[live wire]{n. phr.} 1. An electrically charged wire, usuallyuninsulated. •/The electrician was severely burned by the live wire./ 2. Analert or energetic person. •/To sell the new merchandise, our company needsseveral salespeople who are live wires./

[living daylights] See: BEAT THE --- OUT OF, KNOCK THE --- OUT OF.

[living end]{adj.}, {slang} Great; fantastic; the ultimate.•/That show we saw last night was the living end./

[load] See: GET A LOAD OF.

[loaded for bear]{adj. phr.}, {slang} Ready for action; preparedand eager. •/Frank liked the new merchandise and as he set out on his roundsas a salesman, he felt really loaded for bear./ •/The football team arrivedFriday noon, loaded for bear./

[load the bases] or [fill the bases] {v. phr.} To get men on allthree bases in baseball. •/The Mets loaded the bases with two singles and abase on balls./ •/Don hit a home run with the bases loaded./

[loaf] See: HALF A LOAF IS BETTER THAN NONE or HALF A LOAF IS BETTER THANNO BREAD.

[loan shark]{n. phr.} A money lender who charges excessive interest.•/Why go to a loan shark when you can borrow from the bank at the legalrate?/

[local yokel]{n.}, {slang}, {citizen’s hand radio jargon} Citypolice officer, as opposed to state police or highway patrol. •/There’s alocal yokel westbound on the move./

[lock] See: SCALP LOCK.

[lock, stock, and barrel]{n. phr.} Everything; completely. •/Therobbers emptied the whole house — lock, stock, and barrel./ Compare: HOOK,LINE, AND SINKER.

[lock the barn door after the horse is stolen] To be careful or try to makesomething safe when it is too late. — A proverb. •/After Mary failed theexamination, she said she would study hard after that. She wanted to lock thebarn door after the horse was stolen./

[lock up]{v. phr.}, {slang} To be assured of success. •/How didyour math test go? — I locked it up, I think./

[lodge a complaint]{v. phr.} To make a complaint; complain. •/If ourneighbors don’t stop this constant noise, I will have to lodge a complaint withthe management./

[loggerhead] See: AT LOGGERHEADS.

[loin] See: GIRD UP ONE’S LOINS.

[lone wolf]{n.} A man who likes to work or live alone. •/The man whopaints a picture or establishes a business is often a lone wolf; so is thecriminal outlaw./ •/Jones is a good pitcher, but he is a lone wolf./

[long] See: AT LAST or AT LONG LAST, BEFORE LONG, COME A LONG WAY, IN THELONG RUN, NO LONGER, SO LONG, THE LONG AND THE SHORT.

[long and short of it]{n. phr.} The essence; the whole story in anutshell. •/The long and short of it is that he is lazy and doesn’t reallywant to find a job./

[long ball]{n.} A baseball hit far enough to be a home run. •/TheWhite Sox need a player who can hit the long ball./

[long face]{n.} A sad look; disappointed look. •/He told the storywith a long face./ — Often used in the phrase "pull a long face". •/Don’tpull a long face when I tell you to go to bed./

[longhair(1)] 1. {n.}, {slang} A male hippie. •/Who’s thatlonghair? — It’s Joe./ 2. An intellectual who prefers classical music tojazz or acid rock. •/Catwallender is a regular longhair; he never listens tomodern jazz./

[longhair(2)]{adj.}, {slang} Pertaining to classical art forms,primarily in dancing and music. •/Cut out that longhair Mozart Symphony andput on a decent pop record!/

[long haul] or [long pull] {n.}, {informal} 1. A long distanceor trip. •/It is a long haul to drive across the country./ Contrast SHORTHAUL. 2. A long length of time during which work continues or something isdone; a long time of trying. •/A boy crippled by polio may learn to walkagain, but it may be a long haul./ — Often used in the phrase "over the longhaul". •/Over the long haul, an expensive pair of shoes may save youmoney./ Contrast: SHORT HAUL.

[long pull] See: LONG HAUL. [long shot] {n.} 1. A bet or other risktaken though not likely to succeed. •/The horse was a long shot, but it camein and paid well./ •/Jones was a long shot for mayor./ •/The businesslong shot that succeeds often pays extremely well./ 2. See: BY A LONG SHOT.

[long-winded]{adj.} Tedious; overlong; given to too much talking.•/Everyone was bored by the old man’s long-winded stories./

[look] See: DIRTY LOOK.

[look after] also [see after] {v.} To watch over; attend to.•/John’s mother told him to look after his younger brother./ •/When hewent to Europe, Mr. Jenkins left his son to see after the business./ Syn.:TAKE CARE OF(1). Compare: LOOK OUT(3).

[look a gift horse in the mouth] To complain if a gift is not perfect. — Aproverb. Usually used with a negative. •/John gave Joe a baseball but Joecomplained that the ball was old. His father told him not to look a gift horsein the mouth./

[look alive]{v.} Act lively; be quick; wake up and work; be busy;hurry. — Often used as a command. •/"Look alive there," the boss called./

[look as if butter wouldn’t melt in one’s mouth] See: BUTTER WOULDN’T MELTIN ONE’S MOUTH.

[look as if one has come out of a bandbox]{v. phr.}, {informal} Tolook very clean and fresh; look as if you had just had a bath and put onall-new clothing. •/In spite of the long, hot train ride, Jody arrivedlooking as if she had come out of a bandbox./ •/After a day at the rodeo wewere all dusty and tired except for Hope, who looked as if she’d come out of abandbox./

[look at]{v.} To have a way of thinking or feeling toward; think aboutsomething in a certain way. •/Is he a hero or a villain? That depends on howyou look at it./ •/Depending on how you looked at it, the tea party couldbe called a pleasure or a bore./

[look at the world through rose-colored glasses] or [see withrose-colored glasses] {v. phr.} To see everything as good and pleasant;not see anything hard or bad. •/When Jean graduated from high school, shelooked at the world through rose-colored glasses./ •/If you see everythingthrough rose-colored glasses, you will often be disappointed./

[look back]{v.} To review the past; think of what has happened. •/AsJohn looked back, his life seemed good to him./ •/Murphy looked back on hisearly struggles as having made him feel especially alive./ •/When Edapplied for a job and asked the school to recommend him, the principal lookedback over his records./

[look bleak]{v.} To indicate misfortune; appear threatening orruinous. •/As prices dropped lower and lower, things looked bleak for Henry’scompany./ •/Many witnesses gave testimony against Jerry and his case lookedbleak./ •/The future looked bleak when Father got hurt and could notwork./

[look daggers]{v. phr.} To show anger with a look; express hate orenmity by a look or stare; look fiercely. •/The other driver looked daggersat Morris for turning in before him./ •/Mary did not dare talk back to herfather, but she looked daggers./

[look down on] also [look down upon] {v.} To think of (a person orthing) as less good or important; feel that (someone) is not as good as youare, or that (something) is not worth having or doing; consider inferior.•/Mary looked down on her classmates because she was better dressed than theywere./ •/Jack looked down on Al for his poor manners./ •/Miss Tracylikes tennis but she looks down on football as too rough./