[have one's ass in a sling] <v. phr.>, <slang>, <vulgar>, <avoidable> To be in an uncomfortable predicament; to be in the dog-house; to be at a disadvantage. * /Al sure had his ass in a sling when the boss found out about his juggling the account./
[have one's cake and eat it too] <v. phr.> To enjoy two opposite advantages. * /You can either spend your money going to Europe or save it for a down payment on a house, but you can't do both. That would be having your cake and eating it, too./
[have one's ear] <v. phr.> To have access to someone in power; receive audiences rather frequently. * /The national security advisor has the president's ear./
[have one's ears on] <v. phr.>, <slang>, <citizen's band radio jargon> To have one's CB radio in receiving condition. * /Good buddy in the eighteen wheeler southbound, got your ears on?/
[have oneself] <v. phr.>, <nonstandard> To enjoy. - Sometimes used in very informal speech to provide emphasis. * /As soon as their parents left, the boys had themselves some fun./ * /After working hard all day, John had himself a good night's sleep./
[have one's feet planted firmly in the ground] See: FEET ON THE GROUND.
[have one's fill] <v. phr.> To be satisfied; be surfeited; be overindulged. * /Howard says he's had his fill of expensive golf tournaments in Europe./
[have one's fling] <v. phr.> To have one or more romantic and/or sexual experiences, usually before marriage. * /Jack has had his fling and now seems to be ready to get married and settle down./
[have one's hand in the till] See: ROB THE TILL.
[have one's hands full] <v. phr.> To have as much work as you can do; be very busy. * /The plumber said that he had his hands full and could not take another job for two weeks./ * /With three small children to take care of, Susie's mother has her hands full./
[have one's hands tied] See: TIED ONE'S HANDS.
[have one's head in the sand] See: HIDE ONE'S HEAD IN THE SAND.
[have one's head screwed on backwards] <v. phr.> To lack common sense; behave in strange and irrational ways. * /Henry seems to have his head screwed on backwards; he thinks the best time to get a suntan is when it is raining and to sleep with his shoes on./
[have one's heart in the right place] See: HEART IS IN THE RIGHT PLACE.
[have one's hide] <v. phr.>, <informal> To punish severely. * /John's mother said she would have his hide if he was late to school again./
[have one's nose to the grindstone] See: KEEP ONE'S NOSE TO THE GRINDSTONE.
[have one's number] See: GET ONE'S NUMBER.
[have one's wings clipped] See: CLIP ONE'S WING.
[have one's wits about one] <v. phr.> To be alert; remain calm; not panic. * /Sam was the only one who kept his wits about him when the floodwaters of the Mississippi broke into our yard./
[have one's work cut out] See: CUT OUT(1).
[have on the ball] See: ON THE BALL.
[have qualms about] <v. phr.> To feel uneasy about; hesitate about something. * /Mike had no qualms in telling Sue that he was no longer in love with her./
[have rocks in one's head] <v. phr.>, <informal> To be stupid; not have good judgment. * /When Mr. James quit his good job with the coal company to begin teaching school, some people thought he had rocks in his head./
[have second thoughts about] See: SECOND THOUGHT(s).
[have seen better days] See: SEE BETTER DAYS.
[have someone by the balls] <v. phr.>, <slang>, <vulgar>, <avoidable> To have someone at a disadvantage or in one's power. * /The kidnappers had the company by the balls for six long weeks./
[have something going for one] <v. phr.>, <slang>, <informal> To have ability, talent; good looks, and/or influence in important places helping one to be successful. * /Well now, Pat Jones, that's another story - she's got something going for her./
[have something on] <v. phr.>, <informal> To have information or proof that someone did something wrong. * /Mr. Jones didn't want to run for office because he knew the opponents had something on him./ * /Mr. Smith keeps paying blackmail to a man who has something on him./ * /Although Miss Brown is not a good worker, her boss does not fire her because she has something on him./ Compare: GET THE GOODS ON. Contrast: HAVE NOTHING ON.
[have something on the ball] <v. phr.>, <slang>, <colloquial> To be smart, clever; to be skilled and have the necessary know-how. * /You can trust Syd; he's got a lot on the ball OR he's got something on the ball./
[have sticky fingers] See: STICKY FINGERS.
[have or take a shot at] See: HAVE GO AT.
[have the best of] or [have the better of] See: GET THE BETTER OF(2).
[have the better of] or [have the best of] See: GET THE BETTER OF.
[have the cart before the horse] See: CART BEFORE THE HORSE.
[have the constitution of an ox] <v. phr.> To be able to work extremely hard and to have the stamina to overcome misfortune. * /Stan, who has lost both of his parents within one year and is constantly working late, seems to be indestructible, as if he had the constitution of an ox./
[have the courage of one's convictions] <v. phr.> To be brave enough to act according to your beliefs. * /Steve showed that he had the courage of his convictions by refusing to help another student cheat in the exam./ * /Owen knew that Pete had started the fight, but he was afraid to say so; he did not have the courage of his convictions./
[have the goods on] See: GET THE GOODS ON.
[have the guts to do something] <v. phr.>, <informal> To be brave enough to do something difficult or dangerous. * /Jack wants to marry Jilt, but he doesn't have the guts to pop the question./
[have the jump on] See: GET THE JUMP ON.
[have the last laugh] or [get the last laugh] <v. phr.> To make someone seem foolish for having laughed at you. * /Other schools laughed at us when our little team entered the state championship, but we had the last laugh when we won it./ Compare: HE LAUGHS BEST WHO LAUGHS LAST, TURN THE TABLES.
[have the laugh on] <v. phr.> To emerge as the victor. * /We were trying to fool Paul by setting him up with a blind date who was reportedly unattractive, but he had the laugh on us when this girl turned out to be beautiful./
[have the lead] <v. phr.> To occupy the most prominent part in something. * /Maria has the lead in our school play./
[have the makings of] <v. phr.> To possess the basic ingredients; have the basic qualities to do something. * /Tom is still young but he seems to have the makings of an excellent pianist./
[have the right-of-way] <v. phr.> To have priority in proceeding in traffic on a public highway while other vehicles must yield and wait. * /"Go ahead," he said. "We have the right-of-way at this intersection."/
[have the time of one's life] See: TIME OF ONE'S LIFE.
[have the worst of] See: GET THE WORST OF.
[have to] or [have got to] <v.>, <informal> To be obliged or forced to; need to; must. * /Do you have to go now?/ * /He had to come. His parents made him./ * /I have got to go to the doctor./ * /I have to go to Church./
[have to do with] <v. phr.> 1. To be about; be on the subject of or connected with. * /The book has to do with airplanes./ 2. To know or be a friend of; work or have business with. - Usually used in negative sentence. * /Tom said he didn't want to have anything to do with the new boy./ * /I had nothing to do with the party; I was home that night./
[have too many irons in the fire] See: TOO MANY IRONS IN THE FIRE.
[have two strikes against one] or [have two strikes on one] <v. phr.>, <informal> To have things working against you; be hindered in several ways; be in a difficult situation; be unlikely to succeed. * /Children from the poorest parts of a city often have two strikes against them before they enter school./ * /George has two strikes against him already. Everybody is against what he wants to do./ Compare: BEHIND THE EIGHT BALL. (In baseball, three strikes are out. If the umpire calls two strikes against the batter, he has only one strike left and will be out if he gets one more strike.)
[haw] See: HEM AND HAW.
[hay] See: HIT THE HAY.
[haystack] See: NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK.
[haywire] See: GO HAYWIRE.
[hazard] See: AT ALL HAZARDS.
[haze] See: IN A FOG or IN A HAZE.
[head] See: ACID HEAD, BEAT INTO ONE'S HEAD, BEAT ONE'S HEAD AGAINST A WALL, BIG HEAD, COUNT HEADS, EYES IN THE BACK OF ONE'S HEAD, FROM HEAD TO FOOT, GET THROUGH ONE'S HEAD, GOOD HEAD ON ONE'S SHOULDERS, GO TO ONE'S HEAD, HANG ONE'S HEAD, HAVE ONE'S HEAD IN THE SAND, HAVE ROCKS IN ONE'S HEAD, HEAP COALS OF FIRE ON ONE'S HEAD, HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD, HANG OVER ONE'S HEAD, HIDE ONE'S FACE or HIDE ONE'S HEAD, HOLD ONE'S HEAD UP, KEEP A CIVIL TONGUE IN ONE'S HEAD, KEEP ONE'S HEAD, LOSE ONE'S HEAD, MAKE HEAD OR TAIL OF, OFF THE TOP OF ONE'S HEAD, ON ONE'S HEAD, OUT OF ONE'S HEAD, also OFF ONE'S HEAD, OVER ONE'S HEAD, PRICE ON ONE'S HEAD, PUT THEIR HEADS TOGETHER or LAY THEIR HEADS TOGETHER, SWELLED HEAD, TAKE INTO ONE'S HEAD, TELL --WHERE TO GET OFF or TELL --- WHERE TO HEAD IN, THROW ONESELF AT SOMEONE'S HEAD or FLING ONESELF AT SOMEONE'S HEAD, TURN ONE'S HEAD, USE ONE'S HEAD.
[head above water] <n. phr.> out of difficulty; clear of trouble. * /How are your marks at school? Are you keeping your head above water?/ * /Business at the store is bad. They can't keep their heads above water./
[head and shoulders] <adv. phr.> 1. By the measure of the head and shoulders. * /The basketball player is head and shoulders taller than the other boys./ 2. By far; by a great deal; very much. * /She is head and shoulders above the rest of the class in singing./ See: FAR AND AWAY.
[header] See: DOUBLE-HEADER.
[head for] <v. phr.> To go in the direction of. * /We left early in the morning and headed for Niagara Falls./
[head for the hills] <v. phr.>, <informal> To get far away in a hurry; run away and hide. - Often used imperatively. * /Head for the hills. The bandits are coming./ * /He saw the crowd chasing him, so he headed for the hills./ * /When they saw the mean boy coming, they all headed for the hills./ Compare: BEAT IT, LIGHT OUT, TAKE TO THE WOODS.
[head-hunting] <n.>, <slang>, <informal> 1. The custom of seeking out, decapitating, and preserving the heads of enemies as trophies. 2. A search for qualified individuals to fill certain positions. * /The president sent a committee to the colleges and universities to do some head-hunting; we hope he finds some young talent./ 3. A systematic destruction of opponents, especially in politics. * /Billings was hired by the party to do some head-hunting among members of the opposition./
[head in the clouds] See: IN THE CLOUDS.
[head in the sand] See: HIDE ONE'S HEAD IN THE SAND.
[head off] <v.> 1. To get in front of and stop, turn back, or turn aside. * /The sheriff said to head the cattle thieves off at the pass./ 2. To block; stop; prevent. * /He will get into trouble if someone doesn't head him off./
[head-on] <adj.> or <adv. phr.> 1. With the head or front pointing at; with the front facing; front end to front end. * /Our car skidded into a head-on crash with the truck./ * /In the fog the boat ran head-on into a log./ * /There is a head-on view of the parade from our house./ Compare: FACE-TO-FACE. Contrast: REAR-END. 2. In a way that is exactly opposite; against or opposed to in argument. * /If you think a rule should be changed, a head-on attack against it is best./ * /Tom did not want to argue head-on what the teacher said, so he said nothing./
[head out] <v.> 1. To go or point away. * /The ship left port and headed out to sea./ * /The car was parked beside the house. It was headed out towards the street./ 2. <informal> Leave; start out. * /I have a long way to go before dark. I'm going to head out./
[head over heels] also [heels over head] 1a. In a somersault; upside down; head first. * /It was so dark Bob fell head over heels into a big hole in the ground./ Compare: UPSIDE DOWN. 1b. In great confusion or disorder; hastily. * /The children all tried to come in the door at once, head over heels./ Compare: TOPSY-TURVY. 2. <informal> Completely; deeply. * /He was head over heels in debt./ * /She was head over heels in love./
[headshrinker] <n.>, <slang>, <informal> A psychoanalyst, also called a shrink. * /Forrester is falling apart; his family physician sent him to a head shrinker (to a shrink)./
[head start] <n.> 1. A beginning before someone; lead or advantage at the beginning. * /The other racers knew they couldn't catch Don if he got too big a head start./ * /Joe has a head start. He began to study earlier than we did./ 2. A good beginning. * /Let's get a head start in painting the house by getting up early./ * /The teacher gave the class a head start on the exercise by telling them the answers to the first two problems./ Compare: RUNNING START.
[heads or tails] <n. phr.> The two sides of a coin, especially when the coin is tossed in the air in order to decide which of two alternatives are to be followed. * /Tom tossed a quarter in the air and said, "Tails, I win; heads you win."/
[heads up] <interj.>, <informal> Keep your head up and be careful or ready. - Used as a warning to prepare for something or clear the way * /"Heads up!" said the waiter carrying the hot food./ * /Heads up, boys! A train is coming./ * /Heads up, now! You can do better than that./ Syn.: LOOK ALIVE, LOOK OUT.
[heads-up] <adj.>, <informal> Wide-awake; alert; watchful; intelligent. * /You must play hard, heads-up baseball to win this game./ Compare: ON ONE'S TOES, ON THE BALL.
[head up] <v.>, <informal> 1. To be at the head or front of. * /The elephants headed up the whole parade./ 2. To be the leader or boss of. * /Mr. Jones will head up the new business./ * /The class planned a candy sale, and they elected Mary to head it up./
[health] See: CLEAN HILL OF HEALTH.
[heap] See: STRIKE ALL OF A HEAP.
[heap coals of fire on one's head] <v. phr.>, <literary> To be kind or helpful to someone who has done wrong to you, so that he is ashamed. * /Alice heaped coals of fire on Mary's head by inviting her to a party after Mary had gossiped about her./ * /Jean Valjean stole the Bishop's silver, but the Bishop heaped coals of fire on his head by giving the silver to him./
[hear] See: WILL NOT HEAR OF.
[hear a pin drop] <v. phr.> Absolute silence. * /It's so quiet in the room you could hear a pin drop./
[heart] See: AFTER ONE'S OWN HEART, AT HEART, EAT ONE'S HEART OUT, BREAK ONE'S HEART, BY HEART, CHANGE OF HEART, CROSS ONE'S HEART, DO ONE GOOD or DO ONE'S HEART GOOD, FIND IT IN ONE'S HEART, FROM THE BOTTOM OF ONE'S HEART or WITH ALL ONE'S HEART, FROM THE HEART, GET TO THE HEART OF, HAVE A HEART, HEAVY HEART, LOSE HEART, LOSE ONE'S HEART, OPEN HEART, OPEN ONE'S HEART, SEARCH ONE'S HEART, SET ONE'S HEART ON, TAKE HEART, TAKE TO HEART, TO ONE'S HEART'S CONTENT, WEAR ONE'S HEART ON ONE'S SLEEVE.
