[red-light district]{n. phr.} A district of brothels or where prostitutes hang out. •/Most unwisely, the young sailor decided to spend his leave on shore by haunting the red-light districts of the port of call./
[red tape]{n. phr.} Unnecessary bureaucratic routine; needless but official delays. •/If you want to get anything accomplished in a hurry, you have to find someone in power who can cut through all that red tape./
[reel off] See: RATTLE OFF.
[reference] See: IN REFERENCE TO or WITH REFERENCE TO.
[refine on] or [refine upon] {v.} 1. To make better; improve. •/Mary was asked to refine on her first outline to make it clearer and more exact./ 2. To be better than; surpass. •/Modern medical techniques refine on those of the past./
[regain one’s feet]{v. phr.} To get back up again after falling down. •/Tom fell while he skied down the hill but he regained his feet quickly./ Compare: TO ONE’S FEET.
[regard] See: IN REFERENCE TO or IN REGARD TO or WITH REGARD TO.
[regular guy] or [regular fellow] {n.}, {informal} A friendly person who is easy to get along with; a good sport. •/You’ll like Tom. He’s a regular guy./ Syn.: GOOD EGG.
[rein] See: FREE REIN, GIVE REIN TO or GIVE FREE REIN TO.
[relation] See: IN RELATION TO or WITH RELATION TO.
[relative to] 1. On the subject of; about. •/Relative to school athletics, the principal said the students should not allow athletics to interfere with homework./ 2. In comparison with; in proportion to. •/Relative to the size of an ant, a blade of grass is as tall as a tree./
[repeat oneself]{v. phr.} To say the same thing over again, often in the same words; repeat ideas because you forget what you said or because you want to stress their importance. •/Grandfather is forgetful and often repeats himself when he tells a story./ •/A teacher often has to repeat herself several times before her pupils remember what she tells them./
[resign oneself]{v. phr.} To stop arguing; accept something which cannot be changed. •/When Jane’s father explained that he could not afford to buy her a new bicycle, she finally resigned herself to riding the old one./ Compare: GIVE UP.
[resistance] See: LINE OF LEAST RESISTANCE.
[rest] See: LAY TO REST, PARADE REST.
[rest assured]{v. phr.} To be convinced; persuaded; certain and unworried. •/"Please rest assured," he said seriously, "that I will keep all of my promises."/
[rest home] See: CONVALESCENT HOME.
[rest on one’s laurels]{v. phr.} To be satisfied with the success you have already won; stop trying to win new honors. •/Getting an A in chemistry almost caused Mike to rest on his laurels./
[rest on one’s oars]{v. phr.} To stop trying; stop working for a while; rest. •/The man who wants to become a millionaire can never rest on his oars./ •/A high school student who wants to go to college cannot rest on his oars./
[rest room]{n.} A room or series of rooms in a public building which has things for personal comfort and grooming, such as toilets, washbowls, mirrors, and often chairs or couches. •/Sally went to the rest room to powder her nose./ Compare: POWDER ROOM.
[retreat] See: BEAT A RETREAT.
[return] See: IN RETURN.
[return the compliment]{v. phr.} To say or do the same to someone that he has said or done to you; pay someone back. •/Mary said, "I love your new hairdo" and Suzy returned the compliment with "What a pretty dress you’re wearing, Mary."/ •/John punched Jerry in the nose, and Jerry returned the compliment./
[reverse] See: DOUBLE REVERSE, IN REVERSE.
[rev up]{v. phr.}, {informal}, {slang} 1. To press down sharply several times on the accelerator of an idling car in order to get maximum acceleration. •/The race driver revved up his car by pumping his accelerator./ 2. To get oneself ready in order to accomplish a demanding or difficult task. •/The boys were getting all revved up for the football game./ See: PSYCHED UP.
[rhyme or reason]{n. phr.} A good plan or reason; a reasonable purpose or explanation. — Used in negative, interrogative, or conditional sentences. •/Don could see no rhyme or reason to the plot of the play./ •/It seemed to Ruth that her little brother had temper tantrums without rhyme or reason./
[rib] See: STICK TO ONE’S RIBS or STICK TO THE RIBS.
[rich] See: STRIKE IT RICH.
[ride] See: ALONG FOR THE RIDE, LET RIDE, RUN WITH HARE AND HUNT (RIDE) WITH THE HOUNDS, TAKE FOR A RIDE, THUMB A RIDE.
[ride herd on]{v. phr.} 1. To patrol on horseback around a herd of animals to see that none of them wanders away. •/Two cowboys rode herd on the cattle being driven to market./ 2. {informal} To watch closely and control; take care of. •/A special legislative assistant rides herd on the bills the president is anxious to have congress pass./ •/Mary rode herd on the small children walking home from school to keep them from running into the street./
[ride on one’s coattails]{v. phr.} To succeed in a certain endeavor by attaching oneself to the greater weight of another person or corporate body. •/"We will never get our Ph.D. program approved on our own," said the head of the modern dance department, "but we might succeed if we stay in the Division of Fine Arts, riding on their coattails, as it were."/
[ride out]{v.} To survive safely; endure. •/The captain ordered all sails lowered so the ship could ride out the storm./ •/Jack decided to ride out his troubles by saying that he had made a mistake but that he had learned his lesson./
[ride roughshod over]{v. phr.} To do as you wish without considering the wishes of (another person); treat with scorn or lack of courtesy; show no sympathy for. •/The city officials rode roughshod over the people who did not want their homes torn down for a new school./ •/The boss rode roughshod over the men when they asked for higher wages./
[ride the brake] or [ride the clutch] {v. phr.}, {informal} To keep your foot on the pedal. •/Riding the brake is a bad habit for a driver to form./
[ride the gravy train]{v. phr.} To live a life of plenty and luxury. •/Those who have a wealthy executive or heir to a fortune for a spouse can ride the gravy train without doing any work./
[ride up] or [crawl up] {v.} To slip gradually upward on the body. •/Shorts that ride up can be very uncomfortable./
[riding for a fall]{adj. phr.} Behaving in an overconfident way that is likely to lead to trouble; being too sure of yourself; doing something dangerous. •/The student who does not study for exams is riding for a fall./ •/Mr. Smith has borrowed too much money on his home. He is riding for a fall./ Compare: COME A CROPPER(2).
[riding high]{adj.} Attracting attention; enjoying great popularity. •/After scoring the winning touchdown, John is riding high with his classmates./
[rid of] Free of; away from; without the care or trouble. •/The puppy is finally rid of worms./ •/If I could be rid of the children for the day, I would go./ •/I wish you’d get rid of that cat!/ Compare: DO AWAY WITH, THROW AWAY(1), THROW OFF(1).
[right] See: ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT FOR YOU, DEAD TO RIGHTS, GIVE ONE’S RIGHT ARM, HEART IN THE RIGHT PLACE, IN THE RIGHT, PLAY ONE’S CARDS RIGHT, PUT TO RIGHTS or SET TO RIGHTS, SERVE RIGHT, TO RIGHTS.
[right along]{adv. phr.}, {informal} 1a. On your way satisfactorily or without trouble. •/They fixed the engine and the train ran right along./ 1b. On your way without delay. •/Don’t wait for me. Go right along./ 2. See: ALL ALONG.
[right and left]{adv. phr.} In or from every direction; all around; on all sides. •/The knight rode into battle striking at the enemy right and left with his broadsword./ •/When the talk ended, questions were thrown at the speaker right and left./
[right away] or {informal} [right off] also {informal} [right off the bat] {adv. phr.} Immediately; as the next thing in order; without delay. •/Phil’s mother told him to do his homework right away so that he could enjoy the weekend./ •/The Red Cross aids disaster victims right away./ •/Jill knew the answer right off./ •/The teacher said he could not think of the title of the book right off the bat./ Syn.: AT ONCE(2). Compare: HERE AND NOW, ON THE SPOT. Contrast: AFTER A WHILE.
[right down] or [up one’s alley] {adv. phr.} In accordance with one’s specialty or predilection. •/This kind of preclassical music is right up Bill’s alley; after all, he wrote his Ph.D. on Bach./
[right field]{n.} The part of a baseball outfield to the batter’s right. •/Left-handed batters usually hit to right field./ Compare: CENTER FIELD, LEFT FIELD. — [right fielder] {n.} The outfielder in baseball who plays in right field. •/The batter hit a high fly ball and the right fielder caught it easily./
[right-hand man]{v. phr.} A valued and indispensable assistant. •/The chancellor of the university never goes anywhere without the vice chancellor, his right-hand man, whose judgment he greatly trusts./
[right on]{adj.}, {interj.}, {slang}, {informal} 1. Exclamation of animated approval "Yes," "That’s correct," "You’re telling the truth," "we believe you," etc. •/Orator: And we shall see the promised land! Crowd: Right on!/ 2. Correct; to the point; accurate. •/The reverend’s remark was right on!/
[right out] or [straight out] {adv.} Plainly; in a way that hides nothing; without waiting or keeping back anything. •/When Mother asked who broke the window, Jimmie told her right out that he did it./ •/When Ann entered the beauty contest her little brother told her straight out that she was crazy./
[right side of the tracks] See: THE TRACKS.
[right-wing]{adj.} Being or belonging to a political group which opposes any important change in the way the country is run. •/Some countries with right-wing governments have dictators./ Contrast: LEFT-WING.
[rig out]{v. phr.} To overdecorate; doll up; dress up. •/Ann arrived all rigged out in her newest Parisian summer outfit./
[Riley] See: LIFE OF RILEY.
[ring] See: GIVE A RING, RUN CIRCLES AROUND or RUN RINGS AROUND, THREE-RING CIRCUS, THROW ONE’S HAT IN THE RING.
[ring a bell]{v. phr.} To make you remember something; sound familiar. •/Not even the cat’s meowing seemed to ring a bell with Judy. She still forgot to feed him./ •/When Ann told Jim the name of the new teacher it rang a bell, and Jim said, "I went to school with a James Carson."/
[ring in]{v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To bring in (someone or something) from the outside dishonestly or without telling; often: hire and introduce under a false name. •/Bob offered to ring him in on the party by pretending he was a cousin from out of town./ •/No wonder their team beat us; they rang in a professional to pitch for them under the name of Dan Smith./ 2. To ring a special clock that records the time you work. •/We have to ring in at the shop before eight o’clock in the morning./
[ringleader]{n. phr.} The chief of an unsavory group; a higher-up. •/The FBI finally caught up with the ringleader of the dope smugglers from South America./
[ring out]{v.} To ring a special clock that records the time you leave work. •/Charles can’t leave early in his new job; he has to ring out./
[ring the changes]{v. phr.} To say or do the same thing in different ways; repeat the same idea in many ways. •/David wanted a new bicycle and he kept ringing the changes on it all day until his parents got angry at him./ •/A smart girl saves money on clothes by learning to ring the changes on a few dresses and clothes./
[ring true]{v. phr.} To have a tone of genuineness; sound convincing. •/I believed his sob story about how he lost his fortune, because somehow it all rang true./
