[wouldn’t put it past one]{v. phr.} To think that someone is quitecapable or likely to have done something undesirable or illegal.•/Congressman Alfonso is insisting that he didn’t violate congressionalethics, but knowing both his expensive habits and his amorous escapades, manyof us wouldn’t put it past him that he might have helped himself to fundsillegally./

[wrack] See: GO TO WRACK AND RUIN.

[wrap] See: UNDER WRAPS.

[wrap one around one’s finger] See: TWIST ONE AROUND ONE’S LITTLE FINGER.

[wrapped up in]{adj. phr.} Thinking only of; interested only in.•/John has no time for sports because he is all wrapped up in his work./•/Mary was so wrapped up in her book she didn’t hear her mother callingher./ •/Jean is so wrapped up in herself, she never thinks of helpingothers./ •/Mrs. Brown gave up her career because her life was all wrappedup in her children./ Compare: IN A WORLD OF ONE’S OWN (2b).

[wrap up] or [bundle up] {v. phr.} 1. To put on warm clothes; dresswarmly. •/Mother told Mary to wrap up before going out into the cold./ 2.{informal} To finish (a job). •/Let’s wrap up the job and go home./ 3.{informal} To win a game. •/The Mets wrapped up the baseball game in theseventh inning./

[wreak havoc with]{v. phr.} To cause damage; ruin something. •/Hisrebellious attitude is bound to wreak havoc at the company./

[wrench] See: THROW A MONKEY WRENCH.

[wringing wet] adj. Wet through and through; soaked; dripping. •/He waswringing wet because he was caught in the rain without an umbrella./ •/Hewas wringing wet after working in the fields in the hot sun./

[write home about]{v. phr.} To become especially enthusiastic orexcited about; boast about. — Often used after "to". •/Mary’s trip to theWorld’s Fair was something to write home about./ •/Joe did a good enoughjob of painting but it was nothing to write home about./ •/"That was adinner worth writing home about!" said Bill coming out of the restaurant./

[write off]{v. phr.} 1. To remove (an amount) from a business record;cancel (a debt); accept as a loss. •/If a customer dies when he owes thestore money, the store must often write it off./ Compare: CHARGE OFF. 2. Toaccept (a loss or trouble) and not worry anymore about it; forget. •/Mr.Brown had so much trouble with the new TV set that he finally wrote it off andbought a new one./ •/Jim’s mistake cost him time and money, but he wrote itoff to experience./ Compare: CHARGE OFF(2). Contrast: CHALK UP(2). To saythat (something) will fail or not be good; believe worthless. •/Just becausethe boys on the team are young, don’t write the team off./ Compare: COUNTOUT.

[write-off]{n.} A loss. •/This last unfortunate business venture ofours is an obvious write-off./

[writer’s cramp]{n.} Pain in the fingers or hand caused by too muchwriting. •/Holding your pencil too tightly for too long often gives youwriter’s cramp./ Often used humorously to stress the idea that you have beendoing a lot of writing./ •/By the time Mary finished her Christmas cards shecomplained of writer’s cramp./

[writer’s block]{n. phr.} A condition of being unable to write; aperiod when the words just won’t come. •/One of the more common problemswriters occasionally experience is a writer’s block that may last a shorter ora longer time./ •/They say that the reason for Ernest Hemingway’s suicidewas a severe and seemingly endless writer’s block./

[write-up]{n.} A report or story in a newspaper or magazine. •/Therewas a write-up of the accident in the newspaper./ •/I read an interestingwrite-up about the President in a new magazine./

[write up]{v.} 1. To write the story of; describe in writing; give afull account of. •/Reporters from many newspapers are here to write up thegame./ •/The magazine is writing up the life of the President./ 2. To putsomething thought or talked about into writing; finish writing (something).•/John took notes of what the teacher said in class and he wrote them up whenhe got home./ •/The author had an idea for a story when he saw the oldhouse, and he wrote it up later./

[writing] or [handwriting on the wall] {n. phr.}, {literary} Awarning; a message of some urgency. •/"This nuclear plant is about toexplode, I think," the chief engineer said. "We’d better get out of here in ahurry, the handwriting is on the wall."/

[wrong] See: BARK UP THE WRONG TREE, BET ON THE WRONG HORSE, GET OFF ON THEWRONG FOOT, GET UP ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE BED, IN THE WRONG, LAUGH ON THEWRONG SIDE OF ONE’S MOUTH, RUB THE WRONG WAY.

[wrong side of the tracks] See: THE TRACKS.

[wrought up] See: WORKED UP.

X

[x-double minus]{adj.}, {slang}, {informal} Extremely poorlydone, bad, inferior (said mostly about theatrical or musical performances).•/Patsy gave an x-double minus performance at the audition and lost herchance for the lead role./

[X marks the spot] An indication made on maps or documents of importance tocall attention to a place or a feature of some importance. •/The treasurehunter said to his companion, "Here it is; X marks the spot."/

[x-rated]{adj.}, {slang}, {informal} Pertaining to movies,magazines, and literature judged pornographic and therefore off limits forminors. •/My son celebrated his 21st birthday by going to an x-ratedmovie./

[x-raying machine]{n.}, {slang}, {citizen’s band radio jargon}Speed detection device by radar used by the police. •/The smokies are usingthe x-raying machine under the bridge!/

Y

[yak-yak] or [yakety-yak] or [yakib-yak] {n.}, {slang} Muchtalk about little things; talking all the time about unimportant things.•/Tom sat behind two girls on the bus and he got tired of their sillyyak-yak./

[year] See: ALONG IN YEARS or ON IN YEARS.

[year in, year out] See: DAY IN AND DAY OUT.

[year-round] or [year-around] {adj.} Usable, effective, oroperating all the year. •/Colorado is a year-round resort; there is fishingin the summer and skiing in the winter./

[yellow around the gills] See: GREEN AROUND THE GILLS.

[yellow-bellied]{adj.}, {slang} Extremely timid, cowardly. •/JoeBennett is a yellow-bellied guy, don’t send him on such a tough assignment!/

[yellow journalism]{n. phr.} Cheap and sensational newspaper writing;inflammatory language designed to stir up popular sentiment against anothercountry. •/Yellow journalism is hardly ever truly informative./

[yellow-livered]{adj.} Cowardly. •/The young boy greatly resentedbeing called yellow-livered and started to fight right away./

[yeoman service]{n. phr.} Help in time of need; serviceable and goodassistance. •/Sam was pressed into yeoman service in organizing our annualfundraiser for cerebral palsy victims./

[yes-man]{n.}, {informal} A person who tries to be liked byagreeing with everything said; especially, someone who always agrees with aboss or the one in charge. •/John tries to get ahead on his job by being ayes-man./