Katie bar the door
- get ready for trouble, a desperate situation is at hand
eg. The gang arrived at the bar and were ready to come in and fight. Well, Katie bar the door.
kangaroo court
- a self-appointed group that decides how to punish someone who is supposed to have done something wrong
eg. The men were convicted by the people in the town but it was like a kangaroo court and nobody agreed with the decision.
keel over
- fall over and faint
eg. Three of the members of the band suddenly keeled over because of the heat.
keep after
- remind someone over and over
eg. I always have to keep after her to do her job properly.
keep an eye on something or someone
- watch (as in take care of something)
eg. Will you keep an eye on the baby while I go to the store.
keep a secret
- not tell a secret to others
eg. I have been trying to keep a secret about her boyfriend for a long time now.
keep a stiff upper lip
- be brave, face trouble bravely
eg. The prisoners tried hard to keep a stiff upper lip in spite of the hardships of the prison.
keep at
- persist with
eg. He has decided to keep at his studies so I am sure he will succeed.
keep body and soul together
- keep alive, survive
eg. It was very cold during the winter but somehow she was able to keep body and soul together and survived.
keep books
- keep records of money gained and spent, do the work of a bookkeeper
eg. My first job was to keep books for a small company in my hometown.
keep down
- keep from progressing or growing, keep within limits, control
eg. The students were told to keep down the noise as some of the other classes were having exams.
keep from
- prevent, refrain from
eg. I love ice cream and couldn`t keep from eating three bowls.
keep good time
- work accurately (a clock)
eg. My watch has not been keeping good time lately.
keep house
- look after a house or a household
eg. She has been keeping house for her father while he is sick.
keep in touch
- talk or write to someone
eg. I have always tried to keep in touch with my friends from high school.
keep on (doing something)
- continue
eg. She is careless and keeps on making the same mistakes over and over.
keep one`s chin up
- be brave, be determined
eg. Try and keep your chin up. Things will get better in the future.
keep one`s eye on the ball
- be watchful and ready
eg. You should keep your eye on the ball or you will make a mistake.
keep one`s fingers crossed
- wish for good results in something one is doing
eg. Please keep your fingers crossed that I will pass the exam.
keep one`s head
- stay calm when there is trouble or danger
eg. He is a very good leader and always is able to keep his head during an emergency.
keep one`s head above water
- have the ability to pay one`s bills
eg. He is having trouble keeping his head above water since his salary has decreased.
keep one`s mouth shut
- be or stay silent
eg. I was very angry so I told him to keep his mouth shut. Later I had to apologize.
keep one`s nose clean
- stay out of trouble
eg. He has been managing to keep his nose clean since he moved to the new town.
keep one`s nose to the grindstone
- work very hard
eg. He has been keeping his nose to the grindstone recently and I haven`t had a chance to see him.
keep one`s own counsel
- keep one`s ideas and plans to oneself
eg. He always keeps his own counsel and never really reveals his plans to anyone.
keep one`s shirt on
- calm down, keep from losing one`s temper or getting impatient
eg. Try and keep your shirt on! Everything is going to be alright in a few minutes.
keep one`s wits about one
- stay calm when there is trouble or danger
eg. Although there was a fire in the building he was able to keep his wits about him and help everybody to safety.
keep one`s word
- fulfill one`s promise
eg. She never keeps her word so I don`t believe that she will come to the party.
keep pace
- go as fast, go at the same rate
eg. It was difficult to keep pace with the other students but somehow I managed.
keep quiet
- remain silent
eg. Could you all please keep quiet and listen to the instructor.
keep someone on
- allow someone to continue working for you
eg. Although we have too many workers we have decided to keep him on until business improves.
keep tabs on
- watch or check, keep under observation
eg. They have been keeping tabs on the spending of the sales department.
keep the ball rolling
- keep up an activity or action, not allow something that is happening to slow or stop
eg. We should try to keep the ball rolling and get as much of our work done while everyone is still here.
keep the home fires burning
- keep things going as usual while someone is away
eg. Don`t worry about anything. I will stay home and keep the home fires burning while you are on your holiday.
keep track of
- maintain a record
eg. Please carefully keep track of your expenses during the trip.
keep (someone) up
- prevent someone from going to bed
eg. They kept me up last night with their noisy radio.
keep time
- show the right time
eg. My new watch keeps perfect time so I am very happy.
keep under one`s hat
- keep secret, not tell
eg. He won`t say where he is going for his holiday. He wants to keep it under his hat.
keep up appearances
- keep an outward show of prosperity or good behavior
eg. They have been trying to keep up appearances even though he has lost his job.
keep up
- go on, not stop, continue
eg. He is working hard to keep up the same level of production as last year.
keep up with
- go at the same speed as a person or thing, maintain the same rate of progress
eg. I can`t keep up with the rest of the class.
keep up with the news
- keep informed
eg. He reads the newspaper every morning in order to keep up with the news.
keep up with the Joneses
- try to be the same as your neighbors
eg. He always worries about keeping up with the Joneses and is always frustrated.
keep one's finger's crossed
- wish for good luck
eg. I will keep my fingers crossed that you are able to get the new job that you have applied for.
keep body and soul together
- keep alive, survive
eg. He has been working very hard to try and keep body and soul together after his illness.
keep books
- keep records of money gained and spent
eg. The new assistant to the sales manager has no experience keeping books and has made many mistakes.
keep track of
- keep a count or record, stay informed
eg. They have been making a great effort to keep track of the number of visitors to their store.
keep one`s shirt on
- calm down, keep from losing one`s temper or getting excited
eg. Keep your shirt on. You shouldn`t get so excited about small problems.
keep (something) under one`s hat
- keep something secret
eg. I plan to keep my plans to apply for a new job under my hat.
keep an eye on
- watch carefully, continue paying attention to
eg. I asked my aunt to keep an eye on our apartment when we went away for our holiday.
keep one`s nose clean
- stay out of trouble
eg. The judge told the young man that he must keep his nose clean if he didn`t want to go to jail in the future.
keep one`s nose out of something
- keep out of or away from
eg. I wish that the secretary at our office would keep her nose out of other people`s business.
keep one`s nose to the grindstone
- work hard or keep busy for a long time
eg. He has been keeping his nose to the grindstone all year so that he can save up enough money for a new car.
keep a stiff upper lip
- be brave, face trouble bravely
eg. We managed to keep a stiff upper lip when the company announced that they would close down our office.
keep one`s chin up
- be brave, be determined, face trouble with courage
eg. My brother is trying to keep his chin up even though he has lost his job.
keep one`s head
- stay calm when there is trouble or danger
eg. Everyone tried to keep their head during the fire at the hotel.
keep one`s mouth shut
- be or stay silent
eg. I tried hard to keep my mouth shut during the salesman's speech.
keep books
- keep records of money earned and spent
eg. The accountant has been keeping careful books of all the transactions in the company.
kettle of fish
- something to be considered, how things are
eg. That`s a totally different kettle of fish. We should talk about it another time.
keyed up
- excited, nervous
eg. I was all keyed up after we won the game and I couldn`t go to sleep.
kick around
- treat badly, act roughly or badly to someone or something
eg. I don`t like her very much because she is always kicking other people around.
kick back
- relax and do nothing
eg. I`m going to kick back this evening and stay home and watch television.
kick off
- begin, launch, start
eg. The department store kicked off their summer sale early Saturday morning.
kick oneself
- regret
eg. I kicked myself for not applying for the job sooner.
kick out
- make someone go or leave, get rid of, dismiss
eg. He was kicked out of school when he was 15 years old because of his bad behavior.
kick over
- a motor begins to work
eg. At first the engine wouldn`t start because it was too cold but finally it kicked over.
kick the bucket
- die
eg. The man who used to clean the walls at the factory kicked the bucket last week.
kick the habit
- stop a bad habit like smoking or taking drugs
eg. He has been trying to kick his smoking habit for years.
kick up a fuss
- make trouble, make a disturbance
eg. I didn`t think that it would be a big problem but he really kicked up a fuss when I told him about the accident.
kick up one`s heels
- have a good time, celebrate
eg. We really kicked up our heels at the Christmas party that we attended last week.
kickback
- money paid illegally for favorable treatment
eg. The construction company gave the politician some illegal kickbacks in order to win the contract.
kick-off
- a start
eg. The kick-off for the no smoking campaign will start next week.
kill off
- kill or end completely, destroy
eg. The pollution in the river has killed off all of the fish.
kill the goose that layed the golden egg
- spoil something that is good or something that one has by being greedy
eg. He was always complaining about his job but now it is gone. He has killed the goose that layed the golden egg.
kill two birds with one stone
- accomplish two things with one action
eg. He was able to kill two birds with one stone by going to the meeting.
kill the goose that lays the golden egg
- spoil something that is good or something that one has by being greedy
eg. They sold part of their business but it was the most profitable part. I think that they have killed the goose that lays the golden egg.
kill two birds with one stone
- suceed in doing two things by only one action
eg. Let`s have the meeting when we are in town so we can kill two birds with one stone.
knock about
- travel without a plan, go where one pleases
eg. We decided to go to Brazil and knock about for a couple of months.
knock it off
- stop doing something, quit
eg. Please knock it off. You are going to hurt yourself if you are not careful.
knock off
- murder someone
eg. The owner of the shop was knocked off in the robbery last week.
knock off one`s feet
- surprise or shock someone so much that he does not know what to do
eg. When they announced that I had won the prize it knocked me off my feet.
knock one`s block off
- hit someone very hard, beat someone up
eg. He was very angry and threatened to knock anyone`s block off who came near him.
knock one`s head against the wall
- waste time trying to do something with no success
eg. They have been knocking their head against the wall for years trying to find a solution to the problem.
knock oneself out
- make a great effort
eg. They really knocked themselves out trying to make the party successful.
knock on wood
- knock on something made of wood to keep from having bad luck
eg. I don`t think that I will lose my job - knock on wood.
knockout
- a very beautiful woman
eg. The man said that the woman he saw at the bus stop was a real knockout.
knock out
- make unconscious, unworkable or unusable
eg. The storm last night knocked out power in most of the town.
knock the living daylights out of someone
- make someone unconscious
eg. The man knocked the living daylights out of his friend during the fight.
knock off one`s feet
- surprise or shock someone so much that they don't know what to do
eg. The singer's voice was so beautiful that I was nearly knocked off my feet.
know by heart
- memorize
eg. I learned the poem by heart.
know which side one`s bread is buttered on
- know who can help one and try to please him, know what is good for oneself
eg. He is careful not to make his boss angry. He knows which side his bread is buttered on.
know-it-all
- a person who acts as if they know everything
eg. He is a know-it-all and nobody likes to be around him.
knuckle down
- begin to work earnestly
eg. I think it is time that we knuckle down and finally finish this project.
knuckle under
- yield, submit
eg. The union finally knuckled under the pressure and ended the strike.
(not) know if one is coming or going
- not know what to do
eg. The new sales manager doesn`t seem to know if he is coming or going.
(not) know the first thing about something
- lack basic knowledge about something
eg. He doesn`t know the first thing about computers.
Last Update: 2005/12/18