

Flashcards test for this set by: definition/description

lose heart

lose heart  {v. phr.}
To feel discouraged because of failure; to lose hope of success.
The team had won no games and it lost heart.
Contrast: TAKE HEART.
Categories:success verb

put away

put away  {v.}
1. To put in the right place or out of sight.
She put away the towels.
2. To lay aside; stop thinking about.
He put his worries away for the weekend.
3.  {informal}
To eat or drink.
He put away a big supper and three cups of coffee.
Compare: STOW AWAY.
4.  {informal}
To put in a mental hospital.
He had to put his wife away when she became mentally ill.
5. To put to death for a reason; kill.
He had his dog put away when it became too old and unhappy.
Categories:death informal verb

in a flash

in a flash also in a trice  {adv. phr.}
Very suddenly.
We were watching the bird eat the crumbs; then I sneezed, and he was gone in a flash.
Bob was looking over his notes for English class and in a flash he knew what he would write his paper about.

flash in the pan

flash in the pan  {n. phr.},  {slang}
A person or thing that starts out well but does not continue.
The new quarterback was a flash in the pan.
Mary got 100 on the first test in arithmetic but it was just a flash in the pan because she failed in arithmetic.
Categories:noun slang

flash card

flash card  {n.}
A card with numbers or words on it that is used in teaching, a class.
The teacher used flash cards to drill the class in addition.

couch potato

couch potato  {n.}
A person who is addicted to watching television all day.
Poor Ted has become such a couch potato that we can't persuade him to do anything.

pull the rug out from under

pull the rug out from under  {v. phr.},  {informal}
To withdraw support unexpectedly from; to spoil the plans of.
Bill thought he would be elected, but his friends pulled the rug out from under him and voted for Vin.
We were planning a vacation, but the baby's illness pulled the rug out from under us.
Categories:informal verb

plug in

plug in  {v. phr.}
To connect (an electrical appliance) to a power wire by putting its plug into a receptacle or hole.
The integrated circuit has multiplied the number of small radios that need not be plugged in.


smoke-out  {n.}
A successful conclusion of an act of investigative journalism revealing some long-kept secrets.
Journalist Bob Woodward was the hero of the Watergate smoke-out.

against time

1. As a test of speed or time; in order to beat a speed record or time limit.
John ran around the track against time, because there was no one else to race against.
2. As fast as possible; so as to do or finish something before a certain time.
It was a race against the clock whether the doctor would get to the accident soon enough to save the injured man.
3. So as to cause delay by using up time.
The outlaw talked against time with the sheriff, hoping that his gang would come and rescue him.
Categories:adverb time