[outside of]{prep.} 1. Not in; outside. •/I would not want to meet alion outside of a zoo./ Contrast: INSIDE OF. 2. Except for; not including.•/Outside of Johnny, all the boys on the basketball team are over six feettall./ •/Mrs. Cox had no jewelry outside of her wedding ring./ Syn.:APART FROM.

[out to lunch]{adj.}, {slang}, {informal} 1. Gone for themidday meal. 2. Inattentive; daydreaming; inefficient; stupid. •/Neil Benderis just out to lunch today./

[overall]{adj.} All inclusive; comprehensive. •/What our departmentneeds is an overall revamping of our undergraduate curriculum./

[over a barrel] also [over the barrel] {adv. phr.}, {informal}In the power of your enemies; not able to do anything about what happens toyou; in a helpless condition; trapped. •/Bill had Tom over a barrel becauseTom owed him money./ •/Ralph has me over a barrel; I need five dollars, andhe won’t lend it to me unless I let him use my bicycle./ Compare: ON THEROPES.

[over age]{adj. phr.} Too old; not young enough; above the legal age.•/Grandfather wanted to fight in World War II, but he could not because hewas over age./ Contrast: UNDER AGE.

[over and done with]{adj. phr.} Finished; completed; forgotten.•/Norm and Meg’s affair has been over and done with for a long time./

[overboard] See: GO OFF THE DEEP END or GO OVERBOARD.

[overhead]{n.} Expenses incurred in the upkeep of one’s plant andpremises, employees' salaries, etc., which are not due to the cost ofindividual items or products. •/"Our overhead is killing us!" the used carlot owner complained. "We have to move to a cheaper place."/

[overnight]{adj.} 1. From one evening until the next morning. •/Wecould drive from Chicago to Detroit in one day, but it would be morecomfortable if we stayed overnight in a motel./ 2. Rapidly. •/When Tom wonthe lottery he became a rich man overnight./

[over one’s dead body]{adv. phr.}, {informal} Not having theability to stop something undesirable from taking place. •/"You will getmarried at age sixteen over my dead body!" Jane’s father cried./

[over one’s head]{adv.} or {adj. phr.} 1. Not understandable;beyond your ability to understand; too hard or strange for you to understand.•/Mary laughed just to be polite, but the joke was really over her head./•/The lesson today was hard; it went over my head./ Compare: BEYOND ONE’SDEPTH. 2. To a more important person in charge; to a higher official. •/WhenMary’s supervisor said no, Mary went over her head to the person in charge ofthe whole department./ •/If Johnny can’t get what he wants from his bigsister, he goes over her head and asks his mother./ 3. See: HANG OVER ONE’SHEAD.

[over spilled milk] See: CRY OVER SPILLED MILK.

[over the coals] See: HAUL OVER THE COALS or RAKE OVER THE COALS.

[over the hill]{adj.}, {informal} Past one’s prime; unable tofunction as one used to; senile. •/Poor Mr. Jones is sure not like he used tobe; well, he’s over the hill./

[over the hump]{adj. phr.}, {informal} Past the most difficultpart; past the crisis; out of danger. •/Mary was failing math, but she isover the hump now./ •/John was very sick after his accident, hut he’s overthe hump./ •/When Mr. Smith was out of work it looked as if his familywould have to go on relief, but they got over the hump./

[over the long haul] See: IN THE LONG RUN. Contrast: OVER THE SHORT HAUL.

[over the short haul] See: IN THE SHORT RUN. Contrast: OVER THE LONG HAUL.

[over the top]{adv. phr.} 1. Out of the trenches and against theenemy. •/The plan was to spend the night in the trenches and go over the topat dawn./ •/Johnny found that he was braver than he thought he would bewhen his company went over the top./ 2. Over the goal. •/Our goal was tocollect a half million dollars for the new school building, but we went overthe top./ •/Mary was asked to sell twenty tickets, and she went over thetop./

[over the traces] See: KICK OVER THE TRACES.

[over with(1)]{prep.} At the end of; finished with; through with.•/They were over with the meeting by ten o’clock./ •/By Saturday Marywill be over with the measles./

[over with(2)]{adj.}, {informal} At an end; finished. •/Johnknew his mother would scold him for losing the money, and he wanted to get itover with./ •/After the hard test, Jerry said, "I’m glad that’s overwith!"/

[own] See: COME INTO ONE’S OWN, DOSE OF ONE’S OWN MEDICINE, HOLD ONE’S OWN,IN A WORLD OF ONE’S OWN, KEEP ONE’S OWN COUNSEL, OF ONE’S OWN ACCORD or OFONE’S OWN FREE WILL, ON ONE’S OWN ACCOUNT or ON ONE’S OWN HOOK, ON ONE’S OWNTIME, SIGN ONE’S OWN DEATH WARRANT, TAKE THE LAW INTO ONE’S OWN HANDS, UNDERONE’S OWN STEAM.

[own up]{v.}, {informal} To take the blame; admit your guilt;confess. •/When Mr. Jones asked who broke the window, Johnny owned up./•/Mary owned up to having borrowed her sister’s sweater./ •/When Mothersaw that someone had broken the vase, Billy owned up to it./ See: COME CLEAN.

[oyster] See: WORLD IS ONE’S OYSTER.

P

[p] See: MIND ONE’S P’S AND Q’S.

[pace] See: CHANGE OF PACE, KEEP PACE, PUT THROUGH ONE’S PACES, SNAIL’SPACE.

[pace off] See: STEP OFF(2).

[pace-setter], [pace-setting] See: SET THE PACE.

[pack a punch] or [pack a wallop] {v. phr.}, {slang} 1. To beable to give a powerful blow; have a dangerous fist. •/He packed a meanpunch./ 2. To have a violent effect; be powerful. •/It was vodka, and itpacked quite a wallop./

[pack off]{v.}, {informal} To send away; dismiss abruptly.•/When an Englishman got in trouble long ago, his family would pack him offto Australia or some other distant land./ •/Jane couldn’t really getstarted on her homework until she had packed the children off to school./

[pack rat]{n.}, {informal} A person who cannot part with old,useless objects; an avid collector of useless things; a junk hoarder. •/"Whyare there so many things in this room?" John asked. "It is my brother’s room,and he is a pack rat; he is unable to throw stuff away."/

[packed (in) like sardines]{adj. phr.} So tightly crowded that thereis hardly room to turn. •/The trains are so full during rush hour that wemust go to work packed in like sardines./

[pack of lies]{n. phr.} An unbelievable story; unprovable allegations.•/What Al told us about his new girlfriend was nothing but a pack of lies./

[pack one’s bag]{v. phr.} To leave a place out of anger, annoyance, ordisagreement. •/"This place is beginning to irritate me," she said to herfriend. "I want to pack my bags and get out of here."/

[pack up]{v. phr.} To pack one’s suitcase for traveling; prepare apackage. •/Without saying a single word, the unhappy husband packed up andleft./

[paddle] See: UP THE CREEK or UP THE CREEK WITHOUT A PADDLE.

[paddle one’s own canoe]{v. phr.}, {informal} To work withouthelp; earn your own living; support yourself. •/After his father died, Johnhad to paddle his own canoe./ Syn.: HOE ONE’S OWN ROW. Compare: MAKE ONE’SWAY.