take

take root to begin to take hold or have ef-

fect. (Refers to newly-planted plants.)

Things will begin to change when my new

policies take root. My ideas began to

take root and inf luence other people.

take shape [for something, such as plans,

writing, ideas, arguments, etc.] to begin

to be organized and specific. My plans

are beginning to take shape.

manuscript took shape, I started showing

it to publishers.

take sick and take ill to become ill.

(Folksy.) I took sick with a bad cold last

week. I hope I don’t take ill before final

exams.

take sides to choose one side of an argu-

ment. They were arguing, but I didn’t

want to take sides, so I left. I don’t mind

taking sides on important issues.

take someone apart to beat someone up.

(Slang.) Don’t talk to me that way, or

I’ll take you apart. T He was so mad that

I thought he was going to take apart all of

take someone by surprise to startle some-

one; to surprise someone with something

unexpected. Oh! You took me by sur-

prise because I didn’t hear you come in.

Bill took his mother by surprise by com-

ing to the door and pretending to be a

solicitor.

take someone down a notch (or two) Go

to take someone down a peg (or two).

take someone down a peg (or two) and

take someone down a notch (or two) to

reprimand someone who is acting too ar-

rogant. The teacher’s scolding took Bob

down a notch or two. He was so rude

that someone was bound to take him down

a peg or two.

take someone down (to size) Go to cut

someone down (to size).

take someone for a fool Go to take someone

for an idiot.

take someone for an idiot and take someone

for a fool to assume that someone is stu-

pid. I wouldn’t do anything like that! Do

you take me for an idiot? I don’t take

you for a fool. I think you’re very clever.

take someone for a ride to trick or deceive

someone. (Informal.) Old people are

being taken for a ride by bogus workmen.

Whoever sold Tom that car took him for

a ride. It needs a new engine.

take someone for someone or something to mis-

take someone for someone or something.

I took Bill for his brother, Bob. They look

so much alike! I took Mr. Brown for the

gardener, and he was a little bit insulted.

take someone hostage to kidnap or seize

someone to be a hostage. The terrorists

planned to take the ambassador hostage.

The entire family was taken hostage by

the robber.

take someone in Go to suck someone in.

take someone into one’s confidence to trust

someone with confidential information;

to tell a secret to someone and trust the

person to keep the secret. We are good

friends, but I didn’t feel I could take her

into my confidence. I know something

very important about Jean. Can I take you

into my confidence?

take someone or something at face value to

take someone or something by its out-

ward appearance; to take someone or

something as it first appears to be.

Don’t just accept her offer at face value.

Think of the implications. Jane tends to

take people at face value and so she is al-

ways getting hurt.

take someone or something away to remove

someone or something. I don’t want

any more soup. Please take it away. T Take

away Bill and John. They are bothering

me.

take someone or something by storm to over-

whelm someone or something; to attract

a great deal of attention from someone or

something. Jane is madly in love with

Tom. He took her by storm at the office

party, and they’ve been together ever since.

The singer took the world of opera by

storm with her performance in La

Boheme.

take someone or something by surprise to

startle or surprise someone or something.

She came into the room and took them

by surprise. I took the little bird by sur-

prise, and it f lew away.

take someone or something for granted to ac-

cept someone or something—without

gratitude—as a matter of course. We

tend to take a lot of things for granted.

Mrs. Franklin complained that Mr. Frank-

lin takes her for granted.

take someone or something in 1. to observe

someone or something. (See also suck

someone in.) The zoo is too big to take

in the whole thing in one day. T It takes

two days to take in the museum. 2. to pro-

vide shelter for someone or something.

When I needed a place to live, my uncle

took me in. T Mrs. Wilson took in the

lonely little dog and gave it a warm home.

3. [with something] to inhale, drink, or

eat something. T I think I’ll go for a walk

and take in some fresh air. T Jane was very

ill, but she managed to take in a little

broth.

take someone or something into account to

remember to consider someone or some-

thing. I hope you’ll take Bill and Bob

into account when you plan the party. T

I’ll try to take into account all the things

that are important in a situation like this.

take someone or something on to undertake to

deal with someone or something. Mrs.

Smith is such a problem. I don’t feel like

taking her on just now. T I’m too busy to

take on any new problems.

take someone or something out 1. [with some-

one] to take someone out on the town on

a date. (Also literal.) I hear that Tom

has been taking Ann out. T No, Tom has

been taking out Mary. 2. [with someone]

to remove someone who is acting as a

barrier, especially in football. (Informal.)

Okay, Bill. Get in there and take the

quarterback out. T Our player ran fast

and took out the opposing player before he

could tackle our runner. 3. [with someone]

to kill someone. (Criminal slang.) The

thief who drove the car was afraid that the

other thieves were going to take him out,

too. T The crooks took out the witness to

the crime.

take someone or something wrong to misun-

derstand someone or something.

Please don’t take me wrong, but I believe

that your socks don’t match. You’ll prob-

ably take this wrong, but I have to say that

I’ve never seen you looking better.

take someone’s breath away 1. to cause

someone to be out of breath due to a

shock or hard exercise. Walking this

fast takes my breath away. Mary fright-

ened me and took my breath away. 2. to

overwhelm someone with beauty or

grandeur. The magnificent painting

took my breath away.  Ann looked so

beautiful that she took my breath away.

take someone’s part to take a side in an ar-

gument; to support someone in an argu-

ment. My sister took my mother’s part

in the family argument. You are always

taking the part of underdog!

take someone’s pulse to measure the fre-

quency of the beats of a person’s pulse.

I can take my own pulse. The nurse took

my pulse and said I was fine.

take someone to task to scold or reprimand

someone. The teacher took John to task

for his bad behavior. I lost a big con-

tract, and the boss took me to task in front

of everyone.

take someone to the cleaners to abuse or

damage someone. (Slang.) There was a

real rough guy there who threatened to

take me to the cleaners if I didn’t cooper-

ate. The crook said he’d take anybody

who interfered to the cleaners.

take someone under one’s wing(s) to take

over and care for a person. John was-

n’t doing well in geometry until the teacher

took him under her wing. I took the new

workers under my wings, and they learned

the job in no time.

take someone up on something to take ad-

vantage of someone’s offer of something.

(Informal.) I’d like to take you up on

your offer to help. T We took up the

Browns on their invitation to come to

dinner

take something to endure something; to sur-

vive something. (Also literal.) I don’t

think I can take any more scolding today.

I’ve been in trouble since I got up this

morning. Mary was very insulting to

Tom, but he can take it.

take something amiss and take something

the wrong way to understand some-

thing as wrong or insulting. (Compare

this with take someone or something wrong.)

Would you take it amiss if I told you I

thought you look lovely?  Why would

anyone take such a nice compliment amiss?

I was afraid you’d take it the wrong way.

take something at face value to accept

something exactly the way it appears to

be. I don’t know whether I can take her

story at face value, but I will assume that

she is not lying. The committee took the

report at face value and approved the sug-

gested changes.

take something back to withdraw or cancel

one’s statement. (Also literal, meaning

“to return something.”) I heard what

you said, and I’m very insulted. Please take

it back. T Take back your words, or I’ll

never speak to you again!

take something home (with oneself) 1. to

carry something to one’s home. We

took a lot of souvenirs home with us. 2.

to take a thought, idea, or concept away

[to one’s home] from a meeting or con-

ference. Take this idea home with you.

Think twice.

take something in stride to accept some-

thing as natural or expected. The ar-

gument surprised him, but he took it in

stride. It was a very rude remark, but

Mary took it in stride.

take something lying down to endure some-

thing unpleasant without fighting back.

He insulted me publicly. You don’t ex-

pect me to take that lying down, do you?

I’m not the kind of person who’ll take

something like that lying down.

take something on the chin to experience

and endure a direct (figurative or literal)

blow or assault. The bad news was a

real shock, but John took it on the chin.

The worst luck comes my way, and I always

end up taking it on the chin.

take something out on someone or something to

direct (or redirect) one’s anger or fear

onto someone or something. I don’t

care if you’re mad at your brother. Don’t

take it out on me! John took his anger

out on the wall by kicking it.

take something personally to interpret a re-

mark as if it were mean or critical about

oneself. Don’t take it personally, but you

really need a haircut. I want to tell you

something, but please don’t take it

personally.

take something the wrong way Go to take

something amiss.

take something to heart to take something

very seriously. John took the criticism

to heart and made an honest effort to im-

prove. I know Bob said a lot of cruel

things to you, but he was angry. You

shouldn’t take those things to heart.

take something up 1. to begin to deal with

an issue. (See also take something up (with

someone).) That’s too big a job for today.

I’ll take it up tomorrow. T Now we’ll take

up the task of the election of officers. 2.

to make the bottom of a skirt or pants

cuffs higher off the floor. I’ll have to

take this skirt up. It’s too long for me. T

Please take up my pants cuffs. They are an

inch too long.

take something up (with someone) to raise

and discuss a matter with someone.

This is a very complicated problem. I’ll

have to take it up with the office manager.

T She’ll take up this problem with the

owner in the morning.

take something with a grain of salt Go to

take something with a pinch of salt.

take steps (to prevent something) to do

what is necessary to prevent something.

I took steps to prevent John from learn-

ing what we were talking about. I have

to keep John from knowing what I’ve been

doing. I can prevent it if I take steps.

take stock (of something) to make an ap-

praisal of resources and potentialities.

I spent some time yesterday taking stock

of my good and bad qualities. We all

need to take stock now and then.

take the bit between the teeth Go to

take the bit in one’s teeth.

take the bit in one’s teeth and take the

bit between the teeth to put oneself in

charge. Someone needed to direct the

project, so I took the bit in my teeth. If

you want to get something done, you’ve got

to take the bit between your teeth and get

to work.

take the cake to win the prize; to be the

best or the worst. (Folksy.) Look at

those fireworks. If they don’t take the cake,

I don’t know what does. Well, Jane, this

dinner really takes the cake! It’s delicious.

Tom really messed it up. What he did

really takes the cake.

take the day off to choose not to go to

work for one day. (Compare this with get

the day off.) The sun was shining, and

it was warm, so I took the day off and went

fishing. Jane wasn’t feeling well, so she

took the day off.

take the edge off (something) to remove the

essence, power, or “bite” of something.

I had to tell her some very sad things,

so I spoke slowly and softly to take the edge

off the news. I put sugar in my coffee

to take the edge off.

take the initiative (to do something) to ac-

tivate oneself to do something even if one

has not been asked to do it. (See also

make it one’s business to do something.)

The door hinges squeak because no one will

take the initiative to oil them. Some-

times, in order to get things done, you have

to take the initiative.

take the law into one’s own hands to at-

tempt to administer the law; to act as a

judge and jury for someone who has done

something wrong. Citizens don’t have

the right to take the law into their own

hands. The shopkeeper took the law into

his own hands when he tried to arrest the

thief.

take (the) roll Go to call (the) roll.

take the stand to go to and sit in the wit-

ness chair in a courtroom. I was in

court all day, waiting to take the stand.

The lawyer asked the witness to take the

stand.

take the starch out of someone 1. to make

someone less arrogant or stiff. (Infor-

mal.) I told a joke that made Mr. Jones

laugh very hard. It really took the starch

out of him. John is so arrogant. I’d really

like to take the starch out of him! 2. to

make someone tired and weak. (Infor-

mal.) This hot weather really takes the

starch out of me. What a long day! It

sure took the starch out of me.

take the trouble (to do something) to make

an effort to do something (that one

might not otherwise do). I wish I had

taken the trouble to study this matter more

carefully. I just didn’t have enough time

to take the trouble.

take the wind out of someone’s sails to

challenge someone’s boasting or arro-

gance. (Informal.) John was bragging

about how much money he earned until he

learned that most of us make more. That

took the wind out of his sails. Learning

that one has been totally wrong about

something can really take the wind out of

one’s sails.

take the words out of one’s mouth [for

someone else] to say what you were going

to say. (Informal. Also with right, as in

the example.) John said exactly what I

was going to say. He took the words out of

my mouth.  I agree with you, and I

wanted to say the same thing. You took the

words right out of my mouth.

take time off not to work for a period of

time—a few minutes or a longer period.

(Compare this with get time off.) I had

to take time off to go to the dentist.

Mary took time off to have a cup of coffee.

take too much on to undertake to do too

much work or too many tasks. Don’t

take too much on, or you won’t be able to

do any of it well. T Ann tends to take on

too much and get exhausted.

take to one’s heels to run away. The lit-

tle boy said hello and then took to his heels.

The man took to his heels to try to get

to the bus stop before the bus left.

take to someone or something to become fond

of or attracted to someone or something.

(Informal.) Mary didn’t take to her new

job, and she quit after two weeks. Mary

seemed to take to John right away.

take turns ((at) doing something) to do some-

thing, one (person) at a time (rather than

everyone all at once). Please take turns

at reading the book. Everyone is taking

turns looking at the picture. It’s more or-

derly when everyone takes turns.

take umbrage at something to feel that one

has been insulted by something. The

employee took umbrage at not getting a

raise. Mary took umbrage at the sug-

gestion that she was being unreasonable.

take up a collection to collect money for

a specific project. We wanted to send

Bill some f lowers, so we took up a collec-

tion. The office staff took up a collection

to pay for the office party.

take up arms (against someone or something)

to prepare to fight against someone or

something. Everyone in the town took

up arms against the enemy. They were

all so angry that the leader convinced them

to take up arms.

take up one’s abode somewhere to settle

down and live somewhere. (Formal.)

I took up my abode downtown near my of-

fice. We decided to take up our abode

in a warmer climate.

take up room Go to take up space.

take up someone’s time to require too much

of someone else’s time; to waste some-

one’s time. (Also with so much of or too

much of, as in the examples below.)

You’re taking up my time. Please go away.

I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take up so

much of your time. This problem is tak-

ing up too much of my time.

take up space and take up room to fill

or occupy space. (Note the variation in

the examples.) The piano is taking up

too much room in our living room. John,

you’re not being any help at all. You’re just

taking up space.

take up time to require or fill time. (Note

the variation in the examples. Also with-

out up.) This project is taking up too

much time. This kind of thing always

takes up time.

take up where one left off to start up

again in the very place that one has

stopped. I had to leave the room for a

minute, but when I got back, I took up

where I left off.  It’s time to stop for

lunch. After lunch, we will take up where

we left off.

take up with someone to become a friend or

companion to someone. Billy’s mother

was afraid that he was taking up with the

wrong kind of people. John and Bob took

up with each other and became close

friends.

taken aback surprised and confused.

When Mary told me the news, I was taken

aback for a moment. When I told my

parents I was married, they were com-

pletely taken aback.

taken for dead appearing to be dead; as-

sumed to be dead. I was so ill with the

f lu that I was almost taken for dead.

The accident victims were so seriously in-

jured that they were taken for dead at first.

talk back (to someone) to respond (to a re-

buke) rudely or impertinently. John got

in trouble for talking back to the teacher.

A student never gains anything by talk-

ing back.

talk big to brag or boast; to talk in an in-

timidating manner. (Slang.) John is al-

ways talking big, but he hasn’t really ac-

complished a lot in life. She talks big, but

she’s harmless.

talk down to someone to speak to someone

in a patronizing manner; to speak to

someone in the simplest way. The

manager insulted everyone in the office by

talking down to them. Please don’t talk

down to me. I can understand almost any-

thing you have to say.

talk in circles to talk in a confusing or

roundabout manner. I couldn’t under-

stand a thing he said. All he did was talk

in circles. We argued for a long time and

finally decided that we were talking in

circles.

the talk of somewhere someone or something

who is the subject of a conversation

somewhere, especially the town. The

handsome new teacher was the talk of the

town. John’s new car is the talk of the

office.

talk shop to talk about business matters at

a social event (where business talk is out

of place). (Informal.) All right, every-

one, we’re not here to talk shop. Let’s have

a good time. Mary and Jane stood by the

punch bowl, talking shop.

talk someone down 1. to win out over some-

one in an argument; to convince some-

one by arguing. She loves to argue. She

talk someone into (doing) something to over-

come someone’s objections to doing

something; to convince someone to do

something. They talked me into going

to the meeting, even though I didn’t really

have the time. No one can talk me into

doing something illegal.

talk someone or something up to promote or

speak in support of someone or some-

thing. (Informal.) I’ve been talking up

the party all day, trying to get people to

come. The mayor is running for reelec-

tion, and everyone at city hall is talking

her up.

talk someone out of (doing) something to con-

vince someone not to do something. I

tried to talk her out of going, but she in-

sisted. Don’t try to talk me out of quit-

ting school. My mind is made up.

talk someone out of something to convince

someone to give something up. This is

my candy, and you can’t talk me out of it.

I tried to talk her out of her property,

but she didn’t want to sell.

talk someone’s ear off Go to talk someone’s

head off.

talk something out to talk about all aspects

of a problem or disagreement.

and Sally had a problem, so they agreed

to talk it out. T It’s better to talk out a dis-

agreement than to stay mad.

talk something over to discuss something.

Come into my office so we can talk this

over. T We talked over the plans for nearly

an hour.

talk through one’s hat to talk nonsense; to

brag and boast. (Informal.) John isn’t

really as good as he says. He’s just talking

through his hat. Stop talking through

your hat and start being sincere!

talk turkey to talk business; to talk frankly.

(Slang.) Okay, Bob, we have business to

discuss. Let’s talk turkey. John wanted

to talk turkey, but Jane just wanted to joke

around.

talk until one is blue in the face to talk

until one is exhausted. (Informal.) I

talked until I was blue in the face, but I

couldn’t change her mind. She had to

talk until she was blue in the face in order

to convince him.

talked out tired of talking; unable to talk

more. (Folksy. See also talk oneself out.)

I can’t go on. I’m all talked out. She was

talked out in the first hour of discussion.

tamper with something to attempt to alter or

change something; to meddle with or

damage something. Someone has tam-

pered with my door lock. Please don’t

tamper with my stereo.

tan someone’s hide to spank someone.

(Folksy.) Billy’s mother said she’d tan

Billy’s hide if he ever did that again. “I’ll

tan your hide if you’re late!” said Tom’s

father.

taper off (doing something) to stop doing

something gradually. My doctor told

me to taper off smoking cigarettes.  I

have to taper off because I can’t stop all at

once.

tar and feather someone to chastise some-

one severely. (Also literal.) They threat-

ened to tar and feather me if I ever came

back into their town. I don’t believe that

they’d really tar and feather me, but they

could be very unpleasant.

tarred with the same brush sharing the

same characteristic(s); having the same

good or bad points as someone else.

Jack and his brother are tarred with the

same brush. They’re both crooks. The

Smith children are tarred with the same

brush. They’re all lazy.

a taste of something an experience; an ex-

ample. Bill gave Sue a taste of her own

rudeness. My friend used a parachute

and got a taste of what it’s like to be a bird.

a taste of things to come Go to a har-

binger of things to come.

tax-and-spend spending freely and taxing

heavily. (Refers to a legislative body that

repeatedly passes expensive new laws and

keeps raising taxes to pay for the cost.)

I hope that people do not elect another tax-

and-spend Congress this time. The only

thing worse than a tax-and-spend legisla-

ture is one that spends and runs up a wors-

ening deficit.

tea and crumpets a fancy or fussy meet-

ing or reception where refreshments, es-

pecially sweet and insubstantial refresh-

ments, are served. (Alluding to a genteel

appointment where tea and some light

pastries are served.) I don’t have time

to spend the afternoon having tea and

crumpets with the office staff. I have work

to do! Almost every one of my Sunday

afternoons is taken up with tea and crum-

pets for this cause and tea and crumpets

for that cause! My rest and relaxation is

the only cause I am interested in this

Sunday!