331

hazard a guess/opinion

- make a guess
I would not want to hazard a guess as to the age of the woman.


head Idioms
head above water

- out of difficulty, clear of trouble
Although he works very hard he is not able to keep his head above water financially.

head and shoulders above (someone or something)

- clearly superior to someone or something
I believe that our team is head and shoulders above the other teams in the league.

head for (someone/something/somewhere)

- to aim for someone/something/somewhere, to move toward
someone/something/somewhere
The tropical storm is heading for the large island.

head-hunting

- search for qualified individuals to fill certain positions
The head-hunting company has phoned me several times about getting a new job.

head off (someone)

- get in front of and stop someone, turn someone back
In the movie the soldiers tried to head off the gang at the mountain pass.




332

head off (something)

- stop, prevent
They were able to head off a strike by the union at the last minute.

head-on

- front end to front end, with the front facing something
There was a serious head-on crash on the highway last night.

head-on

- in a way that is exactly opposite, opposed to someone in an argument or fight
They decided to deal with their opponents in a head-on manner in order to win the
fight.

head out

- leave, start
It is time that we head out for the movie or we will be late.


head over heels

- upside down, head first
He fell head over heels when his bicycle hit the wall.

head over heels in love (with someone)

- completely/deeply in love (with someone)
She fell head over heels in love with the guy that she met at the party.








333

a head shrinker

- a psychiatrist
The criminal had to go and see a head shrinker after the judge sentenced him to life in
prison.

a head start

- an early start to something
They left early in order to get a head start on the trip.


to head up

- to be at the head of (a group), a leader
The president headed up a group of people going overseas to promote trade.

heads or tails

- the face of a coin or the opposite side
We decided who would start the game by throwing heads or tails with a coin.

heads will roll

- someone will get into severe trouble
I think that heads will roll because of the problems with the new employee.

.



hear a peep out of (someone)

- hear the smallest word from someone
We did not hear a peep out of the children who were playing in the bedroom.



334

hear from


- receive a letter/phone call/news from someone
I haven`t heard from my university roommate for over one year.

(not) hear of (something)

- not tolerate or permit something
I will not hear of my aunt staying in a hotel when she visits us.

hear (someone) out

- listen to everything that someone has to say
We went to the meeting to hear the manager out about the new building.


heart Idioms
heart goes out to (someone)

- one feels sympathy for someone
My heart went out to the victims of the railway accident.

heart is in the right place

- be kindhearted/sympathetic, have good intentions
He sometimes makes mistakes but his heart is in the right place.

heart is set on (something)

- one desires and expects something
The boy's heart is set on getting a dog for his birthday.






335

heart of gold

- a kind/generous/forgiving personality
My grandmother has a heart of gold and everyone loves her.

heart of stone

- someone with a nature with no pity or warmth
She has a heart of stone and is not interested in how other people feel.

heart skips/misses a beat

- be startled or excited from surprise/joy/fright
My heart skipped a beat when the truck almost hit us last night.

heart stands still

- be very frightened or worried
My heart stood still when I heard the story about the little boy and the fire.

heart-to-heart

- honest or intimate

The couple had a heart-to-heart talk before they decided to get married.

.



heavy going

- difficult to do
Moving the furniture was heavy going and we became tired quickly.




336

a heavy heart

- a feeling of sadness or unhappiness
He seems to have a heavy heart now that his wife has died.

hedge in (something)

- keep something from getting out or moving freely, block something in
My car was hedged in by the other cars and I was unable to move it this morning.

hedge one's bets

- reduce one's loss on something by counterbalancing the loss in some way
We will hedge our bets and go to a movie if the weather isn't good enough for

camping.

hell and high water

- troubles or difficulties of some kind
They went through hell and high water in order to get the food to the flood victims.

hell-bent for leather

- behaving recklessly, riding a horse recklessly
The boys went hell-bent-for-leather down the path to the beach.

hell on earth

- a very unpleasant situation
The hot weather made the small town hell on earth.

hell-on-wheels

- a short-tempered/nagging/crabby person
She is hell-on-wheels in the morning so you should be careful of her.


337

help oneself to (something)

- take whatever one wants or needs
We went to the buffet table and helped ourselves to the food.


help out with (something)

- assist someone to do something
I helped out with carrying the luggage of the other tour members.

helter-skelter

- in a confusing group, in disorder
When we arrived at work we found the files scattered helter-skelter over the floor.

to hem and haw

- to avoid giving a clear answer, to be evasive in speech
He hemmed and hawed when I asked him if he knew where the missing money was.

hem (someone or something) in

- trap or enclose someone or something
We went to the football game but we felt hemmed in by all of the people.

here and now

- immediately
I want you to do that work right here and now.

here and there

- in various places, go to various places
We went here and there during our holidays.



338

Here goes.

- ready to to do something while hoping for the best results
"Well, here goes. I am going to go and ask that girl for a date right now."

Here goes nothing.

- ready to do something but think that it will probably be a waste of time and will
probably fail
"Here goes nothing. I have already asked him to lend me some money and he always
says no but I`ll try again."

here, there and everywhere

- everywhere
The mice were here, there, and everywhere when we entered the old house.

hide/bury one`s head in the sand

- keep from knowing something dangerous or unpleasant
He hates to talk about important matters and hides his head in the sand when I try to
talk to him.

hide one's face in shame

- cover one's face because of shame or embarrassment
The man wanted to hide his face in shame after he lost his job.



high Idioms
high and dry

- stranded, abandoned
They left the manager high and dry when they moved the company to Europe.


339

high and low

- everywhere
We looked high and low for her watch but we couldn`t find it.

high-and-mighty

- arrogant
He always acts high-and-mighty in front of his employees.

(in) high gear

- at top speed, full activity
The preparations for his visit have been in high gear all week.

high-handed

- bossy, dictatorial, depending on force rather than what is right
My supervisor always takes a high-handed approach when dealing with her

employees.

(the) high life

- a luxurious existence
They have been living the high life since they moved to Las Vegas.

high man on the totem pole

- the top person of an organization
My father is the high man on the totem pole in his company and has a very good job.

high on (something)

- intoxicated with a drug, enthusuastic about something
The young man was high on something when the police arrested him.


340

the high seas

- the ocean (away from the coast)
The crew of the ship spent three months on the high seas before going to shore for a
visit.

(to be) in high spirits

- to have much energy, to be cheerful
They are in high spirits since their home team won the tournament.


(to be) high time

- to be time that something should already have been done
It is high time that we spent some time cleaning up our house.

.



hightail it out of (somewhere)

- run away from or leave a place quickly
We decided to hightail it out of the restaurant and go home.

highway robbery

- an extremely high price for something
The price that we had to pay for the theater tickets was highway robbery.

hinge on (something)

- depend on something
Whether or not I can enter the university hinges on my final exam score.