W

wade in(to something) to start in (doing)

something immediately. (Also literal.)

I need some preparation. I can’t just wade

into the job and start doing things cor-

rectly. We don’t expect you to wade in.

We’ll tell you what to do.

wag one’s chin to chatter or chat with

someone. (Slang.) We stood around

and wagged our chins for almost an hour.

Don’t just wag your chin. Stop talking

and get to work!

wait-and-see attitude a skeptical attitude;

an uncertain attitude where someone will

just wait and see what happens. John

thought that Mary couldn’t do it, but he

took a wait-and-see attitude. His wait-

and-see attitude didn’t influence me at all.

wait on someone hand and foot to serve

someone very well, attending to all per-

sonal needs. I don’t mind bringing you

your coffee, but I don’t intend to wait on

you hand and foot. I don’t want any-

one to wait on me hand and foot. I can

take care of myself.

wait up (for someone or something) 1. to stay

up late waiting for someone to arrive or

something to happen. I’ll be home late.

Don’t wait up for me. We waited up for

the coming of the new year, and then we

went to bed. 2. and hold up (for some-

one or something) to wait for someone or

something to catch up. Hey! Don’t go

so fast. Wait up for me. Hold up! You’re

going too fast.

wake the dead to be so loud as to wake

those who are “sleeping” the most

soundly: the dead. You are making

enough noise to wake the dead.  Stop

hollering! You’ll wake the dead!

walk all over someone to treat someone

badly. (Also literal.) She’s so mean to

her children. She walks all over them.

The manager had walked all over Ann for

months. Finally she quit.

walk a tightrope to be in a situation where

one must be very cautious. (Also literal.)

I’ve been walking a tightrope all day. I

need to relax. Our business is about to

fail. We’ve been walking a tightrope for

three months.

walk off with something Go to walk away

with something.

walk on air to be very happy; to be eu-

phoric. Ann was walking on air when

she got the job. On the last day of school,

all the children are walking on air.

walk out (on someone or something) 1. [with

someone] to abandon someone; to leave

one’s spouse. Mr. Franklin walked out

on Mrs. Franklin last week. Bob walked

out on Jane without saying good-bye. 2. to

leave a performance (of something by

someone). We didn’t like the play at all,

so we walked out. John was giving a very

dull speech, and a few people even walked

out on him.

walk the floor to pace nervously while

waiting. While Bill waited for news of

the operation, he walked the floor for hours

on end. Walking the f loor won’t help.

You might as well sit down and relax.

walk the plank to suffer punishment at the

hand of someone. (From the image of pi-

rates making their blindfolded captives

commit suicide by walking off the end of

a plank jutting out over the open sea.)

Fred may think he can make the members

of my department walk the plank, but we

will fight back. Tom thought he could

make John walk the plank, but John fought back

wall-to-wall with something covered with

something in all places. (From wall-to-

wall carpeting.) The hallway is wall-to-

wall with Jimmy’s toys. The beach was

wall-to-wall with tourists.

Walls have ears. We may be overheard.

(Proverb.) Let’s not discuss this matter

here. Walls have ears, you know. Shhh.

Walls have ears. Someone may be listening.

want for nothing to lack nothing; to have

everything one needs or wishes. The

Smiths don’t have much money, but their

children seem to want for nothing. Jean’s

husband spoils her. She wants for nothing.

warm as toast Go to (as) warm as toast.

warm the bench [for a player] to remain

out of play during a game—seated on a

bench. John spent the whole game

warming the bench. Mary never warms

the bench. She plays from the beginning

to the end.

warm the cockles of someone’s heart to

make someone feel warm and happy.

It warms the cockles of my heart to hear

you say that.  Hearing that old song

again warmed the cockles of her heart.

warm up to someone to become friendly

with someone; to get used to a person

and become friends. It took a while be-

fore John warmed up to me, but then we

became good friends. It’s hard to warm

up to Sally. She’s very quiet and shy.

warts and all including all the faults and

disadvantages. Jim has many faults, but

Jean loves him, warts and all. The place

where we went on vacation had some dis-

mal aspects, but we liked it, warts and all.

wash a few things out to do a little bit of

laundry, such as socks and underclothing.

I’m sorry I can’t go out tonight. I’ve got

to wash a few things out. T I’ll be ready

to leave in just a minute. I’ve just got to

wash out a few things.

wash one’s dirty linen in public Go to air

one’s dirty linen in public.

wash one’s hands of someone or something to

end one’s association with someone or

something. I washed my hands of Tom.

I wanted no more to do with him. That

car was a real headache. I washed my

hands of it long ago.

washed-out exhausted; lacking energy.

(Informal.) Pam was completely

washed-out after the birth of the baby.

I feel washed-out. I need a vacation.

washed-up finished. (Informal.)

through, Tom,” said the manager, “fired—

washed-up!”  Max is washed-up as a

bank teller.

waste one’s breath to waste one’s time talk-

ing; to talk in vain. (Informal.) Don’t

waste your breath talking to her. She won’t

listen. You can’t persuade me. You’re just

wasting your breath.

waste someone to kill someone. (Slang, es-

pecially criminal slang.) The thief tried

to waste the bank guard after the bank

robbery.   The crook said, “Try that

again, and I’ll waste you!”

watch one’s step to act with care and cau-

tion so as not to make a mistake or offend

someone. (Also literal.) John had bet-

ter watch his step with the new boss. He

won’t put up with his lateness. Mary

was told by the lecturer to watch her step

and stop missing classes.

watch out Go to watch out for someone or

something.

watch out for someone or something and look

out for someone or something 1. [with some-

one] to watch over and care for someone.

When I was a kid, my older brother al-

ways watched out for me. I really needed

someone to look out for me then. 2. to be

on guard for someone or something; to

be on watch for the arrival or approach

of someone or something. Watch out

for someone wearing a white carnation.

Look out for John and his friends. They’ll

be coming this way very soon. 3. and look

out; watch out to try to avoid a con-

frontation with someone or something.

Watch out! That car nearly hit you!

Look out for John. He’s looking for you, and

he’s really mad. Thanks. I’d better look

out.

watch over someone or something to monitor

or guard someone or something. Please

watch over my apartment while I am on

vacation. I am looking for someone to

watch over my grandmother during the

day.

watch someone or something like a hawk to

watch someone very carefully. The

teacher watched the students like a hawk

to make sure they did not cheat on the

quiz. We have to watch our dog like a

hawk in case he runs away.

water something down 1. to dilute a liquid,

usually with water. The punch was good

until someone watered it down. This is

too strong! Water it down. 2. to make

something milder or less intense. (Refers

to diluting as in sense 1.) The language

in the script was rude but realistic until

someone watered it down. T Professor

Jones sometimes waters down his lectures

so people can understand them better.

water under the bridge [something] past

and forgotten. (Refers to water that has

already flowed under a bridge and has

gone downstream.) Please don’t worry

about it anymore. It’s all water under the

bridge. I can’t change the past. It’s wa-

ter under the bridge.

wax and wane to increase and then de-

crease, especially with reference to the

phases of the moon. As the moon waxes

and wanes, so does the height of the tide

change. Voter sentiment about the tax

proposal waxes and wanes with each pass-

ing day.

[way of life] Go to one’s way of life.

(way) over there in a place some distance

away. I see a house way over there in the

field. My hat is over there on the table.

ways and means referring to the raising of

money to pay for something. (Typically

refers to a government committee or a

committee of some organization charged

with raising money.) The suggestion

was referred to the ways and means com-

mittee for discussion at the next meeting.

The proposed legislation is stalled in

ways and means.

We aim to please. We really try to make

people happy. We aim to please because

we want you to be our customer. I’m

glad you like our food. We aim to please.

weak as a baby Go to (as) weak as a baby.

weak as a kitten Go to (as) weak as a

kitten.

a wealth of something a large amount of

something. There’s a wealth of infor-

mation on parrots at the library. The

junkyard had a wealth of used car parts.

wear and tear (on something) the process of

wearing down or breaking down somethings

Driving in freezing weather

means lots of wear and tear on your car.

I drive carefully and sensibly to avoid

wear and tear.

wear more than one hat to have more

than one set of responsibilities; to hold

more than one office. The mayor is also

the police chief. She wears more than one

hat. I have too much to do to wear more

than one hat.

wear off to become less; to stop gradually.

(Also literal.) The effects of the pain-

killer wore off and my tooth began to hurt.

I was annoyed at first, but my anger

wore off.

wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve and have

one’s heart on one’s sleeve to display

one’s feelings openly and habitually,

rather than keep them private. John

always has his heart on his sleeve so that

everyone knows how he feels. Because

she wears her heart on her sleeve, it’s easy

to hurt her feelings.

wear on someone to bother or annoy some-

one. We stayed with them only a short

time because my children seemed to wear

on them. Always being short of money

wears on a person after a while.

wear out one’s welcome to stay too long

(at an event to which one has been in-

vited); to visit somewhere too often.

Tom visited the Smiths so often that he

wore out his welcome. At about mid-

night, I decided that I had worn out my

welcome, so I went home.

wear someone down to overcome someone’s

objections; to persist until someone has

been persuaded. John didn’t want to go,

but we finally wore him down. T We were

unable to wear down John, and when we

left, he was still insisting on running away

from home.

wear someone out to exhaust someone; to

make someone tired. The coach made

the team practice until he wore them out.

T If he wears out everybody on the team,

nobody will be left to play in the game.

weasel out (of something) to get out or

sneak out of something. (Refers to the

ability of a weasel to move through tiny

openings. Informal.) I don’t want to go

to the meeting. I think I’ll try to weasel out

of it. You had better be there! Don’t try

to weasel out!

weather permitting if the weather allows

it. Weather permitting, we will be there

on time. The plane lands at midnight,

weather permitting.

weave in and out (of something) to move,

drive, or walk in and out of something,

such as traffic, a line, etc. The car was

weaving in and out of traffic dangerously.

The deer ran rapidly through the for-

est, weaving in and out of the trees.

wed(ded) to someone married to someone.

The couple will have been wed to each

other for fifty years next June. Anne is

wed to one of my cousins.

wedded to something mentally attached to

something; firmly committed to some-

thing. The manager was wedded to the

idea of getting new computers.  The

mayor was wedded to the new budget plan.

wee hours (of the night) Go to small

hours (of the night).

weed someone or something out to remove

someone or something unwanted or un-

desirable from a group or collection.

We had to weed them out one by one. T

The auditions were held to weed out the

actors with the least ability. T I’m going

through my books to weed out those that I

don’t need anymore.

week in, week out every week, week af-

ter week. (Informal.) We have the same

old food, week in, week out. I’m tired

of this job. I’ve done the same thing—week

in, week out—for three years.

weeks running Go to days running.