everything

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.