[rein] See: FREE REIN, GIVE REIN TO or GIVE FREE REIN TO.

[relation] See: IN RELATION TO or WITH RELATION TO.

[relative to] 1. On the subject of; about. •/Relative to schoolathletics, the principal said the students should not allow athletics tointerfere with homework./ 2. In comparison with; in proportion to.•/Relative to the size of an ant, a blade of grass is as tall as a tree./

[repeat oneself]{v. phr.} To say the same thing over again, often inthe same words; repeat ideas because you forget what you said or because youwant to stress their importance. •/Grandfather is forgetful and often repeatshimself when he tells a story./ •/A teacher often has to repeat herselfseveral times before her pupils remember what she tells them./

[resign oneself]{v. phr.} To stop arguing; accept something whichcannot be changed. •/When Jane’s father explained that he could not afford tobuy her a new bicycle, she finally resigned herself to riding the old one./Compare: GIVE UP.

[resistance] See: LINE OF LEAST RESISTANCE.

[rest] See: LAY TO REST, PARADE REST.

[rest assured]{v. phr.} To be convinced; persuaded; certain andunworried. •/"Please rest assured," he said seriously, "that I will keep allof my promises."/

[rest home] See: CONVALESCENT HOME.

[rest on one’s laurels]{v. phr.} To be satisfied with the success youhave already won; stop trying to win new honors. •/Getting an A in chemistryalmost caused Mike to rest on his laurels./

[rest on one’s oars]{v. phr.} To stop trying; stop working for awhile; rest. •/The man who wants to become a millionaire can never rest onhis oars./ •/A high school student who wants to go to college cannot reston his oars./

[rest room]{n.} A room or series of rooms in a public building whichhas things for personal comfort and grooming, such as toilets, washbowls,mirrors, and often chairs or couches. •/Sally went to the rest room to powderher nose./ Compare: POWDER ROOM.

[retreat] See: BEAT A RETREAT.

[return] See: IN RETURN.

[return the compliment]{v. phr.} To say or do the same to someone thathe has said or done to you; pay someone back. •/Mary said, "I love your newhairdo" and Suzy returned the compliment with "What a pretty dress you’rewearing, Mary."/ •/John punched Jerry in the nose, and Jerry returned thecompliment./

[reverse] See: DOUBLE REVERSE, IN REVERSE.

[rev up]{v. phr.}, {informal}, {slang} 1. To press downsharply several times on the accelerator of an idling car in order to getmaximum acceleration. •/The race driver revved up his car by pumping hisaccelerator./ 2. To get oneself ready in order to accomplish a demanding ordifficult task. •/The boys were getting all revved up for the footballgame./ See: PSYCHED UP.

[rhyme or reason]{n. phr.} A good plan or reason; a reasonable purposeor explanation. — Used in negative, interrogative, or conditional sentences.•/Don could see no rhyme or reason to the plot of the play./ •/It seemedto Ruth that her little brother had temper tantrums without rhyme or reason./

[rib] See: STICK TO ONE’S RIBS or STICK TO THE RIBS.

[rich] See: STRIKE IT RICH.

[ride] See: ALONG FOR THE RIDE, LET RIDE, RUN WITH HARE AND HUNT (RIDE)WITH THE HOUNDS, TAKE FOR A RIDE, THUMB A RIDE.

[ride herd on]{v. phr.} 1. To patrol on horseback around a herd ofanimals to see that none of them wanders away. •/Two cowboys rode herd on thecattle being driven to market./ 2. {informal} To watch closely andcontrol; take care of. •/A special legislative assistant rides herd on thebills the president is anxious to have congress pass./ •/Mary rode herd onthe small children walking home from school to keep them from running into thestreet./

[ride on one’s coattails]{v. phr.} To succeed in a certain endeavor byattaching oneself to the greater weight of another person or corporate body.•/"We will never get our Ph.D. program approved on our own," said the head ofthe modern dance department, "but we might succeed if we stay in the Divisionof Fine Arts, riding on their coattails, as it were."/

[ride out]{v.} To survive safely; endure. •/The captain ordered allsails lowered so the ship could ride out the storm./ •/Jack decided to rideout his troubles by saying that he had made a mistake but that he had learnedhis lesson./

[ride roughshod over]{v. phr.} To do as you wish without consideringthe wishes of (another person); treat with scorn or lack of courtesy; show nosympathy for. •/The city officials rode roughshod over the people who did notwant their homes torn down for a new school./ •/The boss rode roughshodover the men when they asked for higher wages./

[ride the brake] or [ride the clutch] {v. phr.}, {informal} Tokeep your foot on the pedal. •/Riding the brake is a bad habit for a driverto form./

[ride the gravy train]{v. phr.} To live a life of plenty and luxury.•/Those who have a wealthy executive or heir to a fortune for a spouse canride the gravy train without doing any work./

[ride up] or [crawl up] {v.} To slip gradually upward on the body.•/Shorts that ride up can be very uncomfortable./

[riding for a fall]{adj. phr.} Behaving in an overconfident way thatis likely to lead to trouble; being too sure of yourself; doing somethingdangerous. •/The student who does not study for exams is riding for afall./ •/Mr. Smith has borrowed too much money on his home. He is ridingfor a fall./ Compare: COME A CROPPER(2).

[riding high]{adj.} Attracting attention; enjoying great popularity.•/After scoring the winning touchdown, John is riding high with hisclassmates./

[rid of] Free of; away from; without the care or trouble. •/The puppy isfinally rid of worms./ •/If I could be rid of the children for the day, Iwould go./ •/I wish you’d get rid of that cat!/ Compare: DO AWAY WITH,THROW AWAY(1), THROW OFF(1).

[right] See: ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT FOR YOU, DEAD TO RIGHTS, GIVE ONE’S RIGHTARM, HEART IN THE RIGHT PLACE, IN THE RIGHT, PLAY ONE’S CARDS RIGHT, PUT TORIGHTS or SET TO RIGHTS, SERVE RIGHT, TO RIGHTS.

[right along]{adv. phr.}, {informal} 1a. On your waysatisfactorily or without trouble. •/They fixed the engine and the train ranright along./ 1b. On your way without delay. •/Don’t wait for me. Go rightalong./ 2. See: ALL ALONG.

[right and left]{adv. phr.} In or from every direction; all around; onall sides. •/The knight rode into battle striking at the enemy right and leftwith his broadsword./ •/When the talk ended, questions were thrown at thespeaker right and left./

[right away] or {informal} [right off] also {informal} [rightoff the bat] {adv. phr.} Immediately; as the next thing in order; withoutdelay. •/Phil’s mother told him to do his homework right away so that hecould enjoy the weekend./ •/The Red Cross aids disaster victims rightaway./ •/Jill knew the answer right off./ •/The teacher said he couldnot think of the title of the book right off the bat./ Syn.: AT ONCE(2).Compare: HERE AND NOW, ON THE SPOT. Contrast: AFTER A WHILE.

[right down] or [up one’s alley] {adv. phr.} In accordance withone’s specialty or predilection. •/This kind of preclassical music is rightup Bill’s alley; after all, he wrote his Ph.D. on Bach./