RIP
- Rest In Peace - used when talking about someone who is dead or sometimes written on a gravestone
eg. At the end of the movie RIP was written on the gravestone of the main character who had been killed.
RSVP
- Respondez S'il Vous Plait - French for please reply
eg. The invitation said RSVP so I quickly sent off a note to say that I would be able to attend the party.
Russian roulette
- a game of chance in which one bullet is placed in a revolver, the cartridge is spun, and the player aims the gun at his head and pulls the trigger
eg. The men in the movie played Russian roulette until one of them finally died.
rack one`s brains
- try hard to think or remember something
eg. I have been racking my brains all day trying to remember his name.
rack one`s brain
- try one's best to think, make a great mental effort
eg. I racked my brain for over an hour to try and figure out what to do about the problem with the new computer.
rain cats and dogs
- rain very hard
eg. It has been raining cats and dogs all morning.
rain check
- a free ticket to an event in place of one cancelled because of rain
eg. We received two rain checks to the baseball game after it was cancelled because of the rain.
rain cats and dogs
- rain very hard
eg. It has been raining cats and dogs all day.
rain check
- a promise to repeat an invitation at a later date
eg. I decided to take a rain check and go to the restaurant another time.
raise a fuss
- make trouble, make a disturbance
eg. The woman at the restaurant raised a fuss when her meal arrived late.
raise a hand
- do something, do one`s share, help
eg. Nobody likes him because he will never raise a hand to help his friends.
raise Cain
- create a disturbance, cause trouble
eg. They began to raise Cain at the dance and were asked to leave.
raise eyebrows
- cause surprise or disapproval
eg. It really raised eyebrows when she appeared at the party unannounced.
raise a hand
- do something, do one's share, help
eg. I am a little angry at my friend as he didn't raise a hand to help me clean up the mess in the kitchen.
raise eyebrows
- cause surprise or disapproval
eg. I raised many eyebrows when I came in to work two hours late this morning.
rake in the money
- make a lot of money
eg. His new pizza franchise has been raking in the money since it first opened.
rake someone over the coals
- scold, reprimand
eg. His boss raked him over the coals when he heard about the lost sales report.
rake in the money
- make a lot of money
eg. We have been raking in the money at our restaurant and will soon be able to go on a long holiday.
ram (something) down one`s throat
- force one to do or agree to something not wanted
eg. She always tries to ram her ideas down our throats which makes us very angry.
ram (something) down someone's throat
- force one to do or agree to something not wanted
eg. The lawyer rammed the settlement down our throats even though we were not happy with it.
rat out on
- desert or betray someone, leave at a critical time
eg. His friend ratted out on him when he refused to support him in his fight with the neighborhood bully.
rat race
- endless hurried existence
eg. He likes working for a major corporation although sometimes he finds it too much of a rat race.
raw deal
- unfair treatment
eg. he got a raw deal when he was forced to resign from his company.
read between the lines
- find a hidden meaning in something
eg. I know that he didn`t say it but I can read between the lines so I know what he means.
read the riot act
- give someone a strong warning or scolding
eg. The teacher read the riot act to her students when they began to misbehave in class.
real McCoy
- the genuine thing
eg. That new camera is the real McCoy and will let you do everything that you want.
red cent
- the smallest coin, a trivial sum of money
eg. I wouldn't give a red cent for my neighbor's car.
red herring
- something that draws attention away from the matter under consideration
eg. The issue of the pay cut is a red herring and is not related to the main issues.
red ink
- debt (red ink on a financial statement)
eg. The automobile company has been drowning in red ink since the US dollar began to rise.
red letter day
- a day that is memorable because of some important event
eg. Saturday was a red letter day when we finally won the championship.
red tape
- excessive formalities in official transactions
eg. There was much red tape when we went to city hall to get a business license.
red-letter day
- a day that is memorable because of some important event
eg. It was a red-letter day when she finally received her graduation diploma.
regular guy
- a friendly person who everyone gets along with
eg. The former Prime Minister was a regular guy and was well liked by most people.
rest on one`s laurels
- be satisfied with the success one has already won
eg. He is always willing to work hard and is not the type of person to rest on his laurels.
rhyme or reason
- a good plan or reason, a reasonable purpose or explanation
eg. Without rhyme or reason he suddenly decided to quit his job.
ride herd on
- watch closely and control
eg. The new supervisor plans to ride herd on the people who work for him.
ride out
- survive safely, endure
eg. We were able to easily ride out the storm at the small restaurant.
ride herd on
- watch closely and control someone
eg. He has been riding herd on his employees so that he can get the job done in time.
riding high
- attracting attention, enjoying great popularity
eg. The new government has been riding high in the polls for several months now.
right away
- immediately
eg. I forgot to bring the book today but I will go home and get it right away.
right off the bat
- immediately, from the beginning
eg. I told him right off the bat that we didn`t need a new computer for the office.
right on
- indicates approval, "that`s right", "yes"
eg. He called out "right on" every time that the politician promised a new program to help unemployed people.
right out
- plainly, in a way that hides nothing
eg. He told the new supervisor right out that he did not like him.
right under one`s nose
- in an obvious, nearby place
eg. I found the calculator right under my nose after searching for it for an hour.
ring a bell
- remind one of something
eg. The name doesn`t ring a bell. I`m sure I have never heard of him.
ring up
- add and record on a cash register
eg. I went to the cash register to have them ring up the things that I had bought.
rip off
- cheat, rob
eg. I was ripped off by the mechanics at that gas station.
road hog
- a car driver who takes up more than his share of the road
eg. My father becomes very angry at the road hogs when he is driving.
rob Peter to pay Paul
- take from one person or thing to pay another
eg. When the government began to take money from education to pay for the medical system it was like robbing Peter to pay Paul.
rob the cradle
- have dates with or marry a person much younger than oneself
eg. Everyone said that my friend was robbing the cradle when he married the young woman at his company.
rock the boat
- upset the way things are
eg. He is a very quiet worker and never likes to rock the boat at work.
roll around
- return at a regular or usual time, come back
eg. Every time that his birthday rolls around he has a big party.
roll in
- arrive in great numbers or quantity
eg. The money has been rolling in since they started the new franchise.
roll out the red carpet
- welcome an important guest by putting a red carpet down for him or her to walk on
eg. They rolled out the red carpet when the President of France came for a visit.
roll up one`s sleeves
- prepare to work hard or seriously
eg. Everyone in our club rolled up their sleeves to help prepare for the party.
roll out the red carpet
- greet a person with great respect, give a big welcome
eg. When the King of Jordon visited Washington, they rolled out the red carpet and gave him a great welcome.
rolling stone
- a person who does not live or work in one place
eg. He is a rolling stone and I never know where to find him.
rope into
- trick, persuade by pressuring someone
eg. I didn`t want to help with the dinner but I was roped into doing it by my best friend.
rough and ready
- rough or crude but effective
eg. The boat is rough and ready so let`s take it for a ride.
rough and tumble
- fighting or arguing in a very rough and reckless way
eg. It was a rough and tumble meeting that we attended at the city planning office last night.
rough guess
- an approximate estimate
eg. He made a rough guess as to how many people would come to the party.
rough up
- attack or hurt physically
eg. The three men roughed up the bartender at the hotel and were arrested by the police.
round robin (letter)
- a letter written by a group of people with each person writing part of the letter
eg. We sent a round robin letter to the librarian to ask for better opening hours for the library.
round robin (meeting or discussion)
- a meeting or discussion in which each person in a group takes part
eg. We had a round robin panel discussion on what we could do to help save the environment.
round robin (tournament or contest)
- game or contest in which each player or team plays every other player or team in turn
eg. The round robin tournament was held in order to choose the championship team for the city.
round up
- bring together, collect
eg. We rounded up enough people to play a game of soccer last night.
round robin
- a contest or game in which each player or team plays every other player or team in turn, a meeting in which each one in a group takes part
eg. He took part in the round robin competition at his school.
rub elbows/shoulders
- be in the same place (with others), meet and mix
eg. At the party we were able to rub elbows with many important people.
rub elbows or shoulders with someone
- be in the same place (with others), meet and mix with others
eg. We went to the party in order to rub shoulders with some interesting artists.
rub off
- remove or be removed by rubbing, erase
eg. She rubbed off the writing on the whiteboard.
rub out
- destroy completely, kill, eliminate
eg. The government troops rubbed out the whole village.
rub someone the wrong way
- irritate others with something one says or does
eg. Her lack of politeness always rubs me the wrong way.
rub something in
- continue to talk or joke about something someone said or did
eg. I know that she made a mistake but you shouldn`t rub it in.
rule out
- decide against, eliminate
eg. They still haven`t ruled out using him on the team for the tournament.
rule the roost
- be the dominant one in the family
eg. She seems rather quiet but she really rules the roost in their family.
run a risk
- unprotected, open to danger or loss
eg. You are running a great risk if you drive with him after he has been drinking.
run around
- go to different places for entertainment or to do things
eg. We ran around all day and now we are very tired.
run around in circles
- act confused, do a lot but accomplish little
eg. I have been running around all day but I can`t seem to get anything done.
run away with
- take quickly and secretly - especially without permission or by stealing
eg. Someone ran away with the dictionary so now we don`t have one.
run a temperature
- have a higher than normal body temperature
eg. The little boy is running a temperature and should stay in bed all day.
run down
- crash against and knock down
eg. My dog was run down by a car last week.
run for it
- dash for safety, make a speedy escape
eg. As soon as it started raining we ran for it and tried to get to the shelter.
run in
- make a brief visit
eg. I ran in to see my sister at her office before I left for the weekend.
run in the family/blood
- be a common family characteristic
eg. Being a left-handed golfer and baseball hitter runs in our family.
run into
- add up to, total
eg. If you decide to stay in nice hotels during your holiday it will run into a lot of money.
run into (something)
- hit something or crash into something
eg. His car ran into the other car on the highway.
run into (someone)
- meet by chance
eg. I ran into him when I was at the supermarket.
run into the ground
- use something more than is wanted or needed
eg. He ran his car into the ground before he had to buy another one.
run off
- produce with a printing press or copy machine
eg. We ran off hundreds of copies of the poster for the festival.
run off with (someone)
- go away with someone, elope
eg. My sister ran off with her boyfriend and got married when she was quite young.
run out (of something)
- use up, come to an end
eg. The car ran out of gas in the middle of the countryside.
run out
- force to leave, expel
eg. The drug dealers were run out of town by the police.
run over
- be too full and flow over the edge
eg. The water in the bathtub ran over the edge and got everything in the room wet.
run ragged
- be tired or exhausted
eg. She has been run ragged by her three children.
run scared
- try everything to avoid defeat as in a political campaign
eg. The senator has been running scared in his attempt to win re-election.
run short
- not have enough, be not enough in quantity
eg. We ran short of money during our trip to Europe.
run some tests
- a doctor does some medical tests on a patient
eg. The doctor has decided to run some tests on the patient.
run the gauntlet
- face a hard test or painful experience
eg. He had to run the gauntlet of many interviews before he got the job.
run through
- spend recklessly, use up wastefully
eg. We ran through a lot of money when we were looking for a new apartment.
run up
- add to the amount of something, increase
eg. He ran up a large bill at the department store before he left for home.
run up against (something)
- encounter
eg. They ran up against many problems when they were building the freeway.
run wild
- be or go out of control
eg. The crowd ran wild after the soccer game.
run (someone) in
- take to jail, arrest
eg. The police ran the three boys in for questioning about the robbery.
run-of-the-mill
- ordinary, usual
eg. The restaurant was in a run-of-the-mill building but it was superb.
Last Update: 2005/12/18