English words and phrases

carry too much sail, sail too near the wind, ride at single anchor, go out of one's depth.

take a leap in the dark, buy a pig in a poke.

donner tete baissee [Fr.]; knock, one's bead against a wall &c (be unskillful) 699; rush on destruction; kick against the pricks, tempt Providence, go on a forlorn hope, go on a fool's errand.

reckon one's chickens before they are hatched, count one's chickens before they are hatched, reckon without one's host; catch at straws; trust to a broken reed, lean on a broken reed.

Adj. rash, incautious, indiscreet; imprudent, improvident, temerarious; uncalculating^†; heedless; careless &c (neglectful) 460; without ballast, heels over head, head over heels; giddy &c (inattentive) 458; wanton, reckless, wild, madcap; desperate, devil-may-care.

hot-blooded, hotheaded, hotbrained^†; headlong, headstrong; breakneck; foolhardy; harebrained; precipitate, impulsive.

overconfident, overweening; venturesome, venturous; adventurous, Quixotic, fire eating, cavalier; janty^†, jaunty, free and easy.

off one's guard &c (inexpectant) 508 [Obs.].

foresight &c 510; vigilance &c 459; warning &c 668.

coolness &c adj.; self-possession, self-command; presence of mind, sang froid [Fr.]; well-regulated mind; worldly wisdom, Fabian policy.

V. be cautious &c adj.; take care, take heed, take good care; have a care mind, what one is about; be on one's guard &c (keep watch) 459; make assurance doubly sure [Macbeth].

bespeak &c (be early) 132.

think twice, look before one leaps, count the cost, look to the main chance, cut one's coat according to one's cloth; feel one's ground, feel one's way; see how the land lies &c (foresight) 510; wait to see how the cat jumps; bridle one's tongue; reculer pour mieux sauter &c (prepare) 673 [Fr.]; let well alone, let well enough alone; let sleeping dogs lie, ne pas reveiller le chat qui dort [Fr.], don't wake a sleeping cat.

keep out of harm's way, keep out of troubled waters; keep at a respectful distance, stand aloof; keep on the safe side, be on the safe side.

husband one's resources &c 636.

caution &c (warn) 668.

careful, heedful; cautelous^†, stealthy, chary, shy of, circumspect, prudent, discreet, politic; sure-footed &c (skillful) 698.

unenterprising, unadventurous, cool, steady, self-possessed; overcautious.

Adv. cautiously &c adj..

Int. have a care!,

Phr. timeo Danaos [Lat.] [Vergil]; festina lente [Lat.].

ante victoriam ne canas triumphum [Lat.], don't sing out victory before the triumph; give, every man thine ear but few thy voice [Hamlet]; he who laughs last laughs best, il rit bien qui rit le dernier [Fr.]; ni firmes carta que no leas ni bebas agua que no veas [Sp.]; nescit vox missa reverti [Lat.] [Horace]; love all, trust a few [All's Well]; noli irritare leones [Lat.]; safe bind safe find; if it ain't broke, don't fix it [Bert Lance].

mind, inclination, leaning, bent, animus, partiality, penchant, predilection; propensity &c 820; willingness &c 602; liking, love, fondness, relish.

longing, hankering, inkling; solicitude, anxiety; yearning, coveting; aspiration, ambition, vaulting ambition; eagerness, zeal, ardor, empressement [Fr.], breathless impatience, overanxiety; impetuosity, &c 825.

appetite, appetition^†, appetence^†, appetency^†; sharp appetite, keenness, hunger, stomach, twist; thirst, thirstiness; drouth, mouthwatering; itch, itching; prurience, cacoethes [Lat.], cupidity, lust, concupiscence.

edge of appetite, edge of hunger; torment of Tantalus; sweet tooth, lickerish tooth^†; itching palm; longing eye, wistful eye, sheep's eye.

[excessive desire for money] greed &c 817.1.

voracity &c (gluttony) 957.

passion, rage, furore^†, mania, manie^†; inextinguishable desire; dipsomania, kleptomania.

[Person who desires] lover, amateur, votary, devotee, aspirant, solicitant, candidate, applicant, supplicant; cormorant &c 957.

[Object of desire] desideratum; want &c (requirement) 630; a consummation devoutly to be wished; attraction, magnet, allurement, fancy, temptation, seduction, fascination, prestige, height of one's ambition, idol; whim, whimsy, whimsey^†; maggot; hobby, hobby-horse.

Fortunatus's cap; wishing cap, wishing stone, wishing well.

care for, affect, like, list; take to, cling to, take a fancy to; fancy; prefer &c (choose) 609.

have an eye, have a mind to; find it in one's heart &c (be willing) 602; have a fancy for, set one's eyes upon; cast a sheep's eye upon, look sweet upon; take into one's head, have at heart, be bent upon; set one's cap at, set one's heart upon, set one's mind upon; covet.

want, miss, need, feel the want of, would fain have, would fain do; would be glad of.

be hungry &c adj.; have a good appetite, play a good knife and fork; hunger after, thirst after, crave after, lust after, itch after, hanker after, run mad after; raven for, die for; burn to.

desiderate^†; sigh for, cry for, gape for, gasp for, pine for, pant for, languish for, yearn for, long, be on thorns for, hope for; aspire after; catch at, grasp at, jump at.

woo, court, solicit; fish for, spell for, whistle for, put up for; ogle.

cause desire, create desire, raise desire, excite desire, provoke desire; whet the appetite; appetize^†, titillate, allure, attract, take one's fancy, tempt; hold out temptation, hold out allurement; tantalize, make one's mouth water, faire venir l'eau a la bouche [Fr.].

gratify desire &c (give pleasure) 829.

Adj. desirous; desiring &c v.; inclined &c (willing) 602; partial to; fain, wishful, optative^†; anxious, wistful, curious; at a loss for, sedulous, solicitous.

craving, hungry, sharp-set, peckish^†, ravening, with an empty stomach, esurient^†, lickerish^†, thirsty, athirst, parched with thirst, pinched with hunger, famished, dry, drouthy^†; hungry as a hunter, hungry as a hawk, hungry as a horse, hungry as a church mouse, hungry as a bear.

unsatisfied, unsated, unslaked; unsaturated.

eager, avid, keen; burning, fervent, ardent; agog; all agog; breathless; impatient &c (impetuous) 825; bent on, intent on, set on, bent upon, intent upon, set upon; mad after, enrage, rabid, dying for, devoured by desire.

aspiring, ambitious, vaulting, skyaspiring, high-reaching.

desirable; desired &c v.; in demand; pleasing &c (giving pleasure) 829; appetizing, appetible^†; tantalizing.

Adv. wistfully &c adj.; fain.

Int. would that, would that it were!, O for!, esto perpetual [Lat.]

Phr. the wish being father to the thought; sua cuique voluptas [Lat.]; hoc erat in votis [Lat.], the mouth watering, the fingers itching; aut Caesar aut nullus [Lat.].

Cassius has a lean and hungry look [Julius Caesar]; hungry as the grave [Thomson]; I was born to other things [Tennyson]; not what we wish but what we want [Merrick]; such joy ambition finds [Paradise Lost]; the sea hath bounds but deep desire hath none [Venus and Adonis]; ubi mel ibi apes [Lat.].

anaphrodisiac^†, antaphrodisiac^†; lust-quencher, passion-queller^†.

set at naught &c (make light of) 483; spurn &c (disdain) 930.

unattractive, unalluring, undesired, undesirable, uncared for, unwished^†, unvalued, all one to.

insipid &c 391; vain.

Adv. for aught one cares.

Int. never mind; Who cares? whatever you like, whatever.

Phr. I couldn't care less, I could care less; anything will do; es macht nichts [G.].
867. Dislike -- N. dislike, distaste, disrelish, disinclination, displacency^†.

reluctance; backwardness &c (unwillingness) 603.

repugnance, disgust, queasiness, turn, nausea, loathing; averseness^†, aversation^†, aversion; abomination, antipathy, abhorrence, horror; mortal antipathy, rooted antipathy, mortal horror, rooted horror; hatred, detestation; hate &c 898; animosity &c 900; hydrophobia; canine madness; byssa^†, xenophobia.

sickener^†; gall and wormwood &c (unsavory) 395; shuddering, cold sweat.

shun, avoid &c 623; eschew; withdraw from, shrink from, recoil from; not be able to bear, not be able to abide, not be able to endure; shrug the shoulders at, shudder at, turn up the nose at, look askance at; make a mouth, make a wry face, make a grimace; make faces.

loathe, nauseate, abominate, detest, abhor; hate &c 898; take amiss &c 900; have enough of &c (be satiated) 869.

wish away, unwish cause dislike, excite dislike; disincline, repel, sicken; make sick, render sick; turn one's stomach, nauseate, wamble^†, disgust, shock, stink in the nostrils; go against the grain, go against the stomach; stick in the throat; make one's blood run cold &c (give pain) 830; pall.

disliked &c v.; uncared for, unpopular; out of favor; repulsive, repugnant, repellant; abhorrent, insufferable, fulsome, nauseous; loathsome, loathful^†; offensive; disgusting &c v.; disagreeable c.

epicure, gourmet.

mince the matter; turn up one's nose at &c (disdain) 930; look a gift horse in the mouth, see spots on the sun.

spoiled child; enfant gete [Fr.], enfant terrible [Fr.]; too much of a good thing, toujours perdrix [Fr.]; crambe repetita [Lat.].

have enough of, have quite enough of, have one's fill, have too much of; be satiated &c adj..

note of admiration; thaumaturgy &c (sorcery) 992 [Obs.].

not be able to account for &c (unintelligible) 519; not know whether one stands on one's head or one's heels.

surprise, astonish, amaze, astound; dumfound, dumfounder; startle, dazzle; daze; strike, strike with wonder, strike with awe; electrify; stun, stupefy, petrify, confound, bewilder, flabbergast, stagger, throw on one's beam ends, fascinate, turn the head, take away one's breath, strike dumb; make one's hair stand on end, make one's tongue cleave to the roof of one's mouth; make one stare.

take by surprise &c (be unexpected) 508.

be wonderful &c adj.; beggar description, beggar the imagination, baffle description; stagger belief.

Adj. surprised &c v.; aghast, all agog, breathless, agape; open-mouthed; awestruck, thunderstruck, moonstruck, planet-struck; spellbound; lost in amazement, lost in wonder, lost in astonishment; struck all of a heap, unable to believe one's senses, like a duck ion thunder.

wonderful, wondrous; surprising &c v.; unexpected &c 508; unheard of; mysterious &c (inexplicable) 519; miraculous.

indescribable, inexpressible, inaffable^†; unutterable, unspeakable.

monstrous, prodigious, stupendous, marvelous; inconceivable, incredible; inimaginable^†, unimaginable; strange &c (uncommon) 83; passing strange.

striking &c v.; overwhelming; wonder-working.

Adv. wonderfully, &c adj.; fearfully; for a wonder, in the name of wonder; strange to say; mirabile dictu [Lat.], mirabile visu [Lat.]; to one's great surprise.

with wonder &c n., with gaping mouth; with open eyes, with upturned eyes.

No kidding? what do you say to that!, nous verrons! [Fr.], how now!, where am I?

example, instance (conformity) 82.

normality (habit) 613.

nine days' wonder.

common, ordinary, normal, typical, usual &c (habitual) 613.

Elmo's fire, St.

Elmo's light; portent &c 512.

bursting of a shell, bursting of a bomb; volcanic eruption, peal of thunder; thunder-clap, thunder-bolt.

what no words can paint; wonders of the world; annus mirabilis [Lat.]; dignus vindice nodus [Lat.].

Phr. natura il fece e poi roppe la stampa [It].
5. EXTRINSIC AFFECTIONS
873. Repute -- N. distinction, mark, name, figure; repute, reputation; good repute, high repute; note, notability, notoriety, eclat, the bubble reputation [As You Like It], vogue, celebrity; fame, famousness; renown; popularity, aura popularis [Lat.]; approbation &c 931; credit, succes d'estime [Fr.], prestige, talk of the town; name to conjure with.

glory, honor; luster &c (light) 420; illustriousness &c adj.. account, regard, respect; reputableness &c adj.^†; respectability &c (probity) 939; good name, good report; fair name.

dignity; stateliness &c adj.; solemnity, grandeur, splendor, nobility, majesty, sublimity.

rank, standing, brevet rank, precedence, pas, station, place, status; position, position in society; order, degree, baccalaureate, locus standi [Lat.], caste, condition.

greatness &c adj.; eminence; height &c 206; importance &c 642; preeminence, supereminence; high mightiness, primacy; top of the ladder, top of the tree.

elevation; ascent &c 305; superaltation^†, exaltation; dignification^†, aggrandizement.

dedication, consecration, enthronement, canonization, celebration, enshrinement, glorification.

hero, man of mark, great card, celebrity, worthy, lion, rara avis [Lat.], notability, somebody; classman^†; man of rank &c (nobleman) 875; pillar of the state, pillar of the church, pillar of the community.

chief &c (master) 745; first fiddle &c (proficient) 700; cynosure, mirror; flower, pink, pearl; paragon &c (perfection) 650; choice and master spirits of the age; elite; star, sun, constellation, galaxy.

ornament, honor, feather in one's cap, halo, aureole, nimbus; halo of glory, blaze of glory, blushing honors; laurels &c (trophy) 733.

memory, posthumous fame, niche in the temple of fame; immortality, immortal name; magni nominis umbra [Lat.] [Lucan].

V. be conscious of glory; be proud of &c (pride) 878; exult &c (boast) 884; be vain of &c (vanity) 880.

be distinguished &c adj.; shine &c (light) 420; shine forth, figure; cut a figure, make a dash, make a splash.

rival, surpass; outshine, outrival, outvie^†, outjump; emulate, eclipse; throw into the shade, cast into the shade; overshadow.

live, flourish, glitter, flaunt, gain honor, acquire honor &c n.; play first fiddle &c (be of importance) 642, bear the palm, bear the bell; lead the way; take precedence, take the wall of; gain laurels, win laurels, gain spurs, gain golden opinions &c (approbation) 931; take one's degree, pass one's examination.

make a noise, make some noise, make a noise in the world; leave one's mark, exalt one's horn, blow one's horn, star it, have a run, be run after; come into vogue, come to the front; raise one's head.

enthrone, signalize, immortalize, deify, exalt to the skies; hand one's name down to posterity.

consecrate; dedicate to, devote to; enshrine, inscribe, blazon, lionize, blow the trumpet, crown with laurel.

confer honor on, reflect honor on &c v.; shed a luster on; redound.to one's honor, ennoble.

give honor to, do honor to, pay honor to, render honor to; honor, accredit, pay regard to, dignify, glorify; sing praises to &c (approve) 931; lock up to; exalt, aggrandize, elevate, nobilitate [Lat.].

Adj. distinguished, distingue [Fr.], noted; of note &c n.; honored &c v.; popular; fashionable &c 852.

in good odor in; favor, in high favor; reputable, respectable, creditable.

remarkable &c (important) 642; notable, notorious; celebrated, renowned, ion every one's mouth, talked of; famous, famed; far-famed; conspicuous, to the front; foremost; in the front rank, in the ascendant.

imperishable, deathless, immortal, never fading, aere perennius [Lat.]; time honored.

illustrious, glorious, splendid, brilliant, radiant; bright &c 420; full-blown; honorific.

eminent, prominent; high &c 206; in the zenith; at the head of, at the top of the tree; peerless, of the first water.; superior &c 33; supereminent, preeminent.

great, dignified, proud, noble, honorable, worshipful, lordly, grand, stately, august, princely.

imposing, solemn, transcendent, majestic, sacred, sublime, heaven-born, heroic, sans peur et sans reproche [Fr.]; sacrosanct.

above all Greek above all Roman fame [Pope]; cineri gloria sera est [Lat.] [Martial]; great is the glory for the strife is hard [Wordsworth]; honor virtutis praemium [Lat.] [Cicero]; immensum gloria calcar habet [Ovid]; the glory dies not and the grief is past [Brydges]; vivit post funera virtus [Lat.].