[ghost-writer]{n.} A writer whose identity remains a secret and who writes for another who receives all the credit. •/It is rumored that John Smith’s best-selling novel was written by a ghost-writer./
[gift of gab] or [gift of the gab] {n. phr.}, {informal} Skill in talking; ability to make interesting talk that makes people believe you. •/Many men get elected because of their gift of gab./ •/Mr. Taylor’s gift of gab helped him get a good job./
[gild the lily] also [paint the lily] {v. phr.} To add unnecessarily to something already beautiful or good enough. •/To talk about a beautiful sunset is to gild the lily./ •/For the beautiful girl to use makeup would be to gild the lily./ •/Frank’s father is a millionaire, but Frank gilds the lily by saying he is a billionaire./
[gill] See: FED TO THE GILLS at FED UP, GREEN AROUND THE GILLS or PALE AROUND THE GILLS.
[gilt-edged]{adj.} Of the highest quality. •/Government saving bonds are considered by many to be a gilt-edged investment./
[gin mill]{n.}, {slang} A bar where liquor is sold. •/Rush Street in Chicago is full of gin mills./ Syn.: SPEAKEASY.
[G.I.] or ["government issue"] {n.} An American soldier. •/After the war many GI’s were able to get a free education./
[gird one’s loins]{v. phr.}, {literary} To prepare for action; get ready for a struggle or hard work. •/David girded up his loins and went out to meet the giant Goliath./ •/Seniors must gird their loins for the battles of life./
[girl Friday]{n.} A very dependable and helpful female office worker; especially a secretary. •/Miss Johnson is the manager’s girl Friday./ •/There was an advertisement in the newspaper for a girl Friday./
[girl friend]{n.}, {informal} 1. A female friend or companion. •/Jane is spending the night at her girlfriend’s house./ 2. A boy’s steady girl; the girl or woman partner in a love affair; girl; sweetheart. •/John is taking his girl friend to the dance./ Contrast: BOYFRIEND.
[give] See: SILENCE GIVES CONSENT.
[give a buzz] See: GIVE A RING.
[give a cold shoulder] See: COLD SHOULDER.
[give a hand] See: LEND A HAND.
[give a hang] or [care a hang] {v. phr.}, {informal} To have any interest or liking; care. — Used also with other words in the place of "hang", such as "damn", "rap", "straw"; usually used in the negative. •/You can quit helping me if you want to. I don’t give a hang./ •/Some people don’t care a rap about sports./ •/Bruce never goes to the dances; he does not care a straw about dancing./
[give a hard time]{v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To give trouble by what you do or say; complain. •/Jane gave her mother a hard time on the bus by fighting with her sister and screaming./ •/Don’t give me a hard time, George. I’m doing my best on this job./ Compare: GIVE FITS. 2. To get in the way by teasing or playing; kid. •/Don’t give me a hard time, boys. I’m trying to study./ Compare: ACT UP, IN ONE’S HAIR.
[give-and-take]{n. phr.} 1. A sharing; giving and receiving back and forth between people; a giving up by people on different sides of part of what each one wants so that they can agree. •/Jimmy is too selfish. He has no notion of give-and-take with the other children but wants everything for himself./ •/There has to be give-and-take between two countries before they can be friends./ Compare: LIVE AND LET LIVE. 2. Friendly talking or argument back and forth. Friendly sharing of ideas which may not agree; also: an exchange of teasing remarks. •/After the meeting there was a lot of give-and-take about plans for the dance./
[give an ear to] or [lend an ear to] {v. phr.}, {literary} To listen to. •/Children should give an ear to their parents' advice./ •/The king lent an ear to the complaints of his people./
[give a pain]{v. phr.}, {slang} To make (you) disgusted; annoy. •/Ann’s laziness gives her mother a pain./ •/John’s bad manners give his teacher a pain./ Compare: PAIN IN THE NECK.
[give as good as one gets]{v. phr.} To be able to give back blow for blow; defend yourself well in a fight or argument. •/The Americans gave as good as they got in the war with the English./ •/George gave as good as he got in his fight with the older boy./ Compare: EYE FOR AN EYE, GAME AT WHICH TWO CAN PLAY.
[give away]{v.} 1. To give as a present. •/Mrs. Jones has several kittens to give away./ 2. To hand over (a bride) to her husband at the wedding. •/Mr. Jackson gave away his daughter./ 3. To let (a secret) become known; tell the secret of. •/The little boy gave away his hiding place when he coughed./ •/Mary said she didn’t care anything about John, but her blushing face gave her away./ Compare: SPILL THE BEANS, LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG. 4. See: GIVE ONESELF AWAY.
[giveaway] or [dead giveaway] {n.} (stress on "give") 1. An open secret. •/By mid-afternoon, it was a dead giveaway who the new boss would be./ 2. A forced or sacrifice sale at which items are sold for much less than their market value. •/The Simpson’s garage sale was actually a big giveaway./ 3. A gift; something one doesn’t have to pay for. •/The tickets to the concert were a giveaway./
[give a wide berth]{v. phr.} To keep away from; keep a safe distance from. •/Mary gave the barking dog a wide berth./ •/Jack gave a wide berth to the fallen electric wires./ •/After Tom got Bob into trouble. Bob gave him a wide berth./
[give birth to]{v. phr.} 1. To bear live offspring. •/The mother gave birth to twin baby girls./ 2. To bring about; create; occasion. •/Beethoven gave birth to a new kind of symphony./
[give chase]{v. phr.} To chase or run after someone or something. •/The dog saw a rabbit and gave chase./ •/The policeman gave chase to the man who robbed the bank./
[give color to] or [lend color to] {v. phr.} To make (something) seem true or likely. •/The boy’s torn clothes gave color to his story of a fight./ •/The way the man ate lent color to his story of near starvation./
[give credence to]{v. phr.} 1. To be willing to believe that something is true. •/Larry gave credence to the rumor that Fred used to be a convict./ •/Give no credence to the rumor that our state is bankrupt; nothing could be farther from the truth./
[give fits]{v. phr.}{informal} To upset; bother very much. •/Paul’s higher grades give John fits./ •/The short guard gave his tall opponent fits./ Compare: GIVE A HARD TIME.
[give forth]{v. phr.} To emit; produce. •/When the gong was struck it gave forth a rich, resounding sound./
[give free rein to] See: GIVE REIN TO.
[give gray hair]{v. phr.}, {informal} To make (someone) anxious, confused, or worried. •/The traffic problem is enough to give a policeman gray hairs./ Compare: GET GRAY HAIR.
[give ground]{v. phr.} To go backward under attack; move back; retreat. •/After fighting for a while the troops slowly began to give ground./ •/Although they were outnumbered by the enemy, the men refused to give ground./ Compare: DRAW BACK, DROP BACK, LOSE GROUND. Contrast: HOLD ONE’S GROUND, STAND OFF, STAND ONE’S GROUND, STAND PAT, STAVE OFF.
[give her the gun] See: GIVE IT THE GUN.
[give in]{v.} To stop fighting or arguing and do as the other person wants; give someone his own way; stop opposing someone. •/Mother kept inviting Mrs. Smith to stay for lunch, and finally she gave in./ •/After Billy proved that he could ride a bicycle safely, his father gave in to him and bought him one./ Compare: GIVE UP, SAY UNCLE.
[give it some thought]{v. phr.} To wait and see; consider something after some time has elapsed. •/"Will you buy my car?" Fred asked. "Let me give it some thought," Jim answered./ Contrast: SLEEP ON.
[give it the gun] or [give her the gun] {v. phr.}, {slang} To gun or speed up a motor; make a car, airplane, or something driven by a motor go faster. •/The race driver gave it the gun./ •/The speedboat pilot gave her the gun./ Compare: STEP ON IT.
[give it to]{v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To give punishment to; beat. •/The crowd yelled for the wrestler to give it to his opponent./ Syn.: LET HAVE IT. 2. To scold. •/Jerry’s mother gave it to him for coming home late./ Compare: GIVE A PIECE OF ONE’S MIND, LACE INTO. Contrast: CATCH IT.
[give it to one straight]{v. phr.} To be direct; be frank. •/I asked the doctor to give it to me straight how long I have to live./
[give no quarter]{v. phr.} To be ruthless and show no mercy. •/The enemy soldiers gave no quarter and shot all the prisoners./
[give notice]{v. phr.} To inform an employer, an employee, a landlord, or a tenant of the termination of a contractual agreement of service or tenancy. •/Max gave notice at the bank where he was working./ •/Sally was given notice by her landlord./
[given to]{adj. phr.} Having a tendency to; addicted to. •/Phil is given to telling fantastic tales about his chateau in France./
[give off]{v.} To send out; let out; put forth. •/Rotten eggs give off a bad smell./ •/Burning leaves give off thick smoke./ Syn.: GIVE OUT(2).
[give of oneself]{v. phr.}, {literary} To give your time and effort to help others. •/You should give of yourself sometimes./ •/During World War II, Governor Baldwin gave of himself by sweeping the halls of a hospital every afternoon./
[give one a dressing down] See: DRESSING DOWN.
[give one a free hand] See: FREE HAND.
[give one a (good) going-over] See: GO OVER(1).
[give one a lift]{v. phr.} 1. To give someone a ride. •/Jack gave me a lift in his new car./ 2. To comfort someone. •/Talking to my doctor yesterday gave me a lift./
[give one an inch, and he will take a mile] If you give some people a little or yield anything, they will want more and more; some people are never satisfied. •/I gave Billy a bite of candy and he wanted more and more. If you give him an inch, he’ll take a mile./ •/The counselor said to Jack, "No, I can’t let you get a haircut until Saturday. It’s against the rules, and if I give an inch, someone will take a mile."/
[give one a piece of one’s mind]{v. phr.}, {informal} To scold angrily; say what you really think to (someone). •/Mr. Allen gave the other driver a piece of his mind./ •/The sergeant gave the soldier a piece of his mind for not cleaning his boots./ Syn.: TELL OFF. Compare: BAWL OUT, DRESS DOWN, GIVE IT TO, TONGUE LASHING.
[give one a ring] also {informal} [give a buzz] To call on the telephone. •/Mrs. Jacobs promised to give her husband a ring in the afternoon./ •/Alice will give her friend a buzz tonight./
[give one enough rope and he will hang himself]{informal} Give a bad person enough time and freedom to do as he pleases, and he may make a bad mistake or get into trouble and be caught. — A proverb. •/Johnny is always stealing and hasn’t been caught. But give him enough rope and he’ll hang himself./ — Often used in a short form, "give one enough rope". •/Mother didn’t know who robbed the cookie jar, but she thought she could catch him if she gave him enough rope./
[give one pause]{v. phr.} To astonish someone; cause one to stop and think. •/"Your remark gives me pause," Tom said, when Jane called him an incurable gambler./
[give one short shrift] See: SHORT SHRIFT.
[give oneself airs]{v. phr.} To act proud; act vain. •/Mary gave herself airs when she wore her new dress./ •/John gave himself airs when he won first prize./
