Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц

[act of faith]{n. phr.} An act or a deed that shows unquestioning belief in someone or something. •/It was a real act of faith on Mary’s part to entrust her jewelry to her younger sister’s care./

[act of God]{n.} An occurrence (usually some sort of catastrophe) for which the people affected are not responsible; said of earthquakes, floods, etc. •/Hurricane Andrew destroyed many houses in Florida, but some types of insurance did not compensate the victims, claiming that the hurricane was an act of God./ See: FICKLE FINGER OF FATE.

[act one’s age] or [be one’s age]{v. phr.} To do the things that people expect someone of your age to do, not act as if you were much younger than you are. •/Mr. O’Brien was playing tag with the children at the party. Then Mrs. O’Brien said, "Henry! Act your age!" and he stopped./

[actor] See: BAD ACTOR.

[act out]{v.} 1. To show an idea, story, or happening by your looks, talk, and movements. •/He tried to act out a story that he had read./ 2. To put into action. •/All his life he tried to act out his beliefs./

[act up]{v.}, {informal} 1. To behave badly; act rudely or impolitely. •/The dog acted up as the postman came to the door./ 2. To work or run poorly (as a after all machine); skip; miss. •/Thе car acted up because the spark plugs were dirty./

[add fuel to the flame]{v. phr.} To make a bad matter worse by adding to its cause; spread trouble, increase anger or other strong feelings by talk or action. •/By criticizing his son’s girl, the father added fuel to the flame of his son’s love./ •/Bob was angry with Ted and Ted added fuel to the flame by laughing at him./

[add insult to injury]{v. phr.} 1. To hurt someone’s feelings after doing him harm. •/He added insult to injury when he called the man a rat after he had already beaten him up./ 2. To make bad trouble worse. •/We started on a picnic, and first it rained, then to add insult to injury, the car broke down./

[addition] See: IN ADDITION.

[address] See: PUBLIC-ADDRESS SYSTEM.

[add the finishing touches]{v. phr.} To complete; finish. •/Mary’s first novel promised to be excellent; however, her editor suggested that she should add some finishing touches before accepting it./

[add up]{v.} 1. To come to the correct amount. •/The numbers wouldn’t add up./ 2. {informal} To make sense; be understandable. •/His story didn’t add up./

[add up to]{v.} 1. To make a total of; amount to. •/The bill added up to $12.95./ 2. {informal} To mean; result in. •/The rain, the mosquitoes, and the heat added up to a spoiled vacation./

[ad lib]{v. phr.} To improvise; interpolate during speech. •/When the actress forgot her lines during the second act, she had to ad lib in order to keep the show going./

[advance] See: IN ADVANCE or IN ADVANCE OF.

[advantage] See: TAKE ADVANTAGE OF, TO ADVANTAGE.