U



ugly as a toad Go to (as) ugly as a toad.

ugly as sin Go to (as) ugly as sin.

unaccustomed to someone or something not

used to someone or something. The

poor family was unaccustomed to going to

fancy restaurants.  Bill was unaccus-

tomed to typing his own letters.

under a cloud (of suspicion) to be sus-

pected of (doing) something. Someone

stole some money at work, and now every-

one is under a cloud of suspicion. Even

the manager is under a cloud.

under arrest being or having been arrested

and in the care of the police in prepara-

tion for the filing of a charge. Stop

where you are! You are under arrest. Am

I under arrest, officer? What did I do?

under certain circumstances and under

certain conditions depending on or in-

fluenced by something; because of some-

thing. Under certain conditions, you

can see across the lake. Under no cir-

cumstances are you to leave the house

tonight.

under certain conditions Go to under certain

circumstances.

under (close) scrutiny being watched or

examined closely. Under close scrutiny,

the jeweler found a f law in the diamond.

The suspect was kept under scrutiny

throughout the investigation.

under construction being built or re-

paired. We cannot travel on this road

because it’s under construction.  Our

new home has been under construction all

summer. We hope to move in next month.

under control manageable; restrained and

controlled; not out of control. We fi-

nally got things under control and func-

tioning smoothly. The doctor felt she

had the disease under control and that I

would get well soon.

under fire during an attack. There was

a scandal in city hall, and the mayor was

forced to resign under fire.  John is a

good lawyer because he can think under

fire.

under oath bound by an oath; having

taken an oath. You must tell the truth

because you are under oath. I was placed

under oath before I could testify in the

trial.

under one’s own steam by one’s own

power or effort. (Informal.) I missed

my ride to class, so I had to get there un-

der my own steam. John will need some

help with this project. He can’t do it un-

der his own steam.

under someone’s (very) nose Go to (right)

under someone’s (very) nose.

under (some) pressure experiencing some-

thing that causes an amount of stress or

anxiety. I have a headache because I’m

under a lot of pressure at work. The pro-

fessor’s children were under pressure to do

well in school.

under the aegis of someone and under the

auspices of someone under the sponsor-

ship of someone or some group; under

the control or monitoring of someone or

some group. The entire project fell un-

der the aegis of Thomas. The entire pro-

gram is under the auspices of Acme-Global

Paper Co., Inc.

under the auspices of someone Go to un-

der the aegis of someone.

under the circumstances in a particular

situation; because of the circumstances

I’m sorry to hear that you’re ill. Under

the circumstances, you may take the day

off. We won’t expect you to come to work

for a few days, under the circumstances

under the influence (of alcohol) drunk;

nearly drunk; affected by alcohol. She

behaves quite rudely when under the in-

f luence of alcohol. Ed was stopped by a

police officer for driving while under the

inf luence.

under the influence of something experi-

encing the effects of something such as

alcohol, drugs, or any controlling power

or person. (See also under the influence

(of alcohol).) I think that guy is under

the inf luence of drugs. Bill has lived un-

der the influence of his mother for too long.

under the sun anywhere on earth at all.

This is the largest cattle ranch under the

sun. Isn’t there anyone under the sun

who can help me with this problem?

under the table in secret, as with the giv-

ing of a bribe. (Also literal. Informal.)

The construction company had been pay-

ing money to the mayor under the table.

Tom transferred the deed to the property

to his wife under the table.

under the weather ill. I’m a bit under

the weather today, so I can’t go to the of-

fice. My head is aching, and I feel a lit-

tle under the weather.

under the wire just barely in time or on

time. (Informal.) I turned in my report

just under the wire. Bill was the last per-

son to get in the door. He got in under the

wire.

unfamiliar territory an area of knowledge

unknown to the speaker. We are in un-

familiar territory and I don’t know the an-

swer. Astronomy is unfamiliar territory,

and I cannot answer any questions about

the stars.

an unknown quantity a person or thing

about which no one is certain. (Preceded

by be, become, seem like, or act like.)

John is an unknown quantity. We don’t

know how he’s going to act. The new

clerk is an unknown quantity. Things may

not turn out all right.

until hell freezes over Go to when hell

freezes over.

(un)til the cows come home until the

last; until very late. (Folksy or informal.

Refers to the end of the day, when the

cows come home to be fed and milked.)

We were having so much fun that we de-

cided to stay at school until the cows came

home. Where’ve you been? Who said

you could stay out ’til the cows come home?

up a blind alley at a dead end; on a route

that leads nowhere. (Informal.) I have

been trying to find out something about

my ancestors, but I’m up a blind alley. I

can’t find anything. The police are up

a blind alley in their investigation of the

crime.

up against something having trouble with

something. (The something is often it,

meaning facing trouble in general.)

Jane is up against a serious problem. Yes,

she really looks as if she’s up against it.

up and about healthy and moving about—

not sick in bed. Mary is getting better.

She should be up and about in a few days.

She can’t wait until she’s up and about.

She’s tired of being in bed.

up and around out of bed and moving

about or able to move about. (Refers to

a person who has just arisen for the day

or to someone who has been sick in bed.)

When Tom is up and around, ask him

to call me. The f lu put Alice into bed

for three days, but she was up and around

on the fourth.

up and at them to get up and go at peo-

ple or things; to get active and get busy.

(Informal. Usually them is ’em.) Come

on, Bob—up and at ’em! There is a lot

of work to be done around here. Up and

at ’em, everybody!

up and away up into the air and into

flight. (Said of a bird or an airplane.)

After a few seconds of speeding down the

runway, our f light to Tucson was up and

away. Just before the cat pounced on the

sparrows, they were up and away and the

cat was left with empty paws and jaws.

up-and-coming new, but enterprising and

alert. Jane is a hard worker—really up-

and-coming.  Bob is also an up-and-

coming youngster who is going to become

well known.

up a tree in a difficult situation and unable

to get out; stymied and confused. (Slang.)

I’m really up a tree on this problem.

Geometry is too hard for me. It’s got me up

a tree.

up for grabs available to anyone. (Slang.)

Mary quit yesterday, and her job is up

for grabs. Who’s in charge around here?

This whole organization is up for grabs.

up for something enthusiastic about some-

thing. (Informal.) Are you up for a hike

through the woods? I’m really up for my

job interview today.

up-front 1. sincere and open. Ann is a

very up-front kind of person. Everyone

feels easy around her. It’s hard to tell

what Tom is really thinking. He’s not very

up-front. 2. in advance. I ordered a new

car, and they wanted 20 percent up-front.

I couldn’t afford to pay that much up-

front. I’d have to make a smaller deposit.

up in arms rising up in anger; very angry.

(Also literal when actual weapons are in-

volved.) My father was really up in

arms when he got his tax bill this year.

The citizens were up in arms, pounding on

the gates of the palace, demanding justice.

up in the air (about someone or something)

undecided about someone or something;

uncertain about someone or something.

I don’t know what Sally plans to do.

Things were sort of up in the air the last

time we talked. Let’s leave this question

up in the air until next week.

up in years and advanced in years;

along in years; on in years old; elderly.

My uncle is up in years and can’t hear

too well. Many people lose their hear-

ing somewhat when they are along in

years.

up North to or at the northern part of the

country or the world. (See also back East,

down South, and out West.) I don’t like

living up North. I want to move down

South where it’s warm. When you say

“up North,” do you mean where the polar

bears live, or just in the northern states?

up the creek (without a paddle) in a bad

situation. (Slang. Use with caution. There

is a taboo version of this phrase.) What

a mess I’m in. I’m really up the creek with-

out a paddle. I tried to prevent it, but I

seem to be up the creek, too.

up-to-date modern; up to the current stan-

dards of fashion; with the latest infor-

mation. I’d like to see a more up-to-date

report on Mr. Smith. This is not an up-

to-date record of the construction project.

I’m having my living room redecorated

to bring it up-to-date. I don’t care if my

rooms are up-to-date. I just want them to

be comfortable.

up to doing something able to do something.

Do you feel up to going back to work

today? She just isn’t up to staying up all

night.

up to no good doing something bad. (In-

formal.) I could tell from the look on

Tom’s face that he was up to no good.

There are three boys in the front yard. I

don’t know what they are doing, but I

think they are up to no good.

up to one’s ears (in something) Go to up to

one’s neck (in something).

up to one’s eyeballs (in something) Go to up

to one’s neck (in something).

up to one’s neck (in something) and up to

one’s ears (in something); up to one’s eye-

balls (in something) having a lot of some-

thing; very much involved in something.

(Informal.) I can’t come to the meeting.

I’m up to my neck in these reports. Mary

is up to her ears in her work. I am up

to my eyeballs in things to do! I can’t do

any more!

up to par as good as the standard or aver-

age; up to standard. I’m just not feel-

ing up to par today. I must be coming

down with something.  The manager

said that the report was not up to par and

gave it back to Mary to do over again.

up to scratch Go to up to snuff.

up to snuff and up to scratch as good as

is required; meeting the minimum re-

quirements. (Slang. Compare this with

up to par.) Sorry, Tom. Your perfor-

mance isn’t up to snuff. You’ll have to im-

prove or find another job.  My paper

wasn’t up to scratch, so I got an F.

up to someone [for a decision] to be some-

one’s own choice. She said I didn’t have

to go if I didn’t want to. It’s entirely up to

me. It’s up to Mary whether she takes

the job or tries to find another one.

up to something 1. occupied in some activ-

ity, often something secret or wrong.

Those kids are up to something. They’re

too quiet. Goodness knows what that

child will be up to next! 2. Go to up to

doing something. 3. to be as good as some-

thing; to be good enough for something.

This work’s not up to the standard of the

class. Your last essay was not up to your

up-to-the-minute the very latest or most

recent. I want to hear some up-to-the-

minute news on the hostage situation.

I just got an up-to-the-minute report on

Tom’s health.

(up)on impact at the place or time of mak-

ing an impact. The car crumpled upon

impact with the brick wall. The man

who fell from the top of the building died

on impact.

ups and downs good fortune and bad for-

tune. I’ve had my ups and downs, but

in general life has been good to me. All

people have their ups and downs.

upset the apple cart to mess up or ruin

something. Tom really upset the apple

cart by telling Mary the truth about Jane.

I always knew he’d upset the apple cart.

the upshot of something the result or out-

come of something. The upshot of my

criticism was a change in policy. The up-

shot of the argument was an agreement to

hire a new secretary.

use every trick in the book to use every

method possible. (Informal.) I used

every trick in the book, but I still couldn’t

manage to get a ticket to the game Satur-

day. Bob tried to use every trick in the

book, but he still failed.

use one’s head and use one’s noggin; use

one’s noodle to use one’s own intelli-

gence. (Noggin and noodle are slang

terms for “head.”) You can do better in

math if you’ll just use your head. Jane

uses her noggin and gets things done cor-

rectly and on time. Yes, she sure knows

how to use her noodle.

use one’s noggin Go to use one’s head.

use one’s noodle Go to use one’s head.

use some elbow grease use some effort.

(Slang. As if lubricating one’s elbow

would make one more efficient. Note the

variation in the examples.) Come on,

Bill. You can do it. Just use some elbow

grease. I tried elbow grease, but it does-

n’t help get the job done.

use someone or something as an excuse to

blame someone or something (for a fail-

ure). John used his old car as an excuse

for not going to the meeting. My hus-

band was sick in bed, and I used him as an

excuse.

used to do something to have done some-

thing [customarily] in the past.

used to go swimming in the lake before it

became polluted. I used to eat nuts, but

then I became allergic to them.

used to someone or something accustomed to

someone or something. I’m not used to

Jane yet. She’s a bit hard to get along with.

How long does it take to get used to this

weather?