an eager beaver someone who is very en-
thusiastic; someone who works very
hard. New volunteers are always eager
beavers. The young assistant gets to
work very early. She’s a real eager beaver.
early bird someone who gets up or arrives
early or starts something very promptly,
especially someone who gains an advan-
tage of some kind by so doing. (See also
The early bird gets the worm.) The
members of the Smith family are all early
birds. They caught the first bus to town.
I was an early bird and got the best selec-
tion of f lowers.
The early bird gets the worm. The early
person will get the reward or benefit.
Don’t be late again! Don’t you know that
the early bird gets the worm? I’ll be there
before the sun is up. After all, the early bird
gets the worm.
Early to bed, early to rise(, makes a man
healthy, wealthy, and wise). Going to
bed early and getting up early is good for
you. (Proverb. Sometimes said to explain
why a person is going to bed early. The
last part of the saying is sometimes left
out.) Tom left the party at ten o’clock,
saying, “Early to bed, early to rise, makes
a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” I al-
ways get up at dawn. After all, early to bed,
early to rise.
[ears are red] Go to one’s ears are red.
[ears are ringing] Go to one’s ears are
ringing.
ease off (on someone or something) and ease
up (on someone or something) to reduce the
urgency with which one deals with some-
one or something; to put less pressure on
someone or something. Ease off on
John. He has been yelled at enough today.
Yes, please ease off. I can’t stand any
more. Tell them to ease up on the horses.
They are getting tired. Tell them to ease
up now! They are making the horses work
too hard.
ease up (on someone or something) Go to ease
off (on someone or something).
easy as ABC Go to (as) easy as ABC.
easy as (apple) pie Go to (as) easy as (ap-
ple) pie.
easy as duck soup Go to (as) easy as duck
soup.
easy as falling off a log Go to (as) easy
as falling off a log.
easy as rolling off a log Go to (as) easy
as falling off a log.
Easy does it. Act with care. (Informal.)
Be careful with that glass vase. Easy does
it! Now, now, Tom. Don’t get angry.
Easy does it.
eat (a meal) out and dine out to eat a
meal at a restaurant. I like to eat a meal
out every now and then. Yes, it’s good
to eat out and try different kinds of food.
It costs a lot of money to dine out often.
eat and run to eat a meal or a snack and
then leave. Well, I hate to eat and run
but I have to take care of some errands.
I don’t invite John to dinner anymore be-
cause he always has some excuse to eat and
run.
eat like a bird to eat only small amounts
of food; to peck at one’s food. Jane is
very slim because she eats like a bird.
Bill is trying to lose weight by eating like
a bird.
eat one’s cake and have it too Go to have
one’s cake and eat it too.
eat one’s hat <a phrase telling the kind of
thing that one would do if a very unlikely
event really happens.> (Informal. Always
used with an if-clause.) If we get there
on time, I’ll eat my hat. I’ll eat my hat
if you get a raise. He said he’d eat his
hat if she got elected.
eat out of someone’s hands to do what
someone else wants; to obey someone ea-
gerly. (Often with have.) Just wait! I’ll
have everyone eating out of my hands.
They’ll do whatever I ask. The president
has Congress eating out of his hands. A
lot of people are eating out of his hands.
eat someone out Go to chew someone out.
eat something up to enjoy, absorb, or appre-
ciate. (Also literal. Informal.) The au-
dience loved the comedian. They ate his act
up and demanded more. T The children
ate up Grandfather’s stories. They listened
to him for hours.
ebb and flow to decrease and then in-
crease, as with tides; a decrease followed
by an increase, as with tides. The for-
tunes of the major political parties tend
to ebb and f low over time. The ebb and
f low of democracy through history is a fas-
cinating subject.
edge someone out to remove a person from
a job, office, or position, usually by beat-
ing the person in competition. The vice
president edged the president out during
the last election. T Tom edged out Bob as
the new cook at the restaurant.
egg someone on to encourage, urge, or dare
someone to continue doing something,
usually something unwise. John would-
n’t have done the dangerous experiment if
his brother hadn’t egged him on. The
two boys kept throwing stones because the
other children were egging them on.
elbow someone out (of something) to force or
pressure someone out of something, such
as an office, post, or status. (Also literal
when attempting to use one’s elbows to
move the person beside oneself away.)
The old head of the company was elbowed
out of office by a young vice president.
They tried to elbow me out, but I held on
to what was mine.
an end in itself for its own sake; toward its
own ends; toward no purpose but its
own. For Bob, art is an end in itself. He
doesn’t hope to make any money from it.
Learning is an end in itself. Knowledge
does not have to have a practical
application.
the end of the line Go to the end of the
road.
the end of the road and the end of the
line the end; the end of the whole pro-
cess; death. (Line originally referred to
railroad tracks.) Our house is at the end
of the road. We rode the train to the end
of the line. When we reach the end of
the road on this project, we’ll get paid.
You’ve come to the end of the line. I’ll not
lend you another penny. When I reach
the end of the road, I wish to be buried in
a quiet place, near some trees.
end something up to bring something to an
end. (Informal. Also without up.)
want you to end your game up and come
in for dinner. T We can’t end up the game
until someone scores.
end up doing something and wind up doing
something to have to do something that one
had not planned to do. (Compare this
with end up by doing something.)
ended up going back to my house after all.
Todd wound up inviting everyone to his
house, even though he planned to spend
the evening at home alone.
end up somewhere and wind up somewhere
to finish at a certain place. If you don’t
get straightened out, you’ll end up in jail.
I fell and hurt myself, and I wound up
in the hospital.
end up with the short end of the stick
Go to get the short end of the stick.
engage in small talk to talk only about
minor matters rather than important or
personal matters. All the people at the
party were engaging in small talk. They
chatted about the weather and otherwise
engaged in small talk.
Enjoy your meal. <a polite phrase said by
a waiter or waitress when delivering food
to the table.> There you go. Enjoy your
meal. Do you have the medium steak?
Enjoy your meal.
Enough is enough. That is enough, and
there should be no more. Stop asking
for money! Enough is enough! I’ve heard
all the complaining from you that I can
take. Stop! Enough is enough!
enough to go (a)round a supply adequate
to serve everyone. (Informal.) Don’t
take too much. There’s not enough to go
around. I cooked some extra potatoes,
so there should be enough to go around.
enter one’s mind to come to one’s mind;
[for an idea or memory] to come into
one’s consciousness. Leave you behind?
The thought never even entered my mind.
A very interesting idea just entered my
mind. What if I ran for Congress?
enter the fray Go to join the fray.
equal to someone or something able to handle
or deal with someone or something.
(Also literal.) I’m afraid that I’m not
equal to Mrs. Smith’s problem right now.
Please ask her to come back later. That’s
a very difficult task, but I’m sure Bill is
equal to it.
even in the best of times even when
things are good; even when things are go-
ing well. It is hard to get high-quality
leather even in the best of times. John
had difficulty getting a loan even in the
best of times because of his poor credit
record.
even steven even (with someone or some-
thing). (Informal or slang. Preceded by
be or seem.) Bill hit Tom; then Tom hit
Bill. Now they are even steven. Mary
paid Ann the $100 she owed her. Ann said,
“Good, we are even steven.”
ever and anon now and then; occasionally.
(Literary and archaic.) Ever and anon
the princess would pay a visit to the sor-
cerer in the small walled garden directly
behind the castle. We eat swan ever and
anon, but not when we can get wild boar.
Every cloud has a silver lining. There is
something good in every bad thing.
(Proverb.) Jane was upset when she saw
that all her flowers had died from the frost.
But when she saw that the weeds had died
too, she said, “Every cloud has a silver lin-
ing.” Sally had a sore throat and had to
stay home from school. When she learned
she missed a math test, she said, “Every
cloud has a silver lining.”
Every dog has his day Go to Every dog
has its day.
Every dog has its day. and Every dog
has his day. Everyone will get a chance.
(Proverb.) Don’t worry, you’ll get cho-
sen for the team. Every dog has its day.
You may become famous someday. Every
dog has his day.
every inch a something and every inch the
something completely; in every way.
Mary is every inch the schoolteacher.
Her father is every inch a gentleman.
every inch the something Go to every inch
a something.
every living soul every person. (Informal.)
I expect every living soul to be there and
be there on time. This is the kind of
problem that affects every living soul.
every minute counts and every moment
counts time is very important. Doctor,
please try to get here quickly. Every minute
counts. When you take a test, you must
work rapidly because every minute counts.
When you’re trying to meet a deadline,
every moment counts.
every moment counts Go to every minute
counts.
every nook and cranny every small, out-
of-the-way place where something can be
hidden. We looked for the tickets in
every nook and cranny. They were lost.
There was no doubt. The decorator had
placed f lowers in every nook and cranny.
(every) now and again Go to (every) now
and then.
(every) now and then and (every) now
and again; (every) once in a while oc-
casionally; infrequently. We eat lamb
every now and then. We eat pork now
and then. I read a novel every now and
again. We don’t go to the movies except
maybe every now and then. I drink cof-
fee every once in a while. I drink tea
once in a while.
(every) once in a while Go to (every) now
and then.
every other person or thing every second per-
son or thing; alternating. The magician
turned every other card over. Every
other table had an ashtray on it.
every time one turns around frequently;
at every turn; with annoying frequency.
(Informal.) Somebody asks me for
money every time I turn around. Some-
thing goes wrong with Bill’s car every time
he turns around.
every which way in all directions.
(Folksy.) The children were all running
every which way. The wind scattered the
leaves every which way.
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