Read Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook Online
Authors: Gail Brenner
Note:
When a boat is leaking, and water is coming in, people say “The boat is
taking on
water.” In some regions, people say that someone
takes on
(often followed by
so
) when they’re very upset, angry, or sad. “She
took on so
over the loss of her cat.” [See also
carry on
later in this section.]
sign on (S)
1.
to hire or be hired, usually by contract. Often used in sports.
Sign on
is often followed by the preposition
to
or
for.
♦
Borland Corporation
signed on
200 new employees last month.
♦
The New York Mets recently
signed on
three new players.
2.
to engage oneself or others for a project ♦
I’m interested in working on this project, so
sign
me
on. ♦
Bob surprised me when he
signed on
for the new project.
Note:
To
take on
and
to
sign on
both mean to acquire or accept work, responsibility, or employees, but
sign on
generally has the extra meaning of signing a contract.
Sign on
emphasizes the commitment by verbal or written contract, whereas
take on
emphasizes the additional work or people. [See
sign on/sign off
earlier and later in this section.]
bring on (S)
1.
to hire or assign to a project, usually a specialist in the field ♦
They
brought on
a soil specialist to inspect the construction site.
2.
to cause oneself or someone to acquire a problem ♦
Touching the plant
brought on
a rash.
♦
He
brought
the problems
on
himself.
Bring It On!
If you’re ready, willing, and eager to take on a challenge or extra work, you might say (jokingly or seriously) “Okay,
bring it on!”
Are you ready to face a challenging component in a contest or game? You might announce “
Bring him on!
” or
“Bring her on!”
Are you part of a team?
“Bring ’em on!”
(shortening the word
them
to
’em.
) This expression has a slight double meaning, since
bring on
can also mean to bring or present someone or something to others.
Hang On
and Related Idioms
The idioms in this section have a general meaning of to wait, persevere, maintain or keep one’s grip.
hold on
or
hang on
1.
to remain on the telephone ♦
Please
hold on.
An operator will assist you in a minute.
♦
After
hanging on
for 10 minutes, I finally hung up!
2.
means “stop!”; to stop and wait for someone or something ♦ Hold on!
You can’t enter this restricted area.
♦ Hang on
a minute. I need to get my coat.
3.
to persevere through difficulty, hardship, or challenge ♦
My legs ached, but I tried to
hang on
for the last mile of the race.
4.
to cling to, maintain one’s grip, hold tightly ♦
Okay,
hold on!
This roller coaster is really fast.
♦
My grandmother
hung on
to her old-fashioned ideals.
5.
to stay alive (usually with
hang on
) ♦
The injured skier
hung on
for three days without food or water until she was rescued.
wait on (NS)
to wait for someone or something to arrive in order to continue or proceed ♦
I’m
waiting on
the survey results before I finish this report.
♦
We’re just
waiting on
Tom. He’s the only one not here yet.
Note:
Wait on
implies that something is being postponed or delayed while waiting.
[See also
wait on
in Chapter 3.]
Delaying a Decision
The following idioms have a general meaning of hold back, postpone, or delay a decision or action.
Read On! —
When
On
Means Continue
To find out how to create a number of easy-to-remember idioms,
read on
. In other words, continue reading this paragraph. By simply adding the preposition
on
to many common verbs, you create idioms that mean to continue doing the action of the verb (often after a pause). For example,
drive on, talk on, play on, read on,
and
run on
mean to continue driving, talking, playing, reading, or running, or to continue after pausing. Here are some examples:
The idiom
go on
is often used as a general expression to mean continue doing whatever you were doing before an interruption or pause: “
Go on,
what where you saying?” Also,
go on
and
move on
can mean to continue going or moving, or to transfer to a new location, position, job, relationship, and so on: “After six years with the company, I
moved on
to a better job.”
A number of other idioms mean to continue. To learn about them,
continue on
to the next section.
sit on (NS)
1.
to postpone or delay a decision, action, or resolution, usually deliberately ♦
The city council
sat on
the proposal for months.
2.
to hold back or suppress information ♦
The investigation committee is
sitting on
some important evidence.
Note:
Be careful not to use “sit down on” when you mean to use the idiom
sit on.
“Sit down on” means simply to sit on a chair or another surface. So, if you say: “The city council ‘sat down on’ the proposal,” it means that they put a copy of the proposal on their chairs, and then sat on top of it!
sleep on (NS)
to think about something for a day or two before making an important decision on it or taking action ♦
It’s a big decision. Maybe we should
sleep on
it for awhile.
Note:
Sleep on
implies that after one or two nights’ sleep, a correct decision or course of action will become clearer.
Note:
The important difference between
sitting on
something and
sleeping on
something is this: Saying “I’m going to
sit on
it for awhile” implies that you don’t want to make a decision yet. You may even want to avoid thinking about it or making a decision. However, saying “I’m going to
sleep on
it for awhile” means that you want to think about more carefully before you decide.
Adding Something More
These idioms have a general meaning of to increase, or to add to an already existing collection of things.
add on (S)
to add to an existing thing, often to increase the size ♦
They
added on
an extra room to their house.
♦
The company
added on
several new employees.
tack on (S)
to add an extra item to an existing thing, often related to money ♦
A late fee was
tacked on
to the unpaid bill.
♦
I
tacked
an appendix
on
to my report.
Proceeding and Persisting
These idioms have a general meaning of continue, keep doing something, persist, or proceed. The idiom
keep on
has a number of different meanings, each requiring a slightly different construction, which is shown in parentheses before each definition.
keep on
1. (NS)
(keep on doing) to continue doing something, making an effort or persisting in any activity or behavior ♦ Keep on
going. Main Street is just ahead.
♦
She
keeps on
losing her car keys in the house.
2. (NS)
(keep on about) to continue to nag or complain about someone or something. Generally put as
keep on about.
♦ He kept on
about the problem until everyone was tired of hearing about it.
3. (NS)
(keep on someone) to continue to urge, nag, or pressure someone ♦
I
kept on
my sons until they finally cleaned their room.
4. (S)
(keep something on) to continue to wear or stay attached ♦
Some people
keep
their shoes
on
in the house; others take them off.
♦ Keep
this bandage
on
the burn for a few days.
5. (S)
(keep someone on) to continue to employ or be employed ♦
They couldn’t
keep
everyone
on
during the economic crisis.
go on (
or
carry on)
1.
to continue or proceed ♦
We’ll
carry on
with the meeting until all the issues are discussed.
♦
He
went on
talking, even though half the audience had left.
2.
to continue doing or saying something after an interruption; to permit or instruct someone to proceed ♦
Sorry to interrupt you. Please
go on. ♦
When the inspection is finished,
carry on
with your work.
3.
to continue or proceed to the next step, level, or phase ♦
She plans to
go on
to medical school after graduation.
♦
After you register for your classes,
go on
to the clerk to pay your fees.
4.
to strongly encourage or instruct someone to proceed, go, or try something ♦ Go on!
You can do it.
♦ Go on!
You’re going to be late for school if you don’t hurry.
Note:
Carry on
is often considered more formal and is more commonly used by figures of authority.
[See the index at the back of the book for the location of the many other uses of
go on.
]
move on
1.
to continue or proceed to the next step, level, or phase, usually after completing the one before ♦
Let’s
move on
to the next agenda item.
2.
to continue moving or walking after a pause, or to instruct someone to do so ♦
People stopped to see what had happened, but the police told them to
move on.
3.
to continue with daily life after a bad experience; to try to leave a bad experience in the past ♦
After the divorce, she tried to
move on
with her life.
4.
to advance or progress, often in one’s personal or professional life ♦
She wants to
move on
in her career.
press on (
or
push on)
to continue or proceed on one’s way, particularly with effort or difficulty ♦
The trail was steep, but they
pushed on
until they reached the top.
Life Goes On
After a bad experience or personal loss, people may say “Life
goes on
.” Depending on the seriousness of the situation, they could mean any of the following:
Despite the misfortune, one must continue living.
I won’t allow this misfortune to destroy or disrupt my life.
This misfortune is not so important to me.
On and On . . .
Endlessly
Add
on and on
to any action verb to show that the action continued or persisted for a long time without stopping.
On and on
can imply something positive and good, such as: “They strolled happily
on and on
down the beach,” or it can imply something tiresome or unpleasant, such as: “The boring speaker talked
on and on.”
People often use
on and on
to express a feeling of endlessness, for example: “The qualifying exam seemed to go
on and on.”
To exaggerate or emphasize the endlessness, use
on
a few more times. “The speaker went
on and on and on
and on.”
Common Phrasal Verbs with the Preposition
Off
Many fewer phrasal verbs include the preposition
off
than the preposition
on.
Except for a few cases, two-word verbs with
off
are transitive and separable.
Releasing or Emitting
These idioms have a general meaning of send out, emit, or release, such as light, energy, a scent, and so on.
give off (S)
to send out or emit, usually a scent or light ♦
Gardenias
give off
a wonderful scent.
♦
Halogen lamps
give off
a lot of bright light.
let off (S)
1.
to release something under pressure or by explosion, such as steam, explosives, fireworks ♦
Many cities
let off
fireworks on the Fourth of July.
2.
to release from punishment or allow to escape from or be free from something ♦
My son always washes the dishes, but today I
let
him
off
to finish his homework.
♦
The judge
let
him
off
with a fine, but next time he’ll go to jail.