Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 351 hold one`s tongue - keep quiet He decided to hold his tongue rather than give his honest opinion. a hold-out - someone who refuses to give something up, a non-conformist He was the last hold-out in our effort to make sure that everyone wore a necktie to work. hold out for (something) - refuse to give up, insist on getting something The basketball star is holding out for a large salary increase. hold out on (someone) - refuse to give something to someone, refuse to agree The players are holding out on the owners and will not sign their contract. hold out (one's hand) - reach out, extend She held out her hand to help her mother climb up the stairs. hold out the olive branch to (someone) - offer to end a dispute with someone The company decided to hold out the olive branch to the workers who were on strike. hold over (something) - extend the engagement of something The movie was held over for another week. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 352 hold (someone) down - try to keep someone from succeeding The president of the company is trying to hold down the manager so he doesn't challenge his position. hold (someone) hostage - keep someone as a hostage The bank robbers were holding the woman hostage. hold (someone) in high regard - have very great respect for someone All of the students hold the principal in high regard. hold (someone's) attention - keep someone interested The man standing on the bridge held everyone's attention for over an hour. hold (something) against (someone) - blame something on someone My friend forgot to give me my money but I don't hold it against him as he is a nice person. hold (something) back - keep information or something to or for oneself Our boss is holding back the information about the new computer system. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 353 hold still - to not move "Please hold still while I fix your jacket zipper." hold the fort - cope in an emergency, act as a temporary substitute He has been holding the fort at his company while his boss is on vacation. hold the line at (something) - not yield to pressure, limit something Our company is holding the line on any salary increases. hold the reins - be the most influential person He has been holding the reins in his company for many years. hold true - be true It usually hold's true that the students who come late get the lowest marks. hold up - lift, raise The students usually hold up their hands when they have a question. hold up - support, carry The main beams in the house hold up the total weight of the house. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 354 hold up - stop, delay The accident held up traffic for over three hours at the border crossing. hold up - rob at gunpoint The criminal was able to hold up three people before he was caught. hold up - keep up one`s courage or spirits Her spirits are holding up quite well even though she does not have a job now. hold up - remain good, not get worse Sales during the first six months of the year are holding up very well compared to last year. hold up - prove true Her story held up during the questioning by the police. a hold-up - a robbery I was involved in a hold-up when I was in the supermarket last weekend. hold up (someone or something) as an example of (something) - point to someone or something as a good example The student was held up as an example of an honest and good person. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 355 hold water - be a sound idea His proposal for a new work scheduling system doesn`t hold water. . hole in the wall - a small place to live/work/visit, a small hidden (often inferior) place We went for a drink at a hole in the wall near the university last night. hole up (somewhere) - hide somewhere I passed the weekend holed up in my bedroom with a good book. holier-than-thou - acting as if one is better than others in goodness or character etc. I do not like him because he takes a holier-than-thou attitude toward everyone else. holy cats - used to express strong feelings of astonishment, pleasure or anger "Holy cats, the water is rising over the river bank." holy cow - used to express strong feelings of astonishment, pleasure or anger "Holy cow! There are over one hundred people standing in front of our house." Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 356 holy mackerel - used to express strong feelings of astonishment, pleasure or anger "Holy mackerel," cried the little boy when he saw the new bicycle that he got for his birthday present. holy Moses - used to express strong feelings of astonishment, pleasure or anger "Holy Moses! It is already noon and I haven`t even started work yet." a holy terror - a very disobedient or unruly child The little boy is a holy terror and his parents never want to take him anywhere. the honeymoon is over - the initial period of friendship and cooperation between two groups is over The honeymoon was over for the new President after several months. a honky-tonk - a cheap night-club or dance hall We went to a honky-tonk in the small town where we stopped last night. honor a check - accept someone's personal check The store refused to honor the check that I tried to give them. hook, line and sinker - without question or doubt, completely She fell in love with her new boyfriend hook, line and sinker. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 357 to hook up (something) - connect or fit something together After we moved into our new apartment we had to hook up the phone. a hook-up - a connection The new hook-up for the computer is not working very well. hooked on (something) - addicted to a drug or someting similar, enthusiastic about something The man has been hooked on drugs since he was a teenager. a hop, skip and a jump - a short distance The hospital was a hop, skip, and a jump from our new apartment. hop to it - get started, start a job We must hop to it and try to finish this job before dinner. to hope against hope - to continue to hope when things look very bad The rescue team hoped against hope that the lost hikers would be found alive. (to be) hopeless at (doing something) - incapable of doing something well My sister is hopeless at mathematics. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 358 (to be) hopped up on (something) - to be high on a drug or on alcohol The man who tried to rob the store was hopped up on some kind of drug. to horn in on (someone) - to come in without an invitation or welcome, interfere The man horned in on our conversation although he knows that nobody likes him. to horse around - to play around, to join in rough teasing The children were horsing around in the school yard when the bell rang for class. a horse of a different color - something totally separate and different We should not be talking about that issue now. It is a horse of a different color. horse sense - good judgement, wisdom in making decisions He has good horse sense so you can expect him to make an intelligent decision. to horse trade - to make a business agreement after hard negotiations We had to horse trade but we were finally able to reach an agreement to buy the antique car. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 359 hot Idioms hot air - nonsense, exaggerated talk He is full of hot air and you can`t trust what he says. (to be) hot and bothered - excited and worried, displeased I don`t know what is wrong with her but she is hot and bothered about something. hot and heavy - serious passion or emotions The love scenes in the movie were hot and heavy. hot on (someone or something) - enthusiastic about someone or something Recently, I am hot on some kinds of classical music. a hot potato - a situation that is likely to cause trouble to the person handling it The issue of the non-union workers is a hot potato that we must deal with. a hot rod - an automobile that is changed so that it can go very fast He has always loved cars and was a member of his local hot rod club when he was a teenager. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 360 hot under the collar - very angry Our boss is hot under the collar today because three of the staff came late. (to be) in hot water - to be in trouble He has been in hot water at work since he took a week off with no excuse. . a house of cards - something badly put together and easily knocked down, a poorly made plan/action The peace agreement between the two countries was like a house of cards and fell apart as soon as a minor problem occurred. How about? - will you have something or will you agree to something? "How about some coffee before we go to work?" How about? - what is your feeling/thought/desire regarding something? "She is not interested in the job but how about one of her friends?" How come? - why? "How come you don`t telephone her if you want to talk to her?" . else. holy cats - used to express strong feelings of astonishment, pleasure or anger "Holy cats, the water is rising over the river bank." holy cow - used to express strong. standing in front of our house." Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 356 holy mackerel - used to express strong feelings of astonishment, pleasure or anger "Holy mackerel," cried. little boy when he saw the new bicycle that he got for his birthday present. holy Moses - used to express strong feelings of astonishment, pleasure or anger "Holy Moses! It is already