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[coffee break] <n.> A short recess or time out from work in which to rest and drink coffee. * /The girls in the office take a coffee break in the middle of the morning and the afternoon./

[coffee hour] <n.> A time for coffee or other refreshments after a meeting; a time to meet people and have refreshments. * /After the business meeting we had a coffee hour./ * /The Joneses had a coffee hour so their visitor could meet their neighbors./

[coffee table] <n.> A low table used in a living room. * /There were several magazines on the coffee table./

[coffin nail] <n.>, <slang> A cigarette. * /"I stopped smoking," Algernon said. "In fact, I haven't had a coffin nail in well over a year."/

[cog] See: SLIP A COG or SLIP A GEAR.

[coin money] or [mint money] <v. phr.>, <informal> To make a lot of money quickly; profit heavily; gain big profit. * /Fred coined money with many cigarette vending machines and juke boxes./

[cold] See: BLOOD RUNS COLD, BLOW HOT AND COLD, CATCH COLD or TAKE COLD, IN COLD BLOOD, OUT COLD, OUT IN THE COLD, PASS OUT(2), STONE-COLD, STOP COLD, THROW COLD WATER ON.

[cold cash] or [hard cash] <n.> Money that is paid at the time of purchase; real money; silver and bills. * /Mr. Jones bought a new car and paid cold cash for it./ * * /Some stores sell things only for cold cash./ Compare: CASH ON THE BARRELHEAD.

[cold comfort] <n.> Something that makes a person in trouble feel very little better or even worse. * /When Tim lost the race, it was cold comfort to him to hear that he could try again in two weeks./ * /Mary spent her vacation sick in bed and Jane's letter about her trip was cold comfort./

[cold feet] <n. phr.>, <informal> A loss of courage or nerve; a failure or loss of confidence in yourself. * /Ralph was going to ask Mary to dance with him but he got cold feet and didn't./

[cold fish] <n.>, <informal> A queer person; a person who is unfriendly or does not mix with others. * /No one knows the new doctor, he is a cold fish./ * /Nobody invites Eric to parties because he is a cold fish./

[cold-shoulder] <v.>, <informal> To act towards a person; with dislike or scorn; be unfriendly to. * /Fred cold-shouldered his old friend when they passed on the street./ * /It is impolite and unkind to cold-shoulder people./ Compare: BRUSH OFF(2), HIGH-HAT, LOOK DOWN ONE'S NOSE AT.

[cold shoulder] <n.>, <informal> Unfriendly treatment of a person, a showing of dislike for a person or of looking down on a person. Used in the cliches "give the cold shoulder" or "turn a cold shoulder to" or "get the cold shoulder". * /When Bob asked Mary for a date she gave him the cold shoulder./ * /The membership committee turned a cold shoulder to Jim's request to join the club./

[cold snap] <n.> A short time of quick change from warm weather to cold. * /The cold snap killed everything in the garden./

[cold turkey] <adv.>, <slang>, <informal> 1. Abruptly and without medical aid to withdraw from the use of an addictive drug or from a serious drinking problem. * /Joe is a very brave guy; he kicked the habit cold turkey./ 2. <n.> An instance of withdrawal from drugs, alcohol, or cigarette smoking. * /Joe did a cold turkey./

[cold war] <n.> A struggle that is carried on by other means and not by actual fighting; a war without shooting or bombing. * /After World War II, a cold war began between Russia and the United States./

[collar] See: HOT UNDER THE COLLAR, ROMAN COLLAR, SAILOR COLLAR.

[collective farm] <n.> A large government-run farm made by combining many small farms. * /The Russian farmers used to live on collective farms./

[collector's item] <n.> Something rare or valuable enough to collect or save. * /Jimmy's mother found an old wooden doll in the attic that turned out to be a collector's item./

[College Boards] <n.> A set of examinations given to test a student's readiness and ability for college. * /John got a high score on his College Boards./ * /College Boards test both what a student has learned and his ability to learn./

[color] See: CHANGE COLOR, GIVE COLOR TO or LEND COLOR TO, HAUL DOWN ONE'S COLORS, HORSE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR, NAIL ONE'S COLORS TO THE MAST, OFF-COLOR or OFF-COLORED, SAIL UNDER FALSE COLORS, SEE THE COLOR OF ONE'S MONEY, SHOW ONE'S COLORS, WITH FLYING COLORS.

[color guard] <n.> A military guard of honor for the flag of a country; also: a guard of honor to carry and protect a flag or banner (as of a club). * /There were four Marines in the color guard in the parade./ * /Bob was picked to be a color guard and to carry the banner of the drum corps at the football game./

[color scheme] <n.> A plan for colors used together as decoration. * /The color scheme for the dance was blue and silver./ * /Mary decided on a pink and white color scheme for her room./

[comb] See: FINE-TOOTH COMB.

[come] See: CHICKENS COME HOME TO ROOST, CROSS A BRIDGE BEFORE ONE COMES TO IT, EASY COME - EASY GO, FIRST COME - FIRST SERVED, GET WHAT'S COMING TO ONE, HAVE IT COMING, HOW COME also HOW'S COME, IF WORST COMES TO WORST, JOHNNY-COME-LATELY, KNOW ENOUGH TO COME IN OUT OF THE RAIN, KNOW IF ONE IS COMING OR GOING, LOOK AS IF ONE HAS COME OUT OF A BANDBOX, SHIP COME IN.

[come about] <v.> To take place; happen, occur. * /Sometimes it is hard to tell how a quarrel comes about./ * /When John woke up he was in the hospital, but he didn't know how that had come about./

[come a cropper] 1. To fall off your horse. * /John's horse stumbled, and John came a cropper./ 2. To fail. * /Mr. Brown did not have enough money to put into his business and it soon came a cropper./ Compare: RIDING FOR A FALL.

[come across] <v.> 1. or [run across] To find or meet by chance. * /He came across a dollar bill in the suit he was sending to the cleaner./ * /The other day I ran across a book that you might like./ * /I came across George at a party last week; it was the first time I had seen him in months./ Compare: COME ON(3), RUN INTO(3b). 2. To give or do what is asked. * /The robber told the woman to come across with her purse./ * /For hours the police questioned the man suspected of kidnapping the child, and finally he came across with the story./

[come again] <v.>, <informal> Please repeat; please say that again. - Usually used as a command. * /"Harry has just come into a fortune," my wife said. "Come again? " I asked her, not believing it./ * /"Come again," said the hard-of-hearing man./

[come alive] or [come to life] <v.> 1. <informal> To become alert or attentive; wake up and look alive; become active. * /When Mr. Simmons mentioned money, the boys came alive./ * /Bob pushed the starter button, and the engine came alive with a roar./ 2. To look real; take on a bright, natural look. * /Under skillful lighting, the scene came alive./ * /The President came alive in the picture as the artist worked./

[come along] <v.> To make progress; improve; succeed. * /He was coming along well after the operation./ * /Rose is coming right along on the piano./

[come a long way] <v. phr.> To show much improvement; make great progress. * /The school has come a long way since its beginnings./ * /Little Jane has come a long way since she broke her leg./

[come apart at the seams] <v. phr.>, <slang>, <informal> To become upset to the point where one loses self-control and composure as if having suffered a sudden nervous breakdown. * /After his divorce Joe seemed to be coming apart at the seams./

[come around] See: COME ROUND.

[come at] <v.> 1. To approach; come to or against; advance toward. * /The young boxer came at the champion cautiously./ 2. To understand (a word or idea) or master (a skill); succeed with. * /The sense of an unfamiliar word is hard to come at./

[come back] <v.>, <informal> 1. To reply; answer. * /The lawyer came back sharply in defense of his client./ * /No matter how the audience heckled him, the comedian always had an answer to come back with./ 2. To get a former place or position back, reach again a place which you have lost. * /After a year off to have her baby, the singer came back to even greater fame./ * /It is hard for a retired prize fighter to come hack and beat a younger man./

[comeback] <n.>, <v. phr.>, <slang>, <citizen's band radio jargon> A return call. * /Thanks for your comeback./

[come back to earth] or [come down to earth] <v. phr.> To return to the real world; stop imagining or dreaming; think and behave as usual. * /After Jane met the movie star it was hard for her to come back to earth./ * /Bill was sitting and daydreaming so his mother told him to come down to earth and to do his homework./ Compare: COME TO ONE'S SENSES, DOWN-TO-EARTH. Contrast: IN THE CLOUDS.

[come between] <v.> To part; divide; separate. * /John's mother-in-law came to live in his home, and as time passed she came between him and his wife./ * /Bill's hot rod came between him and his studies, and his grades went down./

[come by] <v.> To get; obtain; acquire. * /A good job like that is hard to come by./ * /Money easily come by is often easily spent./ * /How did she come by that money?/

[come by honestly] <v. phr.>, <informal> To inherit (a characteristic) from your parents. * /Joe comes by his hot temper honestly; his father is the same way./

[come clean] <v. phr.>, <slang> To tell all; tell the whole story; confess. * /The boy suspected of stealing the watch came clean after long questioning./

[comedown] <n.> Disappointment; embarrassment; failure. * /It was quite a comedown for Al when the girl he took for granted refused his marriage proposal./

[come down] <v.> 1. To reduce itself; amount to no more than. Followed by "to". * /The quarrel finally came down to a question of which boy would do the dishes./ Syn.: BOIL DOWN(3). 2. To be handed down or passed along, descend from parent to child; pass from older generation to younger ones. * /Mary's necklace had come down to her from her grandmother./

[come down hard on] <v.>, <informal> 1. To scold or punish strongly. * /The principal came down hard on the boys for breaking the window./ 2. To oppose strongly. * /The minister in his sermon came down hard on drinking./

[come down in the world] <v. phr.> To lose a place of respect or honor, become lower (as in rank or fortune). * /The stranger plainly had come down a long way in the world./ Compare: DOWN ON ONE'S LUCK.

[come down off one's high horse] <v. phr.> To become less arrogant; to assume a more modest disposition. * /The boastful candidate for Congress quickly came down off his high horse when he was soundly beaten by his opponent./

[come down on like a ton of bricks] <v. phr.>, <slang> To direct one's full anger at somebody. * /When the janitor was late for work, the manager came down on him like a ton of bricks./

[come down to earth] See: COME BACK TO EARTH.

[come down with] <v.>, <informal> To become sick with; catch. * /We all came down with the mumps./ * /After being out in the rain, George came down with a cold./

[come from far and wide] <v. phr.> To originate or hail from many different places. * /The students at this university come from far and wide and speak many languages./

[come full circle] <v. phr.>, <informal> 1. To become totally opposed to one's own earlier conviction on a given subject. * /Today's conservative businessperson has come full circle from former radical student days./ 2. To change and develop, only to end up where one started. * /From modern permissiveness, ideas about child raising have come full circle to the views of our grandparents./

[come hell or high water] <adv. phr.>, <informal> No matter what happens; whatever may come. * /Grandfather said he would go to the fair, come hell or high water./ Compare: COME WHAT MAY, THROUGH THE MILL.

[come home to roost] See: CHICKENS COME HOME TO ROOST.

[come in] <v.> 1. To finish in a sports contest or other competition. * /He came in second in the hundred-yard dash./ 2. To become the fashion; begin to be used. * /Swimming trunks for men came in after World War I; before that men used full swim suits./

[come in for] <v.> To receive. * /He came in for a small fortune when his uncle died./ * /His conduct came in for much criticism./

[come in handy] <v. phr.>, <informal> To prove useful. * /Robinson Crusoe found tools in the ship which came in handy when he built a house./ * /The French he learned in high school came in handy when he was in the army in France./

[come into] <v.> To receive, especially after another's death; get possession of. * /He came into a lot of money when his father died./ * /He came into possession of the farm after his uncle died./

[come into one's own] <v. phr.> To receive the wealth or respect that you should have. * /John's grandfather died and left him a million dollars; when John is 21, he will come into his own./ * /With the success of the Model T Ford, the automobile industry came into its own./

[came natural] See: COME EASY.

[come of] <v.> 1. To result from. * /After all the energy we spent on that advertising campaign, absolutely nothing came of it./ 2. To become of; happen to. * /"Whatever became of your son, Peter?"/

[come of age] See: OF AGE.

[come off] <v.> 1. To take place; happen. * /The picnic came off at last, after being twice postponed./ 2. <informal> To do well; succeed. * /The attempt to bring the quarreling couple together again came off, to people's astonishment./

[come off it] also [get off it] <v. phr.>, <slang> Stop pretending; bragging, or kidding; stop being silly. - Used as a command. * /"So I said to the duchess..." Jimmy began. "Oh, come off it," the other boys sneered./ * /Fritz said he had a car of his own. "Oh, come off it," said John. "You can't even drive."/

[come off] or [through with flying colors] <v. phr.> To succeed; triumph. * /John came off with flying colors in his final exams at college./

[come off second best] <v. phr.> To not win first but only second, third, etc. place. * /Our home team came off second best against the visitors./ * /Sue complains that she always comes off second best when she has a disagreement with her husband./

[come on] <v.> 1. To begin; appear. * /Rain came on toward morning./ * /He felt a cold coming on./ 2. To grow or do well; thrive. * /The wheat was coming on./ * /His business came on splendidly./ 3. or [come upon]. To meet accidentally; encounter; find. * /He came on an old friend that day when he visited his club./ * /He came upon an interesting idea in reading about the French Revolution./ Syn.: COME ACROSS, HAPPEN ON. 4. <informal> Let's get started; let's get going; don't delay; don't wait. - Used as a command. * /"Come on, or we'll he late," said Joe, but Lou still waited./ 5. <informal> Please do it! Used in begging someone to do something. * /Sing us just one song, Jane, come on!/ * /Come on, Laura, you can tell me. I won't tell anybody./