[rub salt into one’s wounds]{v. phr.}, {informal} To deliberatelyadd pain when one feels shame, regret, or defeat. •/Must you rub salt into mywounds by telling me how much fun I missed by not going to the party?/

[rub shoulders] See: RUB ELBOWS.

[rub the wrong way]{v. phr.}, {informal} To make (someone) alittle angry; do something not liked by (someone); annoy; bother. •/John’sbragging rubbed the other boys the wrong way./ •/Mother’s friend calledHarold a little boy, and that rubbed Harold the wrong way./ Compare: AGAINSTTHE GRAIN(2).

[rub up against]{v. phr.} To come into contact with. •/In thatbusiness one naturally has to rub up against all kinds of people./

[rub up to]{v. phr.} To do nice things for one; flatter a person; gainattention or rewards. •/Mona has the ability to rub up to the right kinds ofpeople, so it’s no wonder she is so popular at her work./

[ruffle feathers] or [ruffle one’s feathers] {v. phr.} Insult ordisturb slightly; offend. •/The author ruffled some feathers by his portraitof his hometown./

[rug] See: PULL THE RUG OUT FROM UNDER, SWEEP UNDER THE RUG.

[rule] See: EXCEPTION PROVES THE RULE, GROUND RULE.

[rule of thumb]{n. phr.} A simple and practical method that has provensuccessful or useful in the past. •/It is a very good rule of thumb to lookup all unfamiliar words in a good dictionary./

[rule out]{v.} 1. To say that (something) must not be done; not allow;also: decide against. •/The principal ruled out dances on school nights./•/The play was ruled out by the referee./ •/Jean probably will not go tocollege, but she has not ruled that out./ 2. To show that (someone orsomething) is not a possibility; make it unnecessary to think about; remove (achance). •/We have to find a baby-sitter for tonight; Betsy has a date, sothat rules her out./ •/The doctor took X rays to rule out the chance ofbroken bones./ 3. To make impossible; prevent. •/Father’s death seems torule out college for Jean./ •/Betsy’s date for the dance ruled out anybaby-sitting that evening./

[rule the roost]{v. phr.}, {informal} To be leader or boss; be incharge. •/Jim is very bossy; he always wants to rule the roost./ •/Whorules the roost in the Smith’s house?/ Compare: WEAR THE TROUSERS.

[run] See: BLOOD RUNS COLD, END RUN, CUT AND RUN, FIRST-RUN, HOME RUN, INTHE LONG RUN, IN THE RUNNING, ON THE RUN, OUT OF THE RUNNING, SECOND-RUN.

[run across] See: COME ACROSS(1).

[run after] or [chase after] {v.} 1. To try to find; look for;hunt. •/The Dramatic Club has to run all over town after things for settingthe stage when it puts on a play./ 2. {informal} To seek the company of;chase. •/Some boys spend a lot of time and money running after girls./

[run along]{v.} To go away; leave. •/Joan said she had errands to doand must run along./

[run a risk] or [take a risk] {v. phr.} To be open to danger orloss; put yourself in danger; be unprotected. •/A baseball umpire wears amask and chest protector so he won’t run the risk of being hit by the ball./•/Billy takes a risk of being hit by a car when he runs into the streetwithout looking./ •/I was afraid to run the risk of betting on the game./Compare: TAKE A CHANCE.

[run around in circles]{v. phr.} To waste time in repetitiousmovements; be confused. •/There was such a crowd in the lobby that I ranaround in circles trying to find my group./

[run around] or [chase around] {v.}, {informal} To go todifferent places for company and pleasure; be friends. •/Tim hasn’t been to adance all year; with school work and his job, he hasn’t time to run around./•/Chuck and Jim chase around a lot together./ — Often used with "with".•/Ruth runs around with girls who like to go dancing./ Compare: GO AROUND,HANG AROUND.

[run around like a chicken with its head cut off] See: RUN AROUND INCIRCLES.

[run a temperature]{v. phr.} To have a body temperature that is abovenormal; have a fever. •/Jimmy didn’t look ill, although he was running atemperature./ •/We took the baby to the doctor because he was running atemperature./

[run a tight ship]{v. phr.} To run an organization with a firm hand,with strict rules and regulations. •/Our dean of the college runs a verytight ship; he tolerates no mistakes./

[run away] or [run off] {v.} To leave and not plan to come back; gowithout permission; escape. •/Many times Tommy said he would run away fromhome, but he never did./ •/The guards in jail make sure that none of theprisoners run away./ Compare: GET AWAY.

[run away with]{v.} 1a. To take quickly and secretly, especiallywithout permission; steal. •/A thief ran away with Grandma’s silverteapot./ Syn.: MAKE OFF. 1b. To go away with; elope. •/Mary said that ifher parents wouldn’t let her marry Phil, she would run away with him./ 1c. Totake hold of; seize. •/The boys thought they saw a ghost in the old houselast night; they let their imagination run away with them./ Compare: GET THEBETTER OF. 2. To be much better or more noticeable than others in; win easily.•/Our team ran away with the game in the last half./ •/The fat comedianran away with the TV show./ Compare: STEAL THE SHOW.

[run circles around] also [run rings around] {v. phr.} To show thatyou can do a task much better than; do better than (someone) very easily.•/In spelling, Ruth could run circles around Barbara any day./ •/Frankran rings around the other boys on the basketball team./

[run down]{v.} (stress on "down") 1. To crash against and knock downor sink. •/Jack rode his bicycle too fast and almost ran down his littlebrother./ •/It was so foggy that the steamship almost ran down a small boatleaving port./ Compare: RUN INTO(3a). 2a. To chase until exhausted or caught.•/The dogs ran down the wounded deer./ 2b. To find by hard and thoroughsearch; also: trace to its cause or beginning. •/The policeman ran down proofthat the burglar had robbed the store./ Compare: HUNT DOWN. 2c. To catch (abase runner) between bases and tag out in baseball. •/The pitcher saw thatthe base runner was not on base, so he surprised him by throwing the ball tothe first baseman, who ran him down before he reached second base./ 3.{informal} To say bad things about; criticize. •/Suzy ran down the clubbecause the girls wouldn’t let her join./ Compare: FIND FAULT. 4. To stopworking; not run or go. •/The battery in Father’s car ran down thismorning./ •/The kitchen clock ran down because we forgot to wind it./ 5.To get into poor condition; look bad. •/A neighborhood runs down when thepeople don’t take care of their houses./

[run-down]{adj.} (stress on "run") In poor health or condition; weakor needing much work. •/Grandma caught a cold because she was very run-downfrom loss of sleep./ •/The houses near the center of the city get morerun-down every year./

[run dry]{v. phr.} To dry up; lose the water content. •/After manyyears of use, our well ran dry./

[run errands]{v. phr.} To carry messages or perform similar minortasks. •/Peter runs errands for our entire neighborhood to make some extramoney./

[run for it] or [make a run for it] {v. phr.} To dash for safety;make a speedy escape. •/The bridge the soldiers were on started to fall downand they had to run for it./ •/The policeman shouted for the robber tostop, but the robber made a run for if./