931

trick (someone) into (doing something)

- to fool someone, to cheat someone
The salesman tricked the customer into buying something that he did not need.

tried-and-true

- tested by time and proven to be sound
I know of a tried-and-true method to remove stains from the carpet.

trip the light fantastic

- to go dancing
"It`s Friday night so let`s go downtown and trip the light fantastic."

trip up

- to make a mistake
The teacher tripped up over the correct pronunciation of the man`s name.

trip up (someone)

- to cause someone to fail, to cause someone to make a mistake
The news reporter tripped up the politician with his difficult question.

trot (something) out

- to mention something without giving it much thought

When I talk with my friend she often trots out some of our previous problems.

trouble oneself about (someone or something)

- to worry about someone or something
I wish that my mother would not trouble herself about my problems at work.


932

trouble (someone) with/to do (something)

- to bother someone to do something
I never like to trouble my teacher with some of my simple questions.

trouble one's head about (someone or something)

- to worry about someone or something
I am not going to trouble my head about my sister's visit next week.

trouble (someone) for (something)

- to ask someone to give or lend you something
I do not like to trouble the manager for her time but sometimes I must.

trouble (someone) to (do something)

- to ask someone to do something
I had to trouble my neighbor to look after my dog again last week.


true to form

- exactly as expected, following the usual pattern
True to form our teacher refused to accept any of our papers late.

true to one's word

- keeping one's promise
My friend was true to his word and was waiiting for me exactly at the time that we
had agreed upon.

trump card

- something that is kept back to be used to win success if other things do not work
The man's trump card was his knowledge of the sales figures that nobody else knew.


933

trump up (something)

- to make something up, to invent false charges
The man was arrested on trumped up charges for selling illegal software.

truth will out

- eventually the truth will become known
I know that eventually the truth will out and we will know exactly what happened at
the meeting.



try Idioms


try on (something)

- to put clothes on to see how they fit and look
"You should try on that jacket before you buy it."

try one`s hand at (something)

- to make an (inexperienced) attempt at something
I have decided to try my hand at sailing a boat this summer.

try one's luck at (something)

- to try to do something (where success depends on luck)
I decided to try my luck at buying a lottery ticket although I usually never win.

try (out) one's wings

- to try to do something that one has recently become qualified to do
I am planning to try out my wings with my roller blades on Saturday.


934

try out (something)

- to test something

We were not permitted to try out the computer before we bought it.

try out for (something)

- to attempt to join or take part in a team or a play etc.
My friend has decided to try out for the football team this summer.

try (someone's) patience

- to do something annoying that may cause someone to lose patience
The constant complaints of the customers are beginning to try the clerk's patience.

try (something) out on (someone)

- to test something on someone
I plan to try the new song out on the other members of the staff.


.



tuck into (something)

- to eat something with hunger and enjoyment
I tucked into the meal as soon as I sat down at the table.

tug-of-war

- a game in which two teams pull on opposite ends of a rope and try to pull the other

team over a line marked on the ground
The children played tug-of-war at the summer camp.


935

tug-of-war

- a situation in which two sides try to defeat each other, a struggle over something
The two countries have been involved in a tug-of-war over the disputed territory for
many years.

tune in

- to get in touch with something important like one`s own feelings etc.
The woman works hard to tune in to her feelings.

tune in (a radio)

- to adjust a radio or television to pick up a certain station/signal
We were able to tune in to the basketball game while driving to work this morning.

tune out (someone or something)

- to ignore someone or something
I usually tune out my friend when he begins to talk too much.

tune up (a musical instrument)

- to adjust a musical instrument to the right sound

The orchestra tuned up their instruments before the performance.

tune up (an engine)

- to adjust a car engine so that it will run properly
We took our car to the garage to tune it up before we went on our holiday.








936

turn Idioms


turn a blind eye to (something)

- to ignore something troublesome and pretend not to see it
Our teacher usually turns a blind eye to the fact that the student often comes to school
a few minutes late.

turn a deaf ear to (someone or something)

- to pretend not to hear someone or something, to refuse to hear someone or
something
The company turned a deaf ear to the demands for more vacation time by the

employees.

turn down (someone or something)

- to refuse to accept someone or something, to reject someone or something
The union turned down the offer of more money from the company.

turn down (something)

- to reduce the loudness/brightness/force of something
I talked to my neighbor and asked him to turn down his stereo.

turn in

- to go to bed
We decided to turn in early last night.

turn in (someone)

- to inform on someone, to report someone for doing something wrong/illegal
The department store turned in the shoplifter to the police.


937

turn in (something)

- to give something to someone, to hand something to someone
I turned in the wallet that I had found to the police.


turn of the century

- the end of one century and the beginning of another
There were many large celebrations at the turn of the century.

turn off (someone)

- to disgust/irritate/repel someone
The woman's constant complaining always turns me off.

turn off (something)

- to shut off something, to stop something
"Please turn off the lights before you go out."

turn off (somewhere)

- to leave a road or path by turning right or left onto another road or path
When we arrived at the small store we turned off onto the small road.

turn on a dime

- to turn quickly or in a very tight turn
The new truck is able to turn on a dime.

turn on a dime

- to change one's plans or orientation
I did not take the job in the other city because my life cannot turn on a dime.



938

turn on one`s heel

- to turn around suddenly
The letter carrier turned on his heel when he saw the large dog.

turn on (someone)

- to suddenly become hostile to someone
The boy used to be my friend but he suddenly turned on me last summer.

turn on (something)

- to open/start something, to let water or electricity flow
"Please turn on the radio so we can hear the evening news."

turn one`s back on (someone)

- to refuse to help someone who is in trouble or is in need
The girl turned her back on her friend when her friend asked for some help.

turn one`s stomach

- to make one feel sick
The car accident turned my stomach.

turn out


- to be found or known, to prove to be true
It turned out that more people came to the party than we expected.

turn out

- to come or go to see or do something
Over 50,000 people turned out for the concert.


939

turn out (a light)

- to make a light go out
I always turn out the light if I do not need it.

turn out all right/good

- to end satisfactorily
At first we thought that the weather would be terrible but it turned out fine.

turn out (someone)

- to make someone leave or go away
The man decided to turn his son out of the house when he refused to get a job.

turn out (something)

- to turn something inside out, to empty something
The man turned out his pockets when he was looking for his car keys.


turn out (something)

- to make/produce a product or something
The car company turns out 8,000 cars every week.

turn over

- to roll over
The car turned over during the winter storm.

turn over

- to sell
We were able to turn over most of our stock of air conditioners during the summer.


940

turn over a new leaf

- to make a fresh start
I am going to turn over a new leaf and begin to practice the piano every day.

turn over (an engine)

- to start an engine or motor
It was very cold in the morning so the car engine would not turn over easily.

turn over in one`s grave


- to be so angry that one does not rest quietly in one`s grave
My grandmother would turn over in her grave if she knew that I had lost my job and
was not working.

turn over (something) to (someone)

- to give something to someone for their use or care
I turned over my apartment keys to the landlord when I went away for a month.

turn (someone) on

- to excite a person, an idea/person/undertaking begins to interest someone
The idea of going to Spain for the summer turned my friend on.

turn (something) on its ear

- to change some activity in a surprising and exciting way
The new manager turned the office on its ear when he started to work in our
department.