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[each and every] <adj. phr.> Every. - Used for emphasis. * /The captain wants each and every man to be here at eight o'clock./ * /The teacher must learn the name of each and every pupil./ Syn.: EVERY SINGLE.

[each other] or [one another] <pron.> Each one the other; one the other. * /That man and his wife love each other./ * /Bill and Mary gave one another Christmas presents last year./ * /All the children at the party were looking at one another trying to recognize one another in their masks and costumes./ * /The birds fought each other over the bread./

[eager beaver] <n. phr.>, <slang> A person who is always eager to work or do anything extra, perhaps to win the favor of his leader or boss. * /Jack likes his teacher and works hard for her, but his classmates call him an eager beaver./ * /The man who was promoted to be manager was an eager beaver who got to work early and left late and was always offering to do extra work./

[eagle eye] <n.> Sharp vision like that of an eagle; the ability to notice even the tiniest details. * /The new boss keeps an eagle eye on all aspects of our operation./

[ear] See: ABOUT ONE'S EARS or AROUND ONE'S EARS, BELIEVE ONE'S EARS, DRY BEHIND THE EARS, FLEA IN ONE'S EAR, GIVE AN EAR TO or LEND AN EAR TO, GO IN ONE EAR AND OUT THE OTHER, JUG-EARED, LITTLE PITCHERS HAVE BIG EARS, MUSIC TO ONE'S EARS, PIN ONE'S EARS BACK, PLAY BY EAR, PRICK UP ONE'S EARS, ROASTING EAR, TURN A DEAF EAR, UP TO THE CHIN IN or UP TO THE EARS IN, WET BEHIND THE EARS.

[early] See: BRIGHT AND EARLY.

[early bird] <n> An early riser from bed. * /Jane and Tom are real early birds; they get up at 6 A.M. every morning./

[early bird catches the worm] or [early bird gets the worm] A person who gets up early in the morning has the best chance of succeeding; if you arrive early or are quicker, you get ahead of others. - A proverb. * /When Billy's father woke him up for school he said, "The early bird catches the worm."/ * /Charles began looking for a summer job in January; he knows that the early bird gets the worm./ Compare: FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED.

[earn one's keep] <v. phr.> To merit one's salary or keep by performing the labor or chores that are expected of one. * /John earned his keep at the music conservatory by dusting off all the musical instruments every day./

[earnest] See: IN EARNEST.

[ears burn] <informal> To feel embarrassment or shame at hearing others talk about you. * /Joan overheard the girls criticizing her and it made her ears burn./ * /Joe's ears burned when he heard his classmates praising him to each other./

[earth] See: COME BACK TO EARTH or COME DOWN TO EARTH, DOWN-TO-EARTH, IN THE WORLD or ON EARTH, MOVE HEAVEN AND EARTH.

[ear to the ground] <n. phr.>, <informal> Attention directed to the way things are going, or seem likely to go, or to the way people feel and think. * /The city manager kept an ear to the ground for a while before deciding to raise the city employees' pay./ * /Reporters keep an ear to the ground so as to know as soon as possible what will happen./

[ease] See: AT EASE or AT ONE'S EASE, ILL AT EASE.

[ease off] or [ease up] <v.> To make or become less nervous; relax; work easier. * /When the boss realized that John had been overworking, he eased off his load./ * /With success and prosperity, Mr. Smith was able to ease off./ Compare: LET UP(3).

[easily] See: BREATHE EASILY or BREATHE FREELY.

[east] See: DOWN EAST.

[easy] See: FREE AND EASY, GET OFF EASY, ON EASY STREET, TAKE IT EASY or GO EASY or TAKE THINGS EASY.

[easygoing] <adj.> Amiable in manner; relaxed; not excited. * /Because Al has an easygoing personality, everybody loves him./

[easy as pie] See: PIECE OF CAKE.

[easy come, easy go] <truncated sent.>, <informal> Something you get quickly and easily may be lost or spent just as easily. * /Grandfather thought Billy should have to work for the money Father gave him, saying "Easy come, easy go."/

[easy does it] <informal> Let's do it carefully, without sudden movements and without forcing too hard or too fast; let's try to just hard enough but not too hard. * /"Easy does it," said the boss as they moved the piano through the narrow doorway./ Compare: TAKE IT EASY.

[easy mark] <n.> A foolishly generous person; one from whom it is easy to get money. * /Bill is known to all the neighborhood beggars as an easy mark./ See: SOFT TOUCH.

[easy money] <n.>, <informal> Money gained without hard work; money that requires little or no effort. * /The movie rights to a successful play mean easy money to the writer of the play./ * /Young people who look for easy money are usually disappointed./

[eat] See: DOG-EAT-DOG, LIVE HIGH OFF THE HOG or EAT HIGH ON THE HOG, LOOK LIKE THE CAT THAT ATE THE CANARY.

[eat away] <v.> 1. To rot, rust, or destroy. * /Rust was eating away the pipe./ * /Cancer ate away the healthy flesh./ See: EAT OUT(2). 2. To gradually consume. * /The ocean waves were gradually eating the volcanic rocks until they turned into black sand./

[eat away at] <v. phr.> To psychologically gnaw at; to worry someone. * /Fear of the comprehensive examination was eating away at Sam./

[eat crow] <v. phr.> To admit you are mistaken or defeated; take back a mistaken statement. * /John had boasted that he would play on the first team; but when the coach did not choose him, he had to eat crow./ * /Fred said he could beat the new man in boxing, but he lost and had to eat crow./ Compare: BACK DOWN, EAT HUMBLE PIE, EAT ONE'S WORDS.

[eat dirt] <v. phr.>, <informal> To act humble; accept another's insult or bad treatment. * /Mr. Johnson was so much afraid of losing his job that he would eat dirt whenever the boss got mean./

[eat (live) high on the hog] or [eat (live) high off the hog] <v. phr.> To eat or live well or elegantly. * /For the first few days after the check arrived, they ate high on the hog./ Compare: IN CLOVER or IN THE CLOVER, ON EASY STREET.

[eat humble pie] <v. phr.> To be humbled; to accept insult or shame; admit your error and apologize. * /Tow told a lie about George, and when he was found out, he had to eat humble pie./ * /In some old stories a boy with a stepfather has to eat humble pie./

[eating one] <v. phr.> To cause someone to be angry or ill-humored. * /We can't figure out what's eating Burt, but he hasn't spoken one pleasant word all day./

[eat like a bird] <v. phr.> To eat very little; have little appetite. * /Mrs. Benson is on a diet and she eats like a bird./ * /Alice's mother is worried about her; she eats like a bird and is very thin./ Contrast: EAT LIKE A HORSE.

[eat like a horse] <v. phr.> To eat a lot; eat hungrily. * /The harvesters worked into the evening, and then came in and ate like horses./ Contrast: EAT LIKE A BIRD.

[eat one out of house and home] <v. phr.> 1. To eat so much as to cause economic hardship. * /Our teenaged sons are so hungry all the time that they may soon eat us out of house and home./ 2. To overstay one's welcome. * /We love Bob and Jane very much, but after two weeks we started to feel that they were eating us out of house and home./

[eat one's cake and have it too] <v. phr.> To use or spend something and still keep it; have both when you must choose one of two things. Often used in negative sentences. * /Roger can't make up his mind whether to go to college or get a job. You can't eat your cake and have it too./ * /Mary wants to buy a beautiful dress she saw at the store, but she also wants to save her birthday money for camp. She wants to eat her cake and have it too./

[eat one's heart out] <v. phr.> To grieve long and hopelessly; to become thin and weak from sorrow. * /For months after her husband's death, Joanne simply ate her heart out./ * /We sometimes hear of a dog eating its heart out for a dead owner./

[eat one's words] also [swallow one's words] <v. phr.> To take back something you have said; admit something is not true. * /John had called Harry a coward, but the boys made him eat his words after Harry bravely fought a big bully./ Compare: EAT CROW.

[eat out] <v.> 1. To eat in a restaurant; eat away from home. * /Fred ate out often even when he wasn't out of town./ 2. To rust, rot, or be destroyed in time. * /Rust had eaten out the gun barrel./ See: EAT AWAY.

[eat out of one's hand] <v. phr.>, <informal> To trust someone fully; believe or obey someone without question. * /The governor has the reporters eating out of his hand./ * /Helen is so pretty and popular that all the boys eat out of her hand./

[eat up] <v.> 1. To eat all of. * /After hiking all afternoon, they quickly ate up all of the dinner./ 2. To use all of. * /Idle talk had eaten up the hour before they knew it./ 3. <slang> To accept eagerly; welcome. * /The girls told John he was a hero because he made the winning touchdown, and he ate up their praise./ * /Jim told Martha that she was as smart as she was beautiful and Martha ate it up./

[edge] See: HAVE AN EDGE ON, ON EDGE, SET ONE'S TEETH ON EDGE, TAKE THE EDGE OFF, THE EDGE.

[edge away] <v. phr.> To withdraw or retreat gradually. * /Frightened by the growling tiger guarding its catch, the hunter carefully edged away./

[edge in] <v.> To move slowly; get in quietly, especially with some difficulty, by force or without a big enough opening. * /People had crowded around the senator, but Don succeeded in edging in./ * /Harry edged the book in on the shelf./

[edge in (on)] <v. phr.> 1. To gradually approach an individual or a group with the intent of taking over or wielding power. * /Jack was edging in on the firm of Smith and Brown and after half a year actually became its vice president./ 2. To approach for capture (said of a group). * /The hunters were edging in on the wounded leopard./

[edge on] <adv. phr.> Edgewise; with the narrow side forward. * /The board struck him edge on./

[edge out] <v.> To defeat in competition or rivalry; take the place of; force out. * /Harry edged out Tom for a place in Mary's affections./ * /Signal lights on cars have gradually edged out hand signals./

[edgeways] See: GET A WORD IN or GET A WORD IN EDGEWISE, also GET A WORD IN EDGEWAYS.

[edgewise] See: GET A WORD IN or GET A WORD IN EDGEWAYS.

[education] See: HIGHER EDUCATION.

[effect] See: IN EFFECT, INTO EFFECT, SOUND EFFECTS, TAKE EFFECT, TO THAT EFFECT, TO THE EFFECT THAT,

[effigy] See: HANG IN EFFIGY or BURN IN EFFIGY.

[egg] See: BAD EGG, GOOD EGG, KILL THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGG, LAY AN EGG, PUT ALL ONE'S EGGS IN ONE BASKET, ROTTEN EGG.

[egg on] <v.> To urge on; excite; lead to action. * /Joe's wife egged him on to spend money to show off./ * /The big boys egged on the two little boys to fight./ Compare: PUT UP(6).

[either a feast or a famine] See: FEAST OR A FAMINE.

[either hide or hair] See: HIDE OR HAIR.

[eke out] <v.> 1. To fill out or add a little to; increase a little. * /Mr. Jones eked out a country teacher's small salary by hunting and trapping in the winter./ * /The modest meal was eked out with bread and milk./ 2. To get (little) by hard work; to earn with difficulty. * /Fred eked out a bare living by farming on a rocky hillside./

[elbow] See: AT ONE'S ELBOW, ELBOW ROOM, RUB ELBOWS, UP TO THE CHIN IN or UP TO THE ELBOWS IN.

[elbow grease] <n.> Exertion; effort; energy. * /"You'll have to use a little more elbow grease to get these windows clean," Mother said to Ed./

[elbow one's way into] or [out of] <v. phr.> To force entry into a place by using one's elbows. * /The bus was so crowded that, in order to get off in time, we had to elbow our way to the exit door./

[elbow room] <n.> Adequate space to move around or to work in. * /He doesn't require a huge office, but we must at least give him elbow room./

[element] See: IN ONE'S ELEMENT, OUT OF ONE'S ELEMENT.

[eleventh hour] <adj. phr.> Pertaining to the last minutes; the last opportunity to accomplish a task. * /The editors made several eleventh hour changes in the headlines of the morning paper./

[else] See: SOMETHING ELSE AGAIN.

[emcee] See: MASTER OF CEREMONIES.

[end] See: AT LOOSE ENDS, AT ONE'S WITS' END, BURN THE CANDLE AT BOTH ENDS, GO OFF THE DEEP END, HAIR STAND ON END, HOLD ONE'S END UP or HOLD UP ONE'S END or KEEP ONE'S END UP or KEEP UP ONE'S END, LIVING END, LOOSE ENDS, MAKE AN END OF, MAKE ENDS MEET, NO END, NO END TO or NO END OF, ON END, PUT AN END OF, REAR END, SHORT END, SPLIT END, TAG END or TAIL END, TIGHT END, TO THE BITTER END, WORLD WITHOUT END.

[end for end] <adv. phr.> In a reversed or opposite position (as upside down or backwards); the other way around; over. * /The box turned end for end as it fell, and everything spilled out./ * /The wind caught the canoe and turned it end for end./

[end in itself] <n. phr.> Something wanted for its own sake; a purpose, aim, or goal we want for itself alone and not as a way to something else. * /The miser never spent his gold because for him it was an end in itself./

[end of one's rope] or [end of one's tether] <n. phr.>, <informal> The end of your trying or imagining; the last of your ability, or ideas of how to do more. * /Frank was out of work and broke, and he was at the end of his rope./ * /The doctor saw that Mother had reached the end of her tether, and told us to send her away for a holiday./ Compare: AT ONE'S WIT'S END, FED UP, UP AGAINST IT, UP A TREE.

[end of the road] or [end of the line] <n. phr.> The final result or end (as of a way of action or behavior); the condition that comes when you can do no more. * /He had left a trail of forgery and dishonesty across seven states; he had got out of each trouble with a new trick. Now the police had caught up with him, and it was the end of the road./ * /"When I get to the end of the line," Jones thought, "I'd like my children to like and respect me still."/

[end run] <n.> A football play in which a back tries to run around one end of the opponent's line. * /Smith's end run scored the winning touchdown./

[end up] <v.> 1. To come to an end; be ended or finished; stop. * /How does the story end up?/ 2. To finally reach or arrive; land. * /I hope you don't end up in jail./ 3. <informal> To die, be killed. * /The gangster ended up in the electric chair./ 4. or [finish up]. To put an end to; finish; stop. * /The politician finally ended up his speech./ Syn.: WIND UP.

[end zone] <n.> Either of the marked areas behind the goal line. * /He caught a pass in the end zone for a touchdown./

[engage in small talk] <v. phr.> To converse with a stranger or casual acquaintance about matters of no great importance in order to make the time go faster. * /The patients in the doctor's waiting room engaged in small talk complaining about the hot weather./

[English] See: BODY ENGLISH.

[enjoy oneself] <v. phr.> To have a good time; be happy; feel pleasure. * /Mary enjoyed herself at the party./ * /"Enjoy yourselves, children," Mother urged the guests at our party./