[hit town]{v. phr.} To arrive in town. •/Give me a phone call assoon as you hit town./

[hit upon] See: HIT ON.

[hob] See: PLAY THE DEVIL WITH or PLAY HOB WITH.

[hoe] See: HARD ROW TO HOE or TOUGH ROW TO HOE.

[hoe one’s own row]{v. phr.} To make your way in life by your ownefforts; get along without help. •/David’s father died when he was little,and he has always had to hoe his own row./ Syn.: PADDLE ONE’S OWN CANOE,STAND ON ONE’S OWN FEET.

[hog] See: EAT (LIVE) HIGH ON THE HOG or EAT (LIVE) HIGH OFF THE HOG, GOTHE WHOLE HOG or GO WHOLE HOG, ROAD HOG.

[hog-tie]{v.}, {informal} 1. To tie (an animal) so it is unable tomove or escape. •/The Cowboy caught a calf and hog-tied it./ 2. To makesomeone unable to act freely; limit. •/The welfare worker wanted to help atonce, but rules and regulations hog-tied her, so she could only report thecase./

[hoist with one’s own petard]{adj. phr.} Caught in your own trap ortrick. •/Jack carried office gossip to the boss until he was hoisted by hisown petard./ (From Shakespeare; literally, blown up with one’s own bomb.)

[hold] See: GET HOLD OF, LAY HOLD OF, LEAVE HOLDING THE BAG or LEAVEHOLDING THE SACK.

[hold a brief for]{v. phr.} To argue in support of; defend. — Usuallyused with a negative. •/I hold no brief for John, but I do not think he wasresponsible for the accident./ •/The lawyer said he held no brief forthievery, but he considered the man should he given another chance./

[hold a candle to] also [hold a stick to] {v. phr.} To be fit to becompared with; be in the same class with. — A trite phrase used in negative,interrogative, and conditional sentences. •/Henry thought that no modern ballclub could hold a candle to those of 50 years ago./

[hold all the trumps]{v. phr.} To have the best chance of winning;have all the advantages; have full control. •/Most of the team wants John forcaptain and he is the best player. He will he elected captain because he holdsall the trumps./ •/Freddy has a quarter and I have no money, so he holdsall the trumps and can buy whatever he wants with it./

[hold back]{v.} 1. To stay back or away; show unwillingness. •/Thevisitor tried to gel the child to come to her, but he held back./ •/Johnheld back from social activity because he felt embarrassed with people./ 2.To keep someone in place; prevent from acting. •/The police held back thecrowd./

[hold court]{v. phr.} 1. To hold a formal meeting of a royal court ora court of law. •/Judge Stephens allowed no foolishness when he heldcourt./ 2. {informal} To act like a king or queen among subjects.•/Even at sixteen, Judy was holding court for numbers of charmed boys./

[hold down]{v.} 1. To keep in obedience; keep control of; continueauthority or rule over. •/Kings used to know very well how to hold down thepeople./ 2. {informal} To work satisfactorily at. •/John had held downa tough job for a long time./

[hold everything] See: HOLD IT.

[hold fire] See: HOLD ONE’S FIRE.

[hold forth]{v.} 1. To offer; propose. •/As a candidate, Jones heldforth the promise of a bright future./ 2. To speak in public; preach. — Usually used with little respect. •/Senator Smith was holding forth on freetrade./

[hold good]{v.} 1. To continue to be good; last. •/The coupon on thecereal box offered a free toy, but the offer held good only till the end of theyear./ •/Attendance at the basketball games held good all winter./ 2. Tocontinue; endure: last. •/The demand for new houses held good all thatyear./ •/The agreement between the schools held good for three years./See: HOLD TRUE.

[hold it] or [hold everything] {v. phr.}, {informal} To stopsomething one is doing or getting ready to do. — Usually used as a command.•/The pilot was starting to take off, when the control tower ordered "Holdit!"/

[hold off]{v.} 1a. To refuse to let (someone) become friendly. •/Thepresident’s high rank and chilly manner held people off./ Compare: KEEP AT ADISTANCE. 1b. To be rather shy or unfriendly. •/Perkins was a scholarly manwho held off from people./ Compare: KEEP AT A DISTANCE. 2. To keep away byfighting; oppose by force. •/The man locked himself in the house and held offthe police for an hour./ 3. To wait before (doing something); postpone;delay. •/Jack held off paying for the television set until the dealer fixedit./ •/Mr. Smith held off from building while interest rates were high./

[hold on]{v.} 1. To keep holding tightly; continue to hold strongly.•/As Ted was pulling on the rope, it began to slip and Earl cried, "Hold on,Ted!"/ Syn.: HANG ON. 2. To wait and not hang up a telephone; keep a phonefor later use. •/Mr. Jones asked me to hold on while he spoke to hissecretary./ 3. To keep on with a business or job in spite of difficulties.•/It was hard to keep the store going during the depression, but Max held onand at last met with success./ 4. {informal} To wait a minute; stop. — Usually used as a command. •/"Hold on!" John’s father said, "I want the cartonight."/

[hold one’s breath]{v. phr.} 1. To stop breathing for a moment whenyou are excited or nervous. •/The race was so close that everyone was holdinghis breath at the finish./ 2. To endure great nervousness, anxiety, orexcitement. •/John held his breath for days before he got word that thecollege he chose had accepted him./

[hold one’s end up] or [hold up one’s end] or [keep one’s end up]or [keep up one’s end] {v. phr.}, {informal} To do your share ofwork; do your part. •/Mary washed the dishes so fast that Ann, who was dryingthem, couldn’t keep her end up./ •/Susan kept up her end of theconversation, but Bill did not talk very much./ •/Bob said he would lend mehis bicycle if I repaired the flat tire, but he didn’t keep up his end of thebargain./

[hold one’s fire] or [hold fire] {v. phr.} To keep back argumentsor facts; keep from telling something. •/Tow could have hurt Fred by tellingwhat he knew, but he held his fire./ •/Mary held fire until she had enoughinformation to convince the other club members./

[hold one’s head up]{v. phr.} To show self-respect; not be ashamed; beproud. •/When Mr. Murray had paid off his debts, he felt that he could holdhis head up again./

[hold one’s horses]{v. phr.}, {informal} To stop; wait; bepatient. — Usually used as a command. May be considered rude. •/"Hold yourhorses!" Mr. Jones said to David when David wanted to call the police./

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

[hold one’s own]{v. phr.} To keep your position; avoid losing ground;keep your advantage, wealth, or condition without loss. •/Mr. Smith could notbuild up his business, but he held his own./ •/The team held its own afterthe first quarter./ •/Mary had a hard time after the operation, but soonshe was holding her own./

[hold one’s peace]{v. phr.}, {formal} To be silent and not speakagainst something; be still; keep quiet. •/I did not agree with the teacher,but held my peace as he was rather angry./ Compare: HOLD ONE’S TONGUE

[hold one’s temper] or [keep one’s temper] {v. phr.} To makeyourself be quiet and peaceful; not become angry. •/The meeting will gosmoothly if the president keeps his temper./ •/Dave can’t keep his temperwhen he drives in heavy traffic./ Contrast: LOSE ONE’S TEMPER, BLOW ONE’SSTACK.