{adv. phr.} In a bank. •/I have almost $500 on deposit
in my account./ •/The children save their pennies and each month place them
on deposit./
[on duty]
{adj. phr.} Doing one’s job; supervising. •/Two soldiers
are on duty guarding the gates./ •/There is always one teacher on duty
during study hour./ Contrast: OFF DUTY.
[one]
See: AT ONE, FOR ONE, GO IN ONE EAR AND OUT THE OTHER, HANG ONE ON,
HOLE IN ONE, KILL TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE, NUMBER ONE, SIX OF ONE AND
HALF-A-DOZEN OF THE OTHER, SLIP ONE OVER ON, TEN TO ONE, TWO TO ONE, WORDS OF
ONE SYLLABLE.
[one and the same]
{adj. phr.} The same; identical. •/Erle Stanley
Gardner and A.A. Fair are one and the same person./ •/The spider lily and
the Peruvian Daffodil are one and the same./
[one-armed bandit]
{n.}, {slang} A slot machine, like those used in
Las Vegas and other gambling places. •/Joe was playing the one-armed bandit
all day — and he lost everything he had./
[on earth]
See: IN THE WORLD.
[on easy street]
{adj. phr.}, {informal} Having enough money to
live very comfortably; rather rich. •/After years of hard work, the Grants
found themselves on easy street./ •/Jim’s novel was a success and put him
on easy street./ Compare: IN CLOVER, IN THE CHIPS, WELL-TO-DO.
[one damn thing after another]
or [ODTAA] (pronounced owed-tay) {n.
phr.} If there is one problem, there will be more. •/First I lost my
wallet, then a kid broke the window, and, lastly, my car refused to start. It
was just one damn thing after another!/ Compare: IF IT’S NOT ONE THING IT’S
ANOTHER.
[on edge]
{adj. phr.} Excited or nervous; impatient. •/The magician
kept the children on edge all through his show./ •/We were all on edge as
we listened to the TV for news of the election results./ •/Father was on
edge after driving home through the heavy holiday traffic./ See: SET ONE’S
TEETH ON EDGE. Contrast: AT EASE(2).
[one eye on]
{informal} Watching or minding (a person or thing) while
doing something else; part of your attention on. — Used after "have", "keep",
or "with". •/Jane had one eye on the baby as she ironed./ •/Bill kept one
eye on his books and the other on the clock./ •/Chris tried to study with
one eye on the TV set./ Compare: KEEP AN EYE ON.
[one foot in the grave]
{n. phr.} Near to death. •/The dog is
fourteen years old, blind, and feeble. He has one foot in the grave./
•/Grandfather has never been sick a day in his life, but Mother cares for him
as if he had one foot in the grave./
[one for the books]
{n, phr.}, {informal} Very unusual; a
remarkable something. •/The newspaper reporter fumed in a story that was one
for the books./ •/Their trip through the Rocky Mountains was one for the
books./
[one-horse]
{adj. phr.} Insignificant; modest; provincial. •/Arnold’s
business is a one-horse operation; he never had a single employee./