[hold out an olive branch] See: BURY THE HATCHET.
[holdover]{n.} 1. A successful movie or theater production that plays longer than originally planned. •/Because of its great popularity. Star Wars was a holdover in most movie theaters./ 2. A reservation not used at the lime intended, but used later. •/They kept my seat at the opera as a holdover because I am a patron./
[hold over]{v.} 1. To remain or keep in office past the end of the term. •/The city treasurer held over for six months when the new treasurer died suddenly./ •/The new President held the members of the Cabinet over for some time before appointing new members./ 2. To extend the engagement of; keep longer. •/The theater held over the feature film for another two weeks./ 3. To delay action on; to postpone: to defer. •/The directors held over their decision until they could get more information./
[hold still]{v. phr.} To remain motionless. •/"Hold still," the dentist said. "This won’t hurt you at all."/
[hold the bag]{v. phr.} To be made liable for or victimized. •/We went out to dinner together but when it was time to pay I was left holding the bag./
[hold the fort]{v. phr.} 1. To defend a fort successfully; fight off attackers. •/The little group held the fort for days until help came./ 2. {informal} To keep a position against opposing forces. •/Friends of civil liberties held the fort during a long debate./ 3. {informal} to keep service or operations going •/It was Christmas Eve, and a few workers held the fort in the office./ •/Mother and Father went out and told the children to hold the fort./
[hold the line]{v. phr.} To keep a situation or trouble from getting worse; hold steady; prevent a setback or loss. •/The mayor held the line on taxes./ •/The company held the line on employment./
[hold the stage][v. phr.] 1. To continue to be produced and to attract audiences. •/"Peter Pan" holds the stage year after year at its annual Christmas showing in London./ 2. To be active in a group; attract attention. •/We had only an hour to discuss the question and Mr. Jones held the stage for most of it./ •/Jane likes to hold the stage at any party or meeting, so she does and says anything./
[hold to] See: HOLD ON TO.
[hold true] or [hold good] {v. phr.} To remain true. •/It has always held true that man cannot live without laws./ •/Bob is a good boy and that holds true of Jim./
[holdup]{n.} 1. Robbery. •/John fell victim to a highway holdup./ 2. A delay, as on a crowded highway. •/Boy we’re late! What’s causing this holdup?/
[hold up]{v.} 1. To raise; lift. •/John held up his hand./ 2. To support; hear; carry. •/The chair was too weak to hold up Mrs. Smith./ 3. To show; call attention to; exhibit. •/The teacher held up excellent models of composition for her class to imitate./ 4. To check; stop; delay. •/The wreck held up traffic on the railroad’s main line tracks./ 5. {informal} To rob at gunpoint. •/Masked men held up the bank./ 6. To keep one’s courage or spirits up; remain calm; keep control of oneself. •/The grieving mother held up for her children’s sake./ 7. To remain good; not get worse. •/Sales held up well./ •/Our team’s luck held up and they won the game./ •/The weather held up and the game was played./ 8. To prove true. •/The police were doubtful at first, but Tony’s story held up./ 9. To delay action; defer; postpone. Often used with "on". •/The college held up on plans for the building until more money came in./ •/The President held up on the news until he was sure of it./
[hold up one’s end] See: HOLD ONE’S END UP.
[hold water]{v. phr.} 1. To keep water without leaking. •/That pail still holds water./ 2. {informal} To prove true; stand testing; bear examination. — Usually used in negative, interrogative, or conditional sentences. •/Ernest told the police a story that wouldn’t hold water./
[hold your hat] See: HANG ON TO YOUR HAT.
[hole] See: ACE IN THE HOLE, BURN A HOLE IN ONE’S POCKET, IN A HOLE or IN A SPOT, IN THE HOLE, OUT OF THE HOLE, SQUARE PEG IN A ROUND HOLE.
[hole in] See: HOLE UP.
[hole in one]{n. phr.} A shot in golf that is hit from the tee and goes right into the cup. •/Many golfers play for years before they get a hole in one./
[hole-in-the-wall]{n. phr.} A small place to live, stay in, or work in; a small, hidden, or inferior place. •/The jewelry store occupied a tiny hole-in-the-wall./ •/When Mr. and Mrs. Green were first married, they lived in a little hole-in-fhe-wall in a cheap apartment building./ 2. {slang}, {citizen’s band radio jargon}. A tunnel. •/Let’s get through this hole in the wall, then we’ll change seats./
[hole out]{v.} To finish play in golf by hitting the ball into the cup. •/The other players waited for Palmer to hole out before they putted./
[hole up] also [hole in] {v.}, {slang} To take refuge or shelter; put up; lodge. •/After a day’s motoring, Harry found a room for rent and holed up for the night./ •/The thief holed up at an abandoned farm./ •/"Let’s hole in," said Father as we came to a motel that looked good./
[holiday] See: HALF-HOLIDAY.
[holier-than-thou]{adj.} Acting as if you are better than others in goodness, character, or reverence for God; acting as if morally better than other people. •/Most people find holier-than-thou actions in others hard to accept./ •/After Mr. Howard stopped smoking, he had a holier-than-thou manner toward his friends who still smoked./
[holistic health]{n.}, {informal}, {semi-technical} The maintenance of health and the avoidance of disease through such psychogenic practices and procedures as biofeedback, meditation, alternative methods of childbirth, and avoidance of drugs. •/The Murgatroyds are regular holistic health freaks — why, they won’t even take aspirin when they have a headache./
[holler before one is hurt] See: CRY BEFORE ONE IS HURT.
[hollow] See: BEAT ALL HOLLOW also BEAT HOLLOW.
[hollow out]{v.} To cut or dig out or to cut or dig a hole in; make a cut or cave in; excavate. •/The soldier hollowed out a foxhole in the ground to lie in./ •/The Indians used to hollow out a log to make a canoe./ •/Joe’s father hollowed out a pumpkin to make a jack-o-lantern./
[holy cats] or [holy cow] or [holy mackerel] or [holy Moses] {interj.}, {informal} — Used to express strong feeling (as astonishment, pleasure, or anger); used in speech or when writing conversation. •/"Holy cats! That’s good pie!" said Dick./ •/"Holy cow! They can’t do that!" Mary said when she saw the boys hurting a much smaller boy./
[holy terror]{n.}, {informal} A very disobedient or unruly child; brat. •/All the children are afraid of Johnny because he’s a holy terror./
[home] See: AT HOME, BRING HOME, BRING HOME THE BACON, CHICKENS COME HOME TO ROOST, CLOSE TO HOME, CONVALESCENT HOME or NURSING HOME or REST HOME, KEEP THE HOME FIRES BURNING, MAKE ONESELF AT HOME, NOBODY HOME, WRITE HOME ABOUT.
[home brew]{n. phr.} A beer or other malt liquor made at home, not in a brewery. •/Home brew reached its greatest popularity in America during national prohibition./
[home on] or [home in on] {v.} To move toward a certain place by following a signal or marker. •/The airplane homed in on the radio beacon./ •/The ship homed on the lights of New York harbor./
[home plate]{n.} The base in baseball where the batter stands and that a runner must touch to score. •/The runner slid across home plate ahead of the tag to score a run./
[home run]{n.} A hit in baseball that allows the batter to run around all the bases and score a run. •/Frank hit a home run over the left field wall in the second inning./
[honest broker]{n. phr.} A person hired or appointed to act as an agent in a legal, business, or political situation where impartial advice is needed in order to settle a dispute. •/Michael has been asked to act as an honest broker to settle the argument between the employees and the management./
[honestly] See: COME BY HONESTLY.
[honest to goodness] or [honest to God] {adj. phr.}, {informal} Really; truly; honestly. — Used to emphasize something said. •/When we were in Washington, we saw the President, honest to goodness./ •/"Honest to goodness, Jane, I think you are the messiest girl in the world," said Mother./
[bonest-to-goodness] or [honest-to-God] {adj. phr.}, {informal} Real; genuine. — Used for emphasis. •/She served him honest-to-goodness deep dish apple pie./ •/It was the first honest-to-goodness baseball game he’d seen since going abroad./
[honeymoon is over] The first happy period of friendship and cooperation between two persons or groups is over. •/A few months after a new President is elected, the honeymoon is over and Congress and the President begin to criticize each other./ •/The honeymoon was soon over for the new foreman and the men under him./
[honky-tonk]{n.} A cheap nightclub or dance hall. •/There were a number of honky-tonks near the army camp./
[honor] See: DO THE HONORS, IN HONOR OF, ON ONE’S HONOR.
[hook] See: BY HOOK OR BY CROOK, GET THE HOOK at GET THE BOUNCE(2), GIVE THE HOOK at GIVE THE BOUNCE(2), OFF THE HOOK.
[hooked on]{adj.} 1. Addicted to a substance such as cigarettes, coffee, tea, drugs, or alcohol. •/Fred is hooked on grass, but Tim is only hooked on tea./ 2. Enthusiastic or very supportive of something. •/I am hooked on the local symphony./
[hookey] See: PLAY HOOKEY.
[hook, line and sinker]{adv. phr.}, {informal} Without question or doubt; completely. •/Johnny was so easily fooled that he fell for Joe’s story, hook, line and sinker./ •/Mary was such a romantic girl that she swallowed the story Alice told her about her date, hook, line and sinker./ •/Bobby trusted Jim so he was taken in by his hard-luck story hook, line and sinker./
[hookup]{n.} A connection, electrical or otherwise, between two instruments or two individuals. •/Edwin and Hermione are a perfect couple; they have got the right hookup./
[hook up]{v. phr.} To connect or fit together. •/The company sent a man to hook up the telephone./ •/They could not use the gas stove because it had not been hooked up./
[hoop] See: JUMP THROUGH A HOOP.
[hop] See: MAD AS A HORNET Or MAD AS HOPS.
[hop, skip and a jump] See: STONE’S THROW.
[hope] See: CROSS ONE’S HEART or CROSS ONE’S HEART AND HOPE TO DIE, IN HOPES.
[hope against hope]{v. phr.} To try to hope when things look black; hold to hope in bad trouble. •/The mother continued to hope against hope although the plane was hours late./ •/Jane hoped against hope that Joe would call her./
[hop to it]{v. phr.}, {slang} To get started; start a job; get going. •/"There’s a lot to do today, so let’s hop to it," the boss said./
[hopped up]{adj.}, {slang} 1. Doped with a narcotic drug. •/Police found Jones hiding in an opium den, among other men all hopped up with the drug./ 2. Full of eagerness; excited. •/Fred was all hopped up about going over the ocean./
[horn] See: BLOW ONE’S OWN HORN or TOOT ONE’S OWN HORN, PULL IN ONE’S HORNS or DRAW IN ONE’S HORNS, TAKE THE BULL BY THE HORNS.
[hornet] See: MAD AS A HORNET or MAD AS HOPS or MAD AS A WET HEN, STIR UP A HORNET’S NEST.
[horn in]{v.}, {slang} To come in without invitation or welcome; interfere. Often used with "on". •/Jack would often horn in on conversations discussing things he knew nothing about./ •/Lee horned in on Ray and Annie and wanted to dance with Annie./ Compare: BUTT IN.
