not

not a bit none at all. Am I unhappy? Not

a bit. I don’t want any mashed potatoes.

Not a bit!

[not able] Go to the expressions listed at

can’t as well as those listed below.

not able to call one’s time one’s own too

busy; so busy as not to be in charge of

one’s own schedule. (Informal. Not able

to is often expressed as can’t.) It’s been

so busy around here that I haven’t been

able to call my time my own. She can’t

call her time her own these days.

not able to go on unable to continue (do-

ing something—even living). (Not able to

is often expressed as can’t.) I just can’t

go on this way. Before her death, she left

a note saying she was not able to go on.

not able to help something unable to pre-

vent or control something. (Not able to

is often expressed as can’t.) I’m sorry

about being late. I wasn’t able to help it.

Bob can’t help being boring.

able to see the forest for the trees

allowing many details of a situation to

obscure the situation as a whole. (Not

able to is often expressed as can’t.) The

solution is obvious. You missed it because

you can’t see the forest for the trees. She

suddenly realized that she hadn’t been able

to see the forest for the trees.

not able to stomach someone or something

and cannot stomach someone or something

not to be able to put up with someone or

something; not to be able to tolerate or

endure someone or something. Jane

cannot stomach violent movies. The un-

popular student could not stomach a lot

of ridicule.

not able to wait to have to go to the bath-

room urgently. (Also literal in a general

sense. Informal.) Mom, I can’t wait.

Driver, stop the bus! My little boy can’t

wait.

not agree with someone [for food] to make

someone ill; [for something one has

eaten] to give one minor stomach dis-

tress. Fried foods don’t agree with Tom.

I always have onions in my garden, but

I never eat them. They just don’t agree

with me.

not a living soul nobody. (Informal. See

also not tell a (living) soul.) No one was

there—not a living soul. Not a living

soul saw me leave.

not all something is cracked up to be and

not what something is cracked up to be

not as good as something is said to be.

(Informal. Not always in the negative.)

This isn’t a very good pen. It’s not all it’s

cracked up to be.  Is this one all it’s

cracked up to be? This restaurant isn’t

what it’s cracked up to be.

not at all certainly not; absolutely not.

No, it doesn’t bother me—not at all. I’m

not complaining. Not me. Not at all.

not bat an eyelid to show no signs of dis-

tress even when something bad happens

or something shocking is said. Sam

didn’t bat an eyelid when the mechanic

told him how much the car repairs would

cost. The pain of the broken arm must

have hurt Sally terribly, but she did not bat

an eyelid.

not believe one’s eyes not to believe what

one is seeing; to be shocked or dumb-

founded at what one is seeing. I walked

into the room and I couldn’t believe my

eyes. All the furniture had been stolen!

When Jimmy opened his birthday present,

he could hardly believe his eyes. Just what

he wanted!

not born yesterday experienced; knowl-

edgeable in the ways of the world. I

know what’s going on. I wasn’t born yes-

terday. Sally knows the score. She wasn’t

born yesterday.

not breathe a word (about someone or

something) to keep a secret about someone

or something. Don’t worry. I won’t

breathe a word about the problem.

Please don’t breathe a word about Bob and

his problems.

not breathe a word of it not to tell some-

thing (to anyone). Don’t worry. I won’t

breathe a word of it. Tom won’t breathe

a word of it.

not buy something not accept something (to

be true). (Also literal. Slang.) You may

think so, but I don’t buy it. The police

wouldn’t buy his story.

not by a long shot not by a great amount;

not. (Informal.) Did I win the race? Not

by a long shot. Not by a long shot did

she complete the assignment.

not care two hoots (about someone or

something) and not give two hoots

(about someone or something); not give a

hang (about someone or something); not

give a hoot (about someone or something)

not dry behind the ears Go to wet behind

the ears.

not enough room to swing a cat not very

much space. (Folksy.) Their living

room was very small. There wasn’t enough

room to swing a cat. How can you work

in a small room like this? There’s not

enough room to swing a cat.

not for a moment not at all; not even for

a short amount of time; never. I don’t

want you to leave. Not for a moment! I

could not wish such a horrible punishment

on anyone. Not for a moment!

not for (anything in) the world and not

for love nor money; not on your life

not for anything (no matter what its

value). (Note the variation in the exam-

ples. The order of love nor money is

fixed.) I won’t do it for love nor money.

He said he wouldn’t do it—not for the

world. She said no, not for anything in

the world. Me, go there? Not on your

life!

not for hire [of a taxi] not available to take

new passengers. The taxi was going to

pick someone up at a nearby hotel and was

not for hire. The taxi had a lighted sign

that said it was not for hire.

not for love nor money Go to not for (any-

thing in) the world.

not for publication not to be talked about

openly; secret. Please tell no one about

this. It’s not for publication. This report

is not for publication, so keep the results

to yourself.

not give a hang (about someone or some-

thing) Go to not care two hoots (about

someone or something).

not give a hoot (about someone or some-

thing) Go to not care two hoots (about

someone or something).

not give it another thought not to worry

about something anymore. (A polite way

not give someone the time of day to ignore

someone (usually out of dislike). (Infor-

mal.) Mary won’t speak to Sally. She

won’t give her the time of day. I could-

n’t get an appointment with Mr. Smith. He

wouldn’t even give me the time of day.

not give two hoots (about someone or some-

thing) Go to not care two hoots (about

someone or something).

not half bad okay; pretty good. (Folksy.)

Say, this roast beef isn’t half bad. Hey,

Sally! You’re not half bad!

[not] have anything to do with something

Go to have something to do with something.

not hold a candle to someone or something

Go to not hold a stick to someone or something

not hold a stick to someone or something and

not hold a candle to someone or something

not to be nearly as good as someone or

something. (Informal.) Sally is much

faster than Bob. Bob doesn’t hold a stick

to Sally. This TV doesn’t hold a candle

to that one. That one is much better.

not hold water to make no sense; to be il-

logical. (Also literal. Informal. Said of

ideas, arguments, etc., not people. It

means that the idea has holes in it.)

Your argument doesn’t hold water. This

scheme won’t work because it can’t hold

water.

not hurt a flea not to harm anything or

anyone, even a tiny insect. (Also with

other forms of negation.) Ted would

not even hurt a f lea. He could not have

struck Bill. Ted would never hurt a f lea,

and he would not hit anyone as you claim.

not in the same league with someone or

something not anywhere nearly as good as

someone or something. (Also literal.)

John isn’t in the same league with Bob and

his friends. This house isn’t in the same

league with our old one.

not know beans (about someone or some-

thing) to know nothing about someone or

something. (Slang.) Bill doesn’t know

beans about f lying an airplane. When it

comes to f lying, I don’t know beans. She

doesn’t know beans about Bill.

not know enough to come in out of the

rain to be very stupid. Bob is so stupid

he doesn’t know enough to come in out of

the rain. You can’t expect very much

from somebody who doesn’t know enough

to come in out of the rain.

not know from nothing to be stupid, in-

nocent, and naive. (Slang. This nothing is

not replaced with something. Usually

with don’t, as in the examples below.)

Old John—he don’t know from nothing.

What do you expect from somebody who

don’t know from nothing?

not know if one is coming or going Go

to not know whether one is coming or

going.

not know one’s own strength not to real-

ize how destructive or harmful one’s

strength can be. (Present tense only.)

I didn’t mean to hurt you. I guess I don’t

know my own strength. He might break

the door down by accident. He doesn’t

know his own strength and could end up

pushing too hard against the door.

not know someone from Adam not to know

someone at all. I wouldn’t recognize

John if I saw him. I don’t know him from

Adam. What does she look like? I don’t

know her from Adam.

not know the first thing about someone

or something not to know anything about

someone or something. I don’t know

the first thing about f lying an airplane.

She doesn’t know the first thing about

John.

not know where to turn and not know

which way to turn to have no idea about

what to do (about something). I was so

confused I didn’t know where to turn.

We needed help, but we didn’t know which

way to turn.

not know whether one is coming or go-

ing and not know if one is coming or

going to be very confused. I’m so busy

that I don’t know if I’m coming or going.

You look as if you don’t know whether

you’re coming or going.

not know which way to turn Go to not

know where to turn.

not let someone catch someone doing something

and not want to catch someone doing

something to find someone doing some-

thing wrong. (The idea is that the per-

son ought not to do the wrong thing

again, not that the person simply avoid

getting caught.) How many times have

I told you not to play ball in the house?

Don’t let me catch you doing that again.

If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thou-

sand times: Don’t do that! I don’t want to

catch you doing it again!

not lift a finger (to help someone) and not

lift a hand (to help someone) to do noth-

ing to help someone. (The someone is

anyone in the negative.) They would-

n’t lift a finger to help us.  Can you

imagine that they wouldn’t lift a finger?

Sally refused to lift a hand to help her

own sister.

not lift a hand (to help someone) Go to not

lift a finger (to help someone).

not long for this world to be about to die.

Our dog is nearly twelve years old and

not long for this world. I’m so tired. I

think I’m not long for this world.

not made of money [of a person] not hav-

ing a lot of money; not having an un-

limited supply of money. I can’t afford

a car like that. I’m not made of money you

know. There is only so much they can

pay. They’re not made of money.

not miss a thing Go to not miss much.

not miss much 1. and not miss a thing

not to miss observing any part of what

is going on. (Usually with do as in the ex-

amples below.) Ted doesn’t miss much.

He is very alert. The puppy doesn’t miss

a thing. He sees every move you make. 2.

not to miss experiencing something that

really was not worth experiencing any-

way. (Sarcastic. Usually with do as in the

examples below.) I missed the big sales

meeting last week, but I understand I did-

n’t miss much. BILL: I didn’t see that

new movie that is showing at the theater.

TOM: You didn’t miss much.

not move a muscle to remain perfectly

motionless. Be quiet. Sit there and don’t

move a muscle. I was so tired I couldn’t

move a muscle.

not on any account Go to on no account.

not one iota not even a tiny bit. I won’t

give you any at all! Not one iota! I did

not get one iota of encouragement from

any of those people.

not one’s place not one’s role to do some-

thing. It was not my place to criticize

my boss. It was Bill’s place to ask the

questions, not yours.

not on your life Go to not for (anything in)

the world.

not open one’s mouth and not utter a

word not to say anything at all; not to tell

something (to anyone). Don’t worry,

I’ll keep your secret. I won’t even open my

mouth. Have no fear. I won’t utter a

word. I don’t know how they found out.

I didn’t even open my mouth.

not see any objection (to something) Go to

see no objection (to something).

not see farther than the end of one’s

nose and not see past the end of one’s

nose not to care about what is not actu-

ally present or obvious; not to care about

the future or about what is happening

elsewhere or to other people. (Could be

literal or an exaggeration in a heavy fog

or in dim light.) Mary can’t see past the

end of her nose. She doesn’t care about

what will happen in the future as long as

she’s comfortable now. Jack’s been ac-

cused of not seeing farther than the end of

his nose. He refuses to expand the company

and look for new markets.

not see past the end of one’s nose Go to

not see farther than the end of one’s

nose.

not set foot somewhere not to go somewhere

I wouldn’t set foot in John’s

room. I’m very angry at him. He never

set foot here.

not show one’s face not to appear (some-

not worth a hill of beans and not worth




where).

After what she said, she had

a plugged nickel worthless. (Folksy.)

better not show her face around here again.

If I don’t say I’m sorry, I’ll never be able

to show my face again.

not sleep a wink not to sleep at all. (In-

formal.) I couldn’t sleep a wink last

night. Ann hasn’t been able to sleep a

wink for a week.

not someone’s cup of tea not something one

prefers. Playing cards isn’t her cup of

tea. Sorry, that’s not my cup of tea.

not take no for an answer not to accept

someone’s refusal. (Informal. A polite

way of being insistent.) Now, you must

drop over and see us tomorrow. We won’t

take no for an answer. I had to go. They

just wouldn’t take no for an answer.

not take stock in something Go to take no

stock in something.

not tell a (living) soul not to reveal some-

thing to anyone. You secret is safe with

me. I won’t tell a living soul. Promise

you won’t tell a soul, but I’m engaged.

not up to scratch and not up to snuff

not adequate. (Informal. See also up to

snuff; up to scratch.) Sorry, your pa-

per isn’t up to scratch. Please do it over

again. The performance was not up to

snuff.

not up to snuff Go to not up to scratch.

not utter a word Go to not open one’s

mouth.

not want to catch someone doing something

Go to not let someone catch someone doing

something.

not what something is cracked up to be Go

to not all something is cracked up to be.

not with it not able to think clearly; not

able to understand things. Lisa’s mother

is not really with it anymore. She’s going

senile. Tom’s not with it yet. He’s only

just come round from the anesthetic.

not worth a plugged nickel Go to not

worth a hill of beans.

not worth a red cent Go to not worth a

dime.

not worth mentioning 1. not important

enough to require a comment. There

are others, but they are not worth men-

tioning. A small number of books hint

at the phenomenon, but they aren’t worth

mentioning. 2. [of an error or wrong] not

worth apologizing for. This isn’t a

problem at all. It’s not worth mentioning.

No need to apologize to me. No harm

done. It’s not worth mentioning.

not worth one’s while not worth bothering

with; not worth spending time on. It’s

not worth my while to discuss it with you.

Don’t bother trying to collect money

from them. It isn’t worth your while.

not worth the trouble not important

enough to require a comment. Don’t

bother with it. It isn’t worth the trouble.

There is no point in trying to get the spot

out of the carpet. It isn’t worth the trouble.