[delta wave]{n.}, {informal}, {semi-technical} A brain wave 1-3 cycles per second, associated with very deep sleep. •/Good night, honey, I’m off to produce some delta waves./ Compare: CATCH SOME Z’S, HIT THE HAY or HIT THE SACK.
[demand] See: IN DEMAND.
[Dennis the Menace]{n. phr.} After the notorious television character played by a young boy who always creates trouble for the grownups. Any hyperactive little boy who needs calming down. •/"Your son, Joey, is becoming a regular Dennis the Menace," Jane said to Elvira./
[dent] See: MAKE A DENT IN.
[deposit] See: ON DEPOSIT.
[depth] See: BEYOND ONE’S DEPTH.
[desk clerk] See: ROOM CLERK.
[detective] See: HOUSE DETECTIVE.
[devil] See: BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA, FULL OF THE OLD NICK or FULL OF THE DEVIL, GIVE THE DEVIL HIS DUE, GO TO THE DEVIL, PLAY THE DEVIL WITH, RAISE THE DEVIL, SPEAK OF THE DEVIL AND HE APPEARS.
[devil-may-care]{adj.} Not caring what happens; unworried. •/Johnny has a devil-may-care feeling about his school work./ •/Alfred was a devil-may-care youth but became more serious as he grew older./
[devil-may-care attitude]{n. phr.} An attitude of no concern for financial or other loss. •/"Easy come, easy go," John said in a devil-may-care attitude when he lost all of his money during a poker game./
[devil of it] or [heck of it] {n. phr.} 1. The worst or most unlucky thing about a trouble or accident; the part that is most regrettable. •/Andy lost his notebook, and the devil of it was that the notebook contained all his homework for the coming week./ •/When I had a flat tire, the devil of it was that my spare tire was flat too./ 2. Fun from doing mischief. — Used after "for". •/The boys carried away Miss White’s front gate just for the devil of it./
[devil to pay]{n. phr.} Great trouble. — Used after "the". •/There’ll be the devil to pay when the teacher finds out who broke the window./ •/When Jim wrecked his father’s car, there was the devil to pay./
[dewey-eyed] See: MISTY-EYED.
[diamond in the rough]{n. phr.} A very smart person without a formal education who may have untutored manners. •/Jack never went to school but he is extremely talented; he is a veritable diamond in the rough./
[dibs] See: TO HAVE DIBS ON or TO PUT DIBS ON.
[dice] See: NO DEAL or NO DICE.
[Dick] See: TOM, DICK AND HARRY.
[die] See: CROSS ONE’S HEART or CROSS ONE’S HEART AND HOPE TO DIE, DO-OR-DIE, NEVER SAY DIE.
[die away] or [die down] {v.} To come slowly to an end; grow slowly less or weaker. •/The wind died down./ •/The music died away./ •/He waited until the excitement had died down./ •/His mother’s anger died away./
[die in one’s boots] or [die with one’s boots on] {v. phr.}, {informal} To be killed or hanged rather than die in bed. •/The badmen of the Old West usually died in their boots./ •/The robber said he wanted to die with his boots on./
[die is cast]{v. phr.}, {literary} To make an irrevocable decision. (From Julius Caesar’s famous words in Latin, "alea iacta est", when he crossed the river Rubicon, which meant war.) •/Everything was ready for the invasion of Europe, the die had been cast, and there was no turning back now./
[die off]{v.} To die one at a time. •/The flowers are dying off because there has been no rain./
[die on the vine] or [wither on the vine] {v. phr.} To fail or collapse in the planning stages. •/The program for rebuilding the city died on the vine./
[die out]{v.} To die or disappear slowly until all gone. •/This kind of bird is dying out./ •/If you pour salt water on grass, it dies out./ •/The American colonists started colleges so that learning would not die out./
[difference] See: MAKE A DIFFERENCE, SPLIT THE DIFFERENCE.
[different] See: SING A DIFFERENT TUNE or WHISTLE A DIFFERENT TUNE.
[dig down]{v.}, {slang} To spend your own money. •/The school let the club use the bus and driver free for their trip, but they had to dig down to pay for gas and meals./ •/"So you broke Mrs. Brown’s window?" Tom’s father said, "You’ll have to dig down and pay for it,"/
[dig in]{v.}, {informal} 1. To dig ditches for protection against an enemy attack. •/The soldiers dug in and waited for the enemy to come./ 2a. To go seriously to work; work hard. •/John dug in and finished his homework very quickly./ 2b. To begin eating. •/Mother set the food on the table and told the children to dig in./
[dig out]{v.} 1. To find by searching; bring out (something) that was put away. •/Jack dug his sled out of the cellar./ •/The newspaper printed an old story dug out of their records./ Compare: DIG UP. 2. {informal} To escape. — Usually used with "of". Often used in the phrase "dig oneself out of a hole." •/The pitcher dug himself out of a hole by striking the batter out./
[dig up]{v.}, {informal} To find or get (something) with some effort. •/Sue dug up some useful material for her English composition./ •/Jim asked each boy to dig up twenty-five cents to pay for the hot dogs and soda./ Compare: DIG OUT.
[dilemma] See: HORNS OF A DILEMMA.
[dim] See: TAKE A DIM VIEW OF.
[dime a dozen]{adj. phr.}, {informal} Easy to get and so of little value; being an everyday thing because there are many of them; common. •/Mr. Jones gives A’s to only one or two students, but in Mr. Smith’s class, A’s are a dime a dozen./
[dime store] or [five-and-dime] or [five-and-ten] {n. phr.} A store that sells things that cost little. •/Charles bought a pencil at the five-and-dime./
[dine out]{v. phr.} To not eat at home but to go to a restaurant. •/"Let’s dine out tonight, honey," she said to her husband. "I am tired of cooking dinner every night."/ See: EAT OUT.
[dint] See: BY DINT OF.
[dip into]{v. phr.} 1. To scan or sample lightly and briefly (said of printed materials). •/I didn’t get a chance to read all of War and Peace, but I dipped into it here and there./ 2. To take money out of a savings account or a piggy bank. •/I am sorry to have to say that I had to dip into the piggy bank; I took out $6.75./
[dirt] See: EAT DIRT, HIT THE DIRT, PAY DIRT.
[dirt cheap]{adj.} Extremely inexpensive. •/The apartment we are renting is dirt cheap compared to other apartments of similar size in this neighborhood./
[dirty] See: AIR ONE’S DIRTY LINEN IN PUBLIC or WASH ONE’S DIRTY LINEN IN PUBLIC.
[dirty look]{n.}, {informal} A look that shows dislike. •/Miss Parker sent Joe to the principal’s office for giving her a dirty look./
[dirty old man]{n. phr.} An older man who shows an unhealthy interest in young girls. •/"Stay away from Uncle Algernon, Sally," her mother warned. "He is a dirty old man."/
[dirty one’s hands] or [soil one’s hands] {v. phr.} To lower or hurt one’s character or good name; do a bad or shameful thing. •/The teacher warned the children not to dirty their hands by cheating in the examination./ •/I would not soil my hands by going with bad people and doing bad things./
[dirty story]{n. phr.} An improper or obscene story. •/Uncle Bill is much too fond of telling dirty stories in order to embarrass his friends./
[dirty trick]{n. phr.} A treacherous action; an unfair act. •/That was a dirty trick John played on Mary when he ran away with her younger sister./
[disappear] or [evaporate] or [vanish into thin air] {v. phr.} To disappear quickly, without leaving a trace. •/Money seems to disappear into thin air these days./ •/Jack just vanished into thin air before the meeting had started./
[discretion] See: THROW CAUTION TO THE WINDS also THROW DISCRETION TO THE WINDS.
[discretion is the better part of valor]{literary} When you are in danger or trouble, good sense helps more than foolish risks; it is better to be careful than to be foolishly brave. — A proverb. •/When you are facing a man with a knife, discretion is the better part of valor./
[dish] See: COVERED-DISH SUPPER.
[dish of tea] See: CUP OF TEA.
[dish out]{v.} 1. To serve (food) from a large bowl or plate. •/Ann’s mother asked her to dish out the beans./ 2. {informal} To give in large quantities. •/That teacher dished out so much homework that her pupils complained to their parents./ 3. {slang} To scold; treat or criticize roughly. •/Jim likes to dish it out, but he hates to take it./ Compare: HAND OUT.
[dish the dirt]{v. phr.}, {slang} To gossip, to spread rumors about others. •/Stop dishing the dirt. Sally, it’s really quite unbecoming!/
[disk jockey]{n.} An employee at a radio station or in a dance club who puts on the records that will be broadcast. •/Jack is working as a disk jockey at the local FM station./
[dispose of]{v.} 1. To throw away; give away, or sell; get rid of. •/John’s father wants to dispose of their old house and buy a new one./ •/The burglars had difficulty in disposing of the stolen jewelry./ 2. To finish. with; settle; complete. •/The boys were hungry, and quickly disposed of their dinner./ •/The committee soon disposed of all its business./ 3. To destroy or defeat. •/The champion disposed of the other fighter by knocking him out in the second round./ •/Our planes disposed of two enemy planes./
[dispute] See: IN DISPUTE.
[distance] See: KEEP AT A DISTANCE, KEEP ONE’S DISTANCE.
[ditch] See: LAST DITCH,
[dive] See: GO INTO A TAIL SPIN or GO INTO A NOSE DIVE.
[do] See: HAVE DONE, HAVE DONE WITH, HAVE TO DO WITH, LET GEORGE DO IT, LET ONE’S RIGHT HAND KNOW WHAT ONE’S LEFT HAND IS DOING, LET’S DON’T, MAKE DO, WELL-TO-DO, WHAT’S UP or WHAT’S DOING.
[do a double take]{v. phr.}, {informal} To look again in surprise; suddenly understand what is seen or said. •/John did a double take when he saw Bill in girls' clothes./ •/When Evvie said she was quitting school, I did a double take./
[do a job on]{v. phr.}, {slang} To damage badly; do harm to; make ugly or useless. •/The baby did a job on Mary’s book./ •/Jane cut her hair and really did a job on herself./
[Doakes] See: JOE DOAKES.
[do a stretch]{v. phr.} To spend time in jail serving one’s sentence. •/Jake has disappeared from view for a while; he is doing a stretch for dope smuggling./
[do away with]{v.} 1. To put an end to; stop. •/The teachers want to do away with cheating in their school./ •/The city has decided to do away with overhead wires./ Compare: RID OF. 2. To kill; murder. •/The robbers did away with their victims./
[do by someone or something]{v.} To deal with; treat. — Used with a qualifying adverb between "do" and "by". •/Andy’s employer always does very well by him./
[do credit] or [do credit to] also ({informal}) [do proud] To add to or improve the reputation, good name, honor, or esteem of; show (you) deserve praise. •/Your neat appearance does you credit./ •/Mary’s painting would do credit to a real artist./
[doctor] See: JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED.
[doctor up]{v. phr.} To meddle with; adulterate. •/You don’t have to doctor up this basic salad with a lot of extras as I am trying to lose weight./
[do duty for]{v. phr.} To substitute for; act in place of. •/The bench often does duty for a table./
