to cap a story
To go one better; after a good story has been told to follow it up with a better one of the same kind.
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to cap it all
To surpass what has gone before; to make things even worse.
to cap verses
Having the metre fixed and the last letter of the previous line given, to add a line beginning with that letter, thus : The way was long, the wind was cold (D)
to carry a stiff upper lip
To be self-reliant; to bear oneself courageously in face of difficulties or danger.
to carry coals
To be put upon. "Greg- ory, o' my word, we'll not carry coals" — i.e. submit to be "put upon" (Romeo and Juliet, i, 1). So in Every Man out of his Humour, "Here comes one that will carry coals, ergo, will hold my dog." The allusion is to the dirty, laborious occupation of charcoal carriers.
to carry on
(1) To continue an activity from the point already reached, particularly in military parlance. (2) To make a scene, lose one's temper — "he carried on something dreadful.
to carry one's bat
Said of a cricketer who is "not out" at the close of the game. Hence, figuratively, to outlast one's opponents, to succeed in one's undertaking.
to carry one's point
To succeed in one's aim. Candidates in Rome were balloted for, and the votes were marked on a tablet by points. Hence, omne punctum ferre meant "to be carried nem. con.,'9 or to gain every vote; and "to carry one's point" is to carry off the points at which one aimed.
to carry out
To continue a project to its completion.
to carry the day
To win the contest; to carry off the honours of the day.
to carry weight
In horse racing, to equalize the weight of two or more riders by adding to the lighter ones, till both (or all) the riders are made of uniform weight.
to case
To skin an animal; to deprive it of its "case." See FIRST CATCH YOUR HARE, s.v. CATCH.
to case a joint
To inspect a place with a view to committing robbery there.
to cast a man's nativity
The astrologers' term for constiucting a plan or map of the position, etc.
to cast about
To deliberate, to consider, as, "I am casting about me how I am to meet the expenses." A sporting phrase. Dogs, when they have lost scent, "cast for it,'* Le. spread out and search m different directions to recover it.
to cast accounts
To give the results of the debits and credits entered, balancing the two, and carrying over the surplus.
to cast anchor
To throw out the anchor in order to bring the vessel to a standstill. (Lat. attchoram jacere.
to cast beyond the moon
To form wild conjectures. One of Heywood's proverbs. At one time the moon was supposed to in- fluence the weather, to affect the ingathering of fruits, to rule the time of sowing, reaping, and slaying cattle, etc.
to cast in one's lot
To share the good or bad fortune of another.
to cast in one's teeth
To throw reproof at one. The allusion is to knocking one's teeth out by stones.
to cast into one's teeth
To utter reproaches. All his faults observed, Set in a note-book, learned, and conned by rote, To cast into my teeth.
to cast pearls before swine
To give what is precious to those who are unable to under- stand its value: a biblical phrase (see Matt, yii, 6). If pearls were cast to swine, the swine would trample them under foot.
to cast sheep's eyes
To look askance, in a sheepish way, at a person to whom you feel lovingly inclined
to cast the first stone
To take the lead in criticizing, fault-finding, quarrelling, etc.
to cat the anchor
To hang the anchor on the cathead, a piece of timber outside the ship to which the anchor is hung to keep it clear of the ship.
to catch a crab
A rowing phrase used when the oarsman fails to catch the water with the oar. He is then struck by the handle of the oar as it is caught in the water and rises.
to catch a tartar
To catch a troublesome prisoner; to have dealings with a person who is more than a match for one; to think that one is going to manage a person, only to find it is no easy job.
to catch a weasel asleep
To expect to find a very vigilant person off his guard ; to suppose that one who has his weather-eye open cannot see what is passing before him. The vigilant habits of these animals explain the allusion.
to catch at a straw
A forlorn hope. A drowning man will catch at a straw. To make bricks without straw. To attempt to do something without the proper and necessary materials. The allusion is to the exaction of the Egyptian taskmasters men- tioned in Exod, v, 6-14.
to catch on
To make its way; to become popular. As in One can never tell what sort of song will catch on with the public, but the one that does is a little gold mine.
to catch one's breath
To check suddenly the free act of breathing. " I see her," replied I, catching my breath with joy.
To catch the Speaker's eye
To find the eye of the Speaker fixed on you; to be observed by the Speaker. In the House of Commons the member on whom the eye of the Speaker is fixed has the privilege of addressing the House.
to change colour
To blush; especially to look awkward and perplexed when found out in some deceit or meanness.
to change hands
To pass from a possessor to someone else.
to chaperon
To accompany a young unmarried woman in loco parentis, when she appears in public or in society.
to charge a person
To accuse him formally of a crime or misdemeanour. It must be answered before the appropriate court or authority.
to charge oneself with
To take upon one- self the onus of a given task.
to chaunt
To sing. To publish an account in the newspapers. The kiddey was chaunted for a toby; his examination concerning a highway robbery was published in the papers.
to chew the rag
A slang expression for "grousing," complaining, or talking at length on one particular subject.
To choose time is to save time. (Francis Bacon)
English proverb; full definition pending editorial review.
to chop and change
To barter by rule of thumb; to fluctuate, to vary continuously.
to chop logic
To bandy words; to alter- cate. Bacon says, "Let not the council chop with the judge.
to chouse
To cheat or trick: he choused me out of it. Chouse is also the term for a game like chuck-farthing.
to chuck
To shew a propensity for a man. The mors chucks; the wench wants to be doing.
to chum in with
To be on very intimate and friendly terms with.
to church a woman
To read the appointed service when a woman comes to church after a confinement to return thanks to God for her "safe deliverance" and restored health.
to clean out
To purify, to make tidy. Also, to win another's money till his pocket is quite empty; to impoverish him of everything. De Quincey says that Richard Bentley, after his lawsuit with Dr. Colbatch, "must have been pretty well cleaned out.
to clean up
To wash up, to put in order; to wash oneself.
to clear an examination paper
To floor it, or answer every question set.
to clear for action
The same as "to clear the decks." See below.
to clear off
To make oneself scarce, to remove oneself or something else.
To clear out for Guam
A now forgotten shipping phrase; used when a ship is bound for no specific place. In the height of the gold fever, ships carried passengers to Australia without making arrangements for return cargoes. They were, therefore, obliged to leave Melbourne in ballast, and to sail in search of homeward freights.
to clear the air
To remove the clouds, mists, and impurities; figuratively, to remove the misunderstandings or ambiguities of a situation, argument, etc.
to clear the court
To remove all strangers, or persons not officially concerned in the suit.
to clear the decks
To prepare for action by removing everything not required; play- fully used of eating everything eatable on the dinner-table, etc.
to clear the land
A nautical phrase mean- ing to have good sea room.
to clear the room
To remove from it every thing or person not required.
to clear up
To become fine after rain or cloudiness; to make manifest; to elucidate what was obscure; to tidy up.
to click
To snatch. To click a nab; to snatch a hat. CANT.
to clip
To hug or embrace: to clip and cling. To clip the coin; to diminish the current coin. To clip the king's English; to be unable to speak plain through drunkenness.
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