{v. phr.} 1. To bake a potato in a microwave oven.
•/"We have no time for standard baked potatoes in the oven," she said. "We’ll
just have to nuke a tater."/
[null and void]
{adj.} Not worth anything; no longer valid. •/Both
the seller and the buyer agreed to forget about their previous contract and to
consider it null and void./
[number]
See: A NUMBER, ANY NUMBER, DAYS ARE NUMBERED, GET ONE’S NUMBER,
HOT NUMBER, QUITE A FEW or QUITE A NUMBER.
[number among]
{v. phr.} Consider as one of; consider to be a part of.
•/I number Al among my best friends./
[number one(1)]
or [Number One(1)]{n. phr.}, {informal}
Yourself; your own interests; your private or selfish advantage. Usually used
in the phrase "look out for number one". •/He was well known for his habit of
always looking out for number one./
[number one(2)]
{adj. phr.} 1. Of first rank or importance; foremost;
principal. •/He is easily America’s number one golfer./ 2. Of first grade;
of top quality; best. •/That is number one western steer beef./
[nurse]
See: VISITING NURSE.
[nurse a drink]
{v. phr.}, {informal} To hold a drink in one’s hand
at a party, pretending to be drinking it or taking extremely small sips only.
•/John’s been nursing that drink all evening./
[nurse a grudge]
{v. phr.} To keep a feeling of envy or dislike toward
some person; remember something bad that a person said or did to you, and
dislike the person because of that. •/Torn nursed a grudge against John
because John took his place on the basketball team./ •/Mary nursed a grudge
against her teacher because she thought she deserved a better grade in
English./
[nursing home]
See: CONVALESCENT HOME.
[nut]
See: HARD NUT TO CRACK or TOUGH NUT TO CRACK.
[nut case]
{n. phr.} A very silly, crazy, or foolish person. •/I am
going to be a nut case if I don’t go on a vacation pretty soon./
[nuts about]
See: CRAZY ABOUT.
[nuts and bolts of]
{n. phr.} The basic facts or important details of
something. •/"Ted will he an excellent trader," his millionaire grandfather
said, "once he learns the nuts and bolts of the profession."/
[nutshell]
See: IN A NUTSHELL.
[nutty as a fruitcake]
{adj. phr.}, {slang} Very crazy; entirely
mad. •/He looked all right, as we watched him approach, but when he began to
talk, we saw that he was as nutty as a fruitcake./
O
[oak]
See: GREAT OAKS FROM LITTLE ACORNS GROW.
[oars]
See: REST ON ONE’S OARS.
[oath]
See: TAKE OATH.
[oats]
See: FEEL ONE’S OATS, SOW ONE’S WILD OATS.
[obey the call of nature]
See: ANSWER THE CALL OF NATURE.
[occasion]
See: ON OCCASION.
[occupy oneself]
{v. phr.} To make oneself busy with. •/Having
retired from business, he now occupies himself with his stamp collection./
[oddball]
{n.}, {slang}, {informal} An eccentric person; one
who doesn’t act like everyone else. •/John is an oddball — he never invites
anyone./
[odd jobs]
{n. phr.} Work that is not steady or regular in nature;
small, isolated tasks. •/Dan does odd jobs for his neighbors, barely making
enough to eat./
[odds]
See: BY ALL ODDS.
[odds and ends]
{n. phr.} Miscellaneous items; remnants. •/After the
great annual clearance sale there were only a few odds and ends left in the
store./