Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц

[talk rot]{v. phr.} To say silly things; talk nonsense. •/He’s talking rot when he says that our company is almost bankrupt./

[talk shop]{v. phr.}, {informal} To talk about things in your work or trade. •/Two chemists were talking shop, and I hardly understood a word they said./

[talk through one’s hat]{v. phr.}, {informal} To say something without knowing or understanding the facts; talk foolishly or ignorantly. •/John said that the earth is nearer the sun in summer, but the teacher said he was talking through his hat./

[talk turkey]{v. phr.}, {informal} To talk about something in a really businesslike way; talk with the aim of getting things done. •/Charles said, "Now, let’s talk turkey about the bus trip. The fact is, it will cost each student $1.50."/ •/The father always spoke gently to his son, but when the son broke the windshield of the car, the father talked turkey to him./

[talk up]{v.} 1. To speak in favor or support of. •/Let’s talk up the game and get a big crowd./ 2. To speak plainly or clearly. •/The teacher asked the student to talk up./ Syn.: SPEAK UP. 3. {informal} To say what you want or think; say what someone may not like. •/Talk up if you want more pie./ •/George isn’t afraid to talk up when he disagrees with the teacher./ Syn.: SPEAK UP. Compare: SPEAK OUT.

[tall order] See: LARGE ORDER.

[tall story] or [tale]{n. phr.} See: FISH STORY.

[tamper with]{v.} 1. To meddle with (something); handle ignorantly or foolishly. •/He tampered with the insides of his watch and ruined it./ 2. To secretly get someone to do or say wrong things, especially by giving him money, or by threatening to hurt him. •/A friend of the man being tried in court tampered with a witness./

[tank] See: THINK TANK.

[tan one’s hide]{v. phr.}, {informal} To give a beating to; spank hard. •/Bob’s father tanned his hide for staying out too late./

[tape] See: FRICTION TAPE, MASKING TAPE.

[taper down]{adj. phr.} To decrease; reduce. •/He has tapered down his drinking from three martinis to one beer a day./

[taper off]{v.} 1. To come to an end little by little; become smaller toward the end. •/The river tapers off here and becomes a brook./ 2. To stop a habit gradually; do something less and less often. •/Robert gave up smoking all at once instead of tapering off./ Contrast: COLD TURKEY.

[tar] See: BEAT THE --- OUT OF.

[tar and feather]{v.} To pour heated tar on and cover with feathers as a punishment. •/In the Old West bad men were sometimes tarred and feathered and driven out of town./

[task] See: TAKE TO TASK.

[taste] See: LEAVE A BAD TASTE IN ONE’S MOUTH.

[tat] See: TIT FOR TAT.

[tax trap]{n.}, {informal} Predicament in which taxpayers in middle-income brackets are required to pay steeply progressive rates of taxation as their earnings rise with inflation but their personal exemptions remain fixed, resulting in a loss of real disposable income. •/Everybody in my neighborhood has been caught in a tax trap./

[T-bone steak]{n.} A steak with a bone in it which looks like a "T". •/On Jim’s birthday we had T-bone steak for supper./

[tea] See: CUP OF TEA also DISH OF TEA.