in less

in less than no time very quickly. I’ll be

there in less than no time. Don’t worry.

This won’t take long. It’ll be over with in

less than no time.

in lieu of something in place of something;

instead of something. (The word lieu oc-

curs only in this phrase.) They gave me

roast beef in lieu of beefsteak. We gave

money to charity in lieu of sending f low-

ers to the funeral.

in light of something because of certain

knowledge; considering something. (As

if knowledge or enlightenment were like

light shone on ignorance.) In light of

what you have told us, I think we must

abandon the project.  In light of the

clerk’s rudeness, we didn’t return to that

shop.

in limbo 1. a region on the border of hell.

(In some Christian religions, there is a

limbo set aside for souls that do not go

to either heaven or hell. This sense is used

only in this religious context. In can be

replaced with into. See the note at in a

bind and the examples below.) The

baby’s soul was in limbo because she had

not been baptized.   Considering all

things, getting into limbo is probably bet-

ter than going to hell. 2. in a state of ne-

glect; in a state of oblivion; in an indefi-

nite state. We’ll have to leave the project

in limbo for a month or two. After I got

hit on the head, I was in limbo for about

ten minutes.

in line and on line standing and waiting

in a line of people. (On line is used typ-

ically by New Yorkers.) I’ve been in line

for an hour. Get in line if you want to

buy a ticket. We waited on line to see the

movie.

in line with something Go to in keeping

(with something).

in luck fortunate; lucky. You want a red

one? You’re in luck. There is one red one

left. I had an accident, but I was in luck.

It was not serious.

in many respects Go to in some respects.

in memory of someone to continue the good

memories of someone; for the honor of

a deceased person. Many streets were

renamed in memory of John F. Kennedy.

We planted roses in memory of my de-

ceased father.

in midair in a point high in the air.

planes crashed in midair. Extra fuel was

released from the plane in midair.

in mint condition in perfect condition.

(Refers to the perfect state of a coin that

has just been minted. In can be replaced

with into. See the note at in a bind and the

examples below.) This is a fine car. It

runs well and is in mint condition. We

went through a house in mint condition

and decided to buy it. We put our house

into mint condition before we sold it.

in name only nominally; not actual, only

by terminology. The president is head

of the country in name only. Congress

makes the laws. Mr. Smith is the boss

of the Smith Company in name only. Mrs.

Smith handles all the business affairs.

in need [of someone] requiring basic

things like food, clothing, and housing.

Please contribute some money for those

who are in need. The charity works with

old people who are in need.

in need of something [of someone or some

creature] requiring something. We are

in need of a new car. The company is

in need of a larger building to hold all its

employees.

in no mood to do something not to feel like

doing something; to wish not to do

something. I’m in no mood to cook din-

ner tonight. Mother is in no mood to put

up with our arguing.

in nothing flat in exactly no time at all.

(Informal.) Of course I can get there in

a hurry. I’ll be there in nothing f lat. We

covered the distance between New York

and Philadelphia in nothing f lat.

in no time (at all) very quickly. (Compare

this with in less than no time.) I’ll be

there in no time. It won’t take long. I’ll

be finished in no time at all.

in no uncertain terms in very specific and

direct language. (In can be replaced with

into. See the note at in a bind and the ex-

amples below.) I was so mad. I told her

in no uncertain terms to leave and never

come back. I told him in no uncertain

terms to stop it. He put his demands into

no uncertain terms, and then they listened

to him.

in one breath Go to (all) in one breath.

in one ear and out (of ) the other [for

something to be] ignored; [for something

to be] unheard or unheeded. (In can be

replaced with into. See the explanation at

in a bind and the examples. See also go

in one ear and out the other.) Bill just

doesn’t pay attention. Everything is in one

ear and out the other. I told Billy to be

home by dinnertime, but I am sure it’s just

in one ear and out the other.

in one fell swoop Go to at one fell swoop.

in one’s birthday suit naked; nude. (Infor-

mal. In the “clothes” in which one was

born. In can be replaced with into. See

the note at in a bind and the examples be-

low.) I’ve heard that John sleeps in his

birthday suit. We used to go down to the

river and swim in our birthday suits.

You have to get into your birthday suit to

bathe.

in one’s blood Go to in the blood.

in one’s book according to one’s own opin-

ion. (Informal.) He’s okay in my book.

In my book, this is the best that money

can buy.

in one’s cups drunk. (Euphemistic.)

doesn’t make much sense when she’s in her

The speaker—who was in his

cups—could hardly be understood.

in one’s element in a natural or comfort-

able situation or environment. (Compare

this with out of one’s element. In can be

replaced with into. See the note at in a

bind and the examples below.) Sally is

in her element when she’s working with al-

gebra or calculus. Bob loves to work with

color and texture. When he’s painting, he’s

in his element. He’s most comfortable

when he can get into his element.

in one’s glory at one’s happiest or best.

When I go to the beach on vacation, I’m in

my glory. Sally is a good teacher. She’s

in her glory in the classroom.

in one’s mind’s eye in one’s mind. (Refers

to visualizing something in one’s mind.)

In my mind’s eye, I can see trouble

ahead. In her mind’s eye, she could see

a beautiful building beside the river. She

decided to design such a building.

in one’s opinion according to one’s belief or

judgment. In my opinion, that is a very

ugly picture. That isn’t a good idea in

my opinion.

in one’s (own) backyard [figuratively] very

close to one. (Also literal.) That kind

of thing is quite rare. Imagine it happen-

ing right in your backyard. You always

think of something like that happening to

someone else. You never expect to find it in

your own backyard.

in one’s (own) (best) interest(s) to one’s

advantage; as a benefit to oneself. It is

not in your own interests to share your

ideas with Jack. He will say that they are

his. Jane thought it was in the best in-

terest of her friend to tell his mother about

his illness.

in one’s prime and in its prime at one’s or

its peak or best time. (Compare this with

in the prime of life.) Our dog—which

is in its prime—is very active. The pro-

gram ended in its prime when we ran out

of money. I could work long hours when

I was in my prime.

in one’s right mind sane; rational and sen-

sible. (Often in the negative.) That was

a stupid thing to do. You’re not in your

right mind. You can’t be in your right

mind! That sounds crazy!

in one’s salad days in one’s youth. (Usu-

ally formal or literary. Comparing the

greenness of a salad with the greenness,

or freshness and inexperience, of youth.)

I recall the joys I experienced in the

warm summer air in my salad days. In

our salad days, we were apt to get into all

sorts of mischief on the weekends.

in one’s second childhood [of an adult] in-

terested in things or people that normally

interest children. My father bought

himself a toy train, and my mother said he

was in his second childhood. Whenever

I go to the river and throw stones, I feel as

if I’m in my second childhood.

in one’s spare time in one’s extra time; in

the time not reserved for doing some-

thing else. I write novels in my spare

time. I’ll try to paint the house in my

spare time.

in one’s Sunday best in one’s best Sunday

clothes; in the clothes one wears to

church. (Folksy. See also Sunday-go-to-

meeting clothes. In can be replaced with

into. See the note at in a bind and the ex-

amples below.) All the children were

dressed up in their Sunday best. I like

to be in my Sunday best whenever I go out.

Let’s get into our Sunday best and go out

for dinner.

in on the kill and in at the kill present

at the end of some activity, usually an ac-

tivity with negative results. (Refers to be-

ing present when a hunted animal is put

to death. Informal when used about any

other activity.) Congress was due to de-

feat the bill, and I went to Washington so

I could be in on the kill. The judge will

sentence the criminal today, and I’m going

to be in at the kill.

in order to do something for the purpose of

doing something; as a means of doing

something. I went to college in order to

further my education. I gave John three

dollars in order to buy lunch.

in other words said in another, simpler

way. BOB: Cease! Desist! BILL: In other

words, you want me to stop? Our cash

f low is negative, and our assets are worth-

less. In other words, we are broke.

in over one’s head having more difficul-

ties than one can manage. (Informal. As

if being in water that is too deep. See also

in deep; in deep water.) Calculus is

very hard for me. I’m in over my head.

Ann is too busy. She’s really in over her

head.

in park [of an automobile transmission]

having the gears locked so the automo-

bile cannot move. The driver stopped

the car and placed it in park. You have

to be in park in order to start this car.

in part partly; to a lesser degree or extent.

I was not there, in part because of my

disagreement about the purpose of the

meeting. I also had a previous appoint-

ment. I hope to win, in part because I

want the prize money.

in particular specifically; especially. I’m

not going anywhere in particular. Of the

three ideas, there is one I like in particular.

in passing casually; as an aside. (See also

mention someone or something in passing.)

I just heard your name in passing. I

didn’t hear more than that. The lecturer

referred to George Washington in passing.

in pencil written or signed with a pencil.

Why did you write your report in pen-

cil? You can’t sign a check in pencil!

in place 1. in (someone’s or something’s)

proper place or location. (See also out of

place. In can be replaced with into. See

the note at in a bind and the examples be-

low.) The maid came into the room and

put everything into place. It’s good to see

everything in place again. 2. proper.

Your remark was not in place. The pre-

sentation was quite in place and nicely

done.

in place of someone or something instead of

someone or something. John went in

place of Mary.  We had vegetables in

place of meat.

in plain English Go to in plain language.

in plain language and in plain English in

simple, clear, and straightforward lan-

guage. (In can be replaced with into. See

the note at in a bind and the examples be-

low.) That’s too confusing. Please say it

again in plain English. Tell me again in

plain language. Please put it into plain

language.

in poor taste Go to in bad taste.

in practice 1. in an application (of a prin-

ciple, etc.); in the actual doing of some-

thing. Our policy is to be very particu-

lar, but in practice we don’t care that

much. The instructions say not to set

it too high. In practice I always set it as

high as possible. 2. well-rehearsed; well-

practiced; well-exercised. The swim-

mer was not in practice and almost

drowned. I play the piano for a living,

and I have to keep in practice.

in progress happening now; taking place

at this time. You can’t go into that room.

There is a meeting in progress. Please

tell me about the work you have in

progress.

in proportion and out of proportion

showing the right or wrong proportion

relative to something else. That man’s

large head is out of proportion to his small

body. The cartoonist drew the dog in

proportion to its surroundings.

in public in a place or way so that other

people can see or know about something.

It’s illegal to walk naked in public.

John always tries to embarrass me when-

ever we’re in public.

in pursuit of something chasing after some-

thing. Bill spends most of his time in

pursuit of money. Every year Bob goes

into the countryside in pursuit of

butterf lies.

in quest of someone or something and in

search of someone or something seeking or

hunting something; trying to find some-

thing. They went into town in quest of

a reasonably priced restaurant. Monday

morning I’ll go out in search of a job.

in rags [dressing] in worn-out and torn

clothing. Oh, look at my clothing. I can’t

go to the party in rags! I think the new

casual fashions make you look as if you’re

in rags.

in reality viewing things realistically;

really. Jane dreamed it was snowing, but

in reality, it was very warm. John looks

happy, but in reality, he is miserable.

in receipt of something in a state of having

received something. We are in receipt

of your letter of request. When we are

in receipt of your check for the full balance,

we will mark your bill as paid.

in remission [of a serious disease] not as

bad or seeming to be getting better.

While the disease was in remission, John

got to leave the hospital. The doctor said

my cancer was in remission.

in retrospect and in hindsight reconsid-

ering the past with the knowledge one

now has. In retrospect, I would have

gone to a better college. David realized,

in hindsight, that he should have finished

school.

in return for (someone or something) by way

of giving something back; as a way of

paying someone back for something; as

part of an exchange. I helped Tom yes-

terday, and he helped me in return for my

efforts.  I paid $20 and received four

tickets in return.

in round figures Go to in round numbers.

in round numbers and in round figures

as an estimated number; a figure that has

been rounded off. (In can be replaced

with into. See the note at in a bind and

the examples below.) Please tell me in

round numbers what it’ll cost. I don’t

need the exact amount. Just give it to me

in round figures.

in ruin a state of having been destroyed.

The enemy army left the cities they at-

tacked in ruin. The crops laid in ruin af-

ter the f lood.

in session [of a court, congress, or other

organization] operating or functioning.

Smoking is forbidden while the meet-

ing is in session. The spectators must re-

main quiet while court is in session.

in seventh heaven in a very happy state.

Ann was really in seventh heaven when

she got a car of her own. I’d be in sev-

enth heaven if I had a million dollars.

in shambles in a messy state; destroyed.

After the earthquake, the town lay in

shambles. The TV set was in shambles

after John tried to fix it.

in shape Go to in condition.

in short stated briefly. At the end of the

financial report, the board president said,

“In short, we are okay.” My remarks, in

short, indicate that we are in good finan-

cial shape.

in short order very quickly. I can

straighten out this mess in short order.

The people came in and cleaned the place

up in short order.

in short supply scarce. (In can be replaced

with into. See the note at in a bind and

the examples below.) Fresh vegetables

are in short supply in the winter. Yel-

low cars are in short supply because every-

one likes them and buys them. At this

time of the year, fresh vegetables go into

short supply.