[gun for]{v.}, {informal} 1. To hunt for with a gun; look hard for a chance to harm or defeat. •/The cowboy is gunning for the man who stole his horse./ •/Bob is gunning for me because I got a higher mark than he did./ 2. To try very hard to get. •/The man is gunning for first prize in the golf tournament./
[gung-ho]{adj.}, {colloquial} Enthusiastic, full of eagerness in an uncritical or unsophisticated manner. •/Suzie is all gung-ho on equal rights for women, but fails to see the consequences./
[gut feeling]{n. phr.} An instinctive reaction. •/I have a gut feeling that they will never get married in spite of all they say./
[gut reaction]{n. phr.} A mental or physical response that springs from one’s depths. •/My gut reaction was to get out of here as fast as possible./
[gut talk]{n. phr.} Sincere, honest talk. •/We admire people who speak gut talk and tell exactly what they think and feet./
[guts] See: HATE ONE’S GUTS, HAVE THE GUTS TO DO SOMETHING.
[guy] See: REGULAR GUY, WISE GUY.
[hackle] See: RAISE HACKLES or RAISE ONE’S HACKLES.
[had as soon] or [had as lief] See: AS SOON.
[had better] or [had best] {informal} Should; must. •/I had better leave now, or I’ll be late./ •/If you want to stay out of trouble, you had best not make any mistakes. / •/Jim decided he had better do his homework instead of playing ball./
[had rather] or [had sooner] {v.} To choose to (do one thing instead of another thing); like better to; would prefer to. — Used with an infinitive without "to". •/My aunt invited me to the movies, but I said I had rather go on a picnic with the girls./ •/I had sooner live in the city than on a farm./
[hall] See: WITHIN CALL or WITHIN HAIL.
[hail-fellow-well-met(1)]{adj. phr.} Talking easily and in a friendly way to everyone you meet. •/John won the election as class president because he was hail-fellow-well-met./
[hail-fellow-well-met(2)]{n. phr.} A good friend and companion; buddy; pal. •/John just moved to town but he and the boys in the neighborhood are already hail-fellows-well-met./
[hail from]{v.}, {informal} To have your home in; come from; be from; especially, to have been born and raised in. •/Mrs. Gardner hails from Mississippi./ •/Mr. Brown and Mr. White are old friends because they both hail from the same town./
[hair] See: CURL ONE’S HAIR, GET GRAY HAIR or GET GRAY, GIVE GRAY HAIR, HANG BY A THREAD or HANG BY A HAIR, HIDE OR HAIR or HIDE NOR HAIR, IN ONE’S HAIR, LET ONE’S HAIR DOWN, OUT OF ONE’S HAIR, SPLIT HAIRS, TEAR ONE’S HAIR.
[haircut place]{n.}, {slang}, {citizen’s band radio jargon} Bridge or overpass with tight clearance. •/Are we going to make it in that haircut place?/
[hairdo]{n.} Style or manner of arranging, combing, or wearing one’s hair. •/"How do you like my new hairdo?" Jane asked, as she left the beauty parlor./
[hair stand on end]{informal} The hair of your head rises stiffly upwards as a sign or result of great fright or horror. •/When he heard the strange cry, his hair stood on end./ •/The sight of the dead man made his hair stand on end./ Compare: BLOOD RUN COLD, HEART IN ONE’S MOUTH, HEART STAND STILL, JUMP OUT OF ONE’S SKIN, SPINE-CHILLING.
[hale and hearty]{adj. phr.} In very good health; well and strong. •/Grandfather will be 80 years old tomorrow, but he is hale and hearty./ •/That little boy looks hale and hearty, as if he is never sick./
[half] See: GO HALVES, GO OFF HALF-COCKED also GO OFF AT HALF COCK, IN HALF, SIX OF ONE AND HALF-A-DOZEN OF THE OTHER, TIME AND A HALF, TOO-BY HALF.
[half a chance] or [a half chance] {n.} An opportunity; a reasonable chance. •/Just give yourself half a chance and you will quickly get used to your new job./
[half a loaf is better than none] or [half a loaf is better than no bread] Part of what we want or need is better than nothing. — A proverb. •/Albert wanted two dollars for shoveling snow from the sidewalk but the lady would only give him a dollar. And he said that half a loaf is better than none./ Compare: BETTER LATE THAN NEVER.
[half a mind] also [half a notion] {n. phr.}, {informal} A wish or plan that you have not yet decided to act on; a thought of possibly doing something. — Used after "have" or "with" and before "to" and an infinitive. •/I have half a mind to stop studying and walk over to the brook./ •/Jerry went home with half a mind to telephone Betty./
[half-and-half(1)]{adj.} As much one thing as the other. •/We asked the coach if more boys than girls were interested in debating, and he said it was about half-and-half./ •/The show last night was neither very good nor very poor — just half-and-half./ Compare: FIFTY-FIFTY.
[half-and-half(2)]{n.} A mixture of milk and cream in equal parts, used with cereal or coffee. •/John uses half-and-half with his cereal, but his wife, who is dieting, uses milk./
[half an eye]{n. phr.} A slight glance; a quick look. •/The substitute teacher could see with half an eye that she was going to have trouble with the class./ •/While Mary was cooking she kept half an eye on the baby to see that he didn’t get into mischief./
[half bad] See: NOT BAD.
[half-baked]{adj.}, {informal} Not thought out or studied thoroughly; not worth considering or accepting. •/We wish Tom would not take our time at meetings to offer his half-baked ideas./ •/We cannot afford to put the government in the hands of people with half-baked plans./
[half-hearted]{adj.} Lacking enthusiasm or interest. •/Phil made several half-hearted attempts to learn word processing, but we could see that he didn’t really like it./
[half-holiday]{n.} A day on which you get out of school or work in the afternoon. •/The principal said that Tuesday would be a half-holiday./
[half the battle]{n. phr.} A large part of the work. •/When you write an essay for class, making the outline is half the battle./ •/To see your faults and decide to change is half the battle of self-improvement./
[half-time]{n.} A rest period in the middle of certain games. •/I saw Henry at the football game and I went over and talked to him at half-time./ •/The pep squad put on a drill at half-time when we played basketball with our old rivals./
[halfway] See: GO HALFWAY or MEET ONE HALF-WAY or GO HALFWAY TO MEET ONE.
[halt] See: CALL A HALT, GRIND TO A HALT.
[ham actor]{n. phr.}, {slang} An untalented actor; someone who tries so hard to act that his performance becomes foolishly exaggerated. •/Fred is a ham actor who, instead of memorizing his lines, keeps moving around in a ridiculous way./
[ham-handed]{adj.}, {slang} 1. Having very large hands. •/Pete is a big, ham-handed man who used to be a football player./ 2. See: HEAVY-HANDED.
[ham it up]{v. phr.}, {slang} To do more than look natural in acting a part; pretend too much; exaggerate. •/When Tom told the teacher he was too sick to do homework, he really hammed it up./ •/The old-fashioned movies are funny to us because the players hammed it up./ Compare: LAY IT ON.
[hammer] See: GO AT IT HAMMER AND TONGS, UNDER THE HAMMER.
[hammer and tongs]{adv. phr.} Violently. •/Mr. and Mrs. Smith have been at it all day, hammer and tongs./
[hammer at] or [hammer away at] {v.} 1. To work steadily at; keep at. •/That lesson is not easy, but hammer away at it and you will get it right./ 2. To talk about again and again; emphasize. •/The speaker hammered at his opponent’s ideas./
[hammer out]{v.} 1. To write or produce by hard work. •/The President sat at his desk till midnight hammering out his speech for the next day./ 2. To remove, change, or work out by discussion and debate; debate and agree on (something). •/Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Green have hammered out their difference of opinion./ •/The club members have hammered out an agreement between the two groups./ Compare: IRON OUT.
[Hancock] See: JOHN HANCOCK or JOHN HENRY.
[hand] See: AT HAND, BIRD IN THE HAND IS WORTH TWO IN THE BUSH, BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS ONE, CLEAN HANDS, DIRTY ONE’S HANDS, EAT OUT OF ONE’S HAND, FORCE ONE’S HAND, FREE HAND, FROM HAND TO HAND, GLAD HAND, HAM-HANDED, HANG HEAVY or HANG HEAVY ON ONE’S HANDS, HAT IN HAND, HAVE A HAND IN, HAVE ONE’S HANDS FULL, HEAVY-HANDED, IN HAND, JOIN FORCES or JOIN HANDS, KEEP ONE’S HAND IN, LAY HANDS ON, LAY ONE’S HANDS ON or GET ONE’S HAND ON or PUT ONE’S HAND ON, LEND A HAND or GIVE A HAND or BEAR A HAND, LET ONE’S LEFT HAND KNOW WHAT ONE’S RIGHT HAND IS DOING, LIFT A FINGER or LIFT A HAND also RAISE A HAND, LIVE FROM HAND TO MOUTH, MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK, OFF ONE’S HANDS, ON HAND, ON ONE’S HANDS, ON THE OTHER HAND, OUT OF HAND, PLAY INTO ONE’S HANDS, PUT ONE’S HAND TO or SET ONE’S HAND TO or TURN ONE’S HAND TO, PUT ONE’S HAND TO THE PLOW, ROB THE TILL or HAVE ONE’S HAND IN THE TILL, SECTION HAND, SIT ON ONE’S HANDS, TAKE ONE’S LIFE IN ONE’S HANDS, TAKE THE LAW INTO ONE’S OWN HANDS, THROW UP ONE’S HANDS, THROW UP ONE’S HANDS IN HORROR, TIE ONE’S HANDS, TRY ONE’S HAND, UPPER HAND or WHIP HAND, WASH ONE’S HANDS OF.
[hand and foot]{adv. phr.} 1. So that the hands and feet cannot be used. — Used with "bind" or a synonym. •/The robbers bound him hand and foot and left him on the floor./ 2. So that no tree action is possible. — Used with "bind" or a synonym. •/If Mr. Jones signs that paper, he will be bound hand and foot./ 3. See: WAIT ON HAND AND FOOT.
[hand and glove] See: HAND IN GLOVE.
[hand down]{v.} To arrange to give or leave after, death. •/Joe will have his father’s gold watch because it is handed down in the family./ •/In old times, property was usually handed down to the oldest son at his father’s death./ Compare: PASS ON.
[hand in] See: TURN IN(1).
[hand in glove] or [hand and glove] {adj.} or {adv. phr.} Very close or friendly; working together; in very close agreement or cooperation, especially for bad purposes. •/The Navy and the Coast Guard work hand and glove, especially in war time./ •/Judges and others in high office sometimes are hand in glove with gangsters to cheat and steal./
[hand in hand]{adv. phr.} 1. Holding hands. •/Bob and Mary walked along hand in hand in the park./ Compare: ARM IN ARM. 2. Accompanying each other; together; closely connected. — Used with "go". •/Ignorance and poverty often go hand in hand./ •/Selfishness and unhappiness often go hand in hand./
[hand it to]{v. phr.}, {informal} To admit the excellence of; give credit or praise to. •/You have to hand it to Jim; he is very careful and hard-working in all he does./ •/The teacher said, "I hand it to Jane for the way she managed the Music Club."/ Syn.: TAKE OFF ONE’S HAT TO.
[handle] See: FLY OFF THE HANDLE.
[handle to one’s name]{n. phr.}, {slang} A special title used before your name. •/Jim’s father has a handle to his name. He is Major Watson./ •/Bob came back from the University with a handle to his name and was called Dr. Jones./
[handle with gloves] or [handle with kid gloves] {v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To treat very gently and carefully. •/An atomic bomb is handled with kid gloves./ 2. To treat with great tact and diplomacy. •/Aunt Jane is so irritable that we have to treat her with kid gloves./
[hand-me-down]{n.}, {informal} Something given away after another person has no more use for it; especially, used clothing. •/Alice had four older sisters, so all her clothes were hand-me-downs./
[hand off]{v.} To hand the football to another back. •/The quarterback faked to the fullback and handed off to the halfback./
