nothing

nothing but skin and bones and (all)

skin and bones very thin or emaciated.

(Informal.) Bill has lost so much

weight. He’s nothing but skin and bones.

Look at Bill. He’s just skin and bones.

That old horse is all skin and bones. I

won’t ride it.

nothing but something only something; just

something. Joan drinks nothing but

milk. Fred buys nothing but expensive

clothes.

nothing doing no. (Informal.) No, I

won’t do that. Nothing doing. BOB: Will

you help me with this? BILL: Nothing

doing.

nothing down requiring no down pay-

ment. You can have this car for noth-

ing down and $140 a month. I bought

a winter coat for nothing down and no

payments due until February.

nothing of the kind 1. no; absolutely not.

I didn’t tear your jacket—nothing of the

kind! Did I break your vase? Nothing of

the kind! 2. nothing like that. That’s

not true. We did nothing of the kind!

She did nothing of the kind! She wasn’t

even there!

nothing short of something more or less the

same as something bad; as bad as some-

thing. His behavior was nothing short

of criminal. Climbing those mountains

alone is nothing short of suicide.

nothing to choose from no choice; no

choice in the selection; not enough of

something to make a choice. I went to

the store looking for new shoes, but there

was nothing to choose from. By the time

I got around to selecting a team of helpers,

there was nothing to choose from.

nothing to complain about all right.

(Folksy. Said in answer to the question

“How are you?”) Bob said he has noth-

ing to complain about. BILL: How’re

you doing, Bob? BOB: Nothing to complain

about, Bill. Yourself ?

nothing to sneeze at not small or unim-

portant. (Informal.) It’s not a lot of

money, but it’s nothing to sneeze at. Our

house isn’t a mansion, but it’s nothing to

sneeze at.

nothing to speak of not many; not much.

(Informal.) JOHN: What’s happening

around here? BILL: Nothing to speak of.

MARY: Has there been any rain in the last

week? SALLY: Nothing to speak of.

nothing to write home about nothing ex-

citing or interesting. (Folksy.) I’ve been

busy, but nothing to write home about.

I had a dull week—nothing to write home

about.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. You

cannot achieve anything if you do not try.

(Proverb.) Come on, John. Give it a try.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I felt

as if I had to take the chance. Nothing ven-

tured, nothing gained.

now and again Go to (every) now and

then.

now and then Go to (every) now and then.

Now hear this! Pay attention to what is go-

ing to be said! (In the manner of an an-

nouncement over the public address sys-

tem, especially in the military.) Now

hear this! You have to turn off the televi-

sion and go to bed! Now hear this! Now

hear this! Everyone is ordered to abandon

ship.

now or never at this time and no other.

This is your only chance, John. It’s now or

never.  I decided that it was now or

never, and jumped.

(Now), where was I? I was interrupted,

so please help me remember what I was

talking about. (The emphasis is on was.)

Now, where was I! I think I lost my

place. Q: Where was I? A: You had just

described the War of 1812.

nowhere near not nearly. We have

nowhere near enough wood for the win-

ter. They’re nowhere near ready for the

game

null and void canceled; worthless. I tore

the contract up, and the entire agreement

became null and void. The judge de-

clared the whole business null and void.

[number is up] Go to one’s number is up.

a number of things or people some things or

people, in an indefinite amount. I sub-

scribe to a number of different magazines.

A number of people are here now.

nurse a grudge (against someone) to keep

resenting and disliking someone over a

period of time. (See also bear a grudge

(against someone).) Sally is still nursing

a grudge against Mary. How long can

anyone nurse a grudge?

nurse someone back to health [for anyone]

to provide medical care that will restore

someone to good health. After my op-

eration, my mother nursed me back to

health. Lots of good food and loving care

will help nurse you back to health.

nuts about someone or something Go to crazy

about someone or something.

nutty as a fruitcake Go to (as) nutty as a

fruitcake.

nuzzle up to someone or something to nestle

against someone or something, especially

if pressing with the nose or face. The

puppy nuzzled up to its mother.Tom

nuzzled up to Jane and asked her for a

kiss.