word

word by word one word at a time.

examined the contract word by word to

make sure everything was the way we

wanted. We compared the stories word

by word to see what made them different.

word for word in the exact words; verba-

tim. I memorized the speech, word for

word. I can’t recall word for word what

she told us.

a word to the wise a good piece of advice;

a word of wisdom. If I can give you a

word to the wise, I would suggest going to

the courthouse about an hour before your

trial. Here is a word to the wise. Keep

your eyes open and your mouth shut.

words to that effect Go to something to

that effect.

[work is cut out for one] Go to one’s work

is cut out for one.

work one’s fingers to the bone to work

very hard. I worked my fingers to the

bone so you children could have everything

you needed. Now look at the way you treat

me! I spent the day working my fingers

to the bone, and now I want to relax.

work (one’s way) into something to manage

to join or become a member of some-

thing. (Refers to squeezing into some-

thing.) Ann worked her way into the

club, and now she’s a member in good

standing. Bob worked his way into the

top management of the company.

work one’s way through college to hold a

job that pays part of one’s college ex-

penses. Tom couldn’t get a loan, so he

had to work his way through college. I

worked my way through college, and that

made college seem more valuable to me.

work one’s way up to advance in one’s job

or position, from the beginning level to

a higher level. I haven’t always been

president of this bank. I started as a teller

and worked my way up. If I work my

way up, can I be president of the bank?

work out to do a program of exercise.

have to work out every day in order to keep

healthy. Working out a lot gives me a big

appetite.

work someone or something in to insert some-

one or something (into a schedule or a

The doctor’s schedule was very

busy, but the nurse agreed to try to work

me in. The mechanic had many cars to

fix, but he said he’d work my car in. T I’m

glad he could work in my car.

work someone or something up 1. [with some-

one] to get someone ready for something,

especially medical treatment. T The

coach worked up the whole team before the

game. The doctor told the nurse to work

Mr. Franklin up for surgery. 2. [with

something] to create, cook, or arrange

something. T Bob is in the kitchen work-

ing up dinner.   Is there something

planned for Friday night, or should we

work something up?

work someone over to threaten, intimidate,

or beat someone. (Slang, especially crim-

inal slang.) I thought they were really

going to work me over, but they only asked

a few questions. T The police worked over

Bill until he told where the money was

hidden.

work something into something else to rub or

knead something into something else.

You should work more butter into the

dough before baking the bread. Work

this lotion into your skin to make your

sunburn stop hurting.

work something out to settle a problem.

(Also literal.) It was a serious problem,

but we managed to work it out. T I’m glad

we can work out our problems without

fighting.

work wonders (with someone or something)

to be surprisingly beneficial to someone

or something; to be very helpful with

someone or something. This new med-

icine works wonders with my headaches.

Jean was able to work wonders with the of-

fice staff. They improved their efficiency as

soon as she took over.

worked up (about something) Go to (all)

worked up (over something).

worked up (over something) Go to (all)

worked up (over something).

the works everything. (Informal.) They

gave me everything I could possibly want.

They gave me the works!  I want the

works! Everything you have to offer!

The worm (has) turned. Someone who is

usually patient and humble has decided

to stop being so. Jane used to be treated

badly by her husband and she just accepted

it, but one day she hit him. The worm

turned all right.  Tom used to let the

other boys bully him on the playground,

but one day the worm turned and he’s now

leader of their gang.

worm one’s way out of something to squeeze

or wiggle out of a problem or a respon-

sibility. (Informal.) This is your job,

and you can’t worm your way out of it!

I’m not trying to worm my way out of

anything!

worm something out of someone to get some

kind of information out of someone. (In-

formal.) He didn’t want to tell me the

truth, but I finally wormed it out of him.

She succeeded in worming the secret out

of me. I didn’t mean to tell it.

worth its weight in gold very valuable.

This book is worth its weight in gold.

Oh, Bill. You’re wonderful. You’re worth

your weight in gold.

worth one’s salt worth one’s salary.

doesn’t work very hard, and he’s just barely

worth his salt, but he’s very easy to get

along with. I think he’s more than worth

his salt. He’s a good worker.

worth someone’s while worth one’s time and

trouble. (See also make it worth someone’s

while.) The job pays so badly it’s not

worth your while even going for an inter-

view. It’s not worth Mary’s while going

all that way just for a one-hour meeting.

worthy of the name deserving to be so

called; good enough to enjoy a specific

name. There was not an actor worthy of

the name in that play. Any art critic

worthy of the name would know that

painting to be a fake.

would (just) as soon do something Go to

had (just) as soon do something.

would give one’s right arm (for someone or

something) would be willing to give some-

thing of great value in exchange for

someone or something. I’d give my

right arm for a nice cool drink. I’d give

my right arm to be there.

would like (to have) someone or something to

want someone or something; to prefer

someone or something. I would like to

have three cookies. I would like a piece

of cake.

would rather would prefer [something]

more willingly; would prefer [something]

more readily. I would rather have an

apple than a pear. I don’t like pears. I’d

rather live in the north than the south, be-

cause I like snow.

wouldn’t dream of doing something would

not even consider doing something. (In-

formal.) I wouldn’t dream of taking

your money! I’m sure that John would-

n’t dream of complaining to the manager.

wouldn’t touch someone or something with

a ten-foot pole would not be involved

with something under any circum-

stances. I know about the piece of

vacant land for sale on Maple Street. I

wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole be-

cause there used to be a gas station there

and the soil is polluted. I wouldn’t touch

that book with a ten-foot pole. It is noth-

ing but gossip and scandal.

wrap something up to terminate something;

to bring something to an end. (Also lit-

eral. Informal. See also get something

sewed up.) It’s time to wrap this pro-

ject up and move on to something else. T

Let’s wrap up this discussion. It’s time to

go home.

wrapped up in someone or something con-

cerned and involved with someone or

something. Sally is wrapped up in her

work. Ann is all wrapped up in her chil-

dren and their activities.

wreak havoc with something to cause a lot

of trouble with something; to ruin or

damage something. Your attitude will

wreak havoc with my project.   The

weather wreaked havoc with our picnic

plans.

wreak vengeance (up)on someone or some-

thing to seek and get revenge on someone

by harming someone or something.

The thief wreaked his vengeance by de-

stroying his rival’s house. The general

wanted to wreak vengeance on the oppos-

ing army for their recent successful attack.

write someone or something off 1. [with some-

thing] to absorb a debt or a loss in ac-

counting. The bill couldn’t be collected,

so we had to write it off. T The bill was too

large, and we couldn’t write off the

amount. We decided to sue. 2. to drop

someone or something from considera-

tion. The manager wrote Tom off for a

promotion. T I wrote off that piece of land

as worthless. It can’t be used for anything.

write someone or something up 1. [with some-

thing] to prepare a bill, order, or state-

ment. Please write the order up and

send me a copy. T As soon as I finish writ-

ing up your check, I’ll bring you some more

coffee. 2. to write an article about some-

one or something. A reporter wrote me

up for the Sunday paper. I wrote up a

local factory and sent the story to a mag-

azine, but they didn’t buy the story.

write something down to write something;

to make a note of something. (Also with-

out down.) If I write it down, I won’t

forget it. T I wrote down everything she

said.

write something out to spell or write a num-

ber or an abbreviation. Don’t just write

“7,” write it out. T Please write out all ab-

breviations, such as Doctor for Dr.

the wrong side of the tracks the poor

part of a town. (Often with come from,

be from, or live on, as in the examples.

Compare this with the other side of the

tracks.) They said that Bob was from the

wrong side of the tracks, but that it didn’t

matter. We went to a school that was

on the wrong side of the tracks, and we all

got a fine education.

[wrote the book on something] Go to some-

one wrote the book on something.