have-1

have a nose for something to have the tal-

ent for finding something. Police dogs

have a good nose for drugs. The reporter

has a nose for news.

have an out to have an excuse; to have a

means of avoiding something. (Refers to

a way out or means of escape. Informal.

The out is a noun.) He’s very clever. No

matter what happens, he always has an

out. I agreed to go to a party that I don’t

want to go to now. I’m looking for an out.

have a one-track mind to have a mind

that thinks entirely or almost entirely

about one subject, often sex. Adoles-

cent boys often have one-track minds. All

they’re interested in is the opposite sex.

Bob has a one-track mind. He can only talk

about football.

have a passion for someone or something to

have a strong feeling of need or desire for

someone, something, or some activity.

Mary has a great passion for chocolate.

John has a passion for fishing, so he fishes

as often as he can.

have a peep and take a peep to look

quickly, sometimes through a small hole.

Have a peep into the refrigerator and see

if we need any milk. I took a peep at

the comet through the telescope.

have a penchant for doing something to have

a taste, desire, or inclination for doing

something. John has a penchant for eat-

ing fattening foods. Ann has a penchant

for buying clothes.

have a pick-me-up to eat or drink some-

thing stimulating. (The have can be re-

placed with need, want, etc. The me does

not change.) I’d like to have a pick-me-

up. I think I’ll have a bottle of pop. You

look tired. You need a pick-me-up.

have a price on one’s head to be wanted

by the authorities, who have offered a re-

ward for one’s capture. (Informal or

folksy. Usually limited to western and

gangster movies.) We captured a thief

who had a price on his head, and the sher-

iff gave us the reward. The crook was

so mean, he turned in his own brother,

who had a price on his head.

have a right to do something and have the

right to do something to have the freedom

to do something; to possess legal or

moral permission or license to do some-

thing. You don’t have the right to enter

my home without my permission. I have

a right to grow anything I want on my

farmland.

have a rough time (of it) to experience a

difficult period. Since his wife died, Mr.

Brown has been having a rough time of it.

Be nice to Bob. He’s been having a rough

time.

have arrived to reach a position of power,

authority, or prominence. Jane saw her

picture on the cover of the magazine and

felt that she had finally arrived. When

I got an office with a window, I knew that

I had arrived.

have a run-in with someone to have an un-

pleasant and troublesome encounter with

someone. I had a run-in with Anne at

the party, so I left early. David had a

small run-in with the law last night.

have a run of bad luck to have bad luck

repeatedly; to have bad things happen a

number of times. I have had a run of

bad luck, and I have no more money to

spend. The company had a run of bad

luck over the last few years.

have a run of something to have a continu-

ous series of events. The city had a run

of serious crimes that angered the citizens.

We had a run of very hot days last July.

have a say (in something) Go to have a voice

(in something).

have a score to settle (with someone) to

have a problem to clear up with someone;

to have to get even with someone about

something. (See also settle a score with

someone.) I have a score to settle with

John. John and I have a score to settle.

have a scrape (with someone or something)

to come into contact with someone or

something; to have a small battle with

someone or something. (Compare this

with have a brush with something.) I had

a scrape with the county sheriff. John

and Bill had a scrape, but they are friends

again now.

have a screw loose to act silly or crazy.

(Slang.) John is such a clown. He acts as

if he has a screw loose. What’s the mat-

ter with you? Do you have a screw loose

or something?

have a shot at something Go to have a try

at something.

have a smoke to smoke a cigarette, cigar,

or pipe. (The have can be replaced with

need, want, etc.) Can I have a smoke?

I’m very nervous. Do you have a ciga-

rette? I need a smoke.

have a snowball’s chance in hell to have

no chance at all; to have a chance no

greater than that of a snowball in hell. (A

snowball would melt in hell and have no

chance of surviving. Use caution with

hell.) He has a snowball’s chance in hell

of passing the test.  You don’t have a

snowball’s chance in hell of her agreeing to

marry you.

have a soft spot in one’s heart for some-

one or something to be fond of someone or

something. John has a soft spot in his

heart for Mary. I have a soft spot in my

heart for chocolate cake.

have a spaz to get angry or hysterical; to

have a conniption (fit). (Slang.)

Bob. Don’t have a spaz. My father had

a spaz when I came in late last night.

have a stroke to experience sudden un-

consciousness or paralysis due to an in-

terruption in the blood supply to the

brain. (Also used as an exaggeration. See

the last two examples below.) The pa-

tient who received an artificial heart had

a stroke two days after the operation.

My great-uncle Bill—who is very old—

had a stroke last May. Calm down, Bob.

You’re going to have a stroke. My father

almost had a stroke when I came home at

three o’clock this morning.

have a sweet tooth to desire to eat many

sweet foods—especially candy and pas-

tries. I have a sweet tooth, and if I don’t

watch it, I’ll really get fat.  John eats

candy all the time. He must have a sweet

tooth.

have a taste for something a desire for a par-

ticular food, drink, or experience. The

Smiths have a taste for adventure and take

exotic vacations. When she was preg-

nant, Mary often had a taste for pickles.

have a thing going (with someone) and

have something going (with someone) to

have a romance or a love affair with

someone. (Informal.) John and Mary

have a thing going. Bill has a thing go-

ing with Ann.  They have something

going.

have a try at something and have a shot at

something; have a crack at something to

take a turn at trying to do something.

(The expressions with shot and crack are

more colloquial than the main entry

phrase. See also the variants at take a try

at something.) You don’t seem to be hav-

ing a lot of luck with this. Can I have a

try at it? Let Sally have a shot at it.

If you let me have a crack at it, maybe I

can be successful.

have at someone or something Go to get at

someone or something.

have a way with someone or something to

handle or deal well with someone or

something. John has a way with ham-

burger. It’s always delicious. Mother has

a way with Father. She’ll get him to paint

the house.

have a weakness for someone or something

to be unable to resist someone or some-

thing; to be fond of someone or some-

thing; to be (figuratively) powerless

against someone or something. (Com-

pare this with have a soft spot in one’s

heart for someone or something.) I have a

weakness for chocolate. John has a weak-

ness for Mary. I think he’s in love.

have a whale of a time to have an excit-

ing time; to have a big time. (Slang.

Whale is a way of saying big.) We had

a whale of a time at Sally’s birthday party.

Enjoy your vacation! I hope you have a

whale of a time.

have a word with someone to speak to

someone, usually privately. The man-

ager asked to have a word with me when

I was not busy. John, could I have a word

with you? We need to discuss something.

have back at someone Go to get back (at

someone).

have bats in one’s belfry to be slightly

crazy. Poor old Tom has bats in his bel-

fry. Don’t act so silly, John. People will

think you have bats in your belfry.

have bearing on something to apply to

something; to affect or influence some-

thing. The worker’s opinion has no

bearing on the boss’s decision. Does this

information have any bearing on the

question?

have been through the mill have been

badly treated; have become exhausted.

(Informal.) This has been a rough day.

I’ve really been through the mill. This

old car is banged up, and it hardly runs.

It’s been through the mill.

have been to hell and back to have sur-

vived a great deal of trouble. What a

terrible day! I feel like I have been to hell

and back. After a day of shopping, I feel

like I have been to hell and back.

have bigger fish to fry Go to have other

fish to fry.

have broad shoulders to have the ability

to take on unpleasant responsibilities; to

have the ability to accept criticism or re-

buke. (Refers to the apparent strength of

broad shoulders to support a heavy bur-

den.) No need to apologize to me. I can

take it. I have broad shoulders. Karen

may have broad shoulders, but she can’t

endure endless criticism.

have clean hands to be guiltless. (Refers

to the blood on the hands of a murderer.)

Don’t look at me. I have clean hands.

The police took him in, but let him go

again because he had clean hands.

have cold feet Go to get cold feet.

have come a long way to have accom-

plished much; to have advanced much.

(Also literal.) My, how famous you are.

You’ve come a long way. Tom has come

a long way in a short time.

have contact with someone a link to some-

one resulting in communication. (Also

literal.) I have had no contact with Bill

since he left town. Tom had contact with

a known criminal last month.

have designs on someone or something to

have plans for someone or something.

Mrs. Brown has designs on my apple tree.

I think she’s going to cut off the part that

hangs over her fence. Mary has designs

on Bill. I think she’ll try to date him.

have dibs on something to reserve some-

thing for oneself; to claim something for

oneself. (Informal. See also put (one’s)

dibs on something.) I have dibs on the last

piece of cake. John has dibs on the last

piece again. It isn’t fair.

have eyes bigger than one’s stomach to

have a desire for more food than one

could possibly eat. (See also one’s eyes are

bigger then one’s stomach.) I know I

have eyes bigger than my stomach, so I

won’t take a lot of food. Todd has eyes

bigger than his stomach.

have eyes in the back of one’s head to

seem to be able to sense what is going on

outside of one’s vision. My teacher

seems to have eyes in the back of her head.

My teacher doesn’t need to have eyes in

the back of his head. He watches us very

carefully.

have feet of clay [for a strong person] to

have a defect of character. All human

beings have feet of clay. No one is perfect.

Sally was popular and successful. She

was nearly fifty before she learned that she,

too, had feet of clay.

have growing pains 1. [for a child] to

have pains—which are attributed to

growth—in the muscles and joints.

The doctor said that all Mary had were

growing pains and that nothing was really

wrong. Not everyone has growing pains.

2. [for an organization] to have difficul-

ties in its growth. The banker apolo-

gized for losing my check and said the bank

was having growing pains.  Govern-

ments have terrible growing pains.

have had its day to be no longer useful or

successful. Streetcars have had their day

in most American cities. Some people

think that radio has had its day, but oth-

ers prefer it to television.

have had it (up to here) to have reached

the end of one’s endurance or tolerance.

(Informal.) Okay, I’ve had it. You kids

go to bed this instant. We’ve all had it

with you, John. Get out! I’ve had it. I’ve

got to go to bed before I drop dead. Tom

is disgusted. He said that he has had it up

to here.

have half a mind to do something Go to

have half a notion to do something.

have half a notion to do something and

have half a mind to do something to have

almost decided to do something, espe-

cially something unpleasant. (Informal.)

I have half a mind to go off and leave

you here. The cook had half a notion to

serve cold chicken.

have hell to pay Go to have the devil to

Have I made myself clear? Do you un-

derstand exactly what I am telling you?

(Indicates anger or dominance.) I don’t

intend to warn you again. Have I made

myself clear? I do not want you to go

there! Have I made myself clear?

have it all over someone or something to be

much better than someone or something.

This cake has it all over that one. My

car has it all over yours. Sally can really

run. She has it all over Bill.

have it both ways to have both of two in-

compatible things. (Also literal. See also

have one’s cake and eat it too.) John

wants the security of marriage and the

freedom of being single. He wants to have

it both ways. John thinks he can have it

both ways—the wisdom of age and the

vigor of youth.

have it in for someone to have something

against someone; to plan to scold or pun-

ish someone. Don’t go near Bob. He has

it in for you. Billy! You had better go

home. Your mom really has it in for you.

have method in one’s madness to have a

purpose in what one is doing, even

though it seems to be mad. What I’m

doing may look strange, but there is

method in my madness. Wait until she

finishes; then you’ll see that there is

method in her madness.

have mixed feelings (about someone or

something) to be uncertain about someone

or something. I have mixed feelings

about Bob. Sometimes I think he likes me;

other times I don’t. I have mixed feel-

ings about my trip to England. I love the

people, but the climate upsets me. Yes,

I also have mixed feelings.

have money to burn to have lots of

money; to have more money than one

needs. (See also Money burns a hole in

someone’s pocket.) Look at the way Tom

buys things. You’d think he had money to

burn. If I had money to burn, I’d just

put it in the bank.

have more important fish to fry Go to

have other fish to fry.

(have) never had it so good have never

had so much good fortune. (Informal.)

No, I’m not complaining. I’ve never had

it so good. Mary is pleased with her new

job. She’s never had it so good.

have no business doing something to be

wrong to do something; to be extremely

unwise to do something. You have no

business bursting in on me like that! You

have no business spending money like that!

have none of something to tolerate or en-

dure no amount of something. I’ll have

none of your talk about quitting school.

We’ll have none of your gossip. I wish

to have none of the sweet potatoes, please.

have no staying power to lack endurance;

not to be able to last. Sally can swim

fast for a short distance, but she has no

staying power. That horse can race fairly

well, but it has no staying power.

have nothing on someone or something 1.

[with someone] to lack evidence against

someone. (Informal.) The police had

nothing on Bob, so they let him loose.

You’ve got nothing on me! Let me go! 2.

to have no information about someone or

something. The dictionary had nothing

on the word I looked up. The librarian

said that the library has nothing on the

Jones brothers.

have nothing to do with someone or some-

thing 1. not to be related to or concerned

with someone or something. Your

wants and needs have nothing to do with

my wants and needs. Waterloo? That

has nothing to do with water! 2. to avoid

being associated with someone or some-

thing. She will have nothing to do with

me anymore. I have nothing to do with

computers after I found out how hard they

are to operate.

have one foot in the grave to be near

death, either because of old age or be-

cause of illness. Fred’s uncle is ninety.

He has one foot in the grave and may not

live another two months. Terry has one

foot in the grave and will perish unless he

receives treatment soon.

have one for the road to have a drink just

before leaving. I think I’ll have one for

the road, bartender. Forget having one

for the road if you are driving.

have one’s back to the wall to be in a de-

fensive position. (Informal. See also push

someone to the wall.) He’ll have to give

in. He has his back to the wall. How can

I bargain when I’ve got my back to the

wall?