[have one’s ass in a sling]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {vulgar},{avoidable} To be in an uncomfortable predicament; to be in the dog-house;to be at a disadvantage. •/Al sure had his ass in a sling when the boss foundout about his juggling the account./

[have one’s cake and eat it too]{v. phr.} To enjoy two oppositeadvantages. •/You can either spend your money going to Europe or save it fora down payment on a house, but you can’t do both. That would be having yourcake and eating it, too./

[have one’s ear]{v. phr.} To have access to someone in power; receiveaudiences rather frequently. •/The national security advisor has thepresident’s ear./

[have one’s ears on]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {citizen’s band radiojargon} To have one’s CB radio in receiving condition. •/Good buddy in theeighteen wheeler southbound, got your ears on?/

[have oneself]{v. phr.}, {nonstandard} To enjoy. — Sometimes usedin very informal speech to provide emphasis. •/As soon as their parents left,the boys had themselves some fun./ •/After working hard all day, John hadhimself a good night’s sleep./

[have one’s feet planted firmly in the ground] See: FEET ON THE GROUND.

[have one’s fill]{v. phr.} To be satisfied; be surfeited; beoverindulged. •/Howard says he’s had his fill of expensive golf tournamentsin Europe./

[have one’s fling]{v. phr.} To have one or more romantic and/or sexualexperiences, usually before marriage. •/Jack has had his fling and now seemsto be ready to get married and settle down./

[have one’s hand in the till] See: ROB THE TILL.

[have one’s hands full]{v. phr.} To have as much work as you can do;be very busy. •/The plumber said that he had his hands full and could nottake another job for two weeks./ •/With three small children to take careof, Susie’s mother has her hands full./

[have one’s hands tied] See: TIED ONE’S HANDS.

[have one’s head in the sand] See: HIDE ONE’S HEAD IN THE SAND.

[have one’s head screwed on backwards]{v. phr.} To lack common sense;behave in strange and irrational ways. •/Henry seems to have his head screwedon backwards; he thinks the best time to get a suntan is when it is raining andto sleep with his shoes on./

[have one’s heart in the right place] See: HEART IS IN THE RIGHT PLACE.

[have one’s hide]{v. phr.}, {informal} To punish severely.•/John’s mother said she would have his hide if he was late to schoolagain./

[have one’s nose to the grindstone] See: KEEP ONE’S NOSE TO THE GRINDSTONE.

[have one’s number] See: GET ONE’S NUMBER.

[have one’s wings clipped] See: CLIP ONE’S WING.

[have one’s wits about one]{v. phr.} To be alert; remain calm; notpanic. •/Sam was the only one who kept his wits about him when thefloodwaters of the Mississippi broke into our yard./

[have one’s work cut out] See: CUT OUT(1).

[have on the ball] See: ON THE BALL.

[have qualms about]{v. phr.} To feel uneasy about; hesitate aboutsomething. •/Mike had no qualms in telling Sue that he was no longer in lovewith her./

[have rocks in one’s head]{v. phr.}, {informal} To be stupid; nothave good judgment. •/When Mr. James quit his good job with the coal companyto begin teaching school, some people thought he had rocks in his head./

[have second thoughts about] See: SECOND THOUGHT(s).

[have seen better days] See: SEE BETTER DAYS.

[have someone by the balls]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {vulgar},{avoidable} To have someone at a disadvantage or in one’s power. •/Thekidnappers had the company by the balls for six long weeks./

[have something going for one]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {informal}To have ability, talent; good looks, and/or influence in important placeshelping one to be successful. •/Well now, Pat Jones, that’s another story — she’s got something going for her./

[have something on]{v. phr.}, {informal} To have information orproof that someone did something wrong. •/Mr. Jones didn’t want to run foroffice because he knew the opponents had something on him./ •/Mr. Smithkeeps paying blackmail to a man who has something on him./ •/Although MissBrown is not a good worker, her boss does not fire her because she hassomething on him./ Compare: GET THE GOODS ON. Contrast: HAVE NOTHING ON.

[have something on the ball]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {colloquial}To be smart, clever; to be skilled and have the necessary know-how. •/You cantrust Syd; he’s got a lot on the ball OR he’s got something on the ball./

[have sticky fingers] See: STICKY FINGERS.

[have or take a shot at] See: HAVE GO AT.

[have the best of] or [have the better of] See: GET THE BETTER OF(2).

[have the better of] or [have the best of] See: GET THE BETTER OF.

[have the cart before the horse] See: CART BEFORE THE HORSE.

[have the constitution of an ox]{v. phr.} To be able to work extremelyhard and to have the stamina to overcome misfortune. •/Stan, who has lostboth of his parents within one year and is constantly working late, seems to beindestructible, as if he had the constitution of an ox./

[have the courage of one’s convictions]{v. phr.} To be brave enough toact according to your beliefs. •/Steve showed that he had the courage of hisconvictions by refusing to help another student cheat in the exam./ •/Owenknew that Pete had started the fight, but he was afraid to say so; he did nothave the courage of his convictions./

[have the goods on] See: GET THE GOODS ON.

[have the guts to do something]{v. phr.}, {informal} To be braveenough to do something difficult or dangerous. •/Jack wants to marry Jilt,but he doesn’t have the guts to pop the question./

[have the jump on] See: GET THE JUMP ON.

[have the last laugh] or [get the last laugh] {v. phr.} To makesomeone seem foolish for having laughed at you. •/Other schools laughed at uswhen our little team entered the state championship, but we had the last laughwhen we won it./ Compare: HE LAUGHS BEST WHO LAUGHS LAST, TURN THE TABLES.

[have the laugh on]{v. phr.} To emerge as the victor. •/We weretrying to fool Paul by setting him up with a blind date who was reportedlyunattractive, but he had the laugh on us when this girl turned out to bebeautiful./

[have the lead]{v. phr.} To occupy the most prominent part insomething. •/Maria has the lead in our school play./

[have the makings of]{v. phr.} To possess the basic ingredients; havethe basic qualities to do something. •/Tom is still young but he seems tohave the makings of an excellent pianist./

[have the right-of-way]{v. phr.} To have priority in proceeding intraffic on a public highway while other vehicles must yield and wait. •/"Goahead," he said. "We have the right-of-way at this intersection."/

[have the time of one’s life] See: TIME OF ONE’S LIFE.

[have the worst of] See: GET THE WORST OF.

[have to] or [have got to] {v.}, {informal} To be obliged orforced to; need to; must. •/Do you have to go now?/ •/He had to come. Hisparents made him./ •/I have got to go to the doctor./ •/I have to go toChurch./