wade into
- attack, join in
eg. The football player waded into the fight to protect his teammates.
wait on (someone) hand and foot
- serve in every possible way, do everything for someone
eg. He always waits on his wife hand and foot.
wait table
- serve food
eg. He spent the summer waiting tables at the resort.
wait up for
- not go to bed until someone arrives or something happens
eg. The woman waited up for her daughter to come home.
wait on hand and foot
- serve someone in every possible way, do everything for someone
eg. I always wait hand and foot on my sister when she comes to visit me.
walk all over someone
- take advantage of someone, win a game easily
eg. They walked all over the other team at the football tournament.
walk away/off with
- take and go away with, take away, steal
eg. Someone walked away with the computer from the library last night.
walk of life
- way of living, manner in which people live
eg. People from every walk of life came to the concert in the park.
walk on air
- feel happy and excited
eg. She has been walking on air all morning since she heard that she had passed her exams.
walk out
- go on strike
eg. More than half of the workers at the factory decided to walk out on strike this morning.
walk (all) over
- make someone do whatever one wishes, make selfish use of
eg. He tried to walk all over me when I began the job but after I became used to the company he stopped.
walk the floor
- walk back and forth across the floor, pace
eg. He spent the night in the hospital walking the floor while waiting for his wife to have a baby.
walk the plank
- be forced to resign from a job
eg. The vice-president was forced to walk the plank when the new president joined the company.
walking papers
- a statement that one is fired from one`s job, dismissal
eg. He was given his walking papers from his company last week.
waltz off with
- to take, get or win easily
eg. My favorite team waltzed off with the championship again last night.
warm one`s blood/heart
- make one feel warm or excited
eg. The sight of the small boy looking after his dog warmed the heart of the people on the street.
warm up
- become friendly or interested
eg. His wife finally warmed up to the idea of going to Italy for a holiday.
wash one`s hands of
- abandon, refuse responsibility for
eg. He washed his hands of the problem after they refused to deal with it.
washed up
- no longer successful or needed
eg. The boxer was all washed up and had to retire last year.
waste one`s breath
- speak pointlessly without the desired results
eg. He is very stubborn and you are wasting your breath to try and argue with him.
watch it
- be careful (usually used as a command)
eg. "Watch it! That truck is going very fast and may hit you."
watch/mind one`s P`s and Q`s
- be well-behaved, be careful
eg. The boy was told to watch his P`s and Q`s by his teacher after he caused too many problems at school.
water down
- make weak, dilute
eg. The new policy was a watered down version of the earlier one.
water under the bridge
- something that happened in the past and can`t be changed
eg. It was terrible that your house was robbed but it is water under the bridge now and you must move on.
way the wind blows
- direction or course something may go, what may happen
eg. We will have to see which way the wind blows as far as our plans to go to London or not.
wear and tear
- damage as a result of ordinary use
eg. They put a lot of wear and tear on their car during their long holiday.
wear down
- make something become less useful or smaller or weaker by wearing or aging
eg. Little by little the water wore down the rocks at the edge of the river.
wear off/away
- remove or disappear little by little by use, time or weather
eg. The name on the front of my passport has worn off from using it too much.
wear on
- anger or annoy, tire
eg. His constant complaining is beginning to wear on my nerves.
wear one`s heart on one`s sleeve
- show one`s feelings openly
eg. He was wearing his heart on his sleeve after the meeting with his boss.
wear out
- use or wear something until it becomes useless
eg. My shoes wore out during my trip to Paris.
wear out one`s welcome
- visit somewhere too long or come back too often so that one is not welcome anymore
eg. My friend has worn out his welcome at our house as he always comes to visit us without calling first.
wear the pants in a family
- be the boss in a family
eg. She is very strong and seems to be the one who wears the pants in her family.
wear thin
- become thin from use or the passing of time
eg. The silver dollar had begun to wear thin after it was in use for many years.
wear one`s heart on one`s sleeve
- show one`s feelings openly
eg. She is wearing her heart on her sleeve and everyone knows that she is having problems with her boyfriend again.
wear the pants in one`s family
- be the boss of a family or household
eg. She seems to wear the pants in her family and is always telling her husband what to do.
wear one`s heart on one`s sleeve
- show one`s feelings openly
eg. After the going away party the salesman was wearing his heart on his sleeve.
weed out
- remove what is unwanted, get rid of
eg. I spent the morning weeding out the clothes that I didn`t need anymore.
weigh on/upon
- be a weight or pressure on someone or something, worry or upset someone
eg. The pressure of her exams has begun to weigh upon my sister.
weigh one`s words
- be careful of what one says
eg. You should weigh your words carefully before you tell him your decision to quit.
well and good
- good, satisfactory
eg. It is well and good that he will go and talk to his supervisor about the problem.
well-heeled
- rich
eg. He seems rather well-heeled and is always wearing expensive clothes and driving a nice car.
well-off
- wealthy
eg. Her parents are well-off and don`t need to worry about money during their retirement.
well-to-do
- having or making enough money to live comfortably
eg. He comes from a rather well-to-do family.
wet behind the ears
- inexperienced, immature
eg. He is a little wet behind the ears and doesn`t know much about the company yet.
wet blanket
- person who discourages others from having fun
eg. He is a wet blanket so we never invite him to any parties.
wet behind the ears
- inexperienced, new in a job or place
eg. He is still wet behind the ears and doesn`t know very much at all about this company.
wet one`s whistle
- have a drink, especially alcohol
eg. They decided to stop at a bar on the way home from work to wet their whistle.
what about
- about or concerning something
eg. I know that he wants to borrow my tent but what about my sleeping bag.
what have you
- whatever one likes or wants
eg. "I`ll have a blueberry ice cream cone or what have you."
what with
- because, as a result of
eg. We wanted to go away for a holiday but what with the move to a new building and the expansion we are too busy to go anywhere.
what`s the big idea
- what is the purpose, what do you have in mind
eg. "What`s the big idea. Why are you using my bicycle?"
what`s up/cooking/doing
- what is happening, what is planned, what is wrong
eg. "What`s up ", he said as he entered the room.
what`s what
- what each thing is in a group, one thing from another
eg. It is hard to tell what`s what at an auction of old furniture.
what`s (up) with
- what is happening/wrong, how is everything
eg. "What`s with the new supervisor? He seems very angry this morning."
wheel and deal
- take part in political or commercial scheming
eg. There was a lot of wheeling and dealing going on before they built the new convention center.
when hell freezes over
- never
eg. He said that he would come to an office party when hell freezes over.
when the chips are down
- at the most important or dangerous time, when the winner and loser of a bet or a game will be decided
eg. When the chips are down he will always come and help his friends.
while away the time
- make time go by pleasantly
eg. We spent the afternoon whiling away the time by the river.
whip up
- make or do quickly or easily
eg. It was very late when we got home last night so we whipped up something to eat very quickly.
whistle a different tune
- change one`s attitude, contradict previous ideas
eg. He is whistling a different tune now that he has been promoted and has responsibility for the office.
whistle in the dark
- try to stay brave and forget one`s fear
eg. Although he felt very frightened he began to whistle in the dark which helped to calm him down.
white elephant
- a useless possession
eg. They are having a white elephant sale at the school next week.
white lie
- a harmless lie (eg. told for the sake of politeness)
eg. I told her a white lie when I said that I would be too busy to meet her.
white sale
- selling at reduced prices of towels, linens, etc.
eg. We went to the white sale at the department store last Saturday.
white elephant
- a useless possession
eg. The new stereo that he bought is a white elephant and he doesn`t need it at all.
white as a ghost
- very pale because of fear, shock, illness etc.
eg. My sister became white as a ghost when she saw the man at the window.
white lie
- a harmless lie (told to be polite or to do something not seriously wrong)
eg. I told my boss a white lie and said that I was sick yesterday when actually I wasn`t.
white sale
- the selling at a reduced price of towels or sheets etc.
eg. We went to the white sale at the department store in order to buy some new sheets before my parents come to visit.
whole show
- everything
eg. The new boss always tries to run the whole show.
wide of the mark
- far from the target or the thing aimed at, incorrect
eg. His ideas for the new company were wide of the mark from what everyone expected.
wild goose chase
- absurd or hopeless search
eg. He led them all on a wild goose chase when he told them about the sale at the computer store.
wildcat strike
- a strike not ordered by a labor union but spontaneously by a group of workers
eg. There was a wildcat strike at the factory last night.
will not hear of
- will not allow or consider
eg. My aunt said that she will not hear of us staying at a hotel when we come to see her.
will power
- strength of mind
eg. He has very strong will power and was able to quit smoking easily.
win out
- be victorious or successful after hard work or difficulty
eg. We have had a lot of problems with our boss recently but finally we won out and he agreed to listen to our complaints.
wind up
- end, finish, settle
eg. Let`s wind things up now and then we can all go home.
wing it
- act without preparation
eg. He wasn`t prepared for the examination so he had to wing it.
wink at
- allow and pretend not to know about something (a law or rule being broken)
eg. The librarian always winks at the rule about borrowing a maximum of three books.
winning streak
- a series of several wins one after the other
eg. Our baseball team has been on a winning streak for several weeks now.
wipe out
- remove, kill or destroy completely
eg. The city spends a lot of money trying to wipe out rats near the river.
wipe-out
- a disaster, a calamity
eg. My exams were a total wipe-out. I think that I failed all of them.
wise guy
- a person who acts as if he were smarter than other people
eg. He always acts like a wise guy when he is in a big group.
wise up to
- finally understand what is really going on after a period of ignorance
eg. He finally wised up to the fact that he was never going to get a promotion in his company.
wisecrack
- sarcastic or nasty remark
eg. She made a funny wisecrack during the speech which caused the audience to start laughing.
wishy-washy
- unable to decide, have no definite opinion
eg. He is very wishy-washy and can never make up his mind what he wants to do.
with child
- pregnant, going to have a baby
eg. I think that the new teacher at our school is with child.
with flying colors
- with great or total success
eg. I was able to pass my final exams with flying colors.
with open arms
- greet someone warmly or eagerly
eg. My aunt and uncle were at the airport to greet us with open arms.
with the best of them
- as well as anyone
eg. He can play soccer with the best of them when he makes the effort.
with open arms
- warmly, eagerly, show that one is glad to see someone
eg. The author was welcomed with open arms when he came to visit the city.
with flying colors
- with great or total success
eg. She passed her course with flying colors and now wants to go out and celebrate.
with all one`s heart
- with great feeling, sincerely
eg. I tried with all my heart to get my friend to go with me for a holiday but he wouldn`t come.
within an inch of one`s life
- until one is almost dead
eg. The elderly man was beaten to within an inch of his life.
within reason
- sensible, reasonable
eg. I think that, within reason, you should be able to take as much time off as you want to go to school.
wit`s end
- not knowing what to do, at the end of one`s mental resources
eg. I have been at my wit`s end all week trying to decide what to wear to the party.
wolf in sheep`s clothing
- a person who pretends to be good but really is bad
eg. He is a wolf in sheep`s clothing and you should be very careful when you have to deal with him.
word for word
- in exactly the same words
eg. I told her word for word exactly what had happened before the accident.
word of mouth
- passing information orally from one person to another
eg. He heard about the new restaurant by word of mouth.
work in
- rub in
eg. We spent a long time trying to work the softening cream into the leather.
work into
- force into little by little
eg. He was able to work his foot into his boot but it was still very tight.
work off
- make something go away - especially by working
eg. He was able to work off his hangover and is now feeling much better.
work on/upon
- have an effect on, try to influence or convince
eg. I am working on my boss to let me have some time off this summer.
work one`s fingers to the bone
- work very hard
eg. She has been working her fingers to the bone for years trying to raise her three children.
work out
- end successfully, be efficient
eg. I hope that everything will work out for her when she moves to London next week.
work over
- beat someone up very roughly in order to intimidate them or get money
eg. The gang worked over the storeowner in order to get some money from him.
work up
- stir up, arouse, excite
eg. He really likes to work up a sweat when he does his exercises.
work one`s fingers to the bone
- work very hard
eg. The woman who lives next door worked her fingers to the bone in order to make enough money to feed her children.
work out
- plan, develop
eg. I spent the weekend trying to work out the budget estimates for next year.
worked up
- feeling excited, angry, worried
eg. He is all worked up about the fact that he wasn`t invited to the party.
world is one`s oyster
- everything is possible for one, one can get anything
eg. The world is her oyster now that she has received her MBA from Harvard University.
worse for wear
- not as good as new, worn out
eg. I borrowed my friend`s canoe for a month and it is now beginning to look the worse for wear.
worth a cent
- worth anything, of any value
eg. His new car is broken down and not worth a cent.
worth one`s salt
- worth what one is paid
eg. He is definitely worth his salt in our company and is one of our best employees.
would just as soon
- prefer to do one thing rather than another
eg. She would just as soon stay at home as go to the movie.
wrap around one`s finger
- have complete control over someone and be able to make them do anything you want
eg. She has her boss wrapped around her finger and can do anything that she wants.
wrap up
- put on warm clothes, dress warmly
eg. She wrapped herself up in her warm clothes and went out.
wrapped up in
- thinking only of, interested only in
eg. He is always wrapped up in playing with his computer.
write off
- remove (an amount) from a business record, cancel (a debt)
eg. The bank was forced to write off a large amount of its debt.
write up
- write or describe in writing, give a full account of
eg. After our trip to Vietnam I spent a couple of weeks trying to write it up for a magazine.
write off
- remove from a business record, cancel a debt
eg. It was impossible for the bank to collect the money so they were forced to write off the loan.
wrong side of the tracks
- the poor side of town
eg. He married a girl who everyone said was from the wrong side of the tracks because he loved her.
(a) while back
- several weeks or months in the past
eg. I saw him a while back but recently I have no idea where he is.
(have) what it takes
- ability for a job, courage
eg. He really has what it takes to be a success at his job.
(not) worth a cent
- not worth anything, not of any value
eg. That antique desk is not worth a cent although eveyone thinks it is very valuable.
Last Update: 2005/12/18