Read Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook Online
Authors: Gail Brenner
When
Over
Implies to Release or Relinquish
When
over
is joined with some verbs, the resulting idioms mean to release or relinquish something to someone else, to give something to someone, but not necessarily willingly. The following idioms have this general meaning, although there are slight variations between them. These phrasal verbs are separable.
hand over (S)
to relinquish control and put something in someone else’s hands ♦
Tomorrow, we’ll
hand over
the deed to the house to the new owners.
♦
The mugger shouted, “
Hand over
your money!”
fork over (S)
(slang) to reluctantly relinquish control, often of money; to return control of something to its rightful owner ♦
When are you going to
fork over
the $50 you owe me?
♦
We had to
fork over
a huge sum to the government for property taxes this year.
turn over (S)
to relinquish control or responsibility to someone else ♦
My dad made me
turn over
the car keys after my accident.
♦
They
turned over
the job of fundraising to me.
give over (S)
to give something into someone else’s possession, often in reference to money ♦
The local citizens have already
given over
thousands of tax dollars to this project.
♦
They
gave over
some of their property for the new children’s center.
When
Over
Means with Careful Consideration
When joined with the verbs
look, talk, mull,
and
think,
over
means with careful consideration. The following idioms all use
over
in this sense.
go over (NS)
to review or look through carefully ♦
After I give you back your tests, we’ll
go over
them and discuss the errors.
♦
Would you please
go over
my manuscript and give me your feedback?
look over (S)
1.
to look through something checking for accuracy or content ♦
Mom, would you
look over
my essay and tell me if it’s okay?
♦
I
looked
the report
over
and found a few problems.
2.
to look at someone with specific interest, usually viewing him or her from head to foot. ♦
Man, that girl is really
looking
you
over.
I think she wants to meet you.
♦
He’s been
looking over
that car for ten minutes. He must be a serious buyer.
Note:
This idiom may have a positive or negative implication, and can imply sexual attraction, as in the second example. An expression similar in meaning to
look over
is to
give someone the once over.
talk over (S)
to discuss an issue or problem in order to understand or solve it; to come to a conclusion or agreement. Also put as
talk things over.
♦
If something is bothering you, let’s
talk
it
over. ♦
Before accepting this job offer, I have to
talk
it
over
with my partner.
mull over (
or
think over) (S)
to think about something carefully, considering all of the pros, cons, or potential outcomes; to carefully consider before making a decision.
Mull over
often implies a more casual or longer period of thinking, possibly with no immediate decision required. ♦
I’ll
think over
your offer and let you know my decision in a few days.
♦
We’re looking for one more person to join us on the European tour. Why don’t you
think
it
over?
Turning It Over in One’s Mind
An expression that means to
think it
over
or
mull it
over
is to
turn something over in one’s mind.
Sometimes it’s just said as
to turn the idea over.
For example you might say, “I’ve been
turning the idea over in my mind
, but I haven’t yet come to a decision.”
Turning an idea over
can imply a longer, more careful consideration than
mulling over
or
thinking over.
Here’s another example: “We’ve
turned
the idea
over and over
and have finally decided to go ahead and do it.”
When
Over
Means Across an Intervening Space
When
over
is joined with verbs of locomotion, like
climb, drive, fly, move, run,
and
walk,
it means to cross an intervening space or to go across a space to get from the starting point to the destination. Also, it often implies that one travels to the destination for a purpose. The first definition for each of the following idioms shows this usage of
over.
Other definitions are also included.
Grammar Note:
The idioms in this section are usually intransitive, having no direct object. In some contexts, when a direct object is required, the idiom is almost always separable and must be separated by its object.
climb over
to climb or crawl, often carefully, to get from one place to a destination ♦
The monkey
climbed over
to another branch to get the best fruit.
♦ Climb over
to this side of the roof. I’ll show you the damaged roof tiles. But be careful!
drive over
to drive from one place to a destination ♦
I’ll
drive over
to your house and pick you up in 20 minutes.
♦
He
drove
his daughter
over
to the park for her soccer group.
fly over
to fly from one place to a destination ♦
While they were in Mexico, they
flew over
to Cuba to visit relatives.
♦
Our friend
flew
us
over
to one of the islands in his plane.
Grammar Note:
Fly over
is sometimes put in the passive voice as in this example: “Our supplies
were
flown over
to the research site before we arrived.”
move over
1.
to relocate, moving from one locale to another locale ♦
We
moved over
to the other side of town last year.
♦
Ben helped
move
his mother
over
to her new apartment.
2.
to move slightly to the left or right in order to make more space for someone; to change the location of items in a room or elsewhere. Sometimes said as
scoot over
or
slide over.
♦
Would you mind
moving over
a bit so that someone else can sit down?
♦
If we
move
the table
over
a little, we can fit the bookshelf next to it.
Note:
The idioms
move up
and
move back
are used to describe moving forward or backward.
run over
1.
to run the distance from one location to another, usually to a destination ♦
We
ran over
to see if we could help the woman who had fallen on the ground.
♦
To play this game, you
run over
to the table, pick up an egg in your spoon, and
run
back
over
here.
2.
to do an errand quickly; to make a quick trip, generally for some business or chore ♦
She’s not here right now; she just
ran over
to the post office to mail some packages.
♦
I’m going to
run over
to Dan’s house for a minute.
Note:
In this context,
run
is generally not literal. The errand or quick trip is usually done on foot (walking), by car, bicycle, or other mode of transportation.
The following are two other definitions of the idiom
run over,
definitions that do not use
over
to mean across an intervening space.
3.
to exceed a time limit ♦
The meeting
ran over,
as usual, and everyone was late leaving work.
♦
I’ll signal you when you have one minute left so that your speech doesn’t
run over
the time allotted.
Grammar Note:
In this context,
run over
is non-separable when it has a direct object.
4. (S)
to hit or bump into and possibly pass over the top of something ♦
He felt terrible when someone
ran over
his dog.
♦
He was walking so fast he nearly
ran
right
over
an elderly lady.
Note:
This context generally implies that one ran over something or someone with a vehicle, but you can also run over something or someone while walking or running.
walk over
to walk the distance from one location to another, usually to a destination ♦
Let’s
walk over
to the market and buy some fruit.
♦
Megan,
walk over
to that table and back to make sure that the shoes are comfortable before we buy them.
All Over the Place
The expression
all over
is often put after the verb
climb, drive, fly, run, walk,
and others, to mean “here, there, and everywhere; in every part.” If people say “We
walked all over,
” it implies that they walked to many different areas, sometimes with no specific goal or destination. But one can also
walk all over
in search of something. The expression
all over
is sometimes put as
all over town
or
all over the place.
Here are more examples:
Note:
To
walk all over someone
means to take advantage of someone’s generosity, kindness, or meekness.
[See
walk around, running around, drive around,
and so on, later in this chapter.]
When
Over
Implies to Remain Overnight
A few phrasal verbs —
sleep over
,
stay over, layover
and, sometimes,
hold over —
mean to stay or remain overnight or a few nights in a place other than home. For example, it’s popular in the United States for girls, and often boys, to
sleep over
at a friend’s house. Young kids often have
sleepovers
(overnight parties).
Stay over, layover,
and
hold over
are often used in reference to traveling. The following examples show how these idioms are used:
The idiom
held over
(generally used in the passive form) can also mean to keep or extend for a longer period of time, as an exhibit, a play, a movie, or other attraction. For example: “The play was so successful that it’s been
held over
for another three weeks.”
When
Over
Means for a Short Visit or Stay
The phrasal verbs
drop over
and
stop over
are used to refer to a short, informal visit to someone’s residence.
Stop over
can also mean a short interruption in travel. Here are some examples:
The noun form of
stop over,
stopover,
is often used in air travel to mean the airport where a plane stops to drop off and pick up passengers before continuing on, or the airport at which a person switches planes. For example: “My ticket was cheap, but I had a long
stopover
in Phoenix.”
When
Over
Implies to Recover or Overcome
The phrasal verb
get over
plus a direct object has become an all-purpose expression to mean to recover from something, to overcome or surmount something difficult, or to forget about or overlook something.
Get over
is always non-separable in these contexts. Here are specific examples that show how this idiom is used.