[not so hot]
or [not too hot]{adj. phr.} Ineffective; not very
good. •/His plans to rebuild the house in a hurry obviously weren’t so
hot./[not the only fish in the sea]
{n. phr.} One of many; not the only one
of the kind; not the only one available. •/He said he could find other girls — she was not the only fish in the sea./ Compare: NOT THE ONLY PEBBLE ON THE
BEACH.[not the only pebble on the beach]
{n. phr.} Not the only person to be
considered; one of many. •/George was acting pretty self-important and we
finally had to tell him that he wasn’t the only pebble on the beach./
Compare: NOT THE ONLY FISH IN THE SEA.[not the thing]
{n. phr.} Not the accepted form of action; something
socially improper. •/It is simply not the thing to wear blue jeans to the
opera./[not to get to first base]
{v. phr.} To fail to make initial progress;
have no success at all. •/I tried various ways to make Mary interested in me
as a potential husband, but I couldn 't even get to first base./[not to give one the time of day]
{v. phr.}, {slang},
{informal} To dislike someone strongly enough so as to totally ignore him.
•/Sue wouldn’t give Helen the time of day./[not to give quarter]
{v. phr.} 1. To be utterly unwilling to show
mercy; not to allow a weaker or defeated party the chance to save themselves
through escape. •/The occupying foreign army gave no quarter — they took no
prisoners, shot everyone, and made escape impossible./ 2. To argue so
forcefully during a negotiation or in a court of law as to make any
counter-argument or counter-proposal impossible. •/The District Attorney
hammered away at the witnesses and gave no quarter to the attorney for the
defense./[not to know one from Adam]
{v. phr.} To not know a person; be unable
to recognize someone. •/I have no idea who that guy is that Jane just walked
in with; I don’t know him from Adam./[not to know the first thing about]
{v. phr.} To be totally ignorant
about a certain issue. •/Al assured us that he didn’t know the first thing
about Mary’s whereabouts./[not to know what to make of]
{v. phr.} To be unable to decipher; be
unable to identify; not know how to decide what something really is. •/I got
a mysterious letter asking me to meet Santa Claus at 6 P.M. at the supermarket.
Is this a joke? I don’t know what to make of it./[not to know whether one is coming or going]
{v. phr.} To be completely
confused. •/He was so perplexed he didn’t know whether he was coming or
going./ Compare: AT SEA(2).[not to lift a finger]
{v. phr.} To not help in the slightest degree.
•/"My husband won’t lift a finger to help me," she complained, "although we
have 12 people coming for dinner."/[not to mention]
or [not to speak of] or [to say nothing of]
Without ever needing to speak of; in addition to; besides. — Used to add
something to what you have said or explained. •/Dave is handsome and smart
not to mention being a good athlete./ •/They have three fine sons, not to
speak of their two lovely daughters./ •/Sally takes singing and dancing
lessons to say nothing of swimming and tennis lessons./ Compare: LET ALONE,
TO SPEAK OF.