hitch

hitch a ride Go to thumb a ride.

hither, thither, and yon everywhere; here,

there, and everywhere. (Formal and ar-

chaic.) The prince looked hither, thither,

and yon for the beautiful woman who had

lost the glass slipper. The terrible wiz-

ard had sown the seeds of his evil vine

hither, thither, and yon, and soon the evil,

twisted plants began to sprout in all the

land.

hitting on all cylinders Go to firing on all

cylinders.

a hive of activity the location where things

are very busy. (Refers to the activity

around a beehive.) The hotel lobby was

a hive of activity each morning. Dur-

ing the holidays, the shopping center is a

hive of activity.

hoarse as a crow Go to (as) hoarse as a

crow.

Hobson’s choice the choice between tak-

ing what is offered and getting nothing at

all. (From the name of a stable owner in

the seventeenth century who offered cus-

tomers the hire of the horse nearest the

door.) We didn’t really want that par-

ticular hotel, but it was a case of Hobson’s

choice. We booked very late and there was

nothing else left. If you want a yellow

car, it’s Hobson’s choice. The garage has

only one.

hoist by one’s own petard and hoist with

one’s own petard harmed or disadvan-

taged by an action of one’s own that was

meant to harm someone else. (From a

line in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.) She in-

tended to murder her brother but was hoist

by her own petard when she ate the poi-

soned food intended for him. The van-

dals were hoist with their own petard when

they tried to make an emergency call from

the pay phone they had broken.

hoist with one’s own petard Go to hoist by

one’s own petard.

hold a grudge (against someone) Go to

bear a grudge (against someone).

hold all the aces to be in a favorable po-

sition; to be in a controlling position

(Slang. Refers to having possession of all

four aces in a card game.) How can I

advance in my job when my enemy holds

all the aces? If I held all the aces, I’d be

able to do great things.

hold a meeting to meet; to have a meet-

ing (of an organization). We’ll have to

hold a meeting to make a decision. Our

club held a meeting to talk about future

projects.

hold forth (on something) to speak at length.

I’ve never seen anyone who could hold

forth so long. The professor held forth on

economic theory for nearly an hour.

hold no brief for someone or something not to

care about someone or something; to dis-

like someone or something. I hold no

brief for bad typists. My father says he

holds no brief for sweet potatoes.

hold one’s breath to stop doing something

and wait until something special hap-

pens. (Also literal. Informal. Usually in

the negative.) BOB: The bus is going to

come soon. BILL: Don’t hold your breath

until it does. I expect the mail to be de-

livered soon, but I’m not holding my

breath.

hold one’s end (of the bargain) up to do

one’s part as agreed; to attend to one’s re-

sponsibilities as agreed. If you don’t

hold your end up, the whole project will

fail. T Tom has to learn to cooperate. He

must hold up his end of the bargain.

hold one’s fire 1. to refrain from shooting

(a gun, etc.). The sergeant told the sol-

diers to hold their fire. Please hold your

fire until I get out of the way. 2. to post-

pone one’s criticism or commentary.

(Informal.) Now, now, hold your fire

until I’ve had a chance to explain.

Hold your fire, Bill. You’re too quick to

complain.

hold one’s ground Go to stand one’s ground.

hold one’s head up to retain or display

one’s dignity. (Also literal.) I’ve done

nothing wrong. I can hold my head up in

public. T I’m so embarrassed and

ashamed. I’ll never be able to hold up my

head again.

hold one’s own to do as well as anyone else.

I can hold my own in a footrace any day.

She was unable to hold her own, and she

had to quit.

hold one’s temper Go to keep one’s temper.

hold one’s tongue to refrain from speaking;

to refrain from saying something un-

pleasant. (See also the fixed phrase Hold

your tongue!) I felt like scolding her, but

I held my tongue. You must learn to hold

your tongue, John. You can’t talk to peo-

ple that way.

hold on (to someone or something) Go to hang

on (to someone or something).

hold out the olive branch to offer to end

a dispute and be friendly; to offer recon-

ciliation. (The olive branch is a symbol of

peace and reconciliation. A biblical ref-

erence.) Jill was the first to hold out the

olive branch after our argument. I al-

ways try to hold out the olive branch to

someone I have hurt. Life is too short for

a person to bear grudges for very long.

hold someone down to try to keep someone

from succeeding. (Also literal.) I still

think you’re trying to hold him down. T

I’m not trying to hold down my brother.

hold someone hostage to keep someone as

a hostage. The terrorists planned to hold

everyone hostage in the airplane.

neighbor was held hostage in his own home

by a robber.

hold someone in high regard to have very

great respect for someone or something;

to admire someone or something greatly.

We hold our employees in very high re-

gard. I do not hold Bob’s abilities in high

regard.

hold someone or something in check Go to

keep someone or something in check.

hold someone or something over to retain

someone or something (for a period of

time). The storm held John over for an-

other day. The manager held the movie

over for another week.

hold someone or something up 1. [with some-

one] to rob someone (figuratively or lit-

erally). I don’t eat at that restaurant any

more. The food is too expensive. They

really held me up the last time I ate there.

That’s the one who held me up at gun-

point. T The thug held up the old lady. 2.

to detain someone or something; to make

someone or something late. (Also literal

meaning to keep someone or something

upright.) The traffic on the expressway

held me up. T A storm in Boston held up

our plane.

hold someone’s attention to keep someone’s

attention; to keep someone interested.

The boring teacher could not hold the stu-

dents’ attention. The mystery novel held

my attention and I couldn’t put it down.

hold something against someone to blame

something on someone; to bear a grudge

against someone; to resent someone. (Also

literal.) Your brother is mean to me, but

I can’t hold it against you. You’re hold-

ing something against me. What is it?

hold still Go to keep still.

hold still for something Go to stand still for

something.

hold the fort to take care of a place, such

as a store or one’s home. (Refers to de-

fending a fort against attackers. Informal.

From western movies.) I’m going next

door to visit Mrs. Jones. You stay here and

hold the fort. You should open the store

at eight o’clock and hold the fort until I get

there at ten.

hold the line (at someone or something) to

limit the number of people or things; to

limit (something) to someone or some-

thing. (See also draw the line (at some-

The room will seat fifty, but I

think you should hold the line at forty.

The Browns and the Smiths could be in-

vited, but I think we ought to hold the line

at the Browns. Okay, we’ll hold the line.

hold up to endure; to last a long time.

How long will this cloth hold up? I want

my money back for this chair. It isn’t hold-

ing up well.

hold up (for someone or something) Go to wait

up (for someone or something).

hold up on something to delay doing some-

thing. Please hold up on the project.

We’ve run out of money. I have to hold

up on my reading because I broke my

glasses.

hold with something to accept or agree with

something. (Folksy. Usually in the nega-

tive.) My father doesn’t hold with fancy

clothes. I don’t hold with too many X

rays.

Hold your horses! Wait a minute and be

reasonable!; Do not run off wildly!

(Folksy. From western movies.) Now,

hold your horses, John. Be reasonable for

a change. Don’t get so mad. Just hold

your horses.

Hold your tongue! Be quiet!; Stop saying

what you are saying! Hold your tongue!

I’ve heard enough of your insults. That’s

enough rudeness for today! Hold your

tongue!

a hole in one 1. an instance of hitting a

golf ball into a hole in only one try.

(From the game of golf.) John made a

hole in one yesterday. I’ve never gotten

a hole in one. 2. an instance of succeed-

ing the first time. It worked the first

time I tried it—a hole in one. Bob got

a hole in one on that sale. A lady walked

in the door, and he sold her a car in five

minutes.

hole up (somewhere) to hide somewhere; to

live in hiding somewhere. (Slang. Typi-

cally in western or gangster movies.)

The old man is holed up in the mountains,

waiting for the war to end. If we are go-

ing to hole up for the winter, we’ll need lots

of food.

home in (on someone or something) to aim ex-

actly at something and move toward it.

The sheriff walked into the room and

homed in on the horse thief. The plane

homed in on the beacon at the airport.

First, you must set your goal and then

home in.

honest and aboveboard Go to above-

board.

Honest to God. Go to Honest to goodness.

Honest to goodness. and Honest to

God.; Honest to Pete. I speak the truth.

(Some people may object to the use of

God in this phrase.) Did he really say

that? Honest to goodness?  Honest to

Pete, I’ve been to the moon. I’ve been

there, too—honest to God.

Honest to Pete. Go to Honest to goodness.

The honeymoon is over. The early pleas-

ant beginning has ended. Okay, the

honeymoon is over. It’s time to settle down

and do some hard work. I knew the hon-

eymoon was over when they started yelling

at me to work faster.

honor someone’s check to accept someone’s

personal check. The clerk at the store

wouldn’t honor my check. I had to pay

cash. The bank didn’t honor your check

when I tried to deposit it. Please give me

cash.

hooked (on something) 1. addicted to a drug

or something similar. (Slang.) Jenny is

hooked on cocaine. She was not hooked

on anything before that. John is hooked

on coffee. 2. enthusiastic about some-

thing; supportive of something. Mary

is hooked on football. She never misses a

game. Jane is so happy! She’s hooked on

life.

hoot and holler to shout in disapproval; to

call and shout one’s displeasure. After

the umpire rendered his decision, the spec-

tators hooted and hollered their thoughts

on the matter. It’s hard to play a good

game of basketball when the fans are hoot-

ing and hollering at everything you do.

a hop, skip, and a jump a short distance.

(Also literal.) Her house was just a hop,

skip, and a jump away from mine, so we

visited often. Our town is just a hop,

skip, and a jump from a big city, so we get

the advantages of both city and country

life.

Hop to it! Move fast!; Get started! (Slang.)

Come on, you guys, move it! Hop to it!

Hop to it, Bill. You look like you’re

loafing.

hope against (all) hope to have hope even

when the situation appears to be hope-

less. We hope against all hope that she’ll

see the right thing to do and do it. There

is little point in hoping against hope, ex-

cept that it makes you feel better.

hopeless at doing something incapable of do-

ing something. Tom is hopeless at cook-

Sally is hopeless at dusting. She

hates it.

hopped up 1. intoxicated with drugs or al-

cohol; stimulated by drugs or alcohol.

(Slang.) The old man was hopped up

again. He was addicted to opium. John

usually gets hopped up on the weekends. 2.

excited; enthusiastic. (Slang.) What are

you hopped up about now? You’re certainly

cheery. I always get hopped up when I

think of mountain climbing.

horn in (on someone or something) 1. [with

someone] to attempt to displace someone.

(Informal.) I’m going to ask Sally to the

party. Don’t you dare try to horn in on me!

I wouldn’t think of horning in. 2. [with

something] to attempt to participate in

something without invitation or consent.

Are you trying to horn in on my con-

versation with Sally? I hope you are not

trying to horn in on our party.

horse and buggy and horse and car-

riage a carriage pulled by a horse, as

opposed to a modern automobile. (A

symbol of old-fashionedness or out-of-

dateness. Particularly with go out with, as

in the examples below.) That kind of

clothing went out with the horse and

buggy. I thought suspenders went out

with the horse and carriage, but I see them

everywhere now.

horse and carriage Go to horse and

buggy.

horse around to play around; to waste

time in frivolous activities. (Informal.)

Stop horsing around and get to work.

The children were on the playground hors-

ing around when the bell rang.

a horse of a different color Go to a horse

of another color.

a horse of another color and a horse of

a different color another matter alto-

gether. I was talking about trees, not

bushes. Bushes are a horse of another color.

Gambling is not the same as investing

in the stock market. It’s a horse of a dif-

ferent color.

horse sense common sense; practical

thinking. Jack is no scholar but he has

a lot of horse sense. Horse sense tells me

I should not be involved in that project.

hot and bothered 1. excited; anxious. (In-

formal.) Now don’t get hot and both-

ered. Take it easy. John is hot and both-

ered about the tax increase. 2. amorous;

interested in romance or sex. (Informal

and euphemistic. Use with caution.)

John gets hot and bothered whenever Mary

comes into the room. The dog seems hot

and bothered. I think it’s that time of the

year again.

hot and heavy referring to serious passion

or emotions. Things were getting a lit-

tle hot and heavy so Ellen asked to be taken

The movie had one hot and

heavy scene after another. Pretty soon it

got to be a joke.

hot as fire Go to (as) hot as fire.

hot as hell Go to (as) hot as hell.

hot on something enthusiastic about some-

thing; very much interested in some-

thing; knowledgeable about something.

(Informal.) Meg’s hot on animal rights.

Jean is hot on modern ballet just now.

hot under the collar very angry. The

boss was really hot under the collar when

you told him you lost the contract. I get

hot under the collar every time I think

about it.

hotfoot it out of somewhere to run away

from a place. (Folksy. Compare this with

high tail it out of somewhere.) Did you

see Tom hotfoot it out of the office when

the boss came in? Things are looking

bad. I think we had better hotfoot it out

of here.

How goes it (with you)? Hello, how are

you? (Informal.) Hi, Mary. How goes

it with you? How goes it, Bill?

How’s the world (been) treating you?

How are you? Hi, Jane, How’s the world

treating you?  How’s the world been

treating you, Bill?

a hue and cry a loud public protest or op-

position. There was a hue and cry when

the city government tried to build houses

on the playing field.  The decision to

close the local school started a real hue and

cry.

huff and puff to breathe very hard; to pant

as one exerts effort. John came up the

stairs huffing and puffing. He huffed

and puffed and finally got up the steep hill.

hung up (on someone or something) obsessed

with someone or something; devoted to

someone or something. (Slang.) John

is really hung up on Mary. She’s hung

up, too. See how she smiles when he en-

ters the room.

hunger for something to have a strong de-

sire for something. All her life, Mary

has had a hunger for affection. The pris-

oner was consumed with a hunger for

freedom.

hungry as a bear Go to (as) hungry as a

bear.

hungry as a hunter Go to (as) hungry as

a hunter.

hungry for something desiring something.

The orphan was hungry for the warmth of

a family. Bill is hungry for knowledge

and always studying.

hunt-and-peck a slow “system” of typing

where one searches for a letter and then

presses it. (From the movement used by

fowls when feeding.) I never learned

to type right. All I do is hunt-and-peck.

I can’t type. I just hunt-and-peck, but I get

the job done—eventually.

hunt someone or something up Go to look some-

one or something up.

hurl an insult (at someone) to direct an in-

sult at someone; to say something insult-

ing directly to someone. Anne hurled

an insult at Bob that made him very an-

gry. If you two would stop hurling in-

sults, we could have a serious discussion.

a hush fell over someone or something a sud-

den silence enveloped something, some-

one, or a group. As the conductor raised

his arms, a hush fell over the audience.

The coach shouted and a hush fell over the

locker room.

hush money money paid as a bribe to per-

suade someone to remain silent and not

reveal certain information. Bob gave

his younger sister hush money so that she

wouldn’t tell Jane that he had gone to the

movies with Sue. The crooks paid Fred

hush money to keep their whereabouts

secret.