar to seeif there was a knight in shining armour who might comeand save herfrom this awful man. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. knitting knitting stick to your knitting if a person or company sticks to their knitting, they continue to do what they have always done instead of trying to do something they know very little about • He believes the key to a company's success is to stick to its knitting rather than trying to diversify. knives the knives are out British & Australian something that you say which means that a group of people are angry with someone and want to criticize them or cause problems for them. (often + for) The knives are out for Danvers following his team's poor performance in six successivegames. knobs with (brass) knobs on British & Australian, humorous if you describe something as a particular thing with knobs on, you mean it has similar qualities to that thing but they are more extreme. Disney World was like an ordinary amusement park with knobs on. knock Knock it off! informal something that you say in order to tell someone to stop doing something that is annoying you • Knock it off, will you? I can't work with all that noise. take a knock to be badly affected by something. His reputation has taken quite a knock following the revelations published in his recentbiography. knock-down-drag-out knock-down-drag-out American a knock-down-drag-out fight or argument is very serious and continues for a long time » (always before noun) Look, I don't want to get into a knock-down-drag-out fight with you over this solet'sforget it. knocking a knocking shop British, very informal a knock-shop Australian, very informal 216 a place where men pay to have sex with women· People say it's a knocking shop but I've never seenanything going on. knot tie the knot informal to get married. When areyou two going to tie the knot? • (often + with) She's planning to tie the knot with her German boyfriend next June. knots tie yourself (up) in knots 1 to become very confused or worried when you are trying to make a decision or solve a problem. (often + over) They tied themselves in knots over the seating arrangements. 2 British & Australian to become very confused when you are trying to explain something « She tied herself up in knots trying to tell me how to operate the video recorder. knotted Get knotted! British & Australian, informal, old-fashioned an impolite way of telling someone who is annoying you to go away • Oh, get knotted, unllyou. I'm trying to work! know know what's what X if you know what's what, you have a lot of experience and can judge people and situations well • Harry's been in the business for 40 years - he knows what's what. not know where to put yourself informal to feel very embarrassed • And then he started to sing. Well, I didn't know where toput myself! not know whether to laugh or cry to be extremely upset by something bad that has happened. Then they announced Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. that my flight was delayed for ten hours. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. not know iflwhether you are coming or going to be unable to think clearly and decide what to do because you have so many things to deal with. I had so much to do yesterday that I didn't know whether I was coming or going .• The recent changes in the school curriculum mean that most teachers don't know if they're coming or going. be in the know informal )< to know about something which most people do not know about. The resort is considered by those who are in the know to have the best downhill skiing in Europe. What you don't know won't hurt you. something that you say which means that if you do not know about a fact or a problem, you do not worry about it « 'Tell 217 knuckle me how much you spent on the car; then. ' 'No, what you don't know won't hurt you. ' wouldn't know sth if it hit you in the face wouldn't know sth if you fell over one to not notice something although it is very obvious. Julie wouldn't know a good deal if it hit her in theface! know-all X. a know-all British & Australian a know-it-all American & Australian someone who seems to know everything and annoys other people by showing how clever they are • No one likes him because he's such a know-all. knuckle a knuckle sandwich humorous if you give someone a knuckle sandwich, you hit them • You'll get a knuckle sandwich if you don't shut up. Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. labour labour a labour of love British & Australian -;» a labor of love American & Australian -"\ an activity that is hard work but that you do because you enjoy it • He prefers to paint the househimself - it's a real labour of love. ladder at the top of the ladder in the highest position in an organization • He's at the top of the ladder after a long and successful career. OPPOSITE at the bottom of the ladder • She started at the bottom of the ladder, but was rapidly promoted. lady Lady Bountiful a woman who enjoys showing people how rich and kind she is by giving things to poor people fb Bountiful means generous .• I've got a lot of clothes that they might make use of but I'm worried they they might see me as some sort of Lady Bountiful. Lady Muck British & Australian, humorous a woman who thinks she is very important and should be treated better than everyone else • Look at Lady Muck over there, expectingeveryoneto waiton her! lady-killer a lady-killer old-fashioned a man who has sexual relationships with a lot of women. With his good looks and charm, he was often cast as the lady-killer infilms. lager a lager lout British a young man who drinks too much 218 alcohol and is then noisy; rude, or violent • (often plural) They'd ended up in some cheap holiday resort that was full of British lager louts. lah-di-dah lah-di-dah old-fashioned X la-di-da old-fashioned \ a woman who is lah-di-dah thinks she is better than other people and tries to speak as if she is from a high social class • No one really liked her in the village. They all thought she was a bit lah-di-dah. laid-back laissez-faire laissez·faire 1 the principle that businesses should not be controlled by the government • The previous government had a policy of laissez-faire, whereas this government wants a closerpartnership with industry. laissez·faire· (always before noun) They have adopted a laissez-faire approach to business. 2 the wish not to control people or not to become involved in their actlons > There are no effectivelaws toprotect ioomentrom abusive husbands. An attitude of laissez- faire prevails. laissez·faire • (always before noun) The problems in our education system, she said, would not be solved by a lalssez-faire approach. lake Go jump in althe lake! informal an impolite way of telling someone to go away and stop annoying you • This guy just wouldn't leave us alone, so finally I told him to go jump in the lake. lam on the lam mainly American, informal running away from the police or someone Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. in authority in order to escape going to prison. Hefinally gave himself up to the police after 12 years on the lam. lamb like a lamb if you go somewhere that you are being forced to go like a lamb, you go there calmly and without complaining • I thought I was going to have to drag her screaming to school but when the time came she went like a lamb. like a lamb to the slaughter something that you say about someone who does something or goes somewhere calmly and happily, not knowing that something unpleasant is going to happen to them Ib This phrase comes from the Bible. The slaughter is the time when animals are killed for their meat .• Here comes the bride, like a lamb to the slaughter. lame a lame duck 1 a person or company that is in trouble and needs help • In under two years, it was transformed from a state-owned lame duck into a successful company. 2 someone, especially an elected official, who cannot influence events any more, often because their job is going to end soon • The Mayor intends to run for re- election to avoid being thought of as a lame duck. lame-duck mainly American • (always before noun) Having lost control of Congress,he was in danger of becoming a lame-duck president. land the land of milk and honey a country where people from other countries would like to live because they imagine that the living conditions are excellent and it is easy to make money • People in poorer parts of the world still look on the States as the land of milk and honey. be in the land of nod old-fashioned to be sleeping « Joe's in the land of nod at last. 219 lard-arse be in the land of the living humorous to be awake • She was partying till the early hours so I don't imagine she'll be in the land of the living beforelunchtime. find out/see how the land lies to get information about a situation before making decisions or taking action • I thought I'd better call my mother and seehow the land lies beforeinviting myself homefor the weekend. the lie of the land British & Australian the lay of the land American & Australian. It's always agood ideatofind out the lie of the land beforeapplying to a company. land-office do a land-office business American, old- fashioned if a company does a land-office business, they are very successful in selling their product • They only set up the company eight months ago and they're doing a land-office business. lap be in the lap of the gods if the result of a situation is in the lap of the gods, you cannot control what will happen s I've sent in my application form and I've sorted out my references so it's in the lap of thegods now. droplfall into your lap if something good falls into your lap, you get it without making any effort • You can't expect the ideal job to just fall into your lap - you've got to go out there and look for it. in the lap of luxury if you are in the lap of luxury, you live in conditions of much comfort because you have a lot of money • I have to earn enough to keep my wife in the lap of luxury.• They live in the lap of luxury in a huge great house in the south of France. lard-arse a lard-arse British, very informal someone who is fat. Youcould do with a bit of exercise yourself, lard-arse! • Your brother's a bit of a lard-arse, isn't he? Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. large large by and large x: generally or mostly. The films they show are, by and large, American imports. loom large .>< if a subject looms large, it causes people to think or worry a lot • The threat of unemployment loorns large in these people's lives. last last but not least X something that you say before introducing the last person or thing on a list, meaning that they are equally important » This is Jeremy, this is Kath, and, last but not least, this is Artie. • Right, I've got my money, my sunglasses and, last but not least, my lipstick. a last hurrah mainly American a final action or performance before someonefinishes ajob or activity » At 31, he knows this tournament may be his last hurrah. the last gasp of sth literary X the end of a particular period or process • This period witnessed the decline and last gasp of the British Empire. the last of the big spenders humorous something that you say when you are spending very little money or when someone else is spending very little money. Just an orange juice and some peanuts, please. The last of the big spenders! be on your last legs 1 informal to begoing to die soon. It looks as if her grandfather's on his last legs now. 2 informal to bevery tired, especially after alot of physicalactivity or work. I'd just done fifteen miles and I was on my last legs. be on its last legs informal if a machine is on its last legs, it is in bad condition because it is old and it will probably stop working soon. We've had the same vacuum cleaner for twenty years now and it's on its last legs. 220 be the last word in sth X to bethe best or mostmodern exampleof something. It's a nice enough restaurant and it's very reasonably priced but it's not exactly the last word in style. have heard/seen the last of sb/sth if you have heard the last of someoneor something unpleasant, they will not cause you any more problems in the future. (often negative) It's a worrying problem and I dare say we haven't heard the last of it.• He's a very unpleasant man. I sincerely hope we've seen the last of him. have the last laugh ,,>< to make someone who has criticized or defeatedyoulookstupid bysucceeding at something more important or by seeing them fail. They fired her last year but she had the last laugh because she was taken on by their main rivals at twice the salary. last-ditch , /i Vj last-ditch / ' a last-ditch attempt to solvea problem is the final attempt that youmake after you have failed several times to solve it • (always before noun) The gesture has been seen by many as a last-ditch attempt to win voters .• The UN is trying to secure talks between the two sides in a last-ditch effort to avert war. last-gasp last-gasp achieved at the last possible moment • (always before noun) And with only a minute left, Brinkworth scored a last-gasp equaliser bringing the score to 2-2. latchkey a latchkey childlkid mainly American a child who is often in the house alone because both parents are at work • My dad came home at seven in the evening and my mom only an hour earlier so I was a latchkey kid. late late in the day ,K, too late to be useful » (often + for) The new gun laws came a little late in the day for those whose friends or families were Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. [...]... people • He dismissed recent rumours that he'd had affairs with a number of women as 'a pack of lies' • The entire account of where she'd been and who she'd been with that night was a tissue of lies life life in the fast lane \./ / • - a way of living which is full of excitement and activity and often danger Ib The fast lane is the part of a motorway (= a large road) where drivers go the fastest.• His was... 222 law the law of averages the probability that you will get one result about the same number of times as another if you do something often enough • By the law of averages we can't give a good performance every night of the tour the law of the jungle the way in which only the strongest and cleverest people in a society stay alive or succeed [was brought up on the streets where the law of the jungle... (often in continuous tenses) I didn't realize you could play the piano you've been hiding your light under a bushel in the light of sth British & Australian); in light of sth American & Australian \ if something is done or happens in the light of facts, it is done or happens because of those facts • In the light of new evidence, he has been allowed to appeal against his prison sentence • In light of. .. linefor it be out of line X 1 if someone's actions or words are out of line, they are not suitable and they should not have been done or said « And the way he spoke to her in the meeting that was completely out of line • Her remarks to the papers were way out of line 2 if the amount or cost of something is out of line it is not what is expected or usual • (usually + with) His salary is way out of line with... I'm sure if she got hold of the guy she'd tear him limb from limb 1 if an area is off limits, you are not allowed to enter it • When we were kids, our parents' bedroom was definitely off limits 2 not allowed Today's magazines tackle the sort of subjects that would once have been considered off limits • What he does make very clear is that questions about his private life are off limits Iimp-wristed... captaincy: X in the line of fire limelight be in the limelight to receive attention and interest from the public ~ Limelight was a type of lighting used in the past in theatres to light the stage.• He's been in the limelight recently, following the publication of a controversial novel X likely to be criticized, attacked, or got rid of • Lawyers often find themselves in the line of fire "be on the line... the other side of your face British, American & Australian, informal be laughing out of the other side of your mouth American & Australian, informal laurels if you say someone who is happy will be laughing on the other side of their face, you are angry about the thing that is making them happy and think that something will soon happen to upset them You'll be laughing out of the other side of your face... they attract a lot of attention because they are more exciting and interesting than most people' Most characters in his films are somewhat larger than life be another/one of life's great mysteries humorous to be something that it is impossible for you to understand • Why people write their names on the walls of public toilets is one of life's great mysteries be the life and soul of the party British,... • (often + of) Jeffries, at 23a leading light of the campaign, was thefirst to speak leaf ,shake like a leaf X to shake a lot because you are nervous or frightened • (usually in continuous tenses) [saw her just before her talk and she was shaking like a leaf take a leaf out of sb's book to copy something that someone else does because it will bring you advantages • Maybe I should take a leaf out of. .. remove this 229 understand fighting why you make light of sth and David were >( to suggest by the way that you talk or behave that you do not think a problem is serious • You shouldn't make light of other people's fears make light work of sth/doing sth to do something quickly and easily • Heather made light work of painting the walls • You made light work of that chocolate cake! (= you ate it quickly) see . organization. (often + in) A leading light in the art and ballet world, he was a closefriend of Princess Diana. • (often + of) Jeffries, at 23 a leading light of the. should' Even 21 3 kingdom one sleepless night can throw your body out of kilter. 2 if two things are out of kilter, or if one thing is out of kilter with