in thing

the in thing (to do) the fashionable thing

to do. Eating low-fat food is the in thing

to do.  Bob is very old-fashioned. He

never does the in thing.

in this day and age presently; currently;

nowadays. (Folksy.) You don’t expect

people to be polite in this day and age.

Young folks don’t take care of their par-

ents in this day and age.

in time 1. Go to in due course. 2. Go to in

step (with someone or something). 3. before

the deadline; before the last minute.

Did you turn in your paper in time? I

didn’t go to Florida. I didn’t get to the air-

port in time.

in times past long ago; in previous times.

In times past, you would not have been

able to wear casual clothing to work. In

times past, the air always seemed fresher

and cleaner.

in top form 1. [of someone or some crea-

ture] in very good physical condition.

The runners are in top form, so this should

be a good race. I’m not in top form, but

I’m not a physical mess either. 2. able to

make witty remarks and clever state-

ments quickly and easily. That was

really funny, Bob. You are in top form

tonight.

in tow closely following; under someone’s

control. The nanny walked into the

park with three children in tow. The

manager went to the meeting with her staff

in tow.

in transit while in the process of being

transported. Dave is in transit from

London to Chicago. The new stereo is

now in transit from the manufacturer.

in triplicate [of a document] produced in

three copies. Mr. Smith asked me to

type up his notes in triplicate. I com-

pleted each form in triplicate.

in trouble 1. in danger; in difficulty; due

for punishment. If you don’t be quiet,

you’re going to be in trouble. The com-

pany was in trouble for months, and then

went bankrupt. 2. pregnant and unmar-

ried. (Euphemistic.) They had to get

married. She was in trouble. She’ll be

in trouble before long, if she doesn’t quit

running around like that.

in tune in a state where musical notes are

at their proper intervals so that none are

flat or sharp. (Compare this with out of

tune (with someone or something).) Your

piano is nicely in tune. The choir mem-

bers all sang in tune.

in tune with someone or something 1. at the

same or a harmonizing musical pitch. (In

can be replaced with into. See the note

at in a bind and the examples below.)

The violin isn’t in tune with the piano.

Bill, please get in tune with John.

2. [with something] keeping up with

something. Tom, your clothes are old-

fashioned. You aren’t in tune with the

times. Come on, Sally. Get in tune with

what’s going on around you.

in turn one at a time in sequence.

of us can read the book in turn.

the hair of every child in turn.

in two shakes of a lamb’s tail very

quickly. I’ll be there in two shakes of a

lamb’s tail. In two shakes of a lamb’s

tail, the bird f lew away.

in unison 1. [of musical notes, instru-

ments, or voices] having the same pitch.

This part of the piece is performed in

unison. The twins sang in unison. 2.

acting as one; together and at the same

time. In unison, all of the workers voted

“yes” for the new contract. John and his

wife responded to my question in unison.

in view of something in consideration of

something; because of something. In

view of the high cost of gasoline, I sold my

car. I won’t invite John to the meeting

in view of his attitude.

in with someone friends with someone; hav-

ing influence with someone. Are you in

with John? I need to ask him for a favor.

I’ve heard that the mayor is in with the

county treasurer.

inch along (something) to move slowly along

something little by little. The cat inched

along the carpet toward the mouse.

Traffic was inching along.

inch by inch one inch at a time; little by lit-

tle. Traffic moved along inch by inch.

Inch by inch, the snail moved across the

stone.

incumbent upon someone to do something

necessary for someone to do something.

(Upon can be replaced with on.) It’s in-

cumbent upon you to do the work. It

was incumbent on me to make the presen-

tation of the first prize.

innocent as a lamb Go to (as) innocent as

a lamb.

inside the box 1. as if bound by old, non-

functional, or limiting structures, rules,

or practices. (An adverb. Compare this

with outside the box.) If you keep your

discussions inside the box, you will be

bound by traditional limitations. Noth-

ing can be accomplished inside the box to

solve this problem. We have already tried

every obvious solution. 2. bound by old,

nonfunctional, or limiting structures,

rules, or practices. (Usually inside-the-

box. An adjective.) You have some

really inside-the-box ideas, Ralph. Why

not be more creative? After some long,

tedious, inside-the-box discussions, we ar-

rived at the same old conclusion that we al-

ways arrive at.

instrumental in doing something playing an

important part in doing something.

John was instrumental in getting the con-

tract to build the new building.  Our

senator was instrumental in defeating the

bill.

intent on doing something determined to do

something. The children were intent on

making a snowman. The prisoner was

intent on escaping.

in(to) a jam in(to) a difficult situation.

Mary cannot keep track of the many times

Dave got himself into a jam. I found

myself in a jam when my car overheated

on the highway.

invasion of (someone’s) privacy an intru-

sion that results in the loss of someone’s

privacy. Your invasion of my privacy is

not welcome! The athlete complained

about the invasion of his privacy by the

press.

invest someone’s time in something to put

one’s time, effort, or energy into a pro-

ject. Mary invests her time in charity

work. I invested five weeks of my time

building this model ship.

invest someone with something to endow

someone with something, such as power

or privilege. The Constitution invests

the vice president with the authority to act

on the president’s behalf in certain condi-

tions. The state has invested me with the

authority to unite this couple in marriage.

invest something in someone or something 1. to

put money, time, effort, etc., into some-

one or something, hoping for a return.

We will invest time and effort in Fred and

make him into a movie star.  Sharon

invested a lot of money in the stock mar-

ket. 2. to place power or authority un-

der control of someone or something.

The Constitution has invested certain

powers in the federal government and left

the rest to the states. The law invests the

power to arrest criminals in the sheriff ’s

department.

iron something out to solve a problem; to

straighten out a problem; to smooth out

a difficulty. (Also literal.) The princi-

pal had to iron a classroom problem out.

T I just have to iron out this little prob-

lem; then I’ll be able to see you.

issue a call for something to make a public

invitation or request for something.

The prime minister issued a call for peace.

The person who organized the writing

contest issued a call for entries.

It behooves one to do something. It is nec-

essary for one to do something.; It is in-

cumbent upon someone to do something.

It behooves me to report the crime. It be-

hooves you to pay for the window that you

broke.

It (only) stands to reason. It is only rea-

sonable to hold a certain opinion.

stands to reason that most people will not

buy a new car if they don’t think they can

pay for it. I think he will come back to

pick up his check. It only stands to reason.

It sucks. Go to That sucks.

It takes (some) getting used to. It is very

unpleasant, but when it is gotten used to,

it will not be so bothersome. (Said in

recognition of the unpleasantness of

something.) I never ate duck’s feet be-

fore. It takes some getting used to. These

hot Mexican dishes seem impossible at

first. They take some getting used to, I

agree. But it’s worth it.

It ’ll never fly. It will never work!; It will

never be approved! (Also literal. Refers to

an evaluation of an unlikely-looking air-

craft of some type.) I have read your

report and studied your proposal. It’ll

never f ly. Your design for a new electric

automobile is interesting, but it’ll never fly!

It’s about time! It is almost too late!; I’ve

been waiting a long time! (Informal. See

also the following entry.) So you finally

got here! It’s about time! They finally

paid me my money. It’s about time!

It’s (all) Greek to me. It is totally incom-

prehensible to me. Can you explain

what this paragraph in the lease means?

Legal language is all Greek to me. I can’t

figure out this diagram of how to assem-

ble my bicycle. It’s all Greek to me.

It ’s high time! It is past time [for some-

one or something]!; [Someone or some-

thing] is overdue! (Informal. See also the

previous entry.) It’s high time that you

got recognition for what you do! They

sent me my check, and it’s high time, too.

It’s no use (doing something). It is hopeless to

do something.; It is pointless to do some-

thing. It’s no use trying to call on the

telephone. The line is always busy. They

tried and tried, but it was no use.