LABOUR
LOST LABOUR : hard work has result in nothing.All efforts of
his to get through in the examination proved a lost labour.
LABOUR OF LOVE : work perfomed from affection or regard. It
was a labour of love to help her parents.
LADY
LADIES MAN :one who is fond of a female.Madan is a ladies man.
LADY KILLER :man devoting himself to the conquest of ladies.
Rajesh is a regular lady killer.
YOUR GOOD LADY :your wife. Your good lady goes about karol
bagh in the evening.
LADY LOVE :sweetheart. When he failed in getting his
lady-love,he committed suicide.
LADY FRIEND :a woman friend . His autns stays witha lady
friends in florida during winter, the lawyer took his lady friend to
dinner.
LAID
LAID UP :in bad through illness. I have been laid up with malaria.
LAID BY THE HEELS :captured.
LAMB
A WOLF IN LAMB'S CLOTHING :hypocrite. Do no trust that man. he
is a wolf in lamb's clothing.
LAMP
SMELL OF THE LAMP :to show sigsn that wrinter has done a lot
of research for or revision of his book. His best novels were written
quickly-anything he spent a lot of time over tended to smell of the
lanp.
LAND
LANDSLIDE VICTORY :a victory in an election by a very large
majority of votes. The election resulted in a landslide victory for
the opposition.
LAND UP : to finish or come eventually to be. If you go on
like that, you'll land up in jail.
LAND WITH :to give or pass. She was landed with the job of telling him.
LAND OF THE LEAL :heaven. His father has gone to the land of the leal.
SEE HOW THE LAND LIES :discover the state of affairs. She is
calling on her father first, to see how the land lies.
LAND LOCKED :enclosed by land on all sides. Rajasthan is land
locked states.
LAND'S MAN : onw who is not a sailor. He is a land 's man.
LANGUAGE
A LIVING LANGUAGE : one that is still spoken. English is a
living language.
DEAD LANGUAGE :language no longer spoken . Latin and sanskrit
are dead language of the world.
LAP
LAP OF LUXURY :extreme luxury. She had lives in lap of luxury
all her life.
LARGE
AT LARGE : free after escaping. Four thieves from the jail
are at large.
LASH
LASH OUT :to spend money in large quantities. For our
anniversary, we decided to lash out and have a really big party.
LAST
AT LAST :finally. At last i understand what you mena.
AT LONG LAST :as above. Received as above.
FIRST AND LAST : altogether. We were sixty men first and last.
THE LAST WORD : the final remark in an argument . She alwaus
must have the last word!
ON ONE'S LAST LEGS :very near to failing down or collapsing
with exhaustion, old age. My washingmachine is on its last legs i've
had it twenty five years ago
LAUGH
LAUGH AT :laugh to scorn. He laughed at the joke very heartly.
TO LAUGH ONE'S SLEEVES : to be amused secretly. While he
showed me sympathy,he was laughing in his sleeves.
BE LAUGHING : to be in a good positioon, with no further
worries, problems. If our new product dosn't sell well, we might be in
difficulties, but if does sell well, we are laughing.
LAUGH OFF : to treat as unimportant. We were impressed by the
way he laughed off the difficulties of being handicapped.
NO LAUGHING MATTER :a very serious matter. To have mumps at
forty five is no laughing matter.
A LAUGHING STOCK : anything that creates laughter. Raj is a
laughing stock of out college.
LAUREL
WIN LAUREL :to win honous. He has won laurel on the cricket field.
LAW
to lay down the law : to speak with authority. You cannot lay
down the law for us.
to take the law into one's hands : to be high handed to do as
one wishes. You cannot take the law into your own hands. you should
have told a prefect.
a law unto himself :one who follows his onw inclinations,
regardless of customs. He is a law unto himself where manners are
concerned.
law abiding : one who obeys the law. He has been law abiding
all his life.
LAY
LAY STRESS ON : to emphasise. The teacher laid stress on the
need for hard work.
LAY BY : is to store for future use. I believe he is lying by money.
LAY ABOUT ONE : strike out violently in every direction . The
captured man laid about him with his stick.
LAY AT ONE'S DOOR : place the blame or responsibility. The
death of the patient was laid at the doctor's door.
LAY ONESELF OPEN TO : expose oneself to. His foolish actions
laid him opens to a charge of stealing.
LAY ONE'S HANDS ON : arrest.The police hope to lay their hands
on the murderer.
LAY OFF : to stop. I told him to lay off following me or he'd be sorry!
lay away : to save. She laid a little of her party away each week.
lay down the law :to give strict orders. The teacher lays down
the law about homework every afternoon.
to lay heads together : to conger. Let us lay out our heads
together to decide the matter once for all.
lay eyes on orset eye on : to see. She knew he was different
as soon as she laid eyes on him.
lays hands on : to get hold of; find; catch. If the police can
lay hands on him, they will put him in jail.
lay hold of : to get possession of. He sold every washing
machine he could lay holds of.
lay into : to attach physically; go at vigorously. The two
fighters laid into each other as soon as the bell ring.
lay on thick : blame: exaggerate greatly. Raj says shakuntla
is lovely, but you might be sure that he would lay it on thick.
to lay down : to resign. To lay down a burden you carry.
to lay up : to be donfined to bed. I got laid up with influenza.
a lay man : an ordinary person who is not professional . He
is just a lay man.
to lay out : to display. He laid out our books in his shop.
lay aside : put away for future use. I have laid aside rs2500/-
for the wedding.
LEAD
lead to : to go to . That road leads to forest.
lead up to : to bring about degrees; to lead as far as. He led
me upto the very steps of the throne.
to lead by the nose : to dominate. His wife leads him by the nose.
to lead a cat and dog life : to begin a new life. They are
leading a cat and dog life.
lead in : to house the harvest. The lead in their crop of the season.
to lead one a life :worry one constanly. She leads the whole family life.
lead off : to begin something. Get rich quickly led off all
kinds of corruption.
to lead the way : to misguide.Don't try to lead us astray.
leading lady : the chief actress. The leading lady in 'arzoo' is sashna.
lead in it : to introduce to, to bring into. He led the regiment
into the fight.
lead on :is to continue leading. He will lead on the opposition
in the house of commons
lead a dance :cause considerable trouble and activity of a
trivial type. The chicken led us a dance before we caught it.
take the lead : act as leader. Ramesh always takes the lead when
we're arranging an entertainment.
LEAF
turn over a new leaf :alter; change. After her marriage she
turned over a new leaf in her life.
take a leaf out of book : to use as an example. It would be
better if you look a leaf out of anita's book and arrived early.
LEAGUE
be top, bottom of the league :to be best, worst in a particular
area of the acitivity, quality. When it come to holding parties, thee
children in my son's class thought that sarita's motherr was top of
the league.
not in the same league as : not as able, as good. He is quite a
talented musician, but he is not in the same league as his wife she is
a genius.
LEAK
leak out : to come to be known by the public to. It was some
months before the news of their secret engagement leaked out.
LEAN
lean on :to use slight force to persuade to do something. I
would gladly do what you ask if you only stopped leaning on me so
hard.
lean year: famine. A lean year is generally followed after the war.
LEAP
by leaps and bounds :with extreme rapidity. Our business is
increasing by leaps and bounds.
a leap in the dark : an action the result of which is uncertain.
A civil marriage is a leap in the dark.
LEAST
at least : at the minimum. That woollen suit it must cost a
hundred rupees at least.
LEAVE
leave in the lurch : in a hopeless action. He ran away,
leaving me in the lurch.
leave off : cease to wear a garment. He was left off his coat.
leave alone : don't interfere with or tease. Please leave me alone.
leave of absence : permission to be away. He was granted leave
of absence to attend his sister's marriage.
leave a bad taste in one's mouth : to have a bad impression.
His rudeness to the teacher left a bad taste in my mouth.
leave word : leave message. If you have any news for me, leave
word with janiter; he will let me know.
leave out : omit. Please be careful not to leave out any sentence.
leave behind : forget. He has left his umbrella behind.
take leave : venture. I take leave to differ from you.
beg leave : ask permission; formal. May i beg leave to remind
you that is nearly noon.
leave to oneself : leave insolitude. If you leave him to
himself. he'll be happy.
to take leave of one's senses :
LEEWAY
make up leeway : nautical compensate for time which has been
lost. The train was late, and we had two hours' leeway to make up.
LEFT
have two left feet : to be clumsy or awkward,e.g. in dancing, I
don't like dancing with aditya because he has two left feet and keeps
treading on my toes.
left,right and centre : in large quantities. We will not make
any money if we hand out free tickets for the concert left, right and
centre.
LEG
pull leg : to try as a joke to make believe something which is
not true. You haven't really got a black mask on your face-he's only
pulling your leg.
not to have a leg to stand on : to have no way of excusing
one's behaviour, justifying one's request. She hasn't got a leg to
stand on if she's forgotten to write, because i reminded her every day
for a week.
on its last legs : about to perish, at the last stage. The
business is finished, he ruined it. it is its last legs just now.
give a leg up :help generally. I give him a leg up with his work.
LENGTH
go to any lengths :to do anything, no matter how extreme,
dishonest, wicked etc. I'm not suprised that she having an affair with
the boss-she'll go to any lengths to get promotion.
at length : after considerable time. He described his tour trip
to me at length.
LET
let bygones be bygones : to let the past be forgotten. After a
long, angry quarrel the two boys agreed to let bygones be bygones an
made friends.
let go : to weaken and break under pressure. The old water pipe
suddenly let go and water poured out of it.
let in : permit to enter. Let the dog in.
to let on : to let it out; to inform. " Why did you let him on
to ourplan ?"
let out : release. The child opens the cage and let out the bird.
let it rip :don't be concerned ; pay attention to what happens.
Why get involved? forget about it and let it rip.
let loose : to set free, loosen or give up one's hold on. The
farmer opened the gate and let the bull loose in the pasture.
let sleeping dogs lie :do not make angry and cause trouble or
danger. Don't tell father that you broke the window. let sleeping dogs
lie.
let things slide : not pay proper attention to things. You may
have some problem in running this office; the previous manager was
oftern ill and let things slide.
let up : to become less or weaker. It's raining as hard as
ever. so we should wait for its let up.
let some one in : admit. He knoked, and i let him in.
let alone : in addition to being. Seema was ugly, let alone old.
let down : betray. My father promised to give evidence for me,
but he let me down.
let off : allow to go free and unpunished. The prisoner was
let off with some good advice.
let pass : ignore. I will let your rudeness pass.
let fall : applied to speech; remark casually. He let fall a
hint of trouble.
let fly : abandon control. He lost his temper, and let fly.
let oneself go : to act without attempting to restrain oneself.
She really let harself go at the party and had a wonderful time.
let one know : to inform him. Let me know if you are going home.
let blood :bleed. His nose let blood.
let into : to admit; to suffer to enter. They would not let him
into the meeting.
let be : do not interfere with. Let it be.
LETTER
MAN OF LETTERS : scholar. He is a man of letters.
LETTER OF THE LAW : exact words of a law. According to the
letter of the low you are guilty, but i shall try to persuade the
judge that this law was not intended to cover like yoours.
LEVEL
LEVEL HEADED : clever. Beware of the level headed man.
DO ONE'S LEVEL BEST : to exert to the maximum. Please level the
picture with the table.
LEVEL PEGGING : doing equally well. The two teams at the top of
the football league are level pegging at the moment.
ON THE LEVEL : fair; honest. Is his offer on the level?
ON THE LEVEL WITH :eqaul with. In sports, both the brothers
are on the level with one another.
LEVEL UP : to noise the status. The students are levelled up
their graduations.
LIBERTY
TAKE UP THE LIBERTY OF :to do without permissin. I took the
liberty of moving the papers from your desk- i hope you don't mind.
TAKE LIBERTIES WITH : to treat with too much freedom. The
director of this play has taken terrible liberties with shakespear's
lines.
AT LIBERTY :free. He is at liberty to wander anywhere in the park.
LIE
LIE AT ONE'S DOOR :become one's responsibility. The child's
death will lie at your door.
LIE HEAVY ON : to be worry or a burden to. The responsibillity
lay heavy on him.
THE LIE OF THE LAND : the details of any particular situation.
I'll write you a report as soon as i've studied the lie of the land in
the department.
LIE IN STATE : to lie in a place of honour. When the president
dies, thousands of people saw his body lying in state.
LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE : avoid debatable questions. Be wise and
let sleeping dogs lie.
TO ACT A LIE : to deceive. Please do not act a lie with your friends.
LIE DOWN : is to go to rest. Let me lie down.
LIEU
IN LIEU OF :instead of. He gave me a pen in liue of pencil.
LIFE
TO THE LIFE :exactly. The student can imitate his old school
master to the life.
AS LARGE AS LIFE : rather than an exact. There stood madan, as
large as life.
BREATH OF LIFE : absolutely essential. Liberty is the breath of life.
SEE LIFE : see how other people live. Every youngman wants to see life.
LIGHT
STRIKE A LIGHT :ignite; a match. Please give me your box of
matches, and i'll strike alight.
COME TO LIGHT : be revealed; exposed. Her marriage come to
light after her death.
TO SEE THE LIGHT : to come into existence. It was due to him
that my writings saw the light of the day.
LIGHT A HEART : cheerfulness; good spirits. He set out on his
journey with a light heart.
LIKE
LIKE A BAT OUT OF HELL :very fast; very quickly. When someone
shouted " fire"! i got out of that house like a bat out of hell.
LIKE IT OR LUMP IT : put up with. The rule is that you must be
home by midnight, and if you don't like it you can lump it.
NOTHING LIKE :unlike. That portrait is nothing like me.
LIKE A SHOT :very quickly. When the headmaster said, "you may
go now", the student left the room like a shot.
LIKE HOT CAKES : very quickly. The book is very popular, itis
selling like hot cakes.
LIKES OF : a person like, people like; i am not going to work
for the likes of him!
LIKE WILD FIRE : very quickly. News of the president's arrival
spread like wiled fire through the town.
LIKELY ENOUGH : fairly probable. It is likely we shall meet at the park.
LIMIT
THE LIMIT :as far as one can go. Rajesh's rudeness is the limit.
LINE
HARD LINES :hard luck. You are a victim of hard lines.
ALL ALONG THE LINE :in every way; completely. I agree with you
all along the line.
LINE OF LEAST RESISTANCE :whatever action is easier, more
conveient. If you complain enough to ram, he will do as you say; he
always follows the line of least resistance.
LINE UP :to adjust correctly. The garageman lined up the car's wheels.
READ BETWEEN THE LINES : to understand something form a
situation, statement etc. Which is not actually stated. she said she
was managing all right, but reading between lines i could see she was
tired.
LINE UPON LINE :little by little. They are doing the work like upon line.
LIPS
MAKE A LIP : to pour in sulleness. If you are angry , never make a lip.
SMACK THE LIPS : an indication of intense-enjoyment, make an
appreciative noise with the lips while eating. Ramesh smackes his lips
at the prospect of going to mombai.
MY LIPS ARE SEALED : i am unable to reveal. She told me what she
was giving you for your birthday- but my lips are sealed!
LITTLE
LITTLE BY LITTLE : a small amount. Little by little the servant
stole his master's property.
MAKE LITTLE OF : to treat an unimportant, not serious. He made
little of his injuries.
LIVE
LIVE AT : an address. He lives at karol bagh street.
LIVE ON : a street. I live on moti sagar avenue.
TO LIVE FORM HAND TO MOUTH : without having anything extra to
save up. He lives from hand to mouth these days.
LIVE AND LEARN : one has to learn form one's experience . I have
been in the habit of leaving my door knokced, and last night someone
walked in and stole my wallet; you live and learn.
LIVE AND LET LIVE : one must be to learn of others. I know that
she dresses very strangely it is no business of mine; live and let
live, i say.
LONE
A LONE WELF : a person who prefers to be by himself, without
companions. I am rather a lone wolf-i like to go on holiday by myself.
LONG
LONG BEFORE : after some time. keep trying, before long you will
speak english.
NOT LONG FOR THIS WORLD :about to die. Mr kapoor isn't at all
well-i'm sure she's not long for this world, poor soul.
LONG FOR :desire; wish for. He longs for a rest.
IN THE LONG RUN : as the final result. Hard work always pays in
the long run.
LONG AGO : a long time ago; in the distant past. There was a king
named 'ashoka' long ago.
LOOK
LOOK AFTER :take care. She looks after her children.
LOOK BEFORE YOU LEEP :think about what will happen afterwords
before you do anything.in choosing a career , it's very important to
look before you leap; you may regret it if you make the wrong
decision.
LOOK BLACK :seem very bad. His wife is still seriously ill, things
are looking black for him at the moment.
LOOK FOR TROUBLE :do something which is dangerous. anyone who
wanders round the streets after dark is just looking for trouble.
TO LOOK DOWN UPON : to hate. she looks down upon her brother.
LOOK IN ON : to go to see; make a short visit with. on his way
downtown, rakesh looked in on his aunt.
LOOK LIKE DEATH WARMED UP :look or feel ill. he looked like death
warmed up after his illnesss; he looked very pale.
LOOK TO : to go for help to; depend on. the child looks to his
mother to cure his hurts.
LOOK HERE : attend to this. look here, i say.
LOOK FORWARD : anticipate. i look forward to your visit.
LOOK FOR : search . he looked for the missing money.
LOOK SHARP : hurry. look sharp ir i shall miss the train.
LOOK UP : improve. business is looking up.
LOOK ALIVE :hurry; hasten. look alive,or we shall miss the train.
LOOK INTO : examine; scrutinize. he promised to look up to my old
school master.
LOOK UP TO : respect; regard. i shall always look up to my old
school master.
LOOK OVER :lit. he looked over the roof.
LOOK OUT : exclamation;beware; be carefull. look out, or you'll be
run over.
LOOK THROUGH : study. i will look through the book.
HAVE A LOOK OF : to look like, to resemble. she has a look of her mother.
LOOK DOWN ON : to think of as being inferior. she has always
looked down on us for not having a car.
LOOK AT : is to direct the eye towards. he stood looking at the
picture for a long time.
LOOK OUT FOR : is to be on the watch for; to expect. the eagle is
looking out for prey.
LOOK THROUGH :to understand perfectly. look through this book and
tell me what you think of it.
LOOK UP TO A PERSON : to respect a person. he always looked up to
his officer in all matters.
LOOSE
AT A LOOSE END : without employment. he is at the loose end these days.
ON THE LOOSE : unattached and in search of enjoyment. he has
gone out on the loose.
LORD
AS DRUNK AS A LORD : very drunk.he went oout to reunion last
night and came home as drunk as lord.
ONE'S LORD AND MASTER : one's husband. i don't know if we can
afford to come with you to the dance-i'll have to ask my lord andd
master!
LORD IT OVER : to act like a lord. or like a master,towards. he
thinks he is important enough to lord it over everyone else here.
LOSE,LOST
LOSE OUT : to suffer loss or to be a disadvantage. She lost
out by being ill and missing the party.
TO LOSE HEART : to get disheartened. You should not lose heart.
A LOST CAUSE : an aim; ideal etc. that cannot be achieved.
trying to ban violence on television is a lost cause now -a-days.
LOST ON : wasted; or having no effects. she has no sense of
humour and his jokes are lost on her
LOST TO :no longer, or not, feeling in a certain way . she
was lost to all sense of shame.
LOSE GROUND : to go backward; retreat. the soldiers began to
lose ground when thier leader was killed.
LOSE ONE'S NERVE : lose one's courage. he had climbed almost
to the top of the rock, but lost his nerve and turned back.
LOSE ONE'S TEMPER : become angry. when he realised how badly
he had been treated , he lost his temper.
LOST CAUSE : something that must fail. he will never be a
succeesful politician; he supports too many lost cause.
LOST TOUCH : to fail to keep in contact or communication.
after she moved to another town, she lost touch with her childhood
friends.
GET LOST : rude way of saying' go away'! oh,get lost-i'm sick
of having to listen to you.
LOSS
AT A LOSS :for less than the cost price. he sold the goods at a loss.
MEET WITH A LOSS :loss. he met with a heavy loss.
LOVE
NOT FOR LOVE OR MONEY :not in any way at all. We couldn't get
a taxi for love or money.
NO LOVE LOST : to hate. There is no love lost between the two brothers.
CALF LOVE : adolescent love; a young man's first love. Raja
jas calf- love with anita.
LOW
BE LOW ON :not to have much or enough of. I'll have to go to
the supermarket-we're low on coffee and sugar.
LAY LOW :to make ill. I was laid low by the pneumonia just
before my exams.
LIE LOW :to stay quiet or hidden.The criminal lay low until
the police stopped looking for him.
LUCK
DOWN ON ONE'S LUCK :short of money and chances. He is down on
his luck on these days.
LUCK OUT :suddenly to get lucky when in fact the odds are
against one's succeeding. I was sure i was going to miss the train, as
i was three minuteslate; but i lucked out ; the train was five minute
late.
WORSE LUCK :most unfortunately. He's allowing me to go, but
he's coming too,worse luck!
STRIKE(IT)LUCKY : to have good lucj in a particular. We
certainly strick lucky in choosing that school.
LUMBER
BE/GET LUMBERED WITH :to be given an unpleasant, unwanted
responsibility or task. I have been lumbered with her kids for the
weekend.
LUMP
LUMP IT : endure; suffer' if you do not like it, you can lump it.
LUMP SUM : in one sum. Please make payment of my manuscript
in lump sum.
LUMP IN ONE'S THROAT : feeling of great emotion, sadness or
pride. I get very emotional watching moves, i always have a lump in my
throat when i watch the sad scenes.
LURCH
LEAVE IN THE LURCH : to leave in a difficult situatin and
without help. Soon after thier child wass born he went off and left
her in the lurch.
LOST LABOUR : hard work has result in nothing.All efforts of
his to get through in the examination proved a lost labour.
LABOUR OF LOVE : work perfomed from affection or regard. It
was a labour of love to help her parents.
LADY
LADIES MAN :one who is fond of a female.Madan is a ladies man.
LADY KILLER :man devoting himself to the conquest of ladies.
Rajesh is a regular lady killer.
YOUR GOOD LADY :your wife. Your good lady goes about karol
bagh in the evening.
LADY LOVE :sweetheart. When he failed in getting his
lady-love,he committed suicide.
LADY FRIEND :a woman friend . His autns stays witha lady
friends in florida during winter, the lawyer took his lady friend to
dinner.
LAID
LAID UP :in bad through illness. I have been laid up with malaria.
LAID BY THE HEELS :captured.
LAMB
A WOLF IN LAMB'S CLOTHING :hypocrite. Do no trust that man. he
is a wolf in lamb's clothing.
LAMP
SMELL OF THE LAMP :to show sigsn that wrinter has done a lot
of research for or revision of his book. His best novels were written
quickly-anything he spent a lot of time over tended to smell of the
lanp.
LAND
LANDSLIDE VICTORY :a victory in an election by a very large
majority of votes. The election resulted in a landslide victory for
the opposition.
LAND UP : to finish or come eventually to be. If you go on
like that, you'll land up in jail.
LAND WITH :to give or pass. She was landed with the job of telling him.
LAND OF THE LEAL :heaven. His father has gone to the land of the leal.
SEE HOW THE LAND LIES :discover the state of affairs. She is
calling on her father first, to see how the land lies.
LAND LOCKED :enclosed by land on all sides. Rajasthan is land
locked states.
LAND'S MAN : onw who is not a sailor. He is a land 's man.
LANGUAGE
A LIVING LANGUAGE : one that is still spoken. English is a
living language.
DEAD LANGUAGE :language no longer spoken . Latin and sanskrit
are dead language of the world.
LAP
LAP OF LUXURY :extreme luxury. She had lives in lap of luxury
all her life.
LARGE
AT LARGE : free after escaping. Four thieves from the jail
are at large.
LASH
LASH OUT :to spend money in large quantities. For our
anniversary, we decided to lash out and have a really big party.
LAST
AT LAST :finally. At last i understand what you mena.
AT LONG LAST :as above. Received as above.
FIRST AND LAST : altogether. We were sixty men first and last.
THE LAST WORD : the final remark in an argument . She alwaus
must have the last word!
ON ONE'S LAST LEGS :very near to failing down or collapsing
with exhaustion, old age. My washingmachine is on its last legs i've
had it twenty five years ago
LAUGH
LAUGH AT :laugh to scorn. He laughed at the joke very heartly.
TO LAUGH ONE'S SLEEVES : to be amused secretly. While he
showed me sympathy,he was laughing in his sleeves.
BE LAUGHING : to be in a good positioon, with no further
worries, problems. If our new product dosn't sell well, we might be in
difficulties, but if does sell well, we are laughing.
LAUGH OFF : to treat as unimportant. We were impressed by the
way he laughed off the difficulties of being handicapped.
NO LAUGHING MATTER :a very serious matter. To have mumps at
forty five is no laughing matter.
A LAUGHING STOCK : anything that creates laughter. Raj is a
laughing stock of out college.
LAUREL
WIN LAUREL :to win honous. He has won laurel on the cricket field.
LAW
to lay down the law : to speak with authority. You cannot lay
down the law for us.
to take the law into one's hands : to be high handed to do as
one wishes. You cannot take the law into your own hands. you should
have told a prefect.
a law unto himself :one who follows his onw inclinations,
regardless of customs. He is a law unto himself where manners are
concerned.
law abiding : one who obeys the law. He has been law abiding
all his life.
LAY
LAY STRESS ON : to emphasise. The teacher laid stress on the
need for hard work.
LAY BY : is to store for future use. I believe he is lying by money.
LAY ABOUT ONE : strike out violently in every direction . The
captured man laid about him with his stick.
LAY AT ONE'S DOOR : place the blame or responsibility. The
death of the patient was laid at the doctor's door.
LAY ONESELF OPEN TO : expose oneself to. His foolish actions
laid him opens to a charge of stealing.
LAY ONE'S HANDS ON : arrest.The police hope to lay their hands
on the murderer.
LAY OFF : to stop. I told him to lay off following me or he'd be sorry!
lay away : to save. She laid a little of her party away each week.
lay down the law :to give strict orders. The teacher lays down
the law about homework every afternoon.
to lay heads together : to conger. Let us lay out our heads
together to decide the matter once for all.
lay eyes on orset eye on : to see. She knew he was different
as soon as she laid eyes on him.
lays hands on : to get hold of; find; catch. If the police can
lay hands on him, they will put him in jail.
lay hold of : to get possession of. He sold every washing
machine he could lay holds of.
lay into : to attach physically; go at vigorously. The two
fighters laid into each other as soon as the bell ring.
lay on thick : blame: exaggerate greatly. Raj says shakuntla
is lovely, but you might be sure that he would lay it on thick.
to lay down : to resign. To lay down a burden you carry.
to lay up : to be donfined to bed. I got laid up with influenza.
a lay man : an ordinary person who is not professional . He
is just a lay man.
to lay out : to display. He laid out our books in his shop.
lay aside : put away for future use. I have laid aside rs2500/-
for the wedding.
LEAD
lead to : to go to . That road leads to forest.
lead up to : to bring about degrees; to lead as far as. He led
me upto the very steps of the throne.
to lead by the nose : to dominate. His wife leads him by the nose.
to lead a cat and dog life : to begin a new life. They are
leading a cat and dog life.
lead in : to house the harvest. The lead in their crop of the season.
to lead one a life :worry one constanly. She leads the whole family life.
lead off : to begin something. Get rich quickly led off all
kinds of corruption.
to lead the way : to misguide.Don't try to lead us astray.
leading lady : the chief actress. The leading lady in 'arzoo' is sashna.
lead in it : to introduce to, to bring into. He led the regiment
into the fight.
lead on :is to continue leading. He will lead on the opposition
in the house of commons
lead a dance :cause considerable trouble and activity of a
trivial type. The chicken led us a dance before we caught it.
take the lead : act as leader. Ramesh always takes the lead when
we're arranging an entertainment.
LEAF
turn over a new leaf :alter; change. After her marriage she
turned over a new leaf in her life.
take a leaf out of book : to use as an example. It would be
better if you look a leaf out of anita's book and arrived early.
LEAGUE
be top, bottom of the league :to be best, worst in a particular
area of the acitivity, quality. When it come to holding parties, thee
children in my son's class thought that sarita's motherr was top of
the league.
not in the same league as : not as able, as good. He is quite a
talented musician, but he is not in the same league as his wife she is
a genius.
LEAK
leak out : to come to be known by the public to. It was some
months before the news of their secret engagement leaked out.
LEAN
lean on :to use slight force to persuade to do something. I
would gladly do what you ask if you only stopped leaning on me so
hard.
lean year: famine. A lean year is generally followed after the war.
LEAP
by leaps and bounds :with extreme rapidity. Our business is
increasing by leaps and bounds.
a leap in the dark : an action the result of which is uncertain.
A civil marriage is a leap in the dark.
LEAST
at least : at the minimum. That woollen suit it must cost a
hundred rupees at least.
LEAVE
leave in the lurch : in a hopeless action. He ran away,
leaving me in the lurch.
leave off : cease to wear a garment. He was left off his coat.
leave alone : don't interfere with or tease. Please leave me alone.
leave of absence : permission to be away. He was granted leave
of absence to attend his sister's marriage.
leave a bad taste in one's mouth : to have a bad impression.
His rudeness to the teacher left a bad taste in my mouth.
leave word : leave message. If you have any news for me, leave
word with janiter; he will let me know.
leave out : omit. Please be careful not to leave out any sentence.
leave behind : forget. He has left his umbrella behind.
take leave : venture. I take leave to differ from you.
beg leave : ask permission; formal. May i beg leave to remind
you that is nearly noon.
leave to oneself : leave insolitude. If you leave him to
himself. he'll be happy.
to take leave of one's senses :
LEEWAY
make up leeway : nautical compensate for time which has been
lost. The train was late, and we had two hours' leeway to make up.
LEFT
have two left feet : to be clumsy or awkward,e.g. in dancing, I
don't like dancing with aditya because he has two left feet and keeps
treading on my toes.
left,right and centre : in large quantities. We will not make
any money if we hand out free tickets for the concert left, right and
centre.
LEG
pull leg : to try as a joke to make believe something which is
not true. You haven't really got a black mask on your face-he's only
pulling your leg.
not to have a leg to stand on : to have no way of excusing
one's behaviour, justifying one's request. She hasn't got a leg to
stand on if she's forgotten to write, because i reminded her every day
for a week.
on its last legs : about to perish, at the last stage. The
business is finished, he ruined it. it is its last legs just now.
give a leg up :help generally. I give him a leg up with his work.
LENGTH
go to any lengths :to do anything, no matter how extreme,
dishonest, wicked etc. I'm not suprised that she having an affair with
the boss-she'll go to any lengths to get promotion.
at length : after considerable time. He described his tour trip
to me at length.
LET
let bygones be bygones : to let the past be forgotten. After a
long, angry quarrel the two boys agreed to let bygones be bygones an
made friends.
let go : to weaken and break under pressure. The old water pipe
suddenly let go and water poured out of it.
let in : permit to enter. Let the dog in.
to let on : to let it out; to inform. " Why did you let him on
to ourplan ?"
let out : release. The child opens the cage and let out the bird.
let it rip :don't be concerned ; pay attention to what happens.
Why get involved? forget about it and let it rip.
let loose : to set free, loosen or give up one's hold on. The
farmer opened the gate and let the bull loose in the pasture.
let sleeping dogs lie :do not make angry and cause trouble or
danger. Don't tell father that you broke the window. let sleeping dogs
lie.
let things slide : not pay proper attention to things. You may
have some problem in running this office; the previous manager was
oftern ill and let things slide.
let up : to become less or weaker. It's raining as hard as
ever. so we should wait for its let up.
let some one in : admit. He knoked, and i let him in.
let alone : in addition to being. Seema was ugly, let alone old.
let down : betray. My father promised to give evidence for me,
but he let me down.
let off : allow to go free and unpunished. The prisoner was
let off with some good advice.
let pass : ignore. I will let your rudeness pass.
let fall : applied to speech; remark casually. He let fall a
hint of trouble.
let fly : abandon control. He lost his temper, and let fly.
let oneself go : to act without attempting to restrain oneself.
She really let harself go at the party and had a wonderful time.
let one know : to inform him. Let me know if you are going home.
let blood :bleed. His nose let blood.
let into : to admit; to suffer to enter. They would not let him
into the meeting.
let be : do not interfere with. Let it be.
LETTER
MAN OF LETTERS : scholar. He is a man of letters.
LETTER OF THE LAW : exact words of a law. According to the
letter of the low you are guilty, but i shall try to persuade the
judge that this law was not intended to cover like yoours.
LEVEL
LEVEL HEADED : clever. Beware of the level headed man.
DO ONE'S LEVEL BEST : to exert to the maximum. Please level the
picture with the table.
LEVEL PEGGING : doing equally well. The two teams at the top of
the football league are level pegging at the moment.
ON THE LEVEL : fair; honest. Is his offer on the level?
ON THE LEVEL WITH :eqaul with. In sports, both the brothers
are on the level with one another.
LEVEL UP : to noise the status. The students are levelled up
their graduations.
LIBERTY
TAKE UP THE LIBERTY OF :to do without permissin. I took the
liberty of moving the papers from your desk- i hope you don't mind.
TAKE LIBERTIES WITH : to treat with too much freedom. The
director of this play has taken terrible liberties with shakespear's
lines.
AT LIBERTY :free. He is at liberty to wander anywhere in the park.
LIE
LIE AT ONE'S DOOR :become one's responsibility. The child's
death will lie at your door.
LIE HEAVY ON : to be worry or a burden to. The responsibillity
lay heavy on him.
THE LIE OF THE LAND : the details of any particular situation.
I'll write you a report as soon as i've studied the lie of the land in
the department.
LIE IN STATE : to lie in a place of honour. When the president
dies, thousands of people saw his body lying in state.
LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE : avoid debatable questions. Be wise and
let sleeping dogs lie.
TO ACT A LIE : to deceive. Please do not act a lie with your friends.
LIE DOWN : is to go to rest. Let me lie down.
LIEU
IN LIEU OF :instead of. He gave me a pen in liue of pencil.
LIFE
TO THE LIFE :exactly. The student can imitate his old school
master to the life.
AS LARGE AS LIFE : rather than an exact. There stood madan, as
large as life.
BREATH OF LIFE : absolutely essential. Liberty is the breath of life.
SEE LIFE : see how other people live. Every youngman wants to see life.
LIGHT
STRIKE A LIGHT :ignite; a match. Please give me your box of
matches, and i'll strike alight.
COME TO LIGHT : be revealed; exposed. Her marriage come to
light after her death.
TO SEE THE LIGHT : to come into existence. It was due to him
that my writings saw the light of the day.
LIGHT A HEART : cheerfulness; good spirits. He set out on his
journey with a light heart.
LIKE
LIKE A BAT OUT OF HELL :very fast; very quickly. When someone
shouted " fire"! i got out of that house like a bat out of hell.
LIKE IT OR LUMP IT : put up with. The rule is that you must be
home by midnight, and if you don't like it you can lump it.
NOTHING LIKE :unlike. That portrait is nothing like me.
LIKE A SHOT :very quickly. When the headmaster said, "you may
go now", the student left the room like a shot.
LIKE HOT CAKES : very quickly. The book is very popular, itis
selling like hot cakes.
LIKES OF : a person like, people like; i am not going to work
for the likes of him!
LIKE WILD FIRE : very quickly. News of the president's arrival
spread like wiled fire through the town.
LIKELY ENOUGH : fairly probable. It is likely we shall meet at the park.
LIMIT
THE LIMIT :as far as one can go. Rajesh's rudeness is the limit.
LINE
HARD LINES :hard luck. You are a victim of hard lines.
ALL ALONG THE LINE :in every way; completely. I agree with you
all along the line.
LINE OF LEAST RESISTANCE :whatever action is easier, more
conveient. If you complain enough to ram, he will do as you say; he
always follows the line of least resistance.
LINE UP :to adjust correctly. The garageman lined up the car's wheels.
READ BETWEEN THE LINES : to understand something form a
situation, statement etc. Which is not actually stated. she said she
was managing all right, but reading between lines i could see she was
tired.
LINE UPON LINE :little by little. They are doing the work like upon line.
LIPS
MAKE A LIP : to pour in sulleness. If you are angry , never make a lip.
SMACK THE LIPS : an indication of intense-enjoyment, make an
appreciative noise with the lips while eating. Ramesh smackes his lips
at the prospect of going to mombai.
MY LIPS ARE SEALED : i am unable to reveal. She told me what she
was giving you for your birthday- but my lips are sealed!
LITTLE
LITTLE BY LITTLE : a small amount. Little by little the servant
stole his master's property.
MAKE LITTLE OF : to treat an unimportant, not serious. He made
little of his injuries.
LIVE
LIVE AT : an address. He lives at karol bagh street.
LIVE ON : a street. I live on moti sagar avenue.
TO LIVE FORM HAND TO MOUTH : without having anything extra to
save up. He lives from hand to mouth these days.
LIVE AND LEARN : one has to learn form one's experience . I have
been in the habit of leaving my door knokced, and last night someone
walked in and stole my wallet; you live and learn.
LIVE AND LET LIVE : one must be to learn of others. I know that
she dresses very strangely it is no business of mine; live and let
live, i say.
LONE
A LONE WELF : a person who prefers to be by himself, without
companions. I am rather a lone wolf-i like to go on holiday by myself.
LONG
LONG BEFORE : after some time. keep trying, before long you will
speak english.
NOT LONG FOR THIS WORLD :about to die. Mr kapoor isn't at all
well-i'm sure she's not long for this world, poor soul.
LONG FOR :desire; wish for. He longs for a rest.
IN THE LONG RUN : as the final result. Hard work always pays in
the long run.
LONG AGO : a long time ago; in the distant past. There was a king
named 'ashoka' long ago.
LOOK
LOOK AFTER :take care. She looks after her children.
LOOK BEFORE YOU LEEP :think about what will happen afterwords
before you do anything.in choosing a career , it's very important to
look before you leap; you may regret it if you make the wrong
decision.
LOOK BLACK :seem very bad. His wife is still seriously ill, things
are looking black for him at the moment.
LOOK FOR TROUBLE :do something which is dangerous. anyone who
wanders round the streets after dark is just looking for trouble.
TO LOOK DOWN UPON : to hate. she looks down upon her brother.
LOOK IN ON : to go to see; make a short visit with. on his way
downtown, rakesh looked in on his aunt.
LOOK LIKE DEATH WARMED UP :look or feel ill. he looked like death
warmed up after his illnesss; he looked very pale.
LOOK TO : to go for help to; depend on. the child looks to his
mother to cure his hurts.
LOOK HERE : attend to this. look here, i say.
LOOK FORWARD : anticipate. i look forward to your visit.
LOOK FOR : search . he looked for the missing money.
LOOK SHARP : hurry. look sharp ir i shall miss the train.
LOOK UP : improve. business is looking up.
LOOK ALIVE :hurry; hasten. look alive,or we shall miss the train.
LOOK INTO : examine; scrutinize. he promised to look up to my old
school master.
LOOK UP TO : respect; regard. i shall always look up to my old
school master.
LOOK OVER :lit. he looked over the roof.
LOOK OUT : exclamation;beware; be carefull. look out, or you'll be
run over.
LOOK THROUGH : study. i will look through the book.
HAVE A LOOK OF : to look like, to resemble. she has a look of her mother.
LOOK DOWN ON : to think of as being inferior. she has always
looked down on us for not having a car.
LOOK AT : is to direct the eye towards. he stood looking at the
picture for a long time.
LOOK OUT FOR : is to be on the watch for; to expect. the eagle is
looking out for prey.
LOOK THROUGH :to understand perfectly. look through this book and
tell me what you think of it.
LOOK UP TO A PERSON : to respect a person. he always looked up to
his officer in all matters.
LOOSE
AT A LOOSE END : without employment. he is at the loose end these days.
ON THE LOOSE : unattached and in search of enjoyment. he has
gone out on the loose.
LORD
AS DRUNK AS A LORD : very drunk.he went oout to reunion last
night and came home as drunk as lord.
ONE'S LORD AND MASTER : one's husband. i don't know if we can
afford to come with you to the dance-i'll have to ask my lord andd
master!
LORD IT OVER : to act like a lord. or like a master,towards. he
thinks he is important enough to lord it over everyone else here.
LOSE,LOST
LOSE OUT : to suffer loss or to be a disadvantage. She lost
out by being ill and missing the party.
TO LOSE HEART : to get disheartened. You should not lose heart.
A LOST CAUSE : an aim; ideal etc. that cannot be achieved.
trying to ban violence on television is a lost cause now -a-days.
LOST ON : wasted; or having no effects. she has no sense of
humour and his jokes are lost on her
LOST TO :no longer, or not, feeling in a certain way . she
was lost to all sense of shame.
LOSE GROUND : to go backward; retreat. the soldiers began to
lose ground when thier leader was killed.
LOSE ONE'S NERVE : lose one's courage. he had climbed almost
to the top of the rock, but lost his nerve and turned back.
LOSE ONE'S TEMPER : become angry. when he realised how badly
he had been treated , he lost his temper.
LOST CAUSE : something that must fail. he will never be a
succeesful politician; he supports too many lost cause.
LOST TOUCH : to fail to keep in contact or communication.
after she moved to another town, she lost touch with her childhood
friends.
GET LOST : rude way of saying' go away'! oh,get lost-i'm sick
of having to listen to you.
LOSS
AT A LOSS :for less than the cost price. he sold the goods at a loss.
MEET WITH A LOSS :loss. he met with a heavy loss.
LOVE
NOT FOR LOVE OR MONEY :not in any way at all. We couldn't get
a taxi for love or money.
NO LOVE LOST : to hate. There is no love lost between the two brothers.
CALF LOVE : adolescent love; a young man's first love. Raja
jas calf- love with anita.
LOW
BE LOW ON :not to have much or enough of. I'll have to go to
the supermarket-we're low on coffee and sugar.
LAY LOW :to make ill. I was laid low by the pneumonia just
before my exams.
LIE LOW :to stay quiet or hidden.The criminal lay low until
the police stopped looking for him.
LUCK
DOWN ON ONE'S LUCK :short of money and chances. He is down on
his luck on these days.
LUCK OUT :suddenly to get lucky when in fact the odds are
against one's succeeding. I was sure i was going to miss the train, as
i was three minuteslate; but i lucked out ; the train was five minute
late.
WORSE LUCK :most unfortunately. He's allowing me to go, but
he's coming too,worse luck!
STRIKE(IT)LUCKY : to have good lucj in a particular. We
certainly strick lucky in choosing that school.
LUMBER
BE/GET LUMBERED WITH :to be given an unpleasant, unwanted
responsibility or task. I have been lumbered with her kids for the
weekend.
LUMP
LUMP IT : endure; suffer' if you do not like it, you can lump it.
LUMP SUM : in one sum. Please make payment of my manuscript
in lump sum.
LUMP IN ONE'S THROAT : feeling of great emotion, sadness or
pride. I get very emotional watching moves, i always have a lump in my
throat when i watch the sad scenes.
LURCH
LEAVE IN THE LURCH : to leave in a difficult situatin and
without help. Soon after thier child wass born he went off and left
her in the lurch.
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