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THE NOUN
The noun is a notional word which refers to people, things, ideas, feelings, qualities, etc.:
daughter, newspaper, religion, happiness, courage.
MORPHOLOGICAL COMPOSITION
• simple nouns — cat, desk, floor, grass, toy
• derived nouns
— abstract nouns —peerage, arrival expectancy, complacency, freedom, likelihood, meeting,
election, witticism, government, warm-heartedness, scholarship, width, certainty, expiry
— concrete nouns — servant, student, librarian, trainee, dancer, lioness,, kitchenette,
technician, Buddhist, piglet., inventor:
• compound nouns — airport [N +N], bluebird [Adj + N], showcase [V + N], living room [Ger
+ N], parents-in-law [N + prep. + N], stand-by (substantivized phrase), do-it-yourself
(substantivized phrase)
SEMANTIC CHARACTERISTICS
Semantically all nouns can be divided into two main groups — proper nouns and
common nouns.
A proper noun is used for a particular person, place, thing or idea which is, or is
imagined to be, unique. It is generally spelt with a capital letter. Sometimes proper names
can be converted into common nouns:
Shakespeare (author)
a Shakespeare (an author like S. or a copy of his work)
Shakespeares (authors like S. or copies of his works)
Common nouns are subdivided into count nouns and uncount nouns. Count nouns
denote objects that can be counted: they may be either concrete (table, tree) or abstract
(idea, question). Uncount nouns are names of objects that cannot be counted. They may
be material (silver, milk) or abstract (love, friendship). Many nouns which are generally
uncountable can also be countable in certain contexts:
Education should be free. / She received a very good education.
Cheese is rich in cholesterol. / She prefers French cheeses.
The wall is made of stone. / Don't throw stones into the water.
I like ice-cream and coffee. / We ordered two ice-creams and a coffee.
The storm caused considerable damage to the crops. / The court awarded the victim
$5000 in damages.
He's in hospital suffering from shock. / Her death was a great shock to us all.

proper nouns concrete

noun count abstract
common nouns material
uncount abstract

There are a number of nouns in English which refer to a set of objects collected together.
These nouns are called collective nouns. They include group nouns, nouns of multitude
and mass nouns.
Group nouns, which are countable nouns, refer to groups of individuals: army, crew,
crowd, enemy, family, firm, flock, government, group, herd, jury, majority, minority,
nation, public, team, etc. Group nouns also include proper names, such as the name of a
country denoting a national team (England) or the name of a business company (ICI). In
American English, a singular group noun normally takes a singular verb. In British
English, however, a singular group noun may be treated as either singular or plural,
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depending on the point of view of the writer: when the group is considered as a whole,
the singular is preferred; when it is viewed as consisting of individuals, the plural is
preferred.
The jury has not yet reached a verdict.
The jury have not yet reached a verdict.
Pronouns should be consistent in number with the noun.
The committee is discussing whether it, should open its sessions to the public.
The committee are discussing whether they should open their sessions to the public.
The choice between a singular and plural verb is also associated with the choice between
the relative pronouns who and which:
...a family who are...
...a family which is...
Note that the words bacteria, data, and media are now often used as collective nouns
with either a singular or plural verb and no change in form.
The media have/has a lot of money today.
Nouns of multitude are used as plurals but have no plural ending: people (normal plural
of person), police, clergy, gentry, cattle, poultry, livestock, vermin.
Folk is often used as a plural (as in the country folk);
folks — AmE.
Some old folk have peculiar tastes.
Cattle combines with numerals (a group of 36 cattle). Countable reference can also be
achieved by the use of a collective noun (a herd of cattle), or by using a corresponding
singular noun (a cow/bull/bullock).
People combines with quantifiers with plural reference (many people, ten people).
However, people can also be treated as a regular countable noun in the sense of nation,
tribe, race.
Police can also combine with numerals (50 police), although policemen and police
officers are the preferred choices in this case. Extra police were rushed to the scene of the
trouble.
Mass nouns fall into two groups: those which are always used in the singular and those
which are always used in the plural. The singular mass nouns denote the 'substance'
which is divisible into separate things: furniture consists of pieces of furniture, grass
consists of separate blades of grass, hair of separate strands of hair (or hairs), wheat of
separate grains of wheat. But psychologically we think of such things as indivisible when
we use a mass noun.
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
Here are some more singular mass nouns denoting 'substances' which are divisible into
separate things:
clothing (sweaters, pants, dresses)
food (vegetables, meat, spaghetti)
fruit (cherries, apples, grapes)
furniture (chairs, tables, beds)
homework (compositions, exercises, reading)
jewelry (necklaces, bracelets, rings)
mail (letters, postcards, packages)
make-up (lipstick, rouge, eye shadow)
money (nickels, dimes, dollars)
The plural mass nouns are marked by the plural ending -s: archives, belongings, clothes,
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earnings, goods.
What are your take-home earnings after tax and deductions?

countable group nouns (sg or pl)

Collective nouns
uncountable mass nouns (sg or pl)
nouns of multitude (pl)

MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
English nouns have the grammatical categories of number and case. Gender is a less
important category in English than in many other languages, and it does not find regular
morphological expression. The distinction of male, female and neuter may correspond to
the lexical meaning of the noun (morphologically unmarked gender):
masculine : boy, brother, father
feminine: girl, sister, mother
neuter: sand, water, towel
Sometimes gender may be expressed by word-formation (morphologically marked
gender):
• feminine suffixes: —ess (lioness, actress), —ette (reporterette), ~ine (heroine).
But in the interests of political correctness, you had better not use these suffixes with
reference to people.
• compounds of different patterns: a boy-friend / a girlfriend, a he-wolf / a she-wolf.
Some people now do not use words beginning with or ending in man, in order to avoid
appearing to refer specially to a man (political correctness): mankind — humankind a
postman — a postperson or a postal worker
Notes:
1) Actor is standard in the theatre for both sexes and authoress, poetess are old-
fashioned.
2) Heads of departments in business are managers whatever their sex.
3) Where it is necessary to identify sex, it is often preferable to refer to a woman
director, woman doctor. When such forms are used, refer in the same text to men doctors,
etc. to avoid any suggestion that a man in those occupations is normal.
Gender is not a simple reflection of reality; rather it is to some extent a matter of
convention and speaker choice. In a number of cases, the speaker can choose between
personal he, she or non-personal it. Personal reference expresses greater familiarity or
involvement. Non-personal reference is more detached. If we think of an animal (for
example, a pet) as a person or if we need to distinguish its sex, we may say he or she
instead of it. And if we think of an inanimate thing in personal terms (for example, a car,
a ship, or a country), we generally use she instead of it, though people sometimes refer to
a computer as he and some women use he for their car. On the other hand, we can use it
for a baby, though it is more polite in the presence of the parents, to refer to the baby as
he or she.
NUMBER
Number is the form of the noun which shows whether one or more than one object is
meant. Some nouns in English may have the singular and the plural forms. These nouns
are called variable nouns. Other nouns are used either only in the singular or only in the
plural. They are called invariable nouns.
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VARIABLE NOUNS
variable nouns
regular plurals
irregular plurals
REGULAR PLURALS
Regular plurals: Noun + s / -es The suffix -s is used
• after a vowel: boys, toys
• in proper names: the Kennedys, the Gatsbys
• in compounds: stand-bys, lay-bys
The suffix -es is added to nouns ending in:
• ~ s, ss, sh, ch, x, z (glasses, watches, boxes)
• - о (tomatoes, heroes)
Note: Nouns in ~o have the plural in ~os
a) after a vowel: zoos, radios
b) in proper names: Romeos, Eskimos
c) in abbreviations: photos, kilos
d) in musical terms of Italian origin: pianos, sopranos, concertos
Nouns ending in -y, preceded by a consonant, change ~y into ~ ies: stories, flies.
Notes:
1) The noun penny has two plural forms: pence and pennies. The plural pence is used in British
English to specify the price or value of something. The plural pennies refers to individual coins
both in British English and in American English (where it means cents), and is also used
occasionally as a slightly humorous word for money.
Pies were ten pence off for the staff.
He wants to put some pennies in a machine and hasn't got money.
Too many pennies spent on shuttle (headline).
Pence is outnumbered by far in British English conversation by p.
2) Some nouns which are regular variable nouns in English are invariable plural in Russian: a
gate, a funeral, a watch, a sledge, a race, a vacation.
3) Remember the following set expressions in which the number form of the noun in Russian
differs from that in English:
не жалеть сил — to spare no effort to do ...
это потребует больших усилий — it'll require/cost a lot of effort
у вас нет основания для жалоб — you have no grounds for complaint
не вдавайтесь в детали — don't go into detail/ details/the detail
он объяснил все в деталях — in detail
поразмыслив, ... — on second thoughts
он был погружен в свои мысли — he was deep in thought
he changed his mind — they changed their minds
she risked her life — they risked their lives
Plural of compound nouns
In compounds it is the head-noun stem that takes the plural form. As a rule, it is the second
component: bookcases, sportsmen.
Warning! Such nouns as German, Roman, Norman are not compounds, and therefore have
regular plurals: Germans, Romans.
• In compounds originating from a prepositional noun phrase where the preposition is a linking
element only the first noun takes the plural form: sisters-in-law, editors-in-chief.
• Compounds in which the first component is man or woman have plurals in both first and last
components: menservants, women-drivers.
• In compounds formed by a noun + preposition or an adverb or an adjective only the first
element takes the plural: lookers-on, courts-martial.
• When the compound is a substantivized phrase which does not contain a noun, the last element
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takes the plural ending -s: lay-outs, grown-ups, sit-ins, forget-me-nots.

IRREGULAR PLURALS
• voicing: twelve nouns ending in -f(e) form their plural changing -f(e) into -ve:
wife — wives, life — lives, wolf — wolves, calf — calves, knife — knives, half — halves, self —
selves, shelf — shelves, thief — thieves, leaf — leaves, elf — elves, loaf — loaves.
Other nouns ending in -/ have the plural inflexion -s in the regular way: belief — beliefs, proof —
proofs, etc.
In a few cases both -fs and -ves forms are possible: scarf — scarfs I scarves, handkerchief —
handkerchiefs / handkerchieves.
Note that the painting term still life has a regular plural: still lifes.
• mutation or a change of vowel: man — men, woman — women, goose — geese, mouse —
mice, louse — lice, foot — feet
• -en plural: ox — oxen, child — children, brother — brethren (used as a form of address to
people in church or in speaking of the members of a profession, association or religious group:
dearly beloved brethren)
• zero inflection: some nouns have the same form in both singular and plural:
=> nationality nouns in -ese, -ss : Japanese, Swiss 12
=> quantitative nouns: hundred, thousand, million, dozen, stone — except when unpremodified.
Cf.: two hundred books but hundreds of books
=> nouns in -(e)s: series, species, means
=> animal names: sheep, deer, cod, grouse, salmon
Note that the names of many animals and birds have two forms. However, when you are
referring to them in the context of hunting or when you are saying that there are large numbers of
them, it is quite common to use the form without -s, even though you are referring to several
animals or birds. They hunted gazelle. Note that the plural form of the verb is used when several
animals or birds are the subject of the sentence, even if you use the form without -s: Zebra are a
more difficult prey. Similarly, when you are referring to a large number of trees or plants growing
together, you can use the singular form of their names. When you are referring to- a small
number or to individual trees or plants, you usually use the form with -s. The same rule can be
applied to the noun fish. The plural fishes is relatively uncommon compared with the zero plural.
In cases of variation, the s-plural typically draws attention to the individual specimens, the zero
plural to the animals as a group.
We caught three little fishes.
My dreams are like silvery fish: I grab at their tails, but they wriggle from my grasp.
In fact, all names of animals, birds, trees, and plants can be used in the singular form with plural
meaning. This is a productive feature of English.
• loans: foreign plurals often occur along with regular plurals. They are commoner in technical
usage, whereas the s-plural is more natural in everyday language; thus formulas (general) —
formulae (in mathematics), antennas (general and in electronics) — antennae (in biology).
Some typical number inflections of loan words: if the word the plural number inflection is ends
in
—us ~i: stimulus — stimuli, nucleus — nuclei
—ova: corpus — corpora
—era: opus — opera
—a -ae: vertebra — vertebrae, formula-formulae
—um —a: stratum-strata, millennium-millennia
—is —es: basis — bases
—on —a: phenomenon — phenomena, criterion — criteria
—ex, —ix —ices: appendix — appendices, index-indices
INVARIABLE NOUNS SINGULAR INVARIABLES
• material nouns: sand, water, silver
• abstract nouns: music, homework
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• proper names: the Thames, London

• substantivized adjectives denoting abstract notions: the inevitable, the true
• some nouns ending in -s:
=> some diseases: diabetes, mumps, measles, rabies, rickets, shingles
=> some games: cards, billiards, draughts, darts, skittles
=> news
=> subject names in -ics: aerobics, classics, genetics, linguistics, mathematics, phonetics,
statistics
Note that some of these nouns are occasionally used as plural nouns, especially when you
are talking about a particular person's work or activities.
His politics are clearly right-wing.
=> some proper names: Athens, Brussels, Wales, the United Nations, the United States
Warning! Some nouns which are invariable singular in English are used in the plural
(variable or not) in Russian: advice, applause, chess, cream, debate, fighting, fruit,
evidence, gossip, hair, ink, knowledge, money, progress.
PLURAL INVARIABLES
• words denoting things consisting of two matching parts (summation plurals): braces,
cords, flannels, glasses, jeans, leggings, overalls, opera-glasses, pants, scissors, scales,
shorts, slacks, specs, spectacles, tights, tongs, trousers, trunks, underpants
Note, when you want to refer to a single piece of clothing or a single tool, you can use
some or a pair of in front of the noun. You can refer to more than one item by using a
number or a quantifier with pairs of. When you use a pair of with a noun in the plural
form, the verb is singular if it is in the same clause. If the verb is in a following relative
clause, it is usually plural. You use a plural pronoun after a pair of. Cf.:
I always wear a pair of long pants underneath, or a pair of pyjamas is just as good.
He wore a pair of earphones, which were plugged, into a tape-recorder.
He brought out a pair of dark glasses and handed them to Walker.
• miscellaneous nouns: annals, antics, archives, arms, ashes, customs, earnings, goods,
looks, manners, minutes, outskirts, riches, stairs, surroundings, thanks, the Middle Ages
• some plural proper names: the Netherlands, the Midlands, the Hebrides, the West/East
Indies
• unmarked plural nouns: cattle, police, gentry, clergy
• substantivized adjectives denoting people: the rich, the poor, the old, the young
Warning! The following commonly used invariable plural English nouns are singular in
Russian: clothes, wages, greens, sweepings, opera-glasses. Other nouns are plural in
English though singular in Russian when used collectively: grapes, carrots, beets, etc.
Cf.:
I don't like cooked carrots — He люблю вареную морковь.
Be careful with the noun contents, cf.: the contents of the letter but the silver content of
the coin.
CASE
Case is the form of the noun which shows the relation of the noun to other words in the
sentence. English nouns have a two-case system: the unmarked common case (sister) and
the marked genitive case (sister's).
The genitive case is formed by means of the suffix ~'s or an apostrophe (—') alone. The
simplest rule to remember is: add ~'s to any personal noun unless it is in the form of a
plural ending -s, in which case, just add an apostrophe (—')
In addition to its use with regular plurals, the 'zero' genitive (—') occurs:
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• with Greek names of more than one syllable : Archimedes’ Law, Achilles' heel
• with many other names ending in [z] where, in speech, zero is a variant of the regular
[iz] genitive: Burns' / Burns's poems, Dickens' / Dickens's novels
• with fixed expressions of the form for ... sake: for goodness' sake, for old times' sake.
The spelling without the apostrophe is preferable in for goodness (conscience,
appearance) sake.
Compound nouns have ~ 's added to the final component: my sister-in-law's property,
commander-in-chief s office
Depending on the relations between the head word and its modifier in the genitive case,
we can distinguish the following kinds of genitive:
1) possessive genitive
my son's wife — my son has a wife Mr. Johnson s passport — Mr. Johnson has a passport
2) subjective genitive
the boy's application — the boy applied his parents' consent — his parents consented
3) objective genitive
Caesar's murder — (...) murdered Caesar the boy's release — (...) released the boy
4) genitive of origin
the girl's story — the girl told the story
the general's letter — the general wrote a letter
5) descriptive genitive
a women's college — a college for women a doctor's degree — a doctoral degree
6) genitive of measure
ten days' absence — the absence lasted ten days
Note the difference between a descriptive genitive (also called classifying genitive
because it has a class meaning) and the first four kinds of genitive from the list above
(they are also called specifying genitives because they have specific reference, i.e. they
denote particular individuals):
a) descriptive / classifying genitives respond to the question What kind of ... ? rather than
Whose ... ?, which displays their similarity to adjectives
b) they are frequently paraphrased by a /or-phrase rather than an o/-construction
children's clothes — clothes for children
c) in classifying genitive expressions, articles and other determiners refer to the head-
word or to the whole expression, not just to the first word:
a children's story that women's club
d) classifying genitives form an inseparable combination with the following noun and do
not usually allow an intervening adjective:
new children's clothes not children's new clothes
Contrary to classifying genitives, specifying genitives come before other adjectives in a
noun group:
Sharon Stone's best role
Mother's new dress England's second largest city
e) the unity of classifying genitives and the head noun is also shown by the tendency for
the combination to be single-stressed rather than pronounced as a phrase:
the lion's share a 'doll's house
The genitive case is used:
• with personal names: Mary's house, Peter Brown's car
• with personal nouns: the little girl's doll, the boy's pencil
• with collective nouns: the committee's decision, the government's conviction
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• with the names of higher animals: a cat's tail, a dog's bark

• with geographical names: London's biggest cinema, China's population
• with the names of newspapers and institutional names: The Gardian’s editorial, the
school's history
• with temporal or distance nouns (singular): a day's work, an hour's delay, yesterday's
report, tomorrow's timetable
Note that the genitive is also preferable in similar plural expressions: (a) five hours'
flight, three months' notice. Contrast the hyphenated a four-hour delay and that two-year
course.
• with nouns of special interest to human activity: science's influence, the mind's general
development, the brain's total solid weight
• with some inanimate nouns in set expressions: a stone's throw away, at arm's length, to
one's heart's content, and others. (See the list of expressions at the end of the chapter).
Notes:
1) Differentiate between the following structures containing a proper noun used
prepositively: the Pushkin Museum and Pushkin's tomb. The prepositive proper noun in
the common case denotes the name of the person to whom something is dedicated (the
Royal Shakespeare Theatre), the noun in the genitive case denotes possession
(Shakespeare's birthplace).
2) Don't use ~'s when talking about types of things:
I must buy some cat food (= a type of food that is made for cats,)
But: This is the cat's food (= some food that belongs to one particular cat)
Also: a coffee cup (= a type of cup), a car door, a garden chair, a wine bottle
A specific feature of the English genitive case is the so-called group genitive when ~'s
can be added:
• to a group of two coordinated nouns if such a group refers to a single idea:
Alex and Andy's father ( Alex and Andy are brothers) But: Alex's and Andy's fathers
(Alex and Andy are not brothers)
Contrasts of this kind are, however, not consistently maintained. For example, Andrew
and Horatio's eyes met refers to different pairs of eyes while Cedric's and Jane's house
may refer to a single house. In order to avoid ambiguity it is possible to use an o/-phrase:
Britain and China's war of words can be rephrased by the war of words of Britain and
China.
• to a more extensive noun phrase: The Prime Minister of Great Britain's speech
Note that the group genitive is normally not used with a nominal group when the head is
postmodified by a phrase or relative clause:
The name of the man walking in the street / who arrived yesterday.
A noun in the genitive may be used without a head-word. This is called the independent
or absolute genitive. It is used:
• to avoid repetition: Your coat is more fashionable than Ann's (= Ann's coat).
• to denote places where business is conducted (the hairdresser's, the baker's, the
butcher's) or places of residence: / was at Bill's /at my aunt's (= where Bill / my aunt
lives)
Sometimes ~'s can be combined with an o/-phrase in a construction called the double
genitive: an old friend of my father's.
The noun with the ~ 's inflection must be both definite and personal: A story of Agatha
Christie's or A story of my friend's but not: A story of a writer's or A funnel of the ship's.
There are conditions which also affect the noun preceding the o/-phrase. This cannot be a
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proper noun; thus while we have: Mrs. Brown's Mary we cannot have: Mary of Mrs
Brown's. Further this noun must have indefinite reference: thus it must be seen as one of
an unspecified number of items attributed to the postmodifier: A son of Mr. White's but
not The son of Mr. White's; A novel of Robert Ludlum's but not «The Matlok Paper» of
Robert Ludlum's. The double genitive thus has the meaning one of .... It is also possible to
use demonstratives, which presupposes familiarity: This wife of John's or That doggy of
Jane's.
Note that the definite article cannot be used in these kinds of pattern.
COMBINABILITY/COLLOCATIONS
PAIRS OF NOUNS
There are a number of pairs of nouns in English which always occur together, and have a
fixed order. It is not easy to explain why one noun always comes first and not the other.
Long usage has established the order which must not change. Here is a list of some of the
most frequent pairs.
Alpha and Omega the beginning and the end bed and breakfast (at a hotel) beer and
skittles fun and pleasure
body and soul (with) one's entire self
bread and butter
bread and water
fire and sword (in war)
fire and water
fish and chips
flesh and blood one's family- relation
friend or foe
heart and soul (with) all one's feeling and spirit
heaven and earth
law and order
life and soul liveliest person
light and shade
for love or money (in a negative sentence) for everything
male and female
Oxford and Cambridge
part and parcel a necessary or important part
pen and paper
skin and bone very thin
tea or coffee
use and abuse
vice and virtue
wear and tear constant use over time
wife and children
wind and weather
COLLECTIVE NOUN PHRASES
The following list gives the conventional collective nour phrases:
а brood of chickens a bunch of grapes/keys/flowers
а colony of ants a bouquet of flowers i.e. specially arranged
а flight of birds a flock of sheep
а bundle of sticks/hay a chain of mountains
а gaggle of geese a herd of deer
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а cluster of stars a flight of stairs/steps

а herd of pigs/cattle a litter of puppies
a gang of thieves a suit of clothes
a pack of hounds/ wolves a group of islands
a swarm of bees a heap of stones/sand
a shoal of fish a range of hills
a school of whales a series of events
Here is a list of partitives used with uncount nouns:
an amount of a grain of a mountain of a scrap of a touch of
a bit of a heap of a piece of a sheet of a trace of
a blob of a knob of a pile of a shred of
a clump of a lump of a pinch of a slice of
a dash of a mass of a pool of a speck of
a drop of a morsel of a portion of a spot of

SET EXPRESSIONS WITH NOUNS IN THE GENITIVE CASE

Achilles' heel a small but important weakness, esp. in a person's

character
Adam's apple projection at the front of the neck
a baker's dozen thirteen
a bird's eye view a view seen from above or from the sky
A marvellous birds' eye view of the whole city
a busman's holiday a holiday spent in doing one's usual work
The painter spent a busman's holiday painting his own
house.
cat's cradle a children's game played by two people using fingers and
a loop of string
a cat's paw someone who does unpleasant or dangerous jobs on the
orders of another person; tool
Davy Jones's locker the bottom of the sea, esp. as a place where people lie
dead
My camera fell overboard and went to Davy Jones's
locker.
a hair's-breadth escape an escape which almost failed or ended in disaster
Hobson's choice lack of choice; a situation in which there is only one thing
that one can choose
a ladies man a man who enjoys the company of women and is
(sexually) attractive to them
the lion's share the greatest part (of); most (of)
a mare's nest a discovery which proves to be untrue or worthless
a needle's eye the least possible (opening, gap)
a nine days' wonder a thing or event that causes excitement for a short time
and then is forgotten
Noah's ark a large ship built by Noah in which he saved his family
and two of every kind of animal from the flood that
covered the world
an old wives' tale a story or statement about life, usually foolish and far-

a rogues' gallery
the season's greetings
a stone's throw (away, from)
a wolf in sheep's clothing
at death's door
at a snail's pace
at one's wit's/wits' end
by/within a hair's breadth
for appearance sake
for conscience’ sake
for God’s/Christ's/
goodness’/Heaven's etc. sake
get one's money's worth
go on 1 by Shanks's
mare/pony
have smth at one's fingers'
ends / fingertips
hit the bull's eye
in one's mind's eye
in the lion's den
11
removed from modern knowledge, beliefs and practice
a collection of photographs of (known) criminals, or bad
and unpleasant people
greetings at a time of public celebration, expressing good
will
A Happy New Year!
a short distance
Our house is only a stone's throw from the station.
a person who seems friendly or harmless but is hiding evil
intentions
Beware of the police chief.
He seems polite, but he's a wolf in sheep's clothing.
about to die; near death
I was so ill that I was at death's door.
a very slow speed or rate of activity
When you watch a clock time seems to move at a snail's
pace.
made so worried by difficulties that one doesn't know
what to do next
I am at my wits' end with this problem.
very short distance
The car came careering round the bend and missed us by
a hair's breadth; it came within a hair's breadth of hitting
us.
if you do smth for appearance' sake you are trying to make
people think you are still successful, etc.
to satisfy one's conscience
a) used when asking strongly for smth
b) used as an expression of annoyance
to get everything which has been paid for to get the best
quality for the money paid
I didn't get my money's worth with my camera, so I took it
back
to use one's own two legs, to walk
My car isn't working, so Til have to travel on Shanks's
mare.
to have a complete and ready knowledge of smth
You'd better ask David — he's got the whole subject at his
fingers' ends.
hit the centre of a target
Your last remark really hit the bull's eye; it was exactly
right.
in one's mind / refers to visualizing smth In my mind's
eye, I can see trouble ahead.
among people who are your enemies

to keep someone at arm's
length
lead 1 live a dog's life
like water off a duck's back
make a silk purse out of a
sow's ear
open Pandora's box
out of harm's way
stir up a hornet's nest
straight from the horse's
mouth
to one's heart's content
twist the lion's tail
12
to keep a safe distance away from; avoid being friendly
with someone
John is in a bad mood, and that tends to keep people at
arm's length
to live an unhappy life with many troubles
I've been working so hard.
I'm tired of living a dog's life.
(of advice, warnings, or unpleasant experiences) having
no effect on someone; not influencing someone's
behaviour
I must have told him a hundred times and he always
forgets — it's like water off a duck's back.
to create smth of value out of smth of no value
Don't bother trying to fix up this old bicycle.
You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
to uncover a lot of unsuspected problems
When I asked Jane about her problems I didn't know I
opened Pandora's box.
in a position in which one is safe from harm / or unable to
cause harm
cause a lot of trouble and anger between people
Bill stirred up a hornet's nest when he discovered the
theft.
(of information) from the actual person concerned, not
told indirectly
This comes straight from the horse's mouth, so it has to be
believed.
as much as one wants
It's the weekend, so you can sleep to your heart's content.
to provoke or insult someone of power.