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| About face | Turn around [Military term] (Sergeant Green ordered troops to about face.) |
| About time | To be late; to take a long amount of time (It's about time you came!) |
| Above board | To be honest (He does everything above board.) |
| Above (my) head | Beyond (your) ability to understand (That is above your head.) |
| Absent-minded | To be forgetful (The teacher is very absent-minded.) |
| Acid test | A real test (Take the new car for an acid test.) |
| Across-the-board | Something for everyone (The pay raise was made across-the-board.) |
| Across town | On the other side of a town (Nick lives across town from me.) |
| Act up | Behave improperly (The children are beginning to act up.) |
| Action | Excitement (Jimmy is looking for some action tonight.) |
| Affair, have an | To commit adultery (He had an affair in March.) |
| After; to be after | To chase (someone) (Sally really was after Mark.) |
| After my own heart | In agreement with; to have similar likes |
| Against the grain, go | Contrary to the norm (Her idea went against the grain.) |
| Aim too high | To seek an unattainable goal (Ian aims too high. He's not qualified for the job.) |
| Airhead | A stupid young woman (She is a California airhead.) |
| Albatross, an | A burden (That boy is an albatross around her neck.) |
| Alive with | To be full of something positive (He is alive with new ideas.) |
| All ahead full | Full speed (The captain ordered the ship at all ahead full.) |
| All at once | Everything at one time; now (You cannot do those things all at once.) |
| All broken up | Sad (The kids were all broken up after their dog died.) |
| All choked up | Sad (That depressing movie left me all choked up.) |
| All ears | To listen carefully (I am all ears.) |
| All heart | Sympathetic (When it comes to children, Pauline is all heart.) |
| All in | Exhausted (I need sleep; I am all in!) |
| All-out | Completely (We must go all-out to win.) |
| All over | 1. To be finished (She told Sam it was all over for them.) 2. To be totally engaged; completely (He was all over the new material.) |
| All shook up | Upset (Jennifer is all shook up because her boyfriend dumped her.) |
| All the way | Completely (Dad can drive all the way there.) |
| All there; [not all there] | Sane; [insane; crazy] (He is not all there.) |
| All thumbs | Clumsy (Ralph is all thumbs when it comes to home repairs.) |
| All tied up | Busy; preoccupied (I'm sorry that I can't help. I'm all tied up today.) |
| All told | Total (All told, it came up to $25.) |
| All torn up | 1. To be distressed (She was all torn up when he dumped her.) 2. Not to be distressed [said in sarcasm] |
| All washed up | A failure (Our new company now is all washed up.) |
| Almost there | 1. Near to a location 2. Nearly complete in performing an action (Yes, we are almost there.) |
| Alright; all right | To be in agreement with someone (Alright, we can do that.) |
| Amount to much | To be unsuccessful (Her idea did not amount to much.) |
| Amount to something | To succeed (He will never amount to something.) |
| Amscray! | Get out of here! |
| And how! | Emphatic agreement (She looks beautiful. And how!) |
| Angle, have an | To have a sneaky plan of action (John always has an angle.) |
| Answer for | To be responsible (You must answer for your actions.) |
| Ante up | To pay (Ante up or you cannot go play the game.) |
| Ants in the pants | To be excited; to fidget (Billy had ants in his pants at school.) |
| Apple, a bad | A bad person (He is another bad apple.) |
| Apple of (his) eye | (His) favorite (He is the apple of mother's eye.) |
| Apple-pie order | Proper order (Make sure it is in apple-pie order.) |
| Apples | Breasts (Ralph is turned off by small apples.) |
| Applesauce! | To be untrue! (That is applesauce!) |
| Arm and a leg | Expensive (Things in that store cost an arm and a leg.) |
| Around | Nearby (Yes, I've seen Richard around before today.) |
| Around the clock | Continual; all day (They worked around the clock.) |
| Around the corner | Nearby (I think Pete's Pizza is somewhere around the corner.) |
| Around town | In town; local (Mary prefers to stay around town.) |
| As good as | Virtually (We're as good as dead if we travel to that trouble spot.) |
| As is | In current condition (He bought the car as is.) |
| At all costs | Completely; without reservation (He had to win at all costs.) |
| At arms length | Distant (Be sure to keep the dog at arms length.) |
| At ease | To relax [Military term] (The troops are standing at ease.) |
| At full blast | Completely; top speed (Let's drive the car at full blast.) |
| At odds with | To oppose (He is at odds with the government.) |
| At sea with | To be confused (He appeared totally at sea with that idea.) |
| At the same time | Simultaneously (Betty can play piano and chat at the same time.) |
| At times | Occasionally (Bobby likes to watch a movie at times.) |
| Atta boy | Praise (Charlie received a nice atta boy from his company.) |
| Ax to grind, an | To settle a grudge (Bob has an ax to grind with Steve.) |
