everything but the kitchen sink almost
everything one can think of. When
Sally went off to college, she took every-
thing but the kitchen sink. John orders
everything but the kitchen sink when he
goes out to dinner, especially if someone
else is paying for it.
everything from A to Z Go to everything
from soup to nuts.
everything from soup to nuts and
everything from A to Z almost every-
thing one can think of. For dinner we
had everything from soup to nuts.
college I studied everything from soup to
nuts. She mentioned everything from A
to Z.
everything humanly possible everything
that is in the range of human powers.
The rescuers did everything humanly pos-
sible to find the lost campers. The doc-
tor tried everything humanly possible to
save the patient.
Everything’s coming up roses. Every-
thing is really just excellent. Life is
wonderful. Everything is coming up roses.
Q: How are things going? A: Every-
thing’s coming up roses.
the exception that proves the rule <a
saying identifying an exception to a rule
or guideline as emphasizing the existence
of the rule.> Sixth-graders do not have
to wear school uniforms, but they’re the ex-
ception that proves the rule. The
youngest dog is allowed in the house. He’s
the exception that proves the rule.
Sally and Liz didn’t have enough time to
exchange more than five words.
exciting as watching (the) paint dry Go
to (as) exciting as watching (the) paint
dry.
excuse oneself to make polite apologies or
explanations before leaving a place.
Please excuse me. I must leave. I will
have to excuse myself from this meeting
since I have a vested interest in the
outcome.
excuse someone 1. to forgive someone.
(Usually with me. Said when interrupt-
ing or when some other minor offense
has been committed. There are many
mannerly uses of this expression.) John
came in late and said, “Excuse me, please.”
John said “excuse me” when he inter-
rupted our conversation. When John
made a strange noise at the table, he said
quietly, “Excuse me.” John suddenly left
the room saying, “Excuse me. I’ll be right
back.” 2. to permit someone to leave; to
permit someone to remain away from an
event. The coach excused John from
practice yesterday. The teacher excused
John, and he ran quickly from the room.
expecting (a child) pregnant. (Eu-
phemism.) Tommy’s mother is expect-
ing a child. Oh, I didn’t know she was
expecting.
expense is no object Go to money is no
object.
explain oneself 1. to explain what one has
said or done or what one thinks or feels.
(Formal and polite.) Please take a mo-
ment to explain yourself. I’m sure we are
interested in your ideas. Yes, if you give
me a moment to explain myself, I think
you’ll agree with my idea. 2. to give an ex-
planation or excuse for something wrong
that one may have done. (Usually said in
anger.) Young man! Come in here and
explain yourself this instant. Why did
you do that, Tom Smith? You had better
explain yourself, and it had better be good.
explain something away to give a good ex-
planation for something; to explain
something so that it seems less impor-
tant; to make excuses for something.
This is a very serious matter, and you can-
not just explain it away. T John couldn’t
explain away his low grades.
explode a bombshell Go to drop a
bomb(shell).
express one’s anger to allow a release or ex-
pression of anger, such as through angry
words. Don’t keep your emotions inside
of you. You have to learn to express your
anger. Bob expresses his anger by yelling
at people.
extend credit (to someone) and extend
someone credit to allow someone to pur-
chase something on credit. I’m sorry,
Mr. Smith, but because of your poor record
of payment, we are no longer able to ex-
tend credit to you. Look at this letter,
Jane. The store won’t extend credit any-
more. We are unable to extend that
company credit any longer.
extend one’s sympathy (to someone) to
express sympathy to someone. (A very
polite and formal way to tell someone
that you are sorry about a misfortune.)
Please permit me to extend my sympathy
to you and your children. I’m very sorry to
hear of the death of your husband. Let’s
extend our sympathy to Bill Jones, who is
in the hospital with a broken leg. We
should send him some f lowers.
extend someone credit Go to extend credit
(to someone).
extenuating circumstances special cir-
cumstances that account for an irregu-
lar or improper way of doing something.
Mary was permitted to arrive late be-
cause of extenuating circumstances. Due
to extenuating circumstances, the class will
not meet today.
the eye of the storm the center of a prob-
lem; the center of a commotion or a dis-
turbance. Tom, finding himself at the
eye of the storm, tried to blame someone
else for the problem. The manager’s of-
fice was known as the eye of the storm
since all the major problems ended up
there.
[eyes are bigger than one’s stomach] Go
to One’s eyes are bigger than one’s
stomach.
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