[get mixed up] See: MIXED UP.
[get next to] See: BE CLOSE TO.
[get off]{v.} 1. To come down from or out of. •/The ladder fell, and Tom couldn’t get off the roof./ •/The bus stopped, the door opened, and Father got off./ 2. To take off. •/Joe’s mother told him to get his wet clothes off./ 3. To get away; leave. •/Mr. Johnson goes fishing whenever he can get off from work./ •/William got off early in the morning./ 4. To go free. •/Mr. Andrews got off with a $5 fine when he was caught passing a stop sign./ 5. To make (something) go. •/The halfback got off a lung pass./ •/John got a letter off to his grandmother./ 6. To tell. •/The governor got off several jokes at the beginning of his speech./
[get off cheap]{v. phr.} 1. To receive a lesser punishment than one deserves. •/Ted could have been sentenced to fifteen years in prison; he got off cheap by receiving a reduced sentence of five years./ 2. To pay less than the normal price. •/If you had your car repaired for only $75, you got off cheap./ Contrast: GET AWAY WITH.
[get off easy]{v. phr.}, {informal} To have only a little trouble; escape something worse. •/The children who missed school to go to the fair got off easy./ •/John got off easy because it was the first time he had taken his father’s car without permission./
[get off it] See: COME OFF IT.
[get off one’s back]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {colloquial} To stop criticizing or nagging someone. •/"Get off my back! Can’t you see how busy I am?"/
[get off one’s case] or [back] or [tail] {v. phr.} To stop bothering and constantly checking up on someone; quit hounding one. •/"Get off my case!" he cried angrily. "You’re worse than the cops."/ Contrast: ON ONE’S CASE.
[get off one’s chest] See: OFF ONE’S CHEST.
[get off one’s tail]{v. phr.}, {slang} To get busy, to start working. •/OK you guys! Get off your tails and get cracking!/
[get off on the wrong foot]{v. phr.} To make a bad start; begin with a mistake. •/Peggy got off on the wrong foot with her new teacher; she chewed gum in class and the teacher didn’t like it./
[get off the ground]{v. phr.}, {informal} To make a successful beginning; get a good start; go ahead; make progress. •/Our plans for a party didn’t get off the ground because no one could come./
[get off the hook] See: OFF THE HOOK.
[get off to a flying] or [running start] {v. phr.} To have a promising or successful beginning. •/Ron got off to a flying start in business school when he got nothing but A’s./
[get on] or [get onto] {v.}, {informal} 1. To speak to (someone) roughly about something he did wrong; blame; scold. •/Mrs. Thompson got on the girls for not keeping their rooms clean./ •/The fans got on the new shortstop after he made several errors./ Syn.: JUMP ON. 2. See: GET ALONG. 3. To grow older. •/Work seems harder these days; I’m getting on, you know./
[get one’s] See: GET WHAT’S COMING TO ONE.
[get one’s back up]{v. phr.}, {informal} To become or make angry or stubborn. •/Fred got his back up when I said he was wrong./ •/Our criticisms of his actions just got his hack up./
[get one’s brains fried]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {also used colloquially} 1. To sit in the sun and sunbathe for an excessive length of time. •/Newcomers to Hawaii should be warned not to sit in the sun too long — they’ll get their brains fried./ 2. To get high on drugs. •/He can’t make a coherent sentence anymore — he’s got his brains fried./
[get one’s dander up] or [get one’s Irish up] {v. phr.} To become or make angry. •/The boy got his dander up because he couldn’t go to the store./ •/The children get the teacher’s dander up when they make a lot of noise./ Compare: BLOW A FUSE.
[get one’s ducks in a row]{v. phr.}, {informal} To get everything ready. •/The scoutmaster told the boys to get their ducks in a row before they went to camp./ •/Mr. Brown got his ducks in a row for his trip./ Compare: LINE UP.
[get one’s feet on the ground] See: FEET ON THE GROUND.
[get one’s feet wet]{v. phr.}, {informal} To begin; do something for the first time. •/The party was at Bill’s house and when Ruth and I got there the party had already started. "Jump right in and don’t be afraid to get your feet wet," said Bill./ •/"It’s not hard to dance once you get your feet wet," said the teacher./
[get one’s fingers burned] See: BURN ONE’S FINGERS.
[get one’s foot in the door] See: FOOT IN THE DOOR.
[get one’s goat]{v. phr.}, {informal} To make a person disgusted or angry. •/The boy’s laziness all summer got his father’s goat./ •/The slow service at the cafe got Mr. Robinson’s goat./
[get one’s hands on] See: LAY ONE’S HANDS ON.
[get one’s number] or [have one’s number] {v. phr.}, {informal} To find out or know what kind of person somebody is. •/The boys soon had the new student’s number./ •/The girls got their new roommate’s number the first week of school./
[get one’s rear in gear]{v. phr.}, {slang} To hurry up, to get going. •/I’m gonna have to get my rear in gear./
[get one’s second wind] See: SECOND WIND.
[get one’s teeth into] or [sink one’s teeth into] {v. phr.}, {informal} To have something real or solid to think about; go to work on seriously; struggle with. •/After dinner, John got his teeth into the algebra lesson./ •/Frank chose a subject for his report that he could sink his teeth into./
[get one’s tongue] See: CAT GET ONE’S TONGUE.
[get on in years] See: ALONG IN YEARS.
[get on one’s good side]{v. phr.} To gain the favor of someone; flatter or please another. •/A clever lobbyist knows how to get on the good side of both the House of Representatives and the Senate./
[get on one’s nerves]{v. phr.} To make you nervous. •/John’s noisy eating habits get on your nerves./ •/Children get on their parents' nerves by asking so many questions./
[get on the ball] See: ON THE BALL.
[get on the bandwagon] See: JUMP ON THE BANDWAGON.
[get on the good side of] See: ON THE GOOD SIDE OF.
[get on the stick]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {informal} To get moving; to stop being idle and to start working vigorously. •/All right, man, let’s get on the stick!/ Compare: ON THE BALL, GET OFF ONE’S TAIL.
[get on to one]{v. phr.} To figure someone out; understand what someone else is up to. •/The FBI is on to Jim’s secret trading with the enemy./
[get one wrong]{v. phr.} To misinterpret; misunderstand another. •/Don’t get me wrong; I didn 't mean to criticize you./
[get] or [have one’s say] See: DAY IN COURT.
[get out]{v. phr.} 1. Leave or depart. •/"Get out of here!" the teacher shouted angrily to the misbehaving student./ •/"Driver, I want to get out by the opera."/ 2. To publish; produce. •/Our press is getting out two new books on ecology./ 3. To escape; leak out. •/We must not let the news about this secret invention get out./
[get out in the open] See: OUT IN THE OPEN.
[get out of]{v. phr.} 1. To be excused from; avoid. •/He got out of jury duty because of his illness./ 2. To gain from; extract from. •/Tom complained that he didn’t get anything out of the course on grammar./
[get out of the way] See: OUT OF THE WAY.
[get out of hand] See: OUT OF HAND, OUT OF CONTROL.
[get over]{v.} 1. To finish. •/Tom worked fast to get his lesson over./ 2. To pass over. •/It was hard to get over the muddy road./ 3. To get well from; recover from. •/The man returned to work after he got over his illness./ 4. To accept or forget (a sorrow or suprise.) •/It is hard to get over the death of a member of your family./ •/We could not get over the speed of Mary’s recovery from pneumonia./
[get rattled]{v. phr.} To become confused, overexcited, or nervous. •/The thief got so rattled when he saw the police following him that he drove his car into a ditch./
[get rid of] See: RID OF.
[get set]{v. phr.} To get ready to start. •/The runners got set./ •/The seniors are getting set for the commencement./
[get short shrift] See: SHORT SHRIFT.
[get something out of one’s system]{v. phr.} 1. To eliminate some food item or drug from one’s body. •/John will feel much better once he gets the addictive sleeping pills out of his system./ 2. To free oneself of yearning for something in order to liberate oneself from an unwanted preoccupation. •/Ted bought a new cabin cruiser that he’d been wanting for a long time, and he says he is glad that he’s finally got it out of his system./
[get something over with] See: OVER WITH(1).
[get something straight]{v. phr.} To clearly comprehend an issue. •/"Let me get this straight," Burt said. "You want $85,000 for this miserable shack?"/
[get stoned]{v. phr.}, {slang} To become very drunk or high on some drug. •/Poor Fred was so stoned that Tom had to carry him up the stairs./ Compare: THREE SHEETS TO THE WIND.
[get straight] See: GO STRAIGHT, GO LEGIT.
[get stuck]{v. phr.} 1. To be victimized; be cheated. •/The Smiths sure got stuck when they bought that secondhand car; it broke down just two days after they got it./ 2. To become entrapped or embroiled in a physical, emotional, or social obstacle so as to be unable to free oneself. •/Last winter our car got stuck in the snow and we had to walk home./ •/Poor Jeff is stuck in a terrible job./ •/Tom and Jane are stuck in a bad marriage./
[get (all) the breaks]{v. phr.} To be fortunate; have luck. •/That fellow gets all the breaks! He’s been working here only six months, and he’s already been promoted to vice president!/
[get the air] See: GET THE BOUNCE(1).
[get the ax]{v. phr.}, {slang} 1. To be fired from a job. •/Poor Joe got the ax at the office yesterday./ 2. To be dismissed from school for improper conduct, such as cheating. •/Joe got caught cheating on his final exam and he got the ax./ 3. To have a quarrel with one’s sweetheart or steady ending in a termination of the relationship. •/Joe got the ax from Betsie — they won’t see each other again./
[get the ball rolling] or [set the ball rolling] or [start the ball rolling] {informal} To start an activity or action; make a beginning; begin. •/George started the ball rolling at the party by telling a new joke./ Compare: KEEP THE BALL ROLLING.
[get the better of] or [get the best of] {v. phr.} 1. To win over, beat; defeat. •/Our team got the best of the visitors in the last quarter./ •/George got the better of Robert in a game of checkers./ •/When the opposing player fouled John, John let his anger get the better of his good sense and hit the boy back./ •/Dave wanted to study till midnight, but sleepiness got the best of him./ Compare: RUN AWAY WITH(1). 2. or [have the best of] or [have the better of] To win or be ahead in (something); gain most from (something.) •/Bill traded an old bicycle tire for a horn; he got the best of that deal./ •/Our team had the best of it today, but they may lose the game tomorrow./ •/The champion had all the better of it in the last part of the fight./ Contrast: GET THE WORST OF.
[get the boot] or [the gate] or [the sack] See: GET THE AXE.
