[than] See: LESS THAN, LESS THAN NO TIME, MORE THAN.

[thank one’s lucky stars]{v. phr.}, {informal} To be thankful forgood luck; think oneself lucky. •/You can thank your lucky stars you didn’tfall in the hole./

[thanks to]{prep.} 1. With the help of. •/Thanks to a good teacher,John passed the examination./ •/I finally finished washing the dishes, nothanks to you./ 2. Owing to; because of. •/Thanks to a sudden rain, thechildren came home with wet clothes./

[that is] or [that is to say] I mean; that means; in other words.•/John is a New Yorker; that is, he lives in New York./ •/Susan is a goodstudent; that is to say, she gets good grades in school./

[that is that] or [that’s that] {informal} The matter is decided;there is nothing more to be said; it is done. •/Jim, you will go to schoolthis morning, and that is that./

[that’ll be the day]{informal} That will never happen. •/Joe wantedme to lend him money to take my girl to the movies. That’ll be the day!/•/"Wouldn’t it be nice if we had to go to school only one day a week?""That’ll be the day!"/

[That makes two of us!] Informal way to say, "I am in agreement with whatyou arc saying or doing." •/So you voted for Senator Aldridge? So did I — that makes two of us./

[That takes care of that!] Informal way to say, "That concludes ourbusiness." •/I paid my ex-wife the last alimony check and that takes care ofthat!/

[That will do!] Informal expression of impatience meaning "stop," "nomore." •/"That will do, Tommy," his mother cried. "I’ve had just about enoughof your drumming on the table."/

[that’s --- for you] That’s the way (someone or something) is; (someone orsomething) is like that. •/John tried hard, but he lost the game. That’s lifefor you./ •/Mary changed her mind about going. That’s a girl for you./

[That’s about the size of it!] Informal way to say, "What you said is true;the rumor or the news is true." •/"I am told you’re leaving our firm forJapan," Fred said to Tom. "That’s about the size of it," Tom replied with agrin./

[That’s the story of my life…] Usually spoken when something goes wrong.•/I spent seven years writing a novel, but no publisher wants to accept it.That’s the story of my life./

[That’s the ticket!] Informal way to say, "excellent; correct." •/"Firstwe’ll go up the Sears Tower, and then we’ll take a night sightseeing tour onthe lake," Fran said. "That’s the ticket!" Stan, an old inhabitant of Chicago,replied./

[That’s the way the ball bounces] or [the cookie crumbles!] Nothingunusual about that. — Said of unpleasant things. •/"Susan left me for aheavyweight boxer, and then I got drunk and wrecked my car," Bob bitterlycomplained. "Well, that’s the way the cookie crumbles," Pam answeredphilosophically./

[theater] See: LITTLE THEATER.

[the business]{n.}, {slang} — Usually used with "give" or "get".1. All that you are able to do; greatest effort. •/Johnny gave the tryoutsthe business but he failed to make the team./ 2. The most harm possible; thegreatest damage or hurt. •/Fred got the business when Tom caught him with hisbicycle./ 3. A harsh scolding. •/The teacher gave Walter the business whenhe came to school late again./ •/Mike thought he was the star of the teamuntil he got the business from the coach./ Compare: THE WORKS.

[The cat did it!] A humorous and convenient way to pass the blame. •/"Myvase is broken!" Mother shrieked in horror. "Well," Dad smirked cynically, "Iguess the cat did it!"/

[the creeps]{n.}, {informal} 1. An uncomfortable tightening of theskin caused by fear or shock. •/Reading the story of a ghost gave Joe thecreeps./ •/The queer noises in the old house gave Mary the creeps./ 2. Astrong feeling of fear or disgust. •/The cold, damp, lonely swamp gave Johnthe creeps./ •/The dog was so ugly it gave Mary the creeps./

[the devil to pay]{n. phr.} A severe penalty. •/If we don’t finishthe work by next Monday, there will be the devil to pay./

[the edge]{n.}, {informal} The advantage. — Usually used in thephrases "get the edge on", "have the edge on". •/In the last quarter of thegame, our team got the edge on the other team and kept it./ •/Mary has theedge on Jane in the beauty contest./

[the fickle finger of fate] See: ACT OF GOD.

[the idea] or [the very idea] {n. phr.} — Used in exclamations toshow that you do not like something. •/The idea! Thinking Mother was mysister!/ •/The very idea of Tom bringing that dirty dog into my cleanhouse!/

[the lid]{n.}, {slang} Something that holds back or holds out ofsight. •/The police blew the lid off the gambling operations./ •/Johnkept the lid on his plans until he was ready to run for class president./•/The chief of police placed the lid on gambling in the town./

[the likes of]{informal} Something like or similar to; something ofthe same kind as. •/I have never seen the likes of John./ •/It was achocolate sundae the likes of which Mary would never see again./

[the long and the short] or [the long and short] {n. phr.} All thatneeds to be said; the basic fact; point. •/The long and the short of thematter is that the man is no actor./ •/The money isn’t there, and that’sthe long and short of it./

[the matter]{adj.} Not as it should be; wrong. — Used in questions orwith negatives or "if". •/Why don’t you answer me? What’s the matter?/•/John may be slow in arithmetic, but nothing’s the matter with his pitchingarm./ •/If anything is the matter, please tell me./

[the more --- the more ---] or [the ---er the ---er] — Used in twohalves of a sentence to show that when there is more of the first, there ismore of the second too. •/The more you eat. the fatter you will get./•/Get your report in when you can; the sooner, the better./ •/The biggerthey are, the harder they fall./ •/The more Bill worked on the arithmeticproblem, the more confused he became./

[then] See: AND THEN SOME, EVERY NOW AND THEN, NOW AND THEN.

[then again]{adv.} As an opposite possibility; another thing. •/Hemay be here tomorrow. Then again, he may not come until next week./ •/Ithought you told me about the fire, but then again it could have been Bill./

[then and there]{adv. phr.} At that very time and place in the past;right then. •/He said he wanted his dime back then and there, so I had togive it to him./ Compare: IN ONE’S TRACKS, ON THE SPOT, HERE AND NOW.

[the other day]{adv. phr.} In the recent past. •/I saw an incredibleparade of elephants along Michigan Avenue the other day on my way to work./

[the other way around]{adv. phr.} See: JUST THE OTHER WAY.

[the picture]{n.} The way things are or were; the facts aboutsomething; the situation; what happened or happens. •/Where does Susan comeinto the picture./ •/When you are looking for a job your education entersinto the picture./ •/Old Mr. Brown is out of the picture now and his sonruns the store./ •/After the fight on the playground, the principal talkedto the boys who were watching, until he got the whole picture./ Compare: GETTHE MESSAGE.

[the pits]{n.}, {slang} 1. A low class, blighted andill-maintained place, motel room or apartment. •/Max, this motel is the pits,I will not sleep here!/ 2. The end of the road, the point of no return, thepoint of total ruin of one’s health (from the drug anticulture referring to thearm-pits as the only place that had veins for injections). •/John flunkedhigh school this year for the third time; he will never get to college; it’sthe pits for him./ 3. A very depressed state of mind. •/Poor Marcy is downin the pits over her recent divorce./