R

race against time 1. a rush; rushing to

beat a deadline. We were in a race

against time to beat the deadline. It was

a race against time, but we made it. 2. to

hurry to beat a deadline. We had to race

against time to finish before the deadline.

You don’t need to race against time.

Take all the time you want.

rack one’s brain(s) to try very hard to think

of something. (Informal.) I racked my

brains all afternoon, but couldn’t remem-

ber where I put the book. Don’t waste

any more time racking your brain. Go bor-

row the book from the library.

racked with pain suffering from severe

pain. My body was racked with pain,

and I nearly passed out.  I sat there

racked with pain, waiting for the doctor.

rail at someone (about something) to com-

plain loudly or violently to someone

about something. Jane railed at the

treasurer about not having received her

check.  I am not responsible for your

problems. Don’t rail at me!

rain cats and dogs to rain very hard. It’s

raining cats and dogs. Look at it pour!

I’m not going out in that storm. It’s rain-

ing cats and dogs.

rain on someone’s parade to ruin someone’s

planned event; to spoil someone’s plans

or scheme. (Informal.) I hate to rain on

your parade, but the guest of honor cannot

come to the reception. The boss rained

on our parade by making us all work

overtime.

rain or shine no matter whether it rains

or the sun shines. Don’t worry. I’ll be

there rain or shine. We’ll hold the pic-

nic—rain or shine.

rain something out [for the weather] to spoil

something by raining. Oh, the weather

looks awful. I hope it doesn’t rain the pic-

nic out. T It’s starting to sprinkle now. Do

you think it will rain out the ball game?

raise a hand (against someone or something)

Go to lift a hand (against someone or some-

thing).

raise (an) objection (to someone or some-

thing) to mention an objection about

someone or something. I hope your

family won’t raise an objection to my stay-

ing for dinner. I’m certain no one will

raise objection. We are delighted to have

raise a stink (about something) Go to cre-

ate a stink (about something).

raise cain (with someone or something) Go to

raise the devil (with someone or something).

raise havoc with someone or something and

play havoc with someone or something to

create confusion or disruption for or

among someone or something. Your

announcement raised havoc with the stu-

dents. I didn’t mean to play havoc with

them.

raise hell (with someone or something) Go to

raise the devil (with someone or something).

raise hob with someone or something and

play hob with someone or something to do

something devilish to someone or some-

thing; to cause trouble for someone or

something. (A hob is a hobgoblin, a

wicked little elf.) Your sudden arrival is

going to play hob with my dinner plans.

Sorry, I didn’t mean to raise hob with

you.

raise one’s sights to set higher goals for

oneself. When you’re young, you tend to

raise your sights too high. On the other

hand, some people need to raise their

sights.

raise one’s voice (to someone) to speak

loudly or shout at someone in anger.

Don’t you dare raise your voice to me!

I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to raise my voice.

raise some eyebrows to shock or surprise

people mildly (by doing or saying some-

thing). (Some can be replaced with a few,

someone’s, a lot of, etc.) What you just

said may raise some eyebrows, but it

shouldn’t make anyone really angry.

John’s sudden marriage to Ann raised a few

eyebrows.

raise the devil (with someone or something)

and raise hell (with someone or some-

thing); raise cain (with someone or some-

thing); raise the dickens (with someone

or something) to act in some extreme man-

ner; to make trouble; to behave wildly; to

be very angry. (Informal. Use caution

with hell.) John was out all night rais-

ing the devil. Don’t come around here

and raise hell with everybody.  That

cheap gas I bought really raised the dick-

ens with my car’s engine.

raise the dickens (with someone or some-

thing) Go to raise the devil (with someone

or something).

raised in a barn brought up to behave like

a barnyard animal; behaving crudely.

(Folksy.) Close the door behind you!

Were you raised in a barn? Don’t wipe

your nose on your sleeve. Were you raised

in a barn?

rake someone over the coals and haul

someone over the coals to give someone

a severe scolding. My mother hauled

me over the coals for coming in late last

night. The manager raked me over the

coals for being late again.

rake something off to steal or embezzle a

portion of a payment. (Also literal.

Slang.) They claimed that no one was

raking anything off and that the money

was only mislaid. T The county treasurer

was caught raking off some of the tax

money.

rake something up and dredge something up

to uncover something unpleasant and re-

mind people about it. (Also literal.)

The young journalist raked up the old

scandal about the president. T The politi-

cian’s opponents are trying to dredge up

some unpleasant details about his past.

rally (a)round someone or something to come

together to support someone or some-

thing. Everyone rallied around Jack

when he lost his job. Former students

rallied round their college when it was in

danger of being closed.

ram someone or something down someone’s

throat Go to shove someone or something

down someone’s throat.

ramble on (about someone or something) to

talk aimlessly about someone or some-

thing. John is so talkative. He’s always

rambling on about something.  You’re

rambling on yourself.

rank and file 1. regular soldiers, not the

officers. I think there is some trouble

with the rank and file, sir. The rank and

file usually do exactly as they are told. 2.

the members of a group, not the leaders.

The rank and file will vote on the pro-

posed contract tomorrow. The last con-

tract was turned down by the rank and file

last year.

rant and rave (about someone or something)

to shout angrily and wildly about some-

one or something. Bob rants and raves

when anything displeases him.  Bob

rants and raves about anything that dis-

pleases him. Father rants and raves if we

arrive home late.

rant (at someone) about someone or something

to talk in a loud, violent way, about some-

one or something. Anne ranted about

the bad service she had received at the

store. On the bus, someone was ranting

at me about the end of the world.

rap someone’s knuckles to punish someone

slightly. (Also literal.) She rapped his

knuckles for whispering too much. Don’t

rap my knuckles. I didn’t do it.

rap with someone to talk; to chat. (Slang.)

I rapped with the school counselor for

half an hour. My neighbor rapped with

me on my back porch all night.

rarin’ to go to be extremely eager to act or

do something. (Informal.) Jane can’t

wait to start her job. She’s rarin’ to go.

Mary is rarin’ to go and can’t wait for her

university term to start.

rat on someone to report someone’s bad be-

havior; to tattle on someone. (Slang.)

John ratted on me, and I got in trouble.

If he rats on me, I’ll hit him!

rat race a fierce struggle for success, espe-

cially in one’s career or business. Bob

got tired of the rat race. He’s retired and

gone to the country. The money mar-

ket is a rat race, and many people who

work in it die of the stress.

rate with someone to be in someone’s favor;

to be thought of highly by someone.

Ann is great. She really rates with me.

She doesn’t rate with me at all.

rattle something off and reel something off

to recite something quickly and accu-

rately. She can really reel them off. T

Listen to Mary rattle off those numbers.

ravished with delight made very happy or

delighted; overcome with happiness or

delight. (Men are less likely to be ravished

with delight.) Mary was ravished with

delight by the dozen roses. My parents

were ravished with delight when I gradu-

ated from college.

reach a compromise to achieve a com-

promise; to make a compromise. Af-

ter many hours of discussion, we finally

reached a compromise. We were unable

to reach a compromise and quit trying.

reach an agreement to achieve an agree-

ment; to make an agreement. We

reached an agreement and signed a con-

tract. We could not reach an agreement,

so we stopped negotiating.

reach an impasse to progress to the point

that a barrier stops further progress.

When negotiations with management

reached an impasse, the union went on

strike. The discussion reached an im-

passe and no one was able to propose a

compromise

reach first base (with someone or something)

Go to get to first base (with someone or

something).

reach for the sky 1. to aspire to some-

thing; to set one’s goals high. It’s a good

idea to set high goals, but there is no point

in reaching for the sky. Go ahead, you

can do it! Reach for the sky! 2. <a com-

mand to put one’s hands up, as in a rob-

bery.> (Slang.) Reach for the sky! This

is a stickup! The sheriff told the bank

robbers to reach for the sky.

reach one’s stride and hit one’s stride to

do something at one’s best level of abil-

ity. When I reach my stride, things will

go faster, and I’ll be more efficient. Now

that I’ve hit my stride, I can work more

efficiently.

read between the lines to infer some-

thing (from something). (Usually figu-

rative. Does not necessarily refer to writ-

ten or printed information.) After

listening to what she said, if you read be-

tween the lines, you can begin to see what

she really means. Don’t believe every-

thing you hear. Learn to read between the

lines.

read one one’s rights to make the required

statement of legal rights to a person who

has been arrested. All right, read this

guy his rights and book him on a charge

of theft. You have to read them their

rights before putting them in jail.

read someone like a(n open) book to un-

derstand someone very well. I’ve got

John figured out. I can read him like a

book. Of course I understand you. I read

you like an open book.

read someone out of something to expel

someone from an organization, such as

a political party. Because of her state-

ment, they read her out of the party.

The officers tried to read me out of the so-

ciety, but they didn’t succeed.

read someone’s mind to guess what some-

one is thinking, as if one had special

powers to sense someone else’s thoughts.

You’ll have to tell me what you want. I

can’t read your mind, you know. If I

could read your mind, I’d know what you

expect of me.

read someone the riot act to give someone

a severe scolding. The manager read me

the riot act for coming in late.  The

teacher read the students the riot act for

their failure to do their assignments.

read something into something to attach or at-

tribute a new or different meaning to

something. This statement means ex-

actly what it says. Don’t try to read any-

thing else into it. Am I reading too much

into your comments?

read something over to read something.

When you have a chance, read this over. T

Also, read over this report.

read something through to read all of some-

thing. Take this home and read it

through. T Read through this report and

see if you can find any errors.

read the handwriting on the wall to an-

ticipate what is going to happen by ob-

serving small hints and clues. I know

I am going to be fired. I can read the hand-

writing on the wall. Can’t you read the

handwriting on the wall? Can’t you see

what they are planning?

read up (on someone or something) to find and

read some information about someone or

something. Please go to the library and

read up on George Washington. I don’t

know anything about that. I guess I need

to read up.

ready to do something [of someone or some

creature] prepared and willing.

ready to leave for the airport?

need me, I’m ready to help.

ready, willing, and able eager or at least

willing [to do something]. If you need

someone to help you move furniture, I’m

ready, willing, and able. Fred is ready,

willing, and able to do anything you ask

him.

the real thing something that is genuine

and not an imitation. I don’t want fro-

zen yogurt, I want the real thing! Yes, ice

cream! She hates plastic that looks like

wood. She wants the real thing.

the reality of the situation the truth or

actuality of the situation; the way the sit-

uation really is. The reality of the situ-

ation is that we must act right now. Let’s

face the reality of the situation and go out

and get jobs so we can buy food.

rear its ugly head [for something un-

pleasant] to appear or become obvious

after lying hidden. Jealousy reared its

ugly head and destroyed their marriage.

The question of money always rears its

ugly head in matters of business.

receive someone with open arms and wel-

come someone with open arms to greet

someone eagerly. (Used literally or figu-

ratively.) I’m sure they wanted us to stay

for dinner. They received us with open

arms. When I came home from school,

the whole family welcomed me with open

arms.

reckon with someone or something to deal

with someone or something; to confront

someone or something. Eventually you

will have to reckon with getting a job. I

really don’t want to have to reckon with the

manager when she’s mad.

recognize one for what one is Go to rec-

ognize something for what it is.

recognize something for what it is and rec-

ognize one for what one is to see and un-

derstand exactly what someone or some-

thing is or represents. The disease

represented a serious threat to all peoples,

and Dr. Smith recognized it for what it

was. I recognize you for what you are,

you scoundrel!

reconcile oneself to something to grow to feel

comfortable with an undesirable or chal-

lenging situation. John reconciled him-

self to living alone. Anne reconciled her-

self to having to wear glasses.

red as a cherry Go to (as) red as a cherry.

red as a poppy Go to (as) red as a poppy.

red as a rose Go to (as) red as a rose.

red as a ruby Go to (as) red as a ruby.

red as blood Go to (as) red as blood.

red herring a piece of information or sug-

gestion introduced to draw attention

away from the real facts of a situation. (A

red herring is a type of strong-smelling

smoked fish that was once drawn across

the trail of a scent to mislead hunting

dogs and put them off the scent.) The

detectives were following a red herring, but

they’re on the right track now. Jack and

Mary were hoping their friends would con-

fuse their parents with a red herring so that

they wouldn’t realize that they had eloped.

red in the face embarrassed. After we

found Ann hiding in the closet, she became

red in the face. The speaker kept mak-

ing errors and became red in the face.

red tape over-strict attention to the word-

ing and details of rules and regulations,

especially by government workers. (From

the color of the tape used by government

departments in England to tie up bundles

of documents.) Because of red tape,

Frank took weeks to get a visa. Red tape

prevented Jack’s wife from joining him

abroad.

reduced to something brought into a certain

humble condition or state. The griev-

ing family was reduced to tears.  The

poor man was reduced to begging for food.

reel something off Go to rattle something off.

refill a prescription sell a second or sub-

sequent set of doses of a medicine upon

a doctor’s orders. The pharmacy refused

to refill my prescription because it has

expired. If you want the drugstore to

refill your prescription, just give them the

prescription number over the telephone.

regain one’s composure to become calm

and composed. I found it difficult to re-

gain my composure after the argument.

Here, sit down and relax so that you can

regain your composure.

regain one’s feet 1. to stand up again after

falling or stumbling. I fell on the ice and

almost couldn’t regain my feet. I helped

my uncle regain his feet as he tried to get

up from the chair. 2. to become indepen-

dent after financial difficulties. I lent

Bill $400 to help him regain his feet. I’ll

be able to pay my bills when I regain my

feet.

regardless of something without consider-

ing something; at any rate; whatever is

done; whatever option is chosen. Re-

gardless of what you say, I’m still going to

the club tonight. I still have to pay the

bill, regardless of the facts.

regular as clockwork Go to (as) regular as

clockwork.

relative to someone or something 1. concern-

ing someone or something. I have

something to say relative to Bill. Do you

have any information relative to the situ-

ation in South America? 2. in proportion

to someone or something. My happi-

ness is relative to yours. I can spend an

amount of money relative to the amount

of money I earn.

reliance on someone or something trust and

dependence on someone or something.

John’s reliance on his family is holding him

back.   Reliance on sleeping pills is

dangerous.

religious about doing something strict about

something; conscientious about some-

thing. Bob is religious about paying his

bills on time. Max tries to be religious

about being polite to everyone.

reluctance to do something a feeling of not

wanting to do something; unwillingness

to do something. Mary showed great

reluctance to go bowling with me. Be-

cause of John’s reluctance to make friends,

he was lonely.

reminiscent of someone or something re-

minding someone about someone or

something; seeming like or suggesting

someone or something. This fragrance

is reminiscent of fresh f lowers. Jane’s

dress is reminiscent of the style worn in the

1920s.

reputed to be something and reputed to do

something; reputed to have something

thought to do, be, or have something.

My boss is reputed to have cancer. My

neighbor was reputed to have been a spy

during the war.

reputed to do something Go to reputed to be

something.

reputed to have something Go to reputed to

be something.

resign oneself to something to accept some-

thing reluctantly. I finally resigned my-

self to going to Mexico even though I didn’t

want to. Mary resigned herself to her

fate.

resonate with someone [for an idea, issue,

or concept] to appeal to someone or

cause someone to relate to it. The con-

cept of buying CDs at a clothing store

seems to resonate with young people.

Your notion just doesn’t resonate with the

public in general.

the responsible party the person or orga-

nization responsible or liable for some-

thing. I intend to find the responsible

party and get some answers to my ques-

tions. Mary sued the responsible party

in the car crash.

rest assured to be assured; to be certain.

Rest assured that you’ll receive the best

of care. Please rest assured that we will

do everything possible to help.

rest in peace to lie dead peacefully for

eternity. We prayed that the deceased

would rest in peace. The bodies of the

soldiers will rest in peace.

rest on one’s laurels to enjoy one’s success

and not try to achieve more. Don’t rest

on your laurels. Try to continue to do great

things! I think I’ll rest on my laurels for

a time before attempting anything new.

result in something to cause something to

happen. The storm resulted in a lot of

f looding. Her fall resulted in a broken

leg.

return someone’s compliment Go to return

the compliment.

return the compliment and return some-

one’s compliment to pay a compliment

to someone who has paid you a compli-

ment. (See also pay someone a compli-

Mary told me that my hair

looked nice, so I returned her compliment

and told her that her hair was lovely.

When someone says something nice, it is

polite to return the compliment.

return the favor to do a good deed for

someone who has done a good deed for

you. You helped me last week, so I’ll re-

turn the favor and help you this week.

There is no point in helping Bill. He’ll

never return the favor.

rev something up to make an idling engine

run very fast, in short bursts of speed.

Hey! Stop revving it up! T I wish that Tom

wouldn’t sit out in front of our house in his

car and rev up his engine.

rich in something having valuable resources,

characteristics, traditions, or history.

The entire region is rich in historical

churches. Our soil is rich in important

nutrients.

rich with something having a lot of some-

thing; not lacking; abundant. The

beautiful book was rich with color illus-

trations. The old town was rich with el-

egant Victorian houses.

ride herd on someone or something to super-

vise someone or something. (Informal.

Refers to a cowboy supervising cattle.)

I’m tired of having to ride herd on my kids

all the time. My job is to ride herd on

this project and make sure everything is

done right.

ride off in all directions to behave in a

totally confused manner; to try to do

everything at once. (Folksy. Can be said

of one or more people.) Bill has a ten-

dency to ride off in all directions. He’s

not organized enough.   Now, calm

down. There is no sense in riding off in all

directions.

ride on someone’s coattails and hang on

someone’s coattails to make one’s good

fortune or success depend on another

person. (Also with else, as in the exam-

ples below.) Bill isn’t very creative, so

he rides on John’s coattails. Some people

just have to hang on somebody else’s

coattails.

ride roughshod over someone or something to

treat someone or something with disdain

or scorn. Tom seems to ride roughshod

over his friends. You shouldn’t have

come into our town to ride roughshod over

our laws and our traditions.

ride something out to endure something un-

pleasant. (Originally referred to ships

lasting out a storm.) It was a nasty sit-

uation, but the mayor tried to ride it out.

T The mayor decided to ride out the

scandal.

ride the gravy train to live in luxury. (In-

formal.) If I had a million dollars, I sure

could ride the gravy train. I wouldn’t

like loafing. I don’t want to ride the gravy

train.

riding for a fall risking failure or an acci-

dent, usually due to overconfidence.

Tom drives too fast, and he seems too sure

of himself. He’s riding for a fall. Bill

needs to eat better and get more sleep. He’s

riding for a fall.