coat and tie [for men] a jacket or sports
coat and necktie. (A standard of dress be-
tween casual and a suit.) My brother
was not wearing a coat and tie, and they
would not admit him into the restaurant.
I always carry a coat and tie in my car
just in case I have to dress up a little for
something.
cock-and-bull story a silly, made-up story;
a story that is a lie. Don’t give me that
cock-and-bull story. I asked for an ex-
planation, and all I got was your ridicu-
lous cock-and-bull story!
cock of the walk someone who acts more
important than others in a group. The
deputy manager was cock of the walk un-
til the new manager arrived. He loved
acting cock of the walk and ordering every-
one about.
cocky as the king of spades Go to (as)
cocky as the king of spades.
coffee and Danish a cup of coffee and a
Danish sweet roll. A few of us like to
have coffee and Danish before we start
work. Coffee and Danish is not my idea
of a good breakfast!
coffee-table book a book that is more
suitable for display than for reading, typ-
ically, an illustrated book left on the cof-
fee table for visitors to examine. This
book is more of a coffee-table book than an
art book. I prefer something more schol-
arly. We purchased a coffee-table book
for Jan’s birthday.
coffee, tea, or milk a choice of beverage.
(Originally used by airline personnel
when offering something to drink to the
passengers.) She asked me if I wanted
coffee, tea, or milk, and I chose just plain
water. Would you prefer coffee, tea, or
milk to go with your meal?
cold as a witch’s caress Go to (as) cold
as a witch’s caress.
cold as a witch’s tit Go to (as) cold as a
witch’s tit.
cold as marble Go to (as) cold as marble.
cold comfort no comfort or consolation at
all. She knows there are others worse off
than she is, but that’s cold comfort. It
was cold comfort to the student that oth-
ers had failed as badly as he did.
a cold fish a person who is distant and un-
feeling. (Informal or slang. Preceded by
be, become, seem like, or act like.) Bob
is so dull—a real cold fish. She hardly
ever speaks to anyone. She’s a cold fish.
cold, hard cash cash, not checks or
promises. (Informal.) I want to be paid
in cold, hard cash, and I want to be paid
now! Pay me now! Cash on the barrel-
head—cold, hard cash.
come about 1. to happen. How did this
come about? This came about due to the
severe weather. 2. [for a sailboat] to turn.
Look how easily this boat comes about.
Now, practice making the boat come
about.
come across someone or something and run
across someone or something to find some-
one or something; to discover someone
or something. John came across a book
he had been looking for. Where did you
run across that lovely skirt?
Come again. 1. Come back.; Return some
other time. I’m so glad you enjoyed our
party. Please come again sometime. The
store clerk gave me my change and my pur-
chase and said, “Thank you. Come again.”
2. Say it again. I did not hear you. (Folksy.
Usually Come again?) TOM: Hello,
Grandfather. GRANDFATHER: Come
again? You’ll have to talk louder. The
farmer looked at me and said, “Come
again?”
Come and get it! Dinner is ready. Come
and eat it! (Folksy.) A shout was heard
from the kitchen, “Come and get it!” No
one says “Come and get it!” at a formal
dinner.
come (a)round 1. finally to agree or con-
sent (to something). I thought he’d
never agree, but in the end he came
around. She came round only after we
argued for an hour. 2. to return to con-
sciousness; to wake up. He came
around after we threw cold water in his
face. The boxer was knocked out, but
came round in a few seconds.
come away empty-handed to return
without anything. (See also go away
empty-handed.) All right, go gambling.
Don’t come away empty-handed, though.
Go to the bank and ask for the loan
again. This time don’t come away empty-
handed.
come by something 1. to travel by a specific
carrier, such as a plane, a boat, or a car.
We came by train. It’s more relaxing.
Next time, we’ll come by plane. It’s faster.
2. to find or get something. How did
you come by that haircut? Where did
you come by that new shirt?
come by something honestly 1. to get some-
thing honestly. Don’t worry. I came by
this watch honestly. I have a feeling she
didn’t come by it honestly. 2. to inherit
something—a character trait—from
one’s parents. I know I’m mean. I came
by it honestly, though. She came by her
kindness honestly.
come down [for something] to descend (to
someone) through inheritance. All my
silverware came down to me from my
great-grandmother. The antique furni-
ture came down through my mother’s
family.
come down hard on someone or something to
attack vigorously; to scold someone se-
verely. Tom’s parents really came down
hard on him for coming home late. T Yes,
they came down on him hard.
come down in the world to lose one’s so-
cial position or financial standing. Mr.
Jones has really come down in the world
since he lost his job. If I were unem-
ployed, I’m sure I’d come down in the
world, too.
come down to earth to become realistic;
to become alert to what is going on
around one. (Informal.) You have very
good ideas, John, but you must come down
to earth. We can’t possibly afford any of
your suggestions. Pay attention to what
is going on. Come down to earth and join
the discussion.
come down to something to be reduced to
something; to amount to no more than
something. (Informal. Similar to boil
down to something.) It comes down to
whether you want to go to the movies or
stay at home and watch television. It
came down to either getting a job or go-
ing back to college.
come down with something to become ill
with some disease. I’m afraid I’m com-
ing down with a cold. I’ll probably come
down with pneumonia.
come from nowhere to come as a surprise
with no warning. The dogs came from
nowhere and attacked my cat.
whole set of problems came from nowhere.
There was no way we could have foreseen
them.
come full circle to return to the original
position or state of affairs. The family
sold the house generations ago, but things
have come full circle and one of their de-
scendants lives there now. The em-
ployer’s power was reduced by the unions
at one point, but matters have come full
circle again.
come hell or high water no matter what
happens. (Informal. Use caution with
hell.) I’ll be there tomorrow, come hell
or high water. Come hell or high water,
I intend to have my own home.
come home (to roost) [for a problem] to
return to cause trouble [for someone].
(See also The chickens have come home
to roost.) As I feared, all my problems
came home to roost. Yes, problems all
come home eventually.
come home to someone to become appar-
ent to someone; to be realized by some-
one. The truth of the matter suddenly
came home to me. It all came home to
me while I was taking a bath. Suddenly I
understood everything.
come in a body and arrive in a body to
arrive as a group. All the guests came
in a body. Things become very busy
when everyone arrives in a body.
come in for something and fall in for some-
thing to receive something; to acquire
something. Billy came in for a good
bawling-out when he arrived home.
Mary came in for a tremendous amount of
money when her aunt died. Sally fell in
for a lot of trouble when she bought a used
car.
come in out of the rain to become alert
and sensible; to come down to earth.
(Also literal. See also not know enough to
come in out of the rain.) Pay attention,
Sally! Come in out of the rain! Bill will
fail if he doesn’t come in out of the rain
and study.
come into its own Go to come into one’s
own.
come into one’s own and come into its
own 1. [for one] to achieve one’s proper
recognition. Sally finally came into her
own. After years of trying, she finally
came into her own. 2. [for something] to
achieve its proper recognition. The
idea of an electric car finally came into its
Film as an art medium finally
came into its own.
come into something to inherit something.
(Also literal. See also come in for some-
thing, which is very close in meaning.)
Jane came into a small fortune when her
aunt died. Mary came into a house and
a new car when her rich uncle died.
come of age to reach an age when one is
old enough to own property, get married,
and sign legal contracts. When Jane
comes of age, she will buy her own car.
Sally, who came of age last month, entered
into an agreement to purchase a house.
come off to happen; to take place. (Also
literal referring to something that be-
comes disconnected. Informal.) What
time does this party come off ? How did
your speech come off ? It came off very
well.
Come off it! Tell the truth!; Be serious!
(Slang.) Come off it, Bill! I don’t believe
you! Come on, Jane. Come off it! That
can’t be true.
come off second-best to win second
place or worse; to lose out to someone
else. John came off second-best in the
race. Why do I always come off second-
best in an argument with you?
come on to hurry up; to follow (someone).
Come on! I’m in a hurry. If you don’t
come on, we’ll miss the train.
come on like gangbusters to approach
people in a wild and exciting manner; to
seem very active and pushy when ap-
proaching people. Why is she so un-
polished? She comes on like gangbusters
and frightens people away. The people
in this town come on like gangbusters and
they seem very rude at first.
come on somehow to appear as having cer-
tain characteristics to other people. (In-
formal. Especially with strong, which
means “intensely.” See also the previous
entry.) Jane comes on like a very un-
pleasant person. She really comes on
strong. John doesn’t care how he comes
on.
come on the scene and arrive on the
scene to appear in a certain area or
place. (Used in particular in police re-
ports or dramatizations of police re-
ports.) What time did the picnickers
come on the scene? The witness arrived
on the scene at about 7:13 in the evening.
come out 1. to become; to turn out. (Also
literal.) We’ll just have to wait and see
how things come out. I’m baking a cake.
I hope it comes out okay. 2. to be pre-
sented to the public; to be released to the
public. My new book came out last
month. Mary Ann Smith came out last
fall at a lovely party. 3. Go to come out
(of the closet).
come out ahead to end up with a profit;
to improve one’s situation. (Compare this
with break even.) I hope you come out
ahead with your investments. It took a
lot of money to buy the house, but I think
I’ll come out ahead.
come out for someone or something to an-
nounce one’s support for someone or
something. I’m coming out for Senator
Brown’s reelection. All the employees
came out for a longer workweek.
come out in the wash to work out all
right. (Informal. This means that prob-
lems or difficulties will go away as dirt
goes away in the process of washing.)
Don’t worry about that problem. It’ll all
come out in the wash. This trouble will
go away. It’ll come out in the wash.
come out of left field [for a problem or
dilemma] to come from an unexpected
place. This new problem came out of left
field. We were really surprised. Your re-
marks came out of left field. I can’t un-
derstand your complaint.
come out of the blue to appear suddenly
as if falling from the sky. (The blue refers
to the blue sky.) This idea came out of
the blue, and I think it is a good one.
Sally showed up at the party even though
no one told her where it was. She just came
out of the blue.
come out (of the closet) 1. to reveal one’s
secret interests. Tom Brown came out
of the closet and admitted that he likes to
knit. It’s time that all of you lovers of
chamber music came out of the closet and
attended our concerts. 2. to reveal that
one is a homosexual. (See also come out.)
Tom surprised his parents when he came
out of the closet. It was difficult for him
to come out of the closet.
come out with something to say something;
to announce something. Sometimes
Jane comes out with the most interesting
comments. Jane came out with a long
string of curse words.
come over 1. to join this party or side; to
change sides or affiliation. Tom was
formerly an enemy spy, but last year he
came over. I thought that Bill was a Re-
publican. When did he come over? 2. to
come for a visit. See if Ann wants to
come over. I can’t come over. I’m busy.
come someone’s way to come to someone.
I wish a large sum of money would come
my way. I hope that no bad luck comes
my way.
come to to become conscious; to wake up.
We threw a little cold water in his face,
and he came to immediately. Come to,
John! You act as if you were in a daze.
come to a bad end to have a disaster, per-
haps one that is deserved or expected; to
die an unfortunate death. My old car
came to a bad end. Its engine burned up.
The evil merchant came to a bad end.
come to a dead end to come to an ab-
solute stopping point. The building
project came to a dead end. The street
came to a dead end. We were driving
along and came to a dead end.
come to a head to come to a crucial point;
to come to a point when a problem must
be solved. Remember my problem with
my neighbors? Well, last night the whole
thing came to a head. The battle be-
tween the two factions of the city council
came to a head yesterday.
come to an end to stop; to finish.
party came to an end at midnight.
life came to an end late yesterday.
come to an untimely end to come to an
early death. Poor Mr. Jones came to an
untimely end in a car accident. Cancer
caused Mrs. Smith to come to an untimely
end.
come to a pretty pass to develop into a
bad, unfortunate, or difficult situation.
Things have come to a pretty pass when
people have to beg in the streets. When
parents are afraid of their children, things
have come to a pretty pass.
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