Compound Forms/Forme composte
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against his will, against her will adv | (in opposition to wishes) | contro la sua volontà |
| Abby was taken to the cabin in the woods against her will. |
| Abby è stata portata nella capanna nel bosco contro la sua volontà. |
bring [sb] to his/her/their knees v expr | figurative (force into submission) | far inginocchiare⇒ vtr |
deep down in his heart adv | (his conscience) | nel profondo del proprio cuore |
| Deep down in his heart he knew what he had done was wrong. |
| Nel profondo del suo cuore sapeva che ciò che aveva fatto era sbagliato. |
drive [sb] out of his mind, drive [sb] out of her mind v expr | figurative, informal (annoy) (informale, figurato) | fare uscire di testa [qlcn], far impazzire [qlcn] vtr |
| The baby's constant crying drove James out of his mind. |
| Il continuo pianto del bimbo ha fatto uscire di testa James. |
drive [sb] out of his mind, drive [sb] out of her mind v expr | figurative, informal (arouse sexually) (figurato: di desiderio) | fare impazzire [qlcn] vtr |
| Watching you sunbathe used to drive me out of my mind. |
| Uscivo di testa guardandoti mentre prendevi il sole. |
each to their own, each to his own, each to her own expr | (everyone has their own preferences) | a ognuno il suo |
Every dog has his day, Every dog has its day expr | figurative (everyone will succeed) (idiomatico) | Arriverà anche il tuo momento |
give [sb] a taste of his/her/their own medicine, give [sb] a dose of his/her/their own medicine v expr | figurative (punish [sb] using their own methods) (idiomatico: restituire una scortesia) | ripagare [qlcn] con la stessa moneta vtr |
give the devil his due v expr | informal (give credit to [sb] you dislike) (figurato: che non si ama) | dover dare credito a [qlcn] vtr |
| | dover riconoscere [qlcs] a [qlcn] vtr |
give [sb] his walking papers, give [sb] her walking papers v expr | US, slang (terminate [sb]'s employment) (figurato, informale: licenziare) | dare il benservito a [qlcn] vtr |
| After Smith's plan went badly wrong his boss gave him his walking papers. |
give [sb] his/her/their due v expr | (give credit to) (letterale: pagare, saldare) | pagare il dovuto a [qlcn] vtr |
| (figurato) | dare a [qlcn] ciò che si merita, dare a [qlcn] ciò che gli spetta vtr |
would give his/her/their eyeteeth v expr | (want [sth] very much) (informale: desiderare ardentemente) | dare qualsiasi cosa per [qlcs] vtr |
| | desiderare ardentemente vtr |
grace n | usually capitalized (title) (titolo) | sua grazia, grazia nf |
Nota: Usually preceded by his, her, your. |
| His Grace appeared at the king's court last week. |
| Sua grazia si è presentato la settimana scorsa alla corte reale. |
his bark is worse than his bite, her bark is worse than her bite expr | figurative (less dangerous than appears) (idiomatico: non pericoloso) | abbaia ma non morde espr |
His Honor (US), His Honour (UK) n | as prefix (male honorific) (appellativo) | sua eminenza nf |
| | vostro onore nm |
| | Signor giudice nm |
His Majesty n | (the King) (sovrano: appellativo) | Sua Maestà nm |
his nibs, her nibs n | informal (self-important person) (informale, ironico) | sua altezzosità nm |
HM n | initialism (His Majesty) (Sua Maestà: re) | S.M. nm, abbr |
keep [sb] on their toes, keep [sb] on his toes, keep [sb] on her toes v expr | (make [sb] concentrate) (idiomatico) | tenere sull'attenti vtr |
| The teacher kept the students on their toes by giving them a surprise test. |
knock [sb] off their pedestal, knock [sb] off his pedestal, knock [sb] off her pedestal v expr | figurative (humble [sb] who is self-important) (figurato) | far abbassare la cresta a [qlcn] vtr |
| Losing a game so early in the tournament knocked him off his pedestal. |
| Il fatto di aver perso una partita così presto nel campionato gli fece abbassare la cresta. |
leave [sb] to his/her/their own devices v expr | (not supervise [sb]) | abbandonare [qlcn] a se stesso vtr |
left to your/his/her/their own devices adj | (unsupervised, left alone) | abbandonato a se stesso loc agg |
let off the leash, let [sb] off the leash, let [sb] off his/her leash v expr | figurative (release [sb] from restraint, control) (figurato) | allentare il guinzaglio vtr |
| When they saw that he could handle the job, they let him off his leash and he quickly moved up to a higher position. |
| Quando hanno visto che riusciva a fare bene il lavoro gli hanno allentato il guinzaglio e lui è presto salito di grado. |
Lordship, your Lordship, his Lordship n | UK (term of address for British peer) | Signoria, Eccellenza nf |
| | Vossia, Vossignoria nf |
| What would your Lordship like to have for dinner tonight? |
make [sb] lose his concentration, make [sb] lose her concentration v expr | (distract [sb]) | far perdere la concentrazione a [qlcn], togliere la concentrazione a [qlcn] vtr |
| | deconcentrare⇒, distogliere⇒ vtr |
| The loud music made me lose my concentration. |
| La musica a volume alto mi ha fatto perdere la concentrazione. |
| La musica ad alto volume mi ha deconcentrato. |
would make [sb] turn over in his/her/their grave, would make [sb] turn in his/her/their grave v expr | figurative (would offend: dead person) | far girare [qlcn] nella tomba, far rivoltare [qlcn] nella tomba vtr |
man of his word n | (male: keeps promises) | uomo di parola nm |
| I've worked with him, and I know him to be a man of his word. |
| Ho lavorato con lui e so che è un uomo di parola. |
On Her Majesty's Service, On His Majesty's Service expr | UK, Can, AU, written (franking on government correspondence) | al servizio di Sua Maestà loc avv |
on his own, all on his own adv | (without company) | da solo loc avv |
on his own, all on his own adv | (without help) | da solo loc avv |
keep [sb] on his/her toes v expr | figurative, informal (keep [sb] alert, ready) (figurato) | tenere sulle spine vtr |
| | mettere all'erta vtr |
pay [sb] back in their own coin, pay [sb] back in his own coin, pay [sb] back in her own coin v expr | figurative (retaliate) (figurato) | ripagare [qlcn] con la stessa moneta vtr |
pay [sb] back in his/her/their own coin v expr | figurative (behave toward [sb] in a like way) | ripagare [qlcn] con la stessa moneta vtr |
put [sb] in his/her place v expr | figurative (humble) (far ridimensionare) | rimettere [qlcn] al proprio posto vtr |
| | sottomettere⇒ vtr |
| Eleanor's sharp rebuke put Daniel in his place. |
| Il duro rimprovero di Eleanor rimise Daniel al suo posto. |
put [sb] in his/her/their place v expr | (humble [sb]) (figurato) | rimettere [qlcn] al proprio posto vtr |
put [sb] on his/her guard v expr | (make wary) | mettere qn in guardia vtr |
| The way she looks at me puts me on my guard. |
| Il modo in cui mi osserva mi mette in guardia. |
put [sb] on his/her/their mettle v expr | (incite, encourage) | mettere alla prova [qlcn] vtr |
put [sb/sth] out of his/her/its misery v expr | (kill [sb/sth]) (eufemistico: uccidere) | porre fine alle sofferenze di [qlcn] vtr |
| The dog was so ill that the vet said it would be kinder to put him out of his misery. |
| Il cane era così malato che il veterinario disse che sarebbe stato più umano porre fine alle sue sofferenze. |
put [sb] out of his/her misery v expr | figurative (finally give an answer, etc.) (idiomatico) | smettere di tenere [qlcn] sulle spine vtr |
| The judges finally put the contestants out of their misery by announcing the winner. |
put [sb] through his/her/their paces v expr | (test [sb]'s skill, ability) | mettere alla prova [qlcn] vtr |
put yourself in [sb]'s shoes v expr | figurative (try to empathize) | mettersi nei panni di [qlcn] vi |
relieve of their job, relieve [sb] of his job, relieve [sb] of her job v expr | (dismiss or fire [sb]) | licenziare⇒ vtr |
the scruff of the neck, the scruff of his/her neck n | (person: collar) | colletto nm |
| | nuca nf |
| The teacher picked Oscar up by the scruff of his neck and hauled him to the headmaster's office. |
send [sb] away with a flea in his ear, send [sb] away with a flea in her ear v expr | figurative, informal (tell [sb] to go away) | cacciare in malo modo vtr |
stop [sb] in his/her tracks v expr | figurative (halt [sb]) | fermare⇒, bloccare⇒ vtr |
| | far fermare⇒ vtr |
sweet [sb] off their feet, sweep [sb] off his feet, sweep [sb] off her feet v expr | (make [sb] fall in love with you) | far innamorare⇒ vtr |
| (figurato: far innamorare) | far cadere [qlcn] ai propri piedi |
take [sb] at their word, take [sb] at his word, take [sb] at her word v expr | (believe [sb] is speaking honestly) | fidarsi di [qlcn] sulla parola v rif |
| | prendere [qlcn] in parola vtr |
to each his own, to each her own, to each their own expr | (everyone has different preferences) | a ognuno il suo inter |
| Greg likes anchovies and pineapple on his pizza? Well, to each their own. |
would turn over in his/her/their grave, would turn in his/her/their grave v expr | figurative (dead person: would be offended) | rivoltarsi nella tomba v rif |
what's-his-name, whatshisname n | slang (man: forgotten name) (persona di cui non si ricorda nome) | tizio, tipo, tale, coso nm |
| I ran into what's-his-name again this afternoon. |
| Oggi pomeriggio ho incontrato di nuovo il tizio. |