Key words with English idioms - Lession 4: Face

KEY WORDS TO ENGLISH IDIOMS 04
FACE 
be staring someone in the face be very obvious or clearly noticeable, but often not noticed by the person concerned, 
 - Can't you see?He's in love with you! He's staring you in the face!
blow up in someone’s face (used of a plan, arrangement, etc.) fail; be destroyed by some unexpected and unwelcome event or situation. 
 - The deal just blew up in my face. Simpson reneged on all we had previously agreed on.
face to face (two people) together, person to person, in each other’s presence. 
 - The atmosphere was tense when the two rival leaders came face to face.
face the music meet criticism, punishment, etc.; deal with an u npleasant situation. 
 - He was in big trouble with the tax authorities and his business was on the rocks, so he simply disappeared rather than face the music.
fly in the face of someone/something disregard, defy or oppose rashly something that is generally accepted (e.g. an opinion, a decision, facts).
 - She's the sort ofwoman who opposes everything on principle and laves to fly in the face ofconvention.
have egg on one’s face (informal) be seen as/shown to be foolish. 
 - At the Annual General Meeting, the Chairman quoted last year's sales figures by mistake and didn't even realize it. He certainly had egg on his face!
in the face of something (e.g. difficulties, danger) in the presence of, confronted by. 
 - Father taught us to remain calm in theface of danger, but it isn't always easy. 
keep a straight face not laugh even though one finds something very funny; hide one’s amusement. 
 - I could hardly keep a straight face when Father’s spectacles fell off the end of his nose in the middle of his speech.
laugh on the other side of one’s face lose one’s reason for laughter because of a nasty surprise etc.
 - Nam was amused when he heard that the company is sending Vinh to the Ha Giang and not him. But he'll laugh on the other side of his face when he finds out that he's being sent to Tay Ninh.
let’s face it let’s be truthful/admit the truth to ourselves. 
 - We all know that Williams is difficult to work with and some of us would be happier without him, but let's face it, he’s the best man for the job.
lose face be humiliated; lose the respect ofothers. 
 - One of the worst things that can happen to a political leader is for him to lose face.
on the face of it as it appears to be according to the facts that are available. 
 - On the face of it, it would seem that the market research was successful, but has it really answered the essential questions?
put a bold / brave face on it hide one’s worry by pretending that nothing is wrong; show courage in times of difficulty. 
 - ‘How is Linda coping after her divorce?’ ~ ‘Well, she feels terribly lonely and depressed, but she manages to put a brave face on it most of the time. 
a firm hand strong control: 
 - Reforming these young offenders will require a firm hand.
show one’s face appear, come, be present. 
 - After all the trouble you have caused, I don’t know how you dare show your face here again!
a slap in the face a sudden and unexpected rejection, defeat, disappointment, etc.
 - Mai Lan was sure that she would be asked to represent the company al the conference, so it was a real slap in the face for her when Tâm Vy was asked to go.
HAIR
keep your hair on! calm down, don’t get angry. 
 - I’m sorry I broke the vase. But keep your hair on! It isn’t the end of the world!
let one’s hair down relax, enjoy oneself, have a carefree time after being formal and correct in behaviour. 
 - The conference is over now and it all went very well. So you can let your hair down and relax.
make someone’s hair curl/stand on end frighten/horrify someone.
 - My uncle is a detective with the FBI. Some of the crimes he tells me about make my hair stand on end!
not turn a hair not show fear; remain calm in the face of danger or shock. 
 - When Barry was accosted by threeyouths with a knife, he didn't turn a hair.
by/within a hair’s breadth by/within a very short distance or a very small amount. 
 - I came within a hair's breadth of being killed this morning. I ran across the road behind a bus.
split hairs talk or argue about irrelevant or unimportant differences or details. 
 - Let's not argue about whether we sold eleven million two hundred thousand newspapers or eleven million three hundred thousand. That's splitting hair. The fact is, we haven’t sold enough!
HAND
at first hand directly. 
 - 'Who gave you that information about David?’ ~ ‘I got it at first hand. David told me himself.'
at hand near, close by. 
 - I haven't got the books at hand, but I can get them for you by this afternoon.
be hand in glove with someone be in close co-operation or relationship with someone; he working towards the same aim, etc.
 - Apparently, the American and British secret services were hand in glove in the latest espionage case.
bound/tied hand and foot be unable/powerless to act. 
 - I'm afraid there's nothing I can do to help you. I'm bound hand and foot by the bank's rules.
cap in hand humble; in a humble manner. 
 - He had a strong disagreement with the boss and gave in his notice, rhe next morning, he went hack cap in hand and asked for his job back.
come the heavy hand (with someone) criticize strongly; blame or threaten, 
 - You needn’t come the heavy hand with me! You're just as much to blame for this mess as I am!
a dab hand (at something) a person who is clever/skilled at some job/ task or experienced in some situation. 
 - Ron is quite a dab hand at repairing electrical things. Let him have a look at your spin-drier.
eat / feed out of someone's hand(s) be under someone’s influence; submit to his wishes willingly. 
 - The boys lave their new teacher. She has them eating out of her hand already and they do whatever she tells them.
force someone’s hand force someone to act, make a decision, etc. more quickly than he may be willing to. 
 - Couldn 't you force his hand - tell him your company is insisting on a decision immediately?
gain / get the upper hand win an advantage over something/someone, thus gaining a position ofpower. 
 - If you once let Henry gel the upper hand in an argument you won’t have a chance to put forward your point of view.
give / lend someone a hand help someone physically, e.g. to carry, lift, move something. 
 - You 'll have to change the tyre. I'll give you a hand if you like.
give someone a big/good hand applaud someone, usually after a good performance, speech, etc. 
 - The school concert went very smoothly and the headmistress asked the parents to give all the children a really big hand.
give someonc/have (got) a free hand (in something) give someone permission to do as he wishes/be allowed to act as one wants. 
 - I’ll give you a free hand in the running of the business, if you are prepared to take on the responsibility.
hand over fist quickly and uncontrollably. 
 - Share prices were dropping and Scott found himself losing money hand over fist.
have / take a hand in something be involved actively in something; be responsible for something being done. 
 - The colour scheme is excellent. Didn’t Mike have a hand in the redecorating?
have/take/want no hand in something not be involved in something; have nothing to do with something. 
 - If it’s blackmail you're thinking about, I want no hand in it!
get/lay/put one’s hands on sb (informal) to catch someone
 - I'll kill him if I ever get my hands on him.
in hand (a) under control, being undertaken.
 - The work is well in hand and should be finished in a few days. 
(b) spare, left over to use or be put to use.
 - When we’vepaid all the bills, we shall still have about three hundred pounds in hand.
keep one’s hand in keep in practice.
 - Joan doesn’t leach lull time now but she stands in for colleagues sometimes, so that she can keep her hand in.
live (from) hand to mouth live without saving money, spending it as soon as it is earned. 
 - Ken won’t suddenly start saving money when he's been living hand to mouth all his life!
off hand without much thought or preparation. 
 - ‘Can you tell me Jeff's new address?' ~ 'Not off hand, but here's my address book '
out of hand out of control. [usually be/get out of hand]. 
 - If the strike situation down at the shipyard gets out of hand, we shall lose some important orders.
put one’s hand to the plough work hard, with great effort, 
 - When Paul inherited his father's business he did very little work for the first six months. But as soon as he put his hand to the plough, he made a big success of it.
someone’s right hand (man) someone’s closest assistant or helper.
 - Maurice has been the headmaster's right hand man for years.
show/reveal one’s hand let others know one’s intentions, plans, position. 
 - If only Richards would show his hand, we would know better how to deal with the situation.
strengthen one’s/someone’s hand improve one’s/someone’s position or power/freedom to act. 
 - It would certainly strengthen Mark's hand, if he knew that he had the entire teaching staff behind him.
take a hand (in something) intervene, take control. 
 - Jane was asked to take a hand in the arrangements for the Charity Ball, as no one else seemed to have much time.
take something/someone in hand take control of/deal with something/someone. 
 - Your teenage son is causing a lot of trouble in school. It's time you took him in hand.
to hand within reach, in one’s possession at the moment. 
 - I needed to look up some Spanish words, but unfortunately I didn't have my dữtionaẹy to hand.
wait on someone hand and foot do, fetch, attend to everything for someone who could do it all himself. 
 - I don't mind Aunt Nancy coming to visit, but she always expects us to wait on her hand and foot.
be (quite) a handful be difficult to manage/control because unruly or strong-willed. 
 - Margaret visited me yesterday with her four-year-old son. What a handful he is!
hands off! don’t touch! - Hands off those chocolates! They 're mine!
have one’s hands full be extremely busy; have a lot of work, responsibility, etc.
 - I'd love to help you, but I have my handsfull with the fashion show at the moment.
many hands make light work (proverb) a task is easier ifmany people share the work. 
 - 'Do you need any help preparing the vegetables?' ~ 'Oh yes, please. Many hands make light work.'
play into someone’s hands do exactly what someone (e.g. an opponent, a rival) wants you to do, usually involuntarily and without realizing it.
 - Don't complain to the boss that Henderson has given you too much work to do. Don't you see, that would be playing into his hands? Henderson wants the boss to think that you are not competent enough to handle it all! 
win/bcat someone hands down win very easily with a clear lead.
 - Why don't you challenge Jeff to a game of tennis? He thinks he can beat you hands down, but I think he’s wrong.
know something like the back of one's hand (informal) to have very good and detailed knowledge of something: 
 - I know this area like the back of my hand.
 .to be continued