give someone Idiom, Proverb
give someone a hand
help someone with something I gave my friend a hand moving into his new apartment.
give someone a piece of one
scold angrily, say what one really thinks to someone I gave the store manager a piece of my mind when I told him about the broken product.
give someone a piece of your mind
scold or become angry with someone When I met her yesterday I really gave her a piece of my mind.
give someone an inch and they will take a mile
if you give someone a little they will want more and more, some people are never satisfied If you give him an inch he will take a mile so you shouldn
give someone enough rope and they will hang themse
give someone enough time and freedom to do what they want and they will make a mistake or get into trouble and be caught Don
give someone one
make a promise or assurance He gave me his word that he would meet me at the library.
give someone the ax
fire an employee (usually abruptly) He gave the new employee the ax because he was always late.
give someone the benefit of the doubt
believe someone is innocent rather than guilty when you are not sure I gave him the benefit of the doubt but I still think that he is a liar.
give someone the cold shoulder
be unfriendly to someone He gave her the cold shoulder at the party.
give someone the eye
look or stare at someone (especially in a cold or unfriendly way) The man in the store began to give me the eye so I left.
give someone the green light
give permission to go ahead with a project He has been given the green light to begin work on the new housing plan.
give someone the slip
escape from someone The bank robbers were able to give the police the slip at first but they were soon caught.
give someone their due
give someone the credit that they deserve You have to give him his due. He has successfully saved the company from bankruptcy.
not give someone the time of day
dislike someone so strongly that you totally ignore them I hate her and would never even give her the time of day.
Give someone an inch and they will take a mile.
Give someone a little and they will want more - some people are never satisfied.
Give someone enough rope and they will hang thems
Give someone enough time and freedom and they will get into trouble.
Give someone a leg up
If you give someone a leg up, you help them to achieve something that they couldn't have done alone.
Give someone a run for their money
If you can give someone a run for the money, you are as good, or nearly as good, as they are at something.
Give someone enough rope
If you give someone enough rope, you give them the chance to get themselves into trouble or expose themselves. (The full form is 'give someone enough rope and they'll hang themselves)
Give someone stick
(UK) If someone gives you stick, they criticise you or punish you.
Give someone the runaround
If someone gives you the runaround, they make excuses and give you false explanations to avoid doing something.
to give someone a talking-to
when you talk to someone because you are angry with them: "His boss gave him a real talking-to yesterday!"
give someone a dressing down
tell someone off / reprimand someone: "He gave the whole department a dressing down after they failed to meet their agreed targets."
give someone the sack
fire someone: "He was given the sack for stealing."
give someone their marching orders
fire someone: "After the argument, he was given his marching orders."
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get your feet under the table
get settled in: "It only took him a week to get his feet under the table, then he started to make changes."
give someone a black look
look at someone as if you are angry: "Why is he giving me such a black look?"
give someone his rights|give|his rights|read|read
v. phr.,
informal 1. The act of advising arrested criminals that they have the right to remain silent and that everything they say can be held against them in a court of law; that they have the right to the presence of an attorney during questioning and that if they can't afford one and request it, an attorney will be appointed for them by the State.
The cops gave Smith his rights immediately after the arrest. 2. To sever a relationship by telling someone that he or she can go and see a divorce lawyer or the like.
Sue gave Mike his rights before she slammed the door in his face. Compare: READ THE RIOT ACT.
enough rope, give someone
enough rope, give someone Allow someone to continue on a course and then suffer its consequences. For example,
The auditor knew something was wrong but decided to give the chief accountant enough rope. This expression, a shortening of
enough rope to hang oneself, was already proverbial in John Ray's
English Proverbs (1678).
give someone
give someone see other entries beginning with GIVE SOMEONE, or under
give one, or look up the expression by its other words, as
give the benefit of the doubt.
give someone a break
give someone a break 1) Give someone a chance or special consideration. For example,
She begged the professor for an extension on her term paper, saying “
Please give me a break.” [c. 1900] Also see
get a break.
2) give me a break. Stop trying to fool or upset or bother me. For example,
Don't tell me the party's been postponed again—give me a break! This interjection is usually uttered with semihumorous exasperation. [Slang; late 1900s]
give someone a ring
give someone a ring 1) Also,
give someone a buzz. Call someone on the telephone, as in
Give me a ring next week, or
Bill said he'd give her a buzz. Both these expressions allude to the sound of a telephone's ring. [Colloquial; c. 1920]
2) Present a lover with an engagement ring, as in
I think he's giving her a ring tonight. [First half of 1800s]
give someone fits
give someone fits see
have a fit.
give someone heart failure
give someone heart failure Frighten or startle someone very much, as in
You nearly gave me heart failure when you told me you were quitting. It is also put as
have heart failure, meaning “be frightened or startled,” as in
I just about had heart failure when I heard about her accident. These hyperbolic terms allude to the life-threatening physical condition in which the heart fails to pump blood at an adequate rate or stops altogether. Also see
heart misses a beat, one's.
give someone hell
give someone hell Also,
give someone the devil. Scold someone harshly. For example,
The boss gave them hell for not finishing in time, or
Mom will give her the devil if she doesn't get home soon. Also see
give it to, def. 1.
give someone his or her due
give someone his or her due see under
give credit, def. 2.
give someone his or her head
give someone his or her head Also,
let someone have his or her head. Allow someone to proceed as he or she wishes, give someone freedom. For example,
He usually gave his assistant his head when it came to scheduling appointments, or
Sometimes it's wise for parents to let a teenager have his head. This expression alludes to loosening a horse's reins and letting it go where it wants to. [Second half of 1500s]
give someone the air
give someone the air Also,
give someone the brush off or
the gate or
the old heave-ho. Break off relations with someone, oust someone, snub or jilt someone, especially a lover. For example,
John was really upset when Mary gave him the air, or
His old friends gave him the brush off, or
Mary cried and cried when he gave her the gate, or
The company gave him the old heave-ho after only a month. In the first expression, which dates from about 1920,
giving air presumably alludes to being blown out. The second, from the first half of the 1900s, alludes to
brushing away dust or lint. The third, from about 1900, uses
gate in the sense of “an exit.” The fourth alludes to the act of
heaving a person out, and is sometimes used to mean “to fire someone from a job” (see
get the ax). All these are colloquialisms, and all have variations using
get, get the air (etc.), meaning “to be snubbed or told to leave,” as in
After he got the brush off, he didn't know what to do.
give someone the evil eye
give someone the evil eye see under
evil eye.
give someone the once-over
give someone the once-over Also,
give someone the eye. Look or stare at someone with interest. For example,
The new coach gave the team the once-over before introducing himself, or
He gave her the eye and she blushed. The first expression, a colloquialism, generally implies a quick but comprehensive survey or assessment. The variant, a slangy usage sometimes amplified to
give the glad eye, often signifies an inviting glance. [Early 1900s] Also see
make eyes at.
give (one) abundant rope
If you accord bodies the befalling to do article amiss or adverse to themselves, they will usually do it; one does not charge to baffle to accompany about someone's downfall. The abounding adaptation is, "Give (one) abundant rope, and (one) will adhere (one)self." Don't arrest him with questions. Just let him accumulate talking and he'll allege himself. Accord him abundant braiding and see what happens.Learn more: enough, give, rope