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[dig up] <v.>, <informal> To find or get (something) with some effort. * /Sue dug up some useful material for her English composition./ * /Jim asked each boy to dig up twenty-five cents to pay for the hot dogs and soda./ Compare: DIG OUT.

[dilemma] See: HORNS OF A DILEMMA.

[dim] See: TAKE A DIM VIEW OF.

[dime a dozen] <adj. phr.>, <informal> Easy to get and so of little value; being an everyday thing because there are many of them; common. * /Mr. Jones gives A's to only one or two students, but in Mr. Smith's class, A's are a dime a dozen./

[dime store] or [five-and-dime] or [five-and-ten] <n. phr.> A store that sells things that cost little. * /Charles bought a pencil at the five-and-dime./

[dine out] <v. phr.> To not eat at home but to go to a restaurant. * /"Let's dine out tonight, honey," she said to her husband. "I am tired of cooking dinner every night."/ See: EAT OUT.

[dint] See: BY DINT OF.

[dip into] <v. phr.> 1. To scan or sample lightly and briefly (said of printed materials). * /I didn't get a chance to read all of War and Peace, but I dipped into it here and there./ 2. To take money out of a savings account or a piggy bank. * /I am sorry to have to say that I had to dip into the piggy bank; I took out $6.75./

[dirt] See: EAT DIRT, HIT THE DIRT, PAY DIRT.

[dirt cheap] <adj.> Extremely inexpensive. * /The apartment we are renting is dirt cheap compared to other apartments of similar size in this neighborhood./

[dirty] See: AIR ONE'S DIRTY LINEN IN PUBLIC or WASH ONE'S DIRTY LINEN IN PUBLIC.

[dirty look] <n.>, <informal> A look that shows dislike. * /Miss Parker sent Joe to the principal's office for giving her a dirty look./

[dirty old man] <n. phr.> An older man who shows an unhealthy interest in young girls. * /"Stay away from Uncle Algernon, Sally," her mother warned. "He is a dirty old man."/

[dirty one's hands] or [soil one's hands] <v. phr.> To lower or hurt one's character or good name; do a bad or shameful thing. * /The teacher warned the children not to dirty their hands by cheating in the examination./ * /I would not soil my hands by going with bad people and doing bad things./

[dirty story] <n. phr.> An improper or obscene story. * /Uncle Bill is much too fond of telling dirty stories in order to embarrass his friends./

[dirty trick] <n. phr.> A treacherous action; an unfair act. * /That was a dirty trick John played on Mary when he ran away with her younger sister./

[disappear] or [evaporate] or [vanish into thin air] <v. phr.> To disappear quickly, without leaving a trace. * /Money seems to disappear into thin air these days./ * /Jack just vanished into thin air before the meeting had started./

[discretion] See: THROW CAUTION TO THE WINDS also THROW DISCRETION TO THE WINDS.

[discretion is the better part of valor] <literary> When you are in danger or trouble, good sense helps more than foolish risks; it is better to be careful than to be foolishly brave. - A proverb. * /When you are facing a man with a knife, discretion is the better part of valor./

[dish] See: COVERED-DISH SUPPER.

[dish of tea] See: CUP OF TEA.

[dish out] <v.> 1. To serve (food) from a large bowl or plate. * /Ann's mother asked her to dish out the beans./ 2. <informal> To give in large quantities. * /That teacher dished out so much homework that her pupils complained to their parents./ 3. <slang> To scold; treat or criticize roughly. * /Jim likes to dish it out, but he hates to take it./ Compare: HAND OUT.

[dish the dirt] <v. phr.>, <slang> To gossip, to spread rumors about others. * /Stop dishing the dirt. Sally, it's really quite unbecoming!/

[disk jockey] <n.> An employee at a radio station or in a dance club who puts on the records that will be broadcast. * /Jack is working as a disk jockey at the local FM station./

[dispose of] <v.> 1. To throw away; give away, or sell; get rid of. * /John's father wants to dispose of their old house and buy a new one./ * /The burglars had difficulty in disposing of the stolen jewelry./ 2. To finish. with; settle; complete. * /The boys were hungry, and quickly disposed of their dinner./ * /The committee soon disposed of all its business./ 3. To destroy or defeat. * /The champion disposed of the other fighter by knocking him out in the second round./ * /Our planes disposed of two enemy planes./

[dispute] See: IN DISPUTE.

[distance] See: KEEP AT A DISTANCE, KEEP ONE'S DISTANCE.

[ditch] See: LAST DITCH,

[dive] See: GO INTO A TAIL SPIN or GO INTO A NOSE DIVE.

[do] See: HAVE DONE, HAVE DONE WITH, HAVE TO DO WITH, LET GEORGE DO IT, LET ONE'S RIGHT HAND KNOW WHAT ONE'S LEFT HAND IS DOING, LET'S DON'T, MAKE DO, WELL-TO-DO, WHAT'S UP or WHAT'S DOING.

[do a double take] <v. phr.>, <informal> To look again in surprise; suddenly understand what is seen or said. * /John did a double take when he saw Bill in girls' clothes./ * /When Evvie said she was quitting school, I did a double take./

[do a job on] <v. phr.>, <slang> To damage badly; do harm to; make ugly or useless. * /The baby did a job on Mary's book./ * /Jane cut her hair and really did a job on herself./

[Doakes] See: JOE DOAKES.

[do a stretch] <v. phr.> To spend time in jail serving one's sentence. * /Jake has disappeared from view for a while; he is doing a stretch for dope smuggling./

[do away with] <v.> 1. To put an end to; stop. * /The teachers want to do away with cheating in their school./ * /The city has decided to do away with overhead wires./ Compare: RID OF. 2. To kill; murder. * /The robbers did away with their victims./

[do by someone or something] <v.> To deal with; treat. - Used with a qualifying adverb between "do" and "by". * /Andy's employer always does very well by him./

[do credit] or [do credit to] also (<informal>) [do proud] To add to or improve the reputation, good name, honor, or esteem of; show (you) deserve praise. * /Your neat appearance does you credit./ * /Mary's painting would do credit to a real artist./

[doctor] See: JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED.

[doctor up] <v. phr.> To meddle with; adulterate. * /You don't have to doctor up this basic salad with a lot of extras as I am trying to lose weight./

[do duty for] <v. phr.> To substitute for; act in place of. * /The bench often does duty for a table./

[Doe] See: JOHN DOE.

[doesn't add up to a can of beans] <v. phr.> To be of little or no value. (Said of plans, ideas, etc.) * /"That's a fairly interesting concept you got there, Mike, but the competition is bound to say that it doesn't add up to a can of beans."/

[do for] <v.>, <informal> To cause the death or ruin of; cause to fail. - Used usually in the passive form "done for". * /The poor fellow is done for and will die before morning./ * /Andy's employer always does very well by him./ * /If Jim fails that test, he is done for./

[dog] See: EVERY DOG HAS HIS DAY, GO TO THE DOGS, HOT DOG, LEAD A DOG'S LIFE, LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE, RAIN CATS AND DOGS.

[dog days] <n. phr.> The hottest days of the year in the Northern Hemisphere (July and August). (The ancient Romans associated this time with the "Dog Star" - Sirius - which becomes visible in the heavens at this time of year.) * /"The dog days are upon us," John said. "It's time to go swimming in the lake."/

[dog-eat-dog(1)] <n.> A way of living in which every person tries to get what he wants for himself no matter how badly or cruelly he must treat others to get it; readiness to do anything to get what you want. * /In some early frontier towns it was dog-eat-dog./

[dog-eat-dog(2)] <adj.> Ready or willing to fight and hurt others to get what you want. * /During the California gold rush, men had a dog-eat-dog life./

[doghouse] See: IN THE DOGHOUSE.

[dog in the manger] <n. phr.> A person who is unwilling to let another use what he himself has no use for. * /Although Valerie lives alone in that big house, she is like a dog in the manger when it comes to letting someone sharing it with her./

[dog one's steps] <v. phr.> To follow someone closely. * /All the time he was in Havana, Castro's police were dogging his steps./

[dog's age] or [coon's age] <n.>, <informal> A very long time. Usually used after "for" or "in" with a negative. * /Charlie Brown! I haven't seen you for a coon's age./ * /Father hasn't had a night out with the boys in a dog's age./ * /I waited for him for a dog's age, but he didn't come./ Syn.: MONTH OF SUNDAYS.

[dog's life] <n. phr.> A life of misery, poverty, and unhappiness. * /Diogenes, the Greek philosopher, lived a dog's life inside an empty barrel./

[do in] <v.>, <slang> 1. To ruin; destroy. * /Mr. Smith's business was done in by a fire that burned down his store./ 2a. To kill; murder. * /The poor man was done in by two gangsters who ran away after the crime./ 2b. To make tired; exhaust. * /The boys were done in after their long hike./ Syn.: WEAR OUT(2). 3. To cheat; swindle. * /Mr. Jones was done in by two men who claimed to be collecting money for orphans and widows./

[doing] See: NOTHING DOING.

[do justice to] <v. phr.> 1. To do (something) as well as you should; do properly. * /Barbara had so many things to do that she could not do justice to her lessons./ * /The newspaper man did not do justice to the story./ 2. To eat or drink with enthusiasm or enjoyment. * /The boy did justice to the meal./

[dole out] <v. phr.> To measure out sparingly. * /Since the water ration was running low in the desert, the camp commandant doled out small cups of water to each soldier./

[dollar] See: BET ONE'S BOTTOM DOLLAR at BET ONE'S BOOTS, FEEL LIKE A MILLION or FEEL LIKE A MILLION DOLLARS, LOOK LIKE A MILLION DOLLARS.

[doll up] <v.>, <slang> 1. To dress in fine or fancy clothes. * /The girls dolled up for the big school dance of the year./ * /The girls were all dolled up for the Christmas party./ 2. To make more pretty or attractive. * /The classrooms were all dolled up with Christmas decorations./ Compare: DECKED OUT.

[done for] <adj. phr.> Finished; dead. * /When the police burst in on the crooks, they knew they were done for./

[done to a turn] See: TO A T or TO A TURN.

[done with] <adj. phr.> Finished; completed. * /As soon as you're done with your work, give us a call./

[don't cross your bridges until you come to them] See: CROSS A BRIDGE BEFORE ONE COMES TO IT.

[don't cry before you're hurt] See: CRY BEFORE ONE IS HURT.

[don't let's] See: LET'S DON'T.

[don't look a gift horse in the mouth] See: LOOK A GIFT HORSE IN THE MOUTH.

[do one a good turn] <v. phr.> To perform an act of kindness, friendship, or help to another person, unselfishly, without expectation of reward. * /"I'll be happy to help you any time you need it," John said. "After all you have done me so many good turns."/

[do one good] <v. phr.> To benefit. * /The fresh air will do you good after having been inside the house all day./

[do one good] or [do one's heart good] <v. phr.> To give satisfaction; please; gratify. * /It does my heart good to see those children play./

[do one's best] <v. phr.> To perform at one's optimum capacity; spare no effort in fulfilling one's duties. * /"I've really done my best teaching you people," the tired professor said on the last day of classes. "I hope you got something out of this course."/

[do one's bit] or [part] <v. phr.> To shoulder one's share of responsibility in a communal undertaking; shirk one's obligation. * /"Let me go home and rest, fellows, " John said. "I think I've done my bit for this project. "/

[do one's thing] or [do one's own thing] <v. phr.>, <informal> 1. To do what one does well and actually enjoys doing. * /Two thousand fans paid $15 each to hear the rock group do their thing./ 2. To follow one's bent; for example, to be engaged in left-wing politics, some sort of meditation, or use of drugs (particularly in the sixties). * /The hippies were doing their own thing when the cops came and busted them./ 3. To be engaged in an unusual activity that strikes others as odd. * /Leave Jim alone, he's just doing his own thing when he's standing on his head./

[do one's worst] <v. phr.> To do one's utmost by resorting to every foul means possible. * /Hitler did his worst to drive out the Allied invasion from Europe, but he failed./

[door] See: AT DEATH'S DOOR, AT ONE'S DOOR, CLOSED-DOOR, CLOSE ITS DOORS, CLOSE THE DOOR or BAR THE DOOR or SHUT THE DOOR, DARKEN ONE S DOOR, or DARKEN THE DOOR, FOOT IN THE DOOR, KEEP THE WOLF FROM THE DOOR, LAY AT ONE'S DOOR, LOCK THE BARN DOOR AFTER THE HORSE IS STOLEN, NEXT DOOR, OPEN ITS DOORS, OPEN THE DOOR, SHOW THE DOOR, SLAM THE DOOR IN ONE'S FACE at IN ONE'S FACE.

[do-or-die] <adj.> Strongly decided, very eager and determined. * /With a real do-or-die spirit the team scored two touchdowns in the last five minutes of the game./ * /The other army was larger but our men showed a do-or-die determination and won the battle./

[doorstep] See: AT ONE'S DOOR or AT ONE'S DOOR-STEP.

[do over] <v. phr.> 1. To renovate; redecorate. * /The new owners are going to do over the entire building in the fall./ 2. To repeat. * /Please do that math problem over until you get it right./

[dope out] <v.>, <slang> To think of something that explains. * /The detectives tried to dope out why the man was murdered./ Syn.: FIGURE OUT.

[do proud] See: DO CREDIT.

[do someone out of something] <v.>, <informal> To cause to lose by trickery or cheating. * /The clerk in the store did me out of $2.00 by overcharging me./

[dose of one's own medicine] or [taste of one's own medicine] <n. phr.> Being treated in the same way you treat others; something bad done to you as you have done bad to other people. * /Jim was always playing tricks on other boys. Finally they decided to give him a dose of his own medicine./

[dot] See: ON THE DOT also ON THE BUTTON.

[do tell] <interj.>, <informal> An inelegant expression used to show that you are a little surprised by what you hear. * /"You say George is going to get married after all these years? Do tell!" said Mrs. Green./ Syn.: YOU DON'T SAY.

[do the business] <v. phr.>, <informal> To do what is needed or wanted; get the job done; take proper action. * /The boys had trouble in rolling the stone, but four of them did the business./ * /When the little boy cut his finger a bandage did the business./

[do the honors] <v. phr.> To act as host or hostess (as in introducing guests, carving, or paying other attentions to guests.) * /The president of the club will do the honors at the banquet./

[do the trick] <v. phr.>, <informal> To bring success in doing something; have a desired result. * /Jim was not passing in English, but he studied harder and that did the trick./ * /The car wheels slipped on the ice, so Tom put sand under them, which did the trick./ Compare: TURN THE TRICK.