What does at mean

Crossword clues for at

at home

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

preposition

COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES

a bird pecks (at) sth (=makes small movements with its head)

▪ Some birds were pecking at the remains of a sandwich.

a demonstration in protest at sth

▪ There were demonstrations in protest at the food shortages.

a measure is aimed at doing sth

▪ The measures were aimed at reducing the speed of cars on the roads.

a move is aimed at doing sth/is designed to do sth

▪ The move is aimed at strengthening its business in the region.

a policy aims at sth/to do sth (=tries to achieve sth)

▪ The policy aimed to reduce the budget deficit.

aim a kick at sb/sth

▪ Lifting her foot, she aimed a kick at her brother.

an estimate puts sth at sth

▪ Independent estimates put the number of refugees at 50,000.

an ordeal at the hands of sb (=used to say who has made someone go through something painful or difficult)

▪ She has only just revealed her ordeal at the hands of her stepfather.

any...at all

▪ They haven’t shown any interest at all in my research.

appear at a theatre etc

appear/play/speak at a festival (=perform at a festival)

▪ Sting is scheduled to appear at a festival in Amsterdam next month.

at a given moment (=at any particular time)

▪ There was no variety at all - you knew exactly what you would be doing at any given moment of the week.

at a guessBritish English (= used when saying that you are making a guess)

▪ I'd say it was built around the turn of the century, at a guess.

at a jaunty angle

▪ Her hat was set at a jaunty angle.

at a later stage

▪ These points will be dealt with at a later stage.

at a loss for words (=unable to think what to say)

▪ He seemed, for once, at a loss for words.

at a moment’s notice (=very quickly)

▪ Fire fighters need to be able to get ready at a moment’s notice.

at a moment’s notice (=very quickly)

▪ He’d be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.

at a rapid rate/pace

▪ Deforestation is occurring at a rapid rate as a result of agricultural development.

at a rate of

▪ Some customers are paying interest at a rate of over 15%.

at a sedate pace

▪ We continued our walk at a sedate pace.

at a slight/steep angle

▪ The sign leaned over at a slight angle.

at a smart pace (=fairly fast)

▪ She set off at a smart pace.

at a snail’s pace (=very slowly)

▪ Reform is proceeding at a snail’s pace.

at a stretch (=without stopping)

▪ She rarely sleeps for eight hours at a stretch.

at an alarming rate

▪ The rainforest is disappearing at an alarming rate.

at an early/late stage

▪ I can’t change my plans at this late stage.

at an early/young age

▪ Kids can start learning a second language at a young age.

at an ungodly hour (=very early in the morning or very late at night)

▪ Why did you wake me up at such an ungodly hour?

at any given time/moment

▪ There are thought to be around 10,000 young homeless Scots in London at any given time.

at best...at worst

▪ Choosing the right software can be time-consuming at best and confusing or frustrating at worst.

at best...at worst

▪ Choosing the right software can be time-consuming at best and confusing or frustrating at worst.

at board level (=at a senior level in a company, involving people on the board)

▪ The policy was approved at board level.

at breakneck speed (=very quickly)

▪ He drove away at breakneck speed.

at every (possible) opportunity (=whenever possible)

▪ She went to the museum at every opportunity.

at full speed (=running, driving etc as fast as possible)

▪ He ran past us at full speed.

at full speed

▪ Parker was driving at full speed when he hit the wall.

at great/huge/considerable/vast expense (=used when saying that something costs a lot of money)

▪ The tiles were imported at great expense from Italy.

▪ Recently, and at vast expense to the taxpayer, the bridge was rebuilt.

at half mast (=halfway down the pole, in order to express public sadness at someone’s death)

▪ The government ordered that all flags should be flown at half mast.

at high speed

▪ The train was approaching at high speed.

at high/great speed

▪ The train was travelling at high speed.

at high/low etc magnification

▪ When viewed at high magnification it is clear that the crystals are quite different.

▪ greater levels of magnification

at home and abroad

▪ The books about Harry Potter have been very popular, both at home and abroad.

at irregular intervals

▪ Beamish only returned to Britain at irregular intervals.

at least one occasion (=once, and probably more than once)

▪ On at least one occasion he was arrested for robbery.

at low/slow speed

▪ Even at low speed, an accident could mean serious injury for a child.

at maximum capacity

▪ The plant is operating at maximum capacity.

at no extra cost

▪ Residents can use the gym at no extra cost.

at one point (=at a time in the past)

▪ At one point I was thinking of studying physics.

at one pole/at opposite poles

▪ We have enormous wealth at one pole, and poverty and misery at the other.

▪ Washington and Beijing are at opposite poles think in two completely different ways on this issue.

at one pole/at opposite poles

▪ We have enormous wealth at one pole, and poverty and misery at the other.

▪ Washington and Beijing are at opposite poles think in two completely different ways on this issue.

at one stage (=at a time in the past)

▪ At one stage I had to tell him to calm down.

at one with nature

▪ She felt as she always did in these mountains: peaceful, without care, at one with nature.

at opposite ends of the country (=a long distance apart)

▪ They work at opposite ends of the country, so only see each other at weekends.

at regular intervals

▪ The pipes were placed at regular intervals.

at regular intervals

▪ Trains will run at regular intervals from 11am to 4pm.

at room temperature

▪ Store the wine at room temperature.

at sb’s feet (=on the ground, near your feet)

▪ The dog was sitting at his master’s feet.

at short notice (=without much time to prepare)

▪ Thank you for coming to help at such short notice.

at short noticeBrE,on short notice American English

▪ The party was arranged at short notice.

at some point

▪ Over half the population suffers from back pain at some point in their lives.

at some stage

▪ Four out of ten people are likely to contract cancer at some stage in their lives.

at the appointed time (=at the time that had been arranged)

▪ Everyone assembled in the hall at the appointed time .

at the bottom of the pecking order

▪ Nobody wants to be at the bottom of the pecking order.

At the close of

▪ At the close of trade, the Dow Jones index was 1.92 points down.

at the core of

▪ Debt is at the core of the problem.

at the crack of dawn (=very early in the morning)

▪ I was up at the crack of dawn to get the plane.

at the first/earliest opportunity (=as soon as possible)

▪ He decided to leave school at the earliest opportunity.

at the flick of a switch

▪ I can shut off all the power in the building at the flick of a switch.

at the flick/touch of a switch (=very quickly and easily, with a switch)

▪ The advantages of having electricity available at the flick of a switch are obvious.

at the height of sb’s/sth’s fame (=when someone was most famous)

▪ At the height of his fame, he could earn $5,000 a day.

at the height of the boom

▪ They sold their house at the height of the boom.

at the opposite end of the scale/spectrum

▪ two parties at opposite ends of the political spectrum

At the opposite extreme,

▪ At the opposite extreme, Ashworth’s style is very simple and modern.

at the other/opposite extreme

▪ At the other extreme is a country like Switzerland with almost no unemployment.

at the pinnacle of sth

▪ The bank was then at the pinnacle of England’s financial system.

At the present time

▪ At the present time we have no explanation for this.

at (the) public expense (=paid for by the public through taxes)

▪ The bridge was built at public expense.

at the ripe old age of

▪ She was put in charge at the ripe old age of twenty-nine.

at the slightest excuse (=for any reason, however unimportant)

▪ She comes to our house at the slightest excuse.

at the slightest provocation

▪ Julie has a tendency to burst into tears at the slightest provocation.

at the time of

▪ I was at home at the time of the murder.

at the top of your voice (=in a very loud voice)

▪ She shouted ‘Help!’ at the top of her voice.

at the top of...voice (=very loudly)

▪ He could hear Pete yelling at the top of his voice .

at the top/bottom of a list

▪ Her name was at the top of the list of students.

at the (very) least (=not less than and probably much more than)

▪ It would cost $1 million at the very least.

at the very most (=he was probably younger)

▪ The boy looked nine at the very most.

At this juncture

▪ At this juncture, I suggest we take a short break.

at this moment in time (=now)

▪ At this moment in time we cannot proceed with the proposal.

at this time of night (=used when something happens very late at night, and you are surprised)

▪ Why are you calling me at this time of night?

at this/that point in timeformal (= used especially in official speeches, announcements etc)

▪ It would be wrong to comment at this point in time.

at this/that point

▪ I’m not prepared at this point to make any decision.

at this/that stage

▪ At this stage his wife did not realise he was missing.

at three o'clock/seven thirty etc on the dot (=at exactly 3:00/7:30 etc)

▪ Mr Green arrived at six on the dot.

at your own expense (=used when saying that you pay for something yourself)

▪ He had copies of the book printed at his own expense.

at your own pace (=at the pace that suits you)

▪ This allows each child to learn at his or her own pace.

(at/from) a safe distance

▪ We watched from a safe distance.

▪ Drivers should keep a safe distance from the car in front.

at/from the very beginning (=used for emphasis)

▪ He had been lying to me from the very beginning.

at/in one go

▪ Ruby blew out all her candles at one go.

at/in the front (of sth)

▪ She always sits at the front of the class.

▪ I found a good place on the bus, on the top deck, right at the front.

at/on a superficial level

▪ At a superficial level, things seem to have remained the same.

at/on the stroke of midnight (=at exactly midnight)

▪ The treaty will come into force on the stroke of midnight tonight.

at...sniff of trouble

▪ He got us into this mess, and then left at the first sniff of trouble!

at/with lightning speed (=very quickly)

▪ He moved with his usual lightning speed.

at/with lightning speed (=extremely quickly)

at/with the push of a button (=used to emphasize how easy a machine is to use)

▪ Files can be attached to your email at the push of a button.

be alarmed/appalled/upset etc at the prospect (of sth)

▪ She was secretly appalled at the prospect of being looked after by her aunt.

be at its peak

▪ The strawberry season is now at its peak.

be at peace (with sb) (=not be involved in a war)

▪ Officially England was at peace with Spain.

be at the centre of a scandalBritish English, be at the center of a scandal American English

▪ The banker at the centre of the scandal has disappeared.

be at the centre of a stormBritish English, be at the center of a storm American English (= be the person or thing that is causing strong protest, criticism etc)

▪ He has been at the centre of a storm surrounding donations to the party.

be at the height of your powers (=be at a time in your life when your abilities are strongest)

▪ Fonteyn was still at the height of her powers as a dancer.

be (at the) top of the agenda

▪ Energy efficiency is top of the agenda.

be (at the) top/bottom of the league (=be the best or the worst team in a group)

be at universityBritish English

▪ We were at university together.

be at war

▪ Russia was at war with Poland.

be back to/at square one

▪ The police are now back at square one in their investigation.

be burned at the stake (=burned in a fire as a punishment)

▪ In those days witches were burned at the stake.

be excited/thrilled/delighted etc at the prospect (of sth)

▪ I was excited at the prospect of going to Washington.

be lost at seaformal (= be drowned in the sea)

▪ His father had been lost at sea three months before.

be on/be showing at the cinema

▪ Do you know what’s on at the cinema?

be present at a ceremony

▪ The French ambassador was present at the ceremony.

be sick at heart (=to feel very unhappy)

▪ He was too sick at heart to know what to say.

be/lie at the root of sth (=be the cause of something)

▪ Allergies are at the root of a lot of health problems.

be/lie at the root of sth

▪ the liberal economic policies which lie at the root of American power

burnt at the stake

▪ Suspected witches were burnt at the stake.

cast a look/glance at sb/sth

▪ She cast an anguished look at Guy.

close at hand (=very near)

▪ A variety of good restaurants are close at hand.

come at a price (also come at a high price) (= involve suffering or a bad result)

▪ She won fame, but it came at a high price.

come to/arrive at a compromise

▪ The negotiations took place and they arrived at a compromise.

come to/arrive at/reach a conclusion (=decide something)

▪ I eventually came to the conclusion that I wanted to study law.

coming apart at the seams (=failing completely)

▪ She felt as if her life was coming apart at the seams.

could at least

▪ You could at least say that you’re sorry.

death toll stands at

▪ The official death toll stands at 53.

eat at/in a restaurant (also dine at/in a restaurantformal)

▪ Have you eaten in this restaurant before?

exhibit sth in/at a gallery

▪ It was the first time that the paintings had been exhibited in a gallery.

falling apart at the seams

▪ The health service is falling apart at the seams.

falling asleep at the wheel (=falling asleep while driving)

▪ One in seven road accidents is caused by drivers falling asleep at the wheel.

finish (at) college

▪ What are you going to do when you finish art college?

flying at an altitude

▪ We’re flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet.

get at/to the truthinformal (= discover the truth)

▪ The police will eventually get to the truth of the matter.

have a go at

▪ On the tour, everyone can have a go at making a pot.

have a laugh about/at/over sth (=laugh about something)

▪ The farmer had a good laugh at our attempts to catch the horse.

have/make/take a stab at (doing) sth

▪ I’ll have one more stab at it.

have/take a look (at sb/sth)

▪ Have you had a chance to take a look at my proposal yet?

have/take a look (at sb/sth)

▪ Let me have a look at that – I think it’s mine.

▪ Take a good look at the photo and see if you recognize anyone in it.

in one gulp/at a gulp

▪ Charlie drank the whisky in one gulp.

in/at the dead of nightliterary (= in the middle of the night when it is quiet)

▪ He drove through the countryside in the dead of night.

in/at the height of summer (=in the middle of summer)

▪ Even in the height of summer, it's cool in here.

inflation is running at 3%/4% etc (also inflation stands at 3%/4% etc) (= used to talk about the present rate of inflation)

▪ Inflation currently stands at 3.2%.

jump at a chance (=use an opportunity eagerly)

▪ Ed jumped at the chance to earn some extra money.

keep your mind on the job/task in/at hand

▪ Making notes is the best way of keeping your mind on the task at hand.

knock on/at the door (=hit it with your hand to make someone open it)

▪ Who's that knocking at the door?

late at night

▪ We often get to bed very late at night.

late at night

▪ It was not a place to walk in late at night.

laugh at sb’s jokes

▪ A few people laughed at his jokes, but some didn’t find them funny.

leave it at that (=used to say that you will not do any more of something, because you have done enough)

▪ Let’s leave it at that for today.

level an accusation against/at sb (=bring an accusation against someone)

▪ As a result, some outrageous accusations were levelled at her.

level criticism at sb/sth (=aim it at someone or something)

▪ A great deal of criticism was levelled at the company.

live at home (=live with your parents)

▪ More people in their twenties are still living at home because housing is so expensive.

live at home (=live with their parents)

▪ Most seventeen-year-olds still live at home.

look at a map

▪ She stopped the car to look at the map.

look at an option (=consider an option)

▪ You have to look at every option as your business develops.

look at/consider/examine an aspect

▪ Managers were asked to look at every aspect of their work.

look at/examine etc sth in context

▪ Although this does not seem to be a good result, let’s examine it in context.

look at/glance at your watch

▪ I looked at my watch. It was 4.30.

look at/glance at your watch

▪ I looked at my watch. It was 4.30.

look at/see the menu (=read the menu)

▪ He looked at the menu and decided to have the salad.

look up at the stars

▪ I had spent a lot of time looking up at the stars as a kid.

look/gaze longingly at sb/sth

▪ He looked longingly at the tray of cakes.

look/glance at the clock

▪ She looked at the clock. It was eight thirty.

lost at sea

▪ Peter was lost at sea when his ship sank.

love at first sight (=when you love someone as soon as you meet them)

▪ For Marion and Ron it was love at first sight.

made...go weak at the knees

▪ His smile made her go weak at the knees.

none at all/none whatsoever

▪ ‘Was there any mail?’ ‘No, none at all.’

not at all sure

▪ By now, we were not at all sure where we were.

not at all/not ... at all (=used to emphasize what you are saying)

▪ The changes were not at all surprising.

▪ I do not like his attitude at all.

not at all/not ... at all (=used to emphasize what you are saying)

▪ The changes were not at all surprising.

▪ I do not like his attitude at all.

not be much to look at (=it does not look good)

▪ The car may not be much to look at but it’s very reliable.

Nothing at all

▪ ‘Do you know much about business?’ ‘Nothing at all.’

on at full blast

▪ The radio was on at full blast.

or at least

▪ We’ve cleaned it all up, or at least most of it.

pitch sth at a high level/the right level etc

▪ The projects were pitched at a number of different levels.

point a camera at sb/sth

▪ A group of Japanese tourists were pointing their cameras at the cathedral.

point the finger of blame at sb (=say that someone is responsible for something bad)

▪ I couldn’t believe it when they started pointing the finger of blame at me.

put/place sb at a disadvantage (=make someone less likely to be successful than others)

▪ Not speaking English might put you at a disadvantage.

reach its zenith/be at its zenith

▪ The Roman Empire reached its zenith around the year 100.

reach/arrive at a verdict (=agree on a decision)

▪ The jury failed to reach a verdict.

reach/arrive at your destination (also get to your destinationinformal)

▪ It had taken us 6 hours to reach our destination.

reach/be at the top of your profession

▪ He was a very highly respected man, at the top of his profession.

reach/come to/arrive at a decision (=make a decision after a lot of thought)

▪ We hope they will reach their decision as soon as possible.

remain/stay at a level

▪ The fees are likely to remain at current levels.

riding at anchor

▪ There was a large ship riding at anchor in the bay.

right at/from the beginning (=used for emphasis)

▪ That’s what I suggested right at the beginning.

run/operate etc at a loss (=to earn less money from something you sell than it costs you to produce it)

▪ Two of the mines are running at a loss.

sb is at a disadvantage (=someone has a disadvantage)

▪ The company was at a disadvantage compared with its competitors.

sb's/sth's honour is at stake (=someone may lose their honour)

▪ French people believed that the country's honour was at stake over the incident.

see at a glance (=find out very easily)

▪ By looking at this leaflet, you can see at a glance how much a loan will cost.

see you tomorrow/at three/Sunday etc

▪ See you Friday – your place at 8:30.

sell at/for £100/$50/30p etc (=be offered for sale at £100/$50/30p etc)

▪ Smoke alarms sell for as little as five pounds.

sell sth at a profit/loss (=make or lose money on a sale)

▪ Tony had to sell the business at a loss.

shout/hurl/scream abuse at sb

▪ The other driver started hurling abuse at me.

shuddered at the thought of

▪ He shuddered at the thought of the conflict ahead.

shudder/wince at the memory of sth (=be upset by remembering something)

▪ She shuddered at the memory of her parents fighting.

sit at a desk

▪ I don't want to do a job in which I'm sitting at a desk all day.

sit at a table

▪ He was sitting at a corner table.

sit (down) at the piano

▪ She sat down at the piano and began to play.

sold at a premium

▪ Top quality cigars are being sold at a premium.

space/time is at a premium

▪ Foldaway furniture is the answer where space is at a premium.

spend time etc in/at sth

▪ We’ll have to spend the night in a hotel.

▪ His childhood was spent in Brazil.

stare/gaze/look fixedly at sth

▪ Ann stared fixedly at the screen.

start at the beginning (=start a story or activity at the first part)

▪ Just start at the beginning and tell us exactly what happened.

started at the bottom (=in a low position in a company)

▪ Higgins had started at the bottom and worked his way up to become managing director.

stay (at) home

▪ I decided to stay home.

stay at/in a hotel

▪ We stayed in a hotel near the airport.

stick at it

▪ Revising with your friends may help you stick at it.

strike a blow at/against/to sth

▪ The scandal seemed to have struck a mortal blow to the government’s chances of re-election.

strike...at the heart of

▪ Such prejudices strike right at the heart of any notions of a civilized society.

study (sth) at a university

▪ She studied law at Edinburgh University.

take a shot at sb (=fire a shot trying to hit someone)

▪ Someone took a shot at her, but missed.

take an exit/turn off at an exit

▪ Take the next exit, junction 15.

takes a swipe at (=criticizes)

▪ In her latest article, she takes a swipe at her critics.

tap on/at the door (=hit it very gently)

▪ I tapped on the door and opened it.

tax sth at 10%/a higher rate etc

▪ They may be taxed at a higher rate.

the jury reaches/arrives at a verdict (=decides if someone is guilty or not guilty)

▪ Has the jury reached a verdict?

the matter at hand (also the matter in hand British English) (= the thing you are dealing with now)

▪ Do not let yourself be distracted from the matter in hand.

to/at a depth of sth

▪ The cave descends to a depth of 340 feet.

▪ Plant the beans at a depth of about six inches.

took a poke at

▪ Bennett took a poke at the President’s refusal to sign the bill.

took a swing at (=tried to hit)

▪ He took a swing at my head and missed.

took a swipe at

▪ She took a swipe at the ball.

took a whack at (=tried to hit)

▪ Singleton took a whack at Miller’s head.

wince at the memory/thought/idea

▪ I still wince at the thought of that terrible evening.

work from/at home (=do your work at home instead of at an office)

▪ I work at home three days a week.

work out at/to £10/$500 etc

▪ The bill works out at £15 each.

PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

at the (very) least

▪ But, at the very least, we want to be cut in on the deal.

▪ Each tier was held in place by tiny press studs which sprang apart at the least pressure.

▪ He threw noisy tantrums at the least provocation.

▪ I suppose I had expected anger, an outburst of violence, at the very least surprise and furious disbelief.

▪ I was sure, at the very least, that diet does had done thousands of women like me no good.

▪ Obviously, organic does signify better, or at the least an improvement, but the buyer must beware.

▪ People's lives could be at stake, or at the very least their futures.

▪ That there should be, at the least, periodic review.

(all) at sea

▪ A girl from near his village in Trondheim fell ill the first day at sea.

▪ At worst, they can sink or lose their nuclear warheads at sea.

▪ Down to the beach to see the oil rigs at sea.

▪ His eyes were an astounding blue and his complexion was ruddy from a life spent mostly at sea.

▪ Teredo, or shipworm, can have a devastating effect on the hulls of wooden ships at sea.

▪ This week, however, when you find yourself all at sea, you may wonder whether you've chosen well.

▪ We are glad to be with them again, especially when they are at sea.

(at) any minute (now)

▪ And underneath it all was a sour feeling that at any minute the very pillars of life could collapse.

▪ At any minute Penumbra's killers could burst in here and carry you off.

▪ His clothes look as if they are re-tailored daily to accommodate any minute fluctuations in weight.

▪ I was expecting her any minute.

▪ Linda is due to arrive any minute.

▪ The police could arrive at any minute!

▪ The right guy would come along any minute now.

▪ They said they were sending along at once, so they should be here any minute now.

(at) any moment

▪ At any moment the current spot exchange rate is the anticipated spot exchange rate discounted to the present.

▪ Daylight began to fail early, but still we pressed on, knowing that Donald could make an appearance at any moment.

▪ Her eyes could fly open at any moment, he thinks, and look objectively at him.

▪ If, for any moment, it overwhelms him that he stands just off-center of it all.

▪ It was all the harder because I could have given up at any moment.

▪ On the first occasion Bunny was tactful, assuring him she would be sent home in a taxi at any moment.

▪ The army taught us to fly the machine as if the engine would quit at any moment.

▪ They went about their business, expecting him to appear at any moment.

(at) any second (now)

▪ As in any second language situation, the grammatical code which is relied on is the one which is already known.

▪ At any second, they would begin to breathe.

▪ He had been ready to go at any second.

▪ The barriers are so low you feel you could plunge off at any second.

▪ The casualties of the greatest battle in history would be as nothing, before the carnage that might start at any second.

▪ The room was unnaturally still about her, but the stillness might shatter at any second.

▪ They were both breathing fast, and Polly's legs threatened to give way at any second.

▪ We would be at the hot spot any second now.

(at) fever pitch

▪ By the time the star is sighted, octave passages have taken over and the excitement reaches fever pitch.

▪ Excitement grew to a fever pitch.

▪ Her legs trembled as his strokes of desire on her thighs crazed her need to fever pitch.

▪ In 1989, an 11-year-old girl was killed by two Rotties and public terror reached fever pitch.

▪ Speculation about the deportations have reached fever pitch in Hong Kong.

▪ The challenges to her credibility are reaching fever pitch and are putting the first lady and her allies on the defensive.

▪ The crowd was getting to a fever pitch of excitement, Will among them.

▪ The debate in Birmingham has reached something like fever pitch, now that the city council is faced with two rival development schemes.

(at) first hand

▪ Students in the program are exposed first hand to college life.

▪ The school deals first hand with all the problems of today's society.

▪ Eventually divers provided first hand evidence that sea otters use rocks as hammers under water to dislodge the abalones.

▪ Primary data is collected by the researcher at first hand, mainly through surveys, interviews, or participant observation.

▪ Released from prison, Rudd travelled around the country, undertaking surveys and checking information at first hand.

▪ The visit lasted over an hour during which time Neil Kinnock experienced at first hand what carpet manufacturing was all about.

▪ These two boys say nothing to me as they get in, first handing their weapons to their friends.

▪ Work is developed from first hand sources and observed drawing.

▪ Your letters were very welcome, but I still want to hear everything at first hand.

(at) first hand

▪ Eventually divers provided first hand evidence that sea otters use rocks as hammers under water to dislodge the abalones.

▪ Primary data is collected by the researcher at first hand, mainly through surveys, interviews, or participant observation.

▪ Released from prison, Rudd travelled around the country, undertaking surveys and checking information at first hand.

▪ The visit lasted over an hour during which time Neil Kinnock experienced at first hand what carpet manufacturing was all about.

▪ These two boys say nothing to me as they get in, first handing their weapons to their friends.

▪ Work is developed from first hand sources and observed drawing.

▪ Your letters were very welcome, but I still want to hear everything at first hand.

(at) full blast

▪ The heating was on full blast, but it was still freezing.

▪ And at that moment, the air-conditioning goes off, and the heat is turned up full blast.

▪ At Ninety-sixth Street they ascended together into the full blast of Broadway.

▪ But the team, with their sirens and blue lights on full blast, raced on unaware of their own emergency.

▪ By then, Second Brother had gone inside and turned the radio up full blast.

▪ Even Reeves's younger brother, under the full blast of a howitzer shell, had stood a better chance.

▪ He sometimes turned on the radio full blast, for example.

▪ She made herself a high tea, put the gas fire on full blast and sat with a tray in front of the television.

▪ They're certainly not over-fond of me, probably because my central heating is always on full blast in winter.

(at) full blast

▪ And at that moment, the air-conditioning goes off, and the heat is turned up full blast.

▪ At Ninety-sixth Street they ascended together into the full blast of Broadway.

▪ But the team, with their sirens and blue lights on full blast, raced on unaware of their own emergency.

▪ By then, Second Brother had gone inside and turned the radio up full blast.

▪ Even Reeves's younger brother, under the full blast of a howitzer shell, had stood a better chance.

▪ He sometimes turned on the radio full blast, for example.

▪ She made herself a high tea, put the gas fire on full blast and sat with a tray in front of the television.

▪ They're certainly not over-fond of me, probably because my central heating is always on full blast in winter.

(at) full pelt

▪ He ran full pelt down the street with a brick in his hand.

▪ She was still going full pelt when Parkwood came into view.

(at) full tilt

▪ Our factories are running at full tilt.

▪ For old-style feel playing, I found this by far the best and most controllable overdrive setting, even on full tilt.

▪ He just felt as if he'd run full tilt into a brick wall.

▪ He scrambled to his feet and charged full tilt down the side of the dell.

▪ Martin moved after it, slowly at first, but then faster and faster until he was running full tilt after the intruder.

▪ Meanwhile, production amidst all the changes continues at full tilt.

▪ Milan is usually still, the wind rarely sweeping full tilt across the Plain.

▪ She was right at the end when, without warning, she ran full tilt into the arms of the waiting figure.

▪ This was deep reading at full tilt, a sprint with lead survival gear strapped to your back.

(at) full tilt/pelt

▪ For old-style feel playing, I found this by far the best and most controllable overdrive setting, even on full tilt.

▪ He just felt as if he'd run full tilt into a brick wall.

▪ He scrambled to his feet and charged full tilt down the side of the dell.

▪ Martin moved after it, slowly at first, but then faster and faster until he was running full tilt after the intruder.

▪ Meanwhile, production amidst all the changes continues at full tilt.

▪ Milan is usually still, the wind rarely sweeping full tilt across the Plain.

▪ She was right at the end when, without warning, she ran full tilt into the arms of the waiting figure.

▪ This was deep reading at full tilt, a sprint with lead survival gear strapped to your back.

(at) second/third/fourth hand

▪ A computer virus A watch with a second hand doing double time.

▪ Deathtraps: Coroner's warning over second hand electrical goods.

▪ Other rates may apply where the development is acquired second hand, or is merely a refurbishment of an existing industrial building.

▪ The Fourth Hand glides to a soft landing in Wisconsin, and readers will be left smiling.

▪ The leader takes a watch with a second hand, points to a player and calls out a letter of the alphabet.

▪ The second hand had its own dial at the bottom of the face.

▪ The story is now taken up at second hand.

▪ There is even a chapter on buying second hand - which has to be a boon for other Leica devotees.

(stand) at ease

▪ And they looked happy and at ease as they moved inside to the enormous champagne reception Mel had arranged.

▪ Ashkenazy at ease in land of his birth.

▪ Blanche enjoyed social drinking with her officers but Dexter sometimes noticed she was ill at ease.

▪ But Cose put my mind at ease in his introduction.

▪ Fred Bradley stayed very much in the background and his soft, kind eyes helped to put her at ease.

▪ He was equally at ease on the telephone.

▪ I was never perfectly at ease.

▪ Our workmen do work hard, but we live at ease.

... at a time

▪ At times he was struck by a fierce desire to believe that the suspicion was nothing but a demon in his head.

▪ At times whole sections will be finished while others remain blank.

▪ At a time when skills are in demand, they have been wantonly discarded.

▪ I don't think that I can send you more than four or five canvases at a time because of the cold.

▪ I long, at times, for clear-cut answers.

▪ In a way, she had come close to hating Nona at times, although she was not going to admit it.

▪ The slow hours seemed to tick by one tick at a time in the night.

▪ They are evolving at a time when more and more consumers are turning to the Internet for their shopping needs.

What is sb playing at?

a/one bit at a time

▪ The text can be put on an overhead and revealed a bit at a time.

aim sth at sb

▪ Soft-drink commercials are aimed mainly at teenagers.

all at once

▪ All at once the trailer started shaking.

▪ All at once, she broke into a smile.

▪ Should we send the packages all at once?

▪ And with the slow-going afternoon the world all at once can make perfect sense.

▪ Employees at the plant are experiencing a-change overload. --- Changes came too fast and hit thern all at once.

▪ Father Timothy was kind and bad all at once.

▪ I have never seen so many injunctions all at once.

▪ Not all at once and not so anyone could tell.

▪ The cold in our house made it clear all at once.

▪ This is a distinctive and often very funny picture, disquieting and diverting all at once.

angry with/at yourself

▪ David was angry with himself for trusting Michael.

▪ A shiver went over her and she became angry at herself.

▪ Are we angry with ourselves and blaming something or some one else?

▪ He was so angry with himself.

▪ I felt a sharp stab of disappointment and was surprised and angry at myself.

▪ I felt so guilty, do you see, yet I felt so angry with myself for feeling that way.

▪ If you catch yourself worrying about money, then welcome the thought rather than fighting it, or getting angry with yourself.

▪ Suddenly she felt angry with herself for having let her emotions get out of control.

▪ Those who played were angry with themselves for making mistakes.

another/a second bite at the cherry

arrive at a decision/solution/compromise etc

▪ He arrived at a decision, threw the cigarette away, and turned towards a small depressing row of agricultural cottages.

▪ He finally arrived at a compromise with her, which was that he could have three independent, non-civil servant, advisers.

▪ However, the parties involved were prepared to have their heads hit together to arrive at a solution.

▪ In such a case, some form of conflict resolution must be adopted to arrive at a solution.

▪ My colleagues and I, after much consideration have arrived at a decision.

▪ Now, she thought, now we shall get things done, sort things out, arrive at a solution.

▪ They spent time arriving at a decision on the correct software.

▪ Using committees internally to overcome restrictions on information and thereby arrive at a decision.

asleep at the wheel/switch

▪ One in seven road accidents is caused by drivers falling asleep at the wheel.

at (a) breathless pace/speed

▪ Indeed, Moffett worked at a breathless pace to ensure that those issues were addressed before the annual meeting took place.

▪ Though she has had little education, her vocabulary is excellent: she fountains out ideas and observations at breathless speed.

at (long) last

▪ At last, we were able to afford a house.

▪ And I, at last, had some one to talk to.

▪ And then, at last, I crossed a high mountain pass to discover smoke drifting across my route.

▪ But his work lives on, and after decades of neglect he is rediscovered, celebrated anew and recognized at last.

▪ Lendl's 7-6 6-2 defeat by Omar Camporese follows his opening match loss at last week's Madrid Open.

▪ Now, at last, they are coming home.

▪ Well, at last I got my chance.

at (some/great etc) length

▪ All the torments of the one class and the joys of the other are described at length.

▪ An example may, in consequence, be worth considering at some length.

▪ Moreover, they were journalists from a premier worldwide newsgathering organization, playing themselves and at great length in a feature-film fantasy.

▪ Standing in the farmyard, Giles Aplin also spoke to Seb at some length.

▪ The criteria employed for the weeding process are discussed at some length in Chapter 11.

▪ The distinctions between kinds of complex idea are considered at some length in the Essay.

▪ Their objections, based on religious grounds, are discussed at length in the opinion.

▪ This argument is both diversionary and, at length, immobilizing.

at (the) most

▪ It's about ten minutes down the road, fifteen at the most.

▪ She was given no emotional security at the most influential stage of her life - early puppyhood.

▪ Spiders may be found at most times of the year except during the coldest weather.

▪ Ten minutes, fifteen at the most, and the wind would be on them, tearing them from the saddle.

▪ The Jesuits at Holy Trinity scoffed at most of the conservative critique.

▪ There are, at most, 20 people at the game, all of them with a family interest.

▪ We ate eggs at most meals.

▪ What's that? 15 to 20 yards at the most.

▪ You find yourself flying coach, and staying at the most reasonable hotel in town.

at (the) worst

▪ Many drivers feel their job is unpleasant at best, and dangerous at worst.

▪ Developing these required equations is at best difficult and at worst nearly impossible.

▪ Him, with him: the worst man in the worst place at the worst time.

▪ If we drop a tin can probably nothing will happen; at the worst we may make a small dent.

▪ In most cases doing a course of any kind will, at worst, just be a small waste of time.

▪ Naturally, it happened at the worst possible time.

▪ Patient and neutral stares at worst.

▪ The first assumption of the Census Bureau, therefore, must be viewed as fatuous at worst, naive at best.

▪ Up until then I had sometimes seen writing as at best a compulsion and at worst a sickness.

at (your) leisure

▪ Sixty cars will be displayed, and potential buyers will be able to inspect them at leisure.

▪ Take a brochure home to read at your leisure.

▪ Every facet of the signal can be studied at leisure, including amplitude, frequency, phase and detailed time dependence.

▪ Instead, she was utterly at leisure to give unstintingly to friends and foes, colleagues and passing tramps.

▪ Of Athens' other allies, only Byzantion came out, and both cities were reduced at leisure.

▪ The rest of the day is at leisure.

▪ There would be months in which they could play it back at leisure.

▪ Treat yourself to something special, or simply browse at leisure.

▪ You may work, doctor, at your leisure, with your hundred thousand about you.

at His/Her Majesty's pleasure

at a glance

▪ An expert can tell at a glance whether it's a real diamond or a fake.

▪ Here are the weekend football scores at a glance.

▪ I could see at a glance that the situation was serious.

▪ I saw at a glance that the place was full of police.

▪ Ellingham Diagrams Ellingham diagrams show at a glance which oxide will be reduced.

▪ Garden rooms A small garden that can be taken in at a glance can soon become boring.

▪ Sports reporters are reputed to gauge crowds well; who measures populations at a glance?

▪ That Holy Trinity is different from most Catholic parishes is evident at a glance.

▪ The facilities table on page 10 will show you at a glance which Clubs offer a Club 16.

▪ The structure of your project needs to be visible, almost at a glance.

▪ The whole of the mystery - there at a glance.

▪ You can see at a glance the few places other readers lingered Over.

at a good/rapid/fast etc clip

▪ He was walking along at a good clip, his eyes idly panning the facades of the brownstone houses.

▪ Up ahead, a thoroughfare Traffic was going across the intersection at a good clip in both directions.

at a great/fair lick

at a later/future date

▪ Or how about a vital organ being removed and the opt-out card being found at a later date?

▪ Peter Novick dismisses the Freudian theory of repression of trauma leading to problems at a later date.

▪ Secondary sources, in contrast, are interpretations of the past produced at a later date.

▪ Some firms are very flexible on this issue and where possible, allow them to relocate at a later date.

▪ The total would be capped at a later date.

▪ They feared further repercussions at a later date because their participation in the boycott would almost certainly go into their files.

▪ This is particularly helpful if your school's organisation seeks to register as a charity at a later date.

▪ This means that the sea in which the Bright Angel was deposited flooded the land in the east at a later date.

at a pinch

▪ But this novel has not just one but two barmen who could also at a pinch be hailed as lords of language.

▪ Her appointments for the following week could, at a pinch, be postponed.

▪ Interior is snug but seats four at a pinch.

▪ Or at a pinch he might be able to squeeze himself into the desk drawer and hide.

▪ Our flat was a little box that would have probably accommodated Michael's sports shoes at a pinch.

▪ Ponyets could have handled them at a pinch.

▪ There is a large bench seat in the rear which will accommodate two adults or three smaller people at a pinch.

▪ You could, at a pinch, also serve either with the Pizzettas.

at a price

▪ As so often in life, the best comes at a price.

▪ But convenience comes at a price.

▪ But early admissions come at a price.

▪ In April of that year the contract was awarded to H Lyttle and Son at a price of £16,524.

▪ It is successful because it produces a high quality product on time at a price the customer can afford.

▪ More choice for viewers - at a price.

▪ Shakespeare market a very good one through tackle dealers at a price that will not break the bank.

▪ They have a competitive edge in larger buying power, enabling them to acquire stock at prices way below the small independents.

at a push

▪ Michael, at a push, will admit to being the most sensible of the three.

▪ Paul is not very good at pushing it yet.

▪ This is something to which 70 percent of the Carter camp will likewise admit, at a push.

at a rakish angle

▪ A black, felt bowler sits on his head, tilted slightly forward at a rakish angle.

▪ But some were written at rakish angles.

▪ There was Philippa Mannering looking avid in a beautifully cut check suit and a brown beret at a rakish angle.

at a rate of knots

▪ So was Mary - still whizzing helplessly backwards, at a rate of knots.

at a snail's pace

at a spanking pace/rate

▪ In the distance, ponies in long-shafted light chariots trotted at a spanking pace, the wheels spinning around.

at a/one stroke

▪ Brian saw a chance of solving all his problems at one stroke.

▪ But as the 1980s began it seemed as if all the uncertainty had been resolved at a stroke.

▪ Gardening in tomorrow's world Future pest control at a stroke?

▪ His reputation would be lost at a stroke.

▪ No one could therefore call for the closure of incineration plants at a stroke, because noxious chemicals have to go somewhere.

▪ People pretty much looked at a stroke as a permanent condition: Once you had it, it was there.

▪ Routes may be closed, reducing accessibility, or subsidies may be removed, increasing fares for users at a stroke.

▪ The lek paradox is thus solved at a stroke.

▪ Then, at a stroke, something happened that gave him a powerful sense of purpose.

at a/the minimum

▪ Communication between them was at a minimum.

▪ Formal guidelines covering team objectives and operational policies were at a minimum in 1982.

▪ It should press, at a minimum, for a fair referendum in each.

▪ Managers and supervisors will no longer make hiring decisions or, at a minimum, will share such decision-making responsibilities.

▪ Only. 8 percent of all workers over forty work full-time at the minimum wage.

▪ The agent also has a vested interest in keeping the event's costs at a minimum.

▪ There were other ways to advertise that could keep the warnings at a minimum, and the sales of cigarettes zooming.

▪ When E is at a minimum, the output is the settings of the other visible switches.

at all

▪ Access at all times with own key.

▪ Gabby found herself wondering how Jane put up with them at all.

▪ In 1956, the contrast from conduct at all previous conventions was startling.

▪ Keep one eye on them at all times to avoid problems.

▪ My job as duty officer involves keeping Teesside Airport running smoothly at all times.

▪ The game evolved into the kind of event that you feared would either feature the headliner little, or not at all.

▪ The good cross country horse must think forwards at all times.

▪ To the hunter, temporal or spatial measurements mattered very little, if at all.

at all times

▪ Carry your passport with you at all times.

▪ Keep your hotel door locked at all times.

▪ Many books recommend carrying your passport with you at all times.

▪ He made a point of chatting to her at all times.

▪ He measured CO2 at all times of the day and night.

▪ Neighbours say the animals bark incessantly at all times of the day and night.

▪ Now she had to consider another person's wishes at all times.

▪ Rice dresses immaculately and stylishly at all times, on the field and off.

▪ To help other people at all times.

▪ We can remind ourselves of, and help our children to realise, the need at all times for compassion.

at an angle

▪ The portrait was hanging at an slight angle.

▪ He was sitting at an angle which allowed him to watch the door.

▪ Inch by inch we tilted the cabin on its side until it leaned at an angle.

▪ Papers are missing from each and the sheets inside have been turned back to front, and at angles.

▪ Planes of soap solution have the property that only three can intersect along an edge at an angle between them of 120°.

▪ She draws a man in a tuxedo, places him at an angle on the page.

▪ They stood at angles, not quite facing each other.

▪ This could result in the blind and pleats falling at an angle to the window.

▪ We took the left-hand cut, which runs into the Thames at an angle.

at any price

▪ We all want peace at any price.

▪ Corporate security is not 100 percent effective, at any price.

▪ From the point of view of other firms, Salomon mortgage traders were cheap at any price.

▪ He did not want blood, at any price.

▪ Peace everywhere, for ever, and at any price.

▪ They can not however expect the Swan Hunter work force to accept the imposition of such working conditions at any price.

▪ This really is vintage material and would be worth the strongest recommendation at any price.

▪ To the targets of those terrible promises, there could have been no course but resistance at any price.

▪ Ursula wanted her daughter free at any price and did not mind what risks Maurice had to run to bring that about.

at any rate

▪ That's what they said, at any rate.

▪ Well, at any rate, the next meeting will be on Wednesday.

▪ It is assumed that de Reszke was dissatisfied with test-pressings; at any rate, neither was issued.

▪ Or at any rate, he is with one of the research teams working on the man project.

▪ Out of the house at any rate.

▪ Reminder bells went off, at any rate, and I wondered what the story was.

▪ So, at any rate, was it.

▪ The fresh cheese with cream was all we, or at any rate I, wanted.

▪ They were fairly certain he was immune; certain enough to consider it worth the risk, at any rate.

▪ Under his influence courage was quickened and fear banished, at any rate for the moment.

at best

▪ At best, sales have been good but not great.

▪ Public transportation is at best limited.

at bottom

at breakneck speed/pace

▪ As most travelers know, you can only travel at breakneck speed for so long.

▪ Dorothy Newman nudged her fellow conspirator back to reality, then they ran at breakneck speed to their respective homes.

▪ If they had been alone ... She shook her head in disbelief; everything was suddenly moving at breakneck speed.

▪ Neither do I. Tradition is being manufactured at breakneck pace.

▪ Some guides are indeed very brief, suggesting visits at breakneck speed where only a few items or rooms will be seen.

at close quarters

▪ From our hiding place we were able to observe the animals at close quarters.

▪ This was the first time I had seen such poverty at close quarters.

▪ As the family kept vigil, the children saw at close quarters the stubborn determination of their stepmother.

▪ At close quarters a rifle is almost useless.

▪ Harry and I were tall and strong, not easy to attack at close quarters.

▪ He wishes to inspect at close quarters all the actors in this drama.

▪ I had seen it happen at close quarters because I am his caddie.

▪ The battle continued at close quarters.

▪ The girl must have been, as Martha had said, stagestruck: she had wanted to see Désirée at close quarters.

▪ There tactics were strongly influenced by reliance on line formation and fire-power, as against attack at close quarters.

at cross-purposes

▪ Administration officials insist the two policies are not at cross-purposes.

at ease

▪ And they looked happy and at ease as they moved inside to the enormous champagne reception Mel had arranged.

▪ Ashkenazy at ease in land of his birth.

▪ Blanche enjoyed social drinking with her officers but Dexter sometimes noticed she was ill at ease.

▪ But Cose put my mind at ease in his introduction.

▪ Fred Bradley stayed very much in the background and his soft, kind eyes helped to put her at ease.

▪ He was equally at ease on the telephone.

▪ I was never perfectly at ease.

▪ Our workmen do work hard, but we live at ease.

at every turn

▪ Government officials demanded bribes from us at every turn.

▪ Above: the craggy coastline offers new treasures at every turn.

▪ Emboldened by their mandate from the voters, the parties challenged de Gaulle at every turn.

▪ Everyone wants to define this free spirit of music, and at every turn the 26-year-old DiFranco rebuffs.

▪ He relentlessly shadowed Michael from the start, harrying the Ferrari at every turn.

▪ She had to be particularly vigilant when it came to the large amounts of water threatening them at every turn.

▪ The latter we were born into, but at every turn we exile ourselves from our own Eden.

▪ There Amelia was, an intensely ambitious woman without any professional training, blocked at every turn.

at fault

▪ The accident report found both drivers at fault.

at first

▪ At first, exercising seemed like an obligation, but now I really enjoy it.

at first blush

▪ At first blush, this discovery seems to confirm his theory.

▪ A.. The results here sound more grim at first blush than they really are.

▪ That may sound strange at first blush.

at first glance/sight

▪ After months of waiting, it was hardly love at first sight, he admits.

▪ At first glance this will probably sound strange, yet there is a way in which it is also logical.

▪ At first glance, it looked like unalloyed good news.

▪ At first glance, the place seemed deserted.

▪ It was love at first sight.

▪ This is not as heretical a suggestion as it might seem at first sight.

▪ What was inside the cradles at first sight terrified me.

at first glance/sight

▪ At first glance this will probably sound strange, yet there is a way in which it is also logical.

▪ At first glance, it looked like unalloyed good news.

▪ At first glance, the place seemed deserted.

at first light

▪ The search continued at first light.

▪ They left camp at first light and were in the mountains by nightfall.

▪ A small flock of evening grosbeaks flew over, and at first light I heard chickadees and goldfinches.

▪ It was black as night at new moon and white as frost at first light.

▪ Mountain rescue teams continued the hunt overnight, and a full-scale search resumed at first light.

▪ The ambush would leave its position the next morning, at first light, to return.

▪ The Caribou took off at first light.

▪ We have had trouble at first light with the Khmer Rouge.

at full stretch

▪ Ahead, her father was riding alongside the hounds, at full stretch.

▪ All the services for mental health seemed to be at full stretch already, he said.

▪ Even so, their defence was at full stretch with the pace and movement of Saha and Hayles.

▪ I was already at full stretch.

▪ Jim Magilton, who has our vote as man of the match, had the champions at full stretch.

▪ Last night, emergency services were still at full stretch and a full picture of the disaster had not yet emerged.

▪ The men of Plataia were helping Athens, whose manpower was at full stretch, to man her great fleet.

▪ Then she swiped me right across the nose, claws at full stretch.

at gunpoint

▪ The storekeeper was robbed at gunpoint.

at gut level

▪ She knew at gut level that he was lying.

▪ For one thing, this new record hits you straight at gut level the first time.

▪ Intellectual conviction is nothing like feeling at gut level.

at half-mast

at hand

▪ Repent, the kingdom of God is at hand!

▪ Some of his comments had nothing to do with the topic at hand.

at heart

▪ I guess I'm just a kid at heart.

▪ Paul was an easy-going fellow at heart who wanted only to enjoy himself.

▪ She's a traveller at heart. You'll never get her to settle down.

at home

at issue

▪ At issue are the moral questions raised by cloning.

at knifepoint

at least

▪ At least fifty people were waiting in line.

▪ At least you should listen to his explanation.

▪ His name is Kevin. At least that's what he told me.

▪ His parents should at least go to his graduation.

▪ The food was terrible, but at least we had a nice view.

▪ The law has changed, at least as far as I know.

▪ Everyone on the Cardinals' roster should be here for at least part of the minicamp.

▪ For the time being, at least, the Falls was safe.

▪ It goes against calls from the London Chamber of Commerce which wants at least 1000 more free parking spaces for bikes.

▪ Lastly, they want to give tax advantages to causes deemed worthy, or at least popular.

▪ That would mean at least $ 7. 28 an hour in wages and benefits.

▪ There are at least four companies, perhaps five, that would like to start a 24-hour news channel.

▪ To all appearances, it kept a grip on at least 30 million Muslimsmore than the entire population of the Maghreb today.

▪ Unless I see at least a hint of contour, I assume a crotch has been padded.

at liberty

▪ Tonight only one of the escaped prisoners remains at liberty; the other seven are now back in Central Prison.

▪ Walker was at liberty for many years before the police apprehended him.

at local/state/national etc level

▪ Bureaucracy, long absent from the country, was making a rapid return, both at central and at local levels.

▪ Even the left-wing parties that may yet form the government have a record of economic reform at state level.

▪ First, of course, there really does need to be a range of choices available at local level.

▪ He believes everyone has ideas worthy of attention and that earth-saving decisions are best made at local level.

▪ In keeping with the rank-and-file strength of the movement, however, pressure was applied most effectively at local level.

▪ It has also highlighted the differential at local level.

▪ The decision has generated sheafs of proposed new abortion legislation, pro and anti, at state level.

at no time

▪ At no time did anyone suggest that the drug was dangerous.

▪ Despite what I'd been told about the local people's attitude to strangers, at no time did I encounter any rudeness.

▪ Benefits: A better piece at no time cost to you.

▪ But at no time is this conditioning of mild hysteria and personality cult a wholesome thing.

▪ Certainly, at no time did the lift pass anything like 6,000 tons a day.

▪ Interestingly, at no time did anyone consider reinstating the four women.

▪ She most certainly at no time condoned what had happened to her daughter.

▪ That code requires only that the trustees are at no time resident or ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom.

▪ Their economic viability, at no time very great, has become fragile risking complete social and economic disintegration.

▪ They empathized with each other, responding to that which at no time had been spoken aloud, but understood between them.

at once

▪ Anyone know the answer? Don't all shout at once, put your hand up.

▪ Everyone knew at once how serious the situation was.

▪ I can't do two things at once!

▪ I can't understand what you're saying when you both talk at once.

▪ You're trying to do too many things at once.

▪ You can't have three weeks' holiday all at once, you'll have to take them separately.

at one time

▪ At one time forests covered about 20% of Lebanon.

▪ See, I can lock the doors all at one time.

▪ There aren't many places around here where you can cater for fifty or so people at one time.

▪ This word processor allows you to work with two documents at one time.

▪ You feel like you are going in twelve different directions at one time.

▪ Although you can see only 80 characters on the screen at one time.

▪ It has been established that at one time or another during her life she had been wounded by all three arrows.

▪ The city at one time had talked to Edwards Theaters about building a multiplex theater there, but those talks faltered.

▪ The curriculum, which at one time had seemed novel, barely changed from decade to decade.

▪ The somewhat better-known Sigmund Freud at one time worked with Janet.

▪ Up to 24 packages can be accessed at one time.

▪ We cured all our bloaters and our kippers, at one time.

at present

at random

▪ The forms were distributed at random to people passing by.

▪ Twenty students were chosen at random to take part in the experiment.

▪ We selected the agencies at random from the phone book.

▪ While he waited, he picked up a magazine, turned to a page at random, and started reading.

at regular intervals

▪ Feed your puppy at the same regular intervals each day.

▪ Small trees can be planted at regular intervals along a path to create an avenue.

▪ There are stations where runners can get water at regular intervals throughout the marathon.

▪ These women were given blood tests at regular intervals for a year.

▪ Better to feed small amounts at regular intervals.

▪ By practicing at regular intervals, the insight and calm of meditation are maintained and amplified.

▪ He made long sweeps at regular intervals in and around the Teeth, but there was nothing.

▪ He may be required to report to a particular individual or place at regular intervals as part of a monitoring process.

▪ If using a cone, spray again at regular intervals.

▪ Now for the decorations ... Push the gold candles into the icing at regular intervals.

▪ The fog-horn, its sound now muffled by the houses, continued to bleat at regular intervals.

▪ They would have to field candidates for a variety of offices at regular intervals or risk being closed.

at rest

▪ The mass was measured while the object was at rest.

at right angles (to sth)

▪ The aisles intersect at right angles to form the shape of a cross.

at risk

▪ Millions of lives are at risk because of food shortages.

at sb's bidding

at sb's disposal

▪ Hadden has some of the best medical advice in the country at his disposal.

at sb's expense

▪ Louis kept making jokes at his wife's expense.

▪ Several state senators traveled to Asia at taxpayers' expense.

at sb's heels

at sb's instance

at sb's instigation

▪ Shepard lied to investigators at the instigation of his direct superior officer.

at school

▪ Lisa always buys her lunch at school.

at short notice

▪ Both players pulled out of the competition yesterday at short notice.

▪ Occasionally, tours may have to be cancelled at short notice.

▪ One of the players dropped out at short notice.

▪ He was called in at short notice due to the unfortunate motor accident involving Design Director, Bill Naysmith.

▪ Many laboratories have cooperated at short notice and are analysing large numbers of samples.

▪ Many of the more glamorous film and photographic opportunities crop up at short notice, so you have to be flexible.

▪ Occasionally tours may be cancelled at short notice owing to circumstances beyond our control.

▪ The landlord could also terminate the arrangements at short notice.

▪ There is an aversion to holding meetings at short notice with a diminished complement.

▪ These alternatives will not always be available at short notice but it might be possible to plan for them.

▪ Working conditions may not be up to much, and as a casual employee you can be fired at short notice.

at sixes and sevens

at stake

at ten thirty/2 o'clock etc sharp

at that

▪ That would mean they've taken something like ten miles at that point.

▪ An intelligent computer-based agent will have determined that you will be on that flight at that time, in that seat.

▪ It contained at that time 23 houses.

▪ Lifeguards at that time reported that the whale appeared lethargic and did not attempt to swim away once freed from the kelp.

▪ None of these four and five-year-olds could read at that stage.

▪ Party managers arrived at that conclusion because that is the way they had treated their own party for the past eight years.

▪ So personal growth at that time was in high leaps forward rather than in little trickles.

▪ This was not so easy at that time as the crewing arrangements were very much of a closed shop.

at the (very) outside

▪ At the same time, more IBMers were encouraged to look at the outside via secondments or community links.

▪ From a three-hour flight, at the outside, when he'd only flown from London to Helsinki on the last lap?

▪ George is tall, red-haired, freckled, with deep squint lines at the outside corners of his blue eyes.

▪ I settled myself at the outside table and sipped my coffee, trying to get my bearings.

▪ Look at the outside and don't be fooled by appearances.

▪ Looking at the outside of this building.

▪ Picasso aimed his passion at the outside world.

▪ The second turning starts at the outside edge turning the whole field including the double row towards the hedgerow.

at the behest of sb

▪ The committee was formed at the behest of Governor Sinclair.

▪ A proposal added Monday at the behest of Sen.

▪ Administration officials have said he was given the job at the behest of the White House.

▪ Is that what such a force would have done, acting at the behest of the Council of Ministers?

▪ Like producing their first two records at the behest of inquiring fans.

at the best of times

▪ Even at the best of times the roads are dangerous.

▪ A salmon is slippery enough to handle at the best of times, but one of this size ....

▪ But reason told her it was a precarious business at the best of times.

▪ In fact Polanski, unconventional at the best of times, takes us to the limit - and beyond.

▪ It was run on a shoestring at the best of times and Kelly was merely adding to his problems.

▪ Listening is a difficult and complex skill at the best of times.

▪ Memory was mischievously selective at the best of times Trivia stuck limpet-like and the useful filtered away.

▪ Rising living standards and well-being are ambiguously related at the best of times, and not simply for ecological reasons.

▪ The mind was a delicate mechanism that he disliked interfering with at the best of times.

at the coalface

▪ I have tremendous admiration for anyone who has spent a lifetime in the mining industry, especially at the coalface.

at the door

▪ I think there's somebody at the door.

▪ Cover is $ 4 at the door.

▪ Debtors have difficult choices about whom to pay first; often they will pay the person at the door at the time.

▪ During my second evening at the hotel there was a knock at the door.

▪ I stood at the door and looked up, but the windows were dark; she had gone to bed.

▪ Jack was at the door almost as soon as Fogarty got himself off the sofa.

▪ Thanking her at the door, he asked who at the committee might know something and be willing to talk about it.

▪ The last thing he had expected was to find the police at the door.

▪ When he turned at the door.

at the double

▪ He dived away at the double and took himself as far as his long legs would carry him.

▪ I looked at the double doors in horror and wondered if perchance Toplis might be hiding inside.

▪ Mercury prepares to expand at the double WALLASEY-based same-day courier service Mercury Express has embarked on a national expansion.

▪ Not much is gained by pointing at the double standards of western nations; these are too well known.

▪ You have taken on far too much and are trying to do too many things at the double.

at the drop of a hat

▪ He's willing to organize anything guests want at the drop of a hat.

at the earliest

▪ He'll arrive on Monday at the earliest.

▪ But the borrower must cooperate with the lender, particularly by answering correspondence and making contact at the earliest possible moment.

▪ Cosby is expected to testify, but not until Monday at the earliest.

▪ If you are wrongfully dismissed, you should therefore seek alternative employment at the earliest opportunity.

▪ It should be noted that this type of shelf should be replaced with something more suitable at the earliest opportunity.

▪ It was not associated with the occult until the eighteenth century at the earliest.

▪ It was then decided that the attack should be made on the next morning, at the earliest hour practicable...

▪ The first set might not show up until 1998 at the earliest.

▪ The full inquests will be heard in May at the earliest, with families hoping at last to discover the truth.

at the end of the day

▪ At the end of the day, it's just too much money to spend.

▪ At the end of the day, the best team won.

▪ You may be working for yourself but at the end of the day you still have to pay tax on what you earn.

▪ And that is, at the end of the day, the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful business.

▪ Because, at the end of the day, professional regulation is in the best interests of both auditors and the public.

▪ It was not unusual for them to have a snack at the end of the day.

▪ Prayers must be moved at the end of the day's business, an unpopular time.

▪ So when Summerchild steps out up Whitehall at the end of the day he is still hugging their secret madness to himself.

▪ The hours of work were reduced so that the hands were not exhausted at the end of the day.

▪ We regularly baked some at the end of the day and held a little milk and cookie ritual.

▪ You realize that at the end of the day.

at the expense of sb/sth

▪ He did not want to devote more time to his business at the expense of his family

▪ The cars were produced quickly, at the expense of safety.

▪ All is filtered through Hoving's glass, which magnifies himself at the expense of his colleagues.

▪ Similarly, countries may make use of automation to improve their international competitiveness, sometimes at the expense of other countries.

▪ So there is little chance that the 1993 programme will go for short-term audience gain at the expense of long-term credibility.

▪ Such values work at the expense of a positive evaluation of females.

▪ The client may win in court, but at the expense of destroying the business relationship, he says.

▪ The two companies said their marriage will come at the expense of 2, 000 jobs.

▪ These are not just the shifting form of the economy and the rise of financial capital at the expense of productive capital.

▪ You will now release me: the resulting implication being that I bought my freedom at the expense of his.

at the graveside

▪ He was at the graveside looking mournful and interesting.

▪ However, I was not alone at the graveside.

▪ It was not by any of the group at the graveside.

▪ She arrived at the graveside to find her daughter had already been buried.

▪ Some reporters tried to interview her at the graveside.

▪ The benign ruler who took over, Major-General Bantu Holomisa, spoke at the graveside.

at the hands of sb

▪ He told of the abuse he had suffered at the hands of prison guards.

▪ He felt shamed and humiliated by the officious treatment he received at the hands of the pompous men at Immigration.

▪ He was in surprisingly good humour, considering how much he's suffered at the hands of the puppet.

▪ Horror stories of what can happen at the hands of a well-meaning but inexperienced neighbour are legion.

▪ No officer convicted of plotting against him met his end at the hands of the firing squad.

▪ They suffered a rare defeat at the hands of Hampshire, who won with two wickets to spare.

▪ They were this nutty two years ago, after taking their second proper walloping at the hands of the Dallas Jerrys.

▪ When he rang me he was already cross about his treatment at the hands of a previous biographer of Hamilton.

▪ Women are particularly vulnerable to abuse at the hands of jail guards and criminal inmates.

at the helm

▪ In a decade and a half at the helm, O'Neil transformed the company's image.

▪ After Smith's departure, his deputy Nick Logan began a glittering career at the helm.

▪ He feels like the captain of a sleeping ship, alone at the helm, steering his oblivious crew through dangerous seas.

▪ Mitchell at the helm, Sanders and his fancy footwork, Moore and his mind-blowing numbers.

▪ Norton also criticized the control board for studying whether the city should put a city manager at the helm.

▪ That means Mr Maxwell will remain at the helm of the club at least for the short term.

▪ The 1992 Five Nations Championship will, therefore, be his fourth at the helm.

▪ There is nobody at the helm of the corporate ship, because there is no helm.

▪ There was no panic, no shouting, just well-directed, sensible work while I kept at the helm, maintaining course.

at the last count

▪ At the last count, only 18 Japanese firms were making car parts in America.

▪ There are a lot of professional athletes living in the Orlando area -- more than 100 at last count.

▪ Apart from Summerchild and a clerical assistant, the Unit at the last count still consisted of one single member, Serafin herself.

▪ I have, at the last count, 19 separate applications under consideration by 12 separate funding bodies.

▪ It has now become a challenge to find new varieties of herb - at the last count there were just over 130.

▪ More than 200, in fact, at the last count.

▪ My sister Mahaud, at the last count, had more admirers than there are Elks.

▪ The total world population was put at 190 at the last count.

▪ They have been joined by a growing group of people denied entry, 198 at the last count.

▪ Yet at the last count there were six oil-rich states bordering the Gulf.

at the latest

▪ I want you home by 11 at the latest.

▪ But I definitely want some live dates set up by the new year at the latest.

▪ By half past six at the latest he reached the place where he died.

▪ Let's continue this look at the marine aquarium scene by looking at the latest thinking regarding the nutritional requirements of marine fish.

▪ On this principle write all initial letters together on the day you receive instructions, or at the latest the following day.

▪ That meant flying out at 10.30 at the latest.

▪ The story was that trainees had to pass the exam on the third attempt at the latest, or leave.

▪ They should arrive for ten past at the latest.

▪ With only 11 declared at the latest acceptance stage, the Doncaster Classic looked somewhat below par.

at the mercy of sb/sth

▪ Having lost engine power, the boat's crew found themselves at the mercy of the wind.

▪ Once again Oliver is separated from his friends and left at the mercy of strangers.

▪ But like Jim, she soon found herself at the mercy of events.

▪ Even compassion for a man so much at the mercy of his physical urges.

▪ He says you're at the mercy of the elements and you just go where the weather takes you.

▪ Putting him at the mercy of men like you, Creller?

▪ Ten miles straight up, at the mercy of bears, leopards and tigers.

▪ With monarchy, the essential problem is that power is put at the mercy of relatives and genetics.

▪ With that relationship gone, they are at the mercy of more laws and more political meddling.

▪ You are at the mercy of the man upstairs.

at the moment

▪ At the moment, the county is doing nothing with the property south of town.

▪ We're really busy at the moment.

▪ And the right price for Rod's Lamborghini at the moment is £40,000.

▪ Asthings stand at the moment, 70 years have to elapse before they can be inspected.

▪ He missed Josh terribly, but knew there was no way of winning back his affections at the moment.

▪ Her primary problem at the moment is tendinitis in her left wrist.

▪ It is said that birds began to pair at the moment of his death.

▪ Republicans, at the moment, hold 41 seats while Democrats have 37.

▪ She says that everyone dreams of winning a medal, but at the moment she is just hoping to get there.

▪ That means we put ourselves completely into the feeling in question; at the moment it occurs, that feeling is us.

at the ready

▪ I kept my camera at the ready in case the bird reappeared.

▪ Several reporters were outside, microphones at the ready.

▪ The crowd stood around, cameras at the ready.

▪ Two police officers advanced, with guns at the ready.

▪ As yet unsigned, Lisa B has several major record companies with a pen at the ready.

▪ He leapt to the ground beside the ship, his sawed-off shotgun at the ready.

▪ He pictured the Federals now strongly entrenched, with cannons and muskets at the ready.

▪ On the other side of the double row of barbed wire a guard was standing still holding his rifle at the ready.

▪ Ralph would compose himself, at the ready.

▪ She cleaned her teeth every three hours and had Juicy fruit continually at the ready in case he wanted to kiss her.

▪ So throughout it all my readiness to refuse the will and hand of Maman was at the ready.

▪ The President started swearing silently as soon as he saw the troops in camouflage uniforms with rifles at the ready.

at the risk of doing sth

▪ A school has to be able to make rules about students' dress, even at the risk of upsetting parents.

▪ At the risk of being boring, I have to say again how much I enjoyed myself.

▪ At the risk of sounding like your mother, you'd better dress up warm.

▪ This is a point which -- at the risk of being boring -- I must emphasize once again.

▪ Cantor figured he could afford caution, even at the risk of insulting the caller.

▪ How I loved being normal, even at the risk of becoming a Red Cross water-safety statistic.

▪ However, at the risk of underestimating such differences, certain current issues can be picked out.

▪ However, there is no point investing for the long term at the risk of being caned in the short term.

▪ Proceed with caution and, at the risk of sounding like a tabloid astrologer, look before you leap.

▪ There were even imitation sheepskins, but worn at the risk of being considered a total nebbish.

▪ Which, at the risk of uttering sacrilege, may not be such a bad thing.

at the same time

▪ Are you supposed to press these two buttons at the same time?

▪ Charlie and I arrived at the same time.

▪ His wife had a baby at the same time as Elaine.

▪ Karl and I were hired at the same time.

▪ So you want to talk to them, identify that they are a candidate, and then give them the test all at the same time?

▪ The media's criticism can be hard to take. But at the same time, we've got to keep doing our jobs.

▪ We've launched an appeal, and at the same time we are sending out supplies, shelters, and blankets.

▪ We both started talking at the same time.

▪ You must have been at Harvard at the same time as I was.

▪ And there was firing and screaming and hollering at the same time.

▪ But at the same time most people find the expression of their individuality through work.

▪ Each document is at the same time unique and existing in a thousand places.

▪ I wanted to throw up, pass out, scream and cry at the same time.

▪ Once we had five homicides on trial at the same time.

▪ Remarkably, they can still swill and swagger at the same time, weaving toward an exit.

▪ She felt an absolute wreck, yet at the same time she felt acutely self-aware.

▪ So a television picture changed at the same time as you saw your ex-lover walking down the road opposite.

at the time

▪ A spokesman for the Housing Department would only say that the tower blocks had seemed a good idea at the time.

▪ And I must admit I didn't know at the time exactly what her flying weight should be.

▪ Apparently, Shaw was not skiing with her husband or sons at the time of the accident, said Malik.

▪ From what I learned of their disappearance at the time, I never believed they would re-surface intact.

▪ In fact, at the time it must have seemed a remarkably good idea.

▪ Montaine was still living in the attic at the time.

▪ My view is that he combined two qualities that were, at the time of his ascendancy, regarded as mutually exclusive.

▪ Twenty two had active colitis at the time serum was obtained.

at the top/bottom of the heap

at this rate

▪ At this rate, I'll lose $30 million by the end of the season.

▪ I calculated miserably-nearly three thousand words at this rate, more than ten pages.

▪ If he keeps blossoming at this rate, too, basketball coaches soon will be pitching tents in his yard.

▪ Indeed, at this rate the City's fears of Labour's policies could make the difference in getting Labour elected.

▪ It was last to start and at this rate, will probably be last to finish.

▪ Police claim that at this rate, the thief could clear out the entire flock of Trafalgar Square pigeons in seven months.

▪ Poor Maud can only totter along at this rate.

▪ To miss the odd target is acceptable, but not finds coming up at this rate and in such a confined area.

▪ Work out how many woodlice you will have in 10 years' time if they continue to multiply at this rate.

at this time

▪ "Do you have any health insurance?'' "Not at this time.''

▪ Gas prices always go up at this time of year.

▪ I have no further questions at this time, your honor.

▪ It would be difficult at this time to explain all the new regulations.

▪ What are you doing out at this time of night?

▪ His frustration with not carrying the ball at this time of year is as routine as the end of daylight savings time.

▪ His salary at this time was £1,000, and upon leaving the service he received a pension of £600 p.a.

▪ I have no reason to believe at this time that this was anything more than a terribly tragic accident.

▪ It was not uncommon for critics at this time to be engaged in character study and reconstructions of plot and chronology.

▪ No, not the World Series, but the asinine bets politicians make at this time of the year.

▪ Remember that at this time the special eucharistic celebration of Christians took place during the course of a meal of fellowship.

▪ The rejection of the newly mobile toddler may be accentuated if another baby is born at this time.

▪ There were controversies about various forms of Church Government and many sects flourished at this time of religious toleration.

at times

▪ At times even the most talented athletes lose their motivation.

▪ At times Jean deeply regretted not having children.

▪ In a job like this, you're bound to feel a little stressed at times.

▪ Check that machines and materials will be available at times that suit them.

▪ Even Preston had to admit it was fun at times.

▪ Everybody has to pull together and support each other at times like this.

▪ Granted this role at times seems like little more than an extension of his stint as a motivational speaker.

▪ Hart is an amiable and enthusiastic guide, if a little corny at times.

▪ He wrote beautiful, at times too beautiful prose.

▪ It is one of the devious ways in which we all can behave at times.

▪ It was very inadequate at times, especially in winter if you were on point duty.

at weekly/20-minute etc intervals

▪ After ingestion of sucrose, breath hydrogen was measured at 20 minute intervals for 160 minutes.

at will

▪ He can't just hire and fire people at will, can he?

at work

at your back

▪ Caesar marched into Rome with an army at his back.

▪ Run into the wind so it's at your back as you return.

▪ He felt the wide gaze of the french windows at his back and the awareness put his timing out.

▪ I hear the whip at his back compelling him to shed his will, to stay in line.

▪ She could tell this by looking at his back as he stood at the bar ordering more drinks.

▪ She stared at his back view in exasperation.

▪ She wants a phalanx of allies at her back before she climbs those stairs again.

▪ Staring at his back, she tried to conjure up the image of him lover-like, tender, and failed.

▪ The pub blazed at my back as I walked off.

▪ When Schmidt tapped the chauffeur's arm, the man pressed a button that raised a glass panel at his back.

at your best

▪ At his best, he's one of the most exciting tennis players in the world.

▪ This recording captures Grappelli at his very best.

▪ And if I sometimes see them at their worst, I sometimes see them at their best as well.

▪ Augusta was not at her best yesterday on a drab, grey day.

▪ But like Natalie Merchant, Cerbone is at her best when composing character sketches.

▪ Still, quarterbacks are not at their best when their throwing motion is impeded.

▪ The answer, in brief, is the method of empirical inquiry, at its best the method of science.

▪ The early 1960s showed such policy at its best.

▪ The formal work of the House is often seen at its best in committee.

▪ The Machine is at its best in primaries, but Daley was taking no chances.

at your command

▪ Try to hire a carpenter with years of experience at his command.

▪ A 12-hour alarm sounds off at your command.

▪ An old soldier, he had a few choice words at his command.

▪ And nor would i lead my company to be slaughtered, at their command.

▪ How can students cope with the limited resources at their command?

▪ In short, they have an explanatory rhetoric at their command.

▪ Loyal, bonded silicon brains, hired for cheap and at your command, even if you were only 13.

▪ Owen played with all the strength and passion at his command.

▪ So he would protect himself, with all the weapons at his command.

at your earliest convenience

▪ We should be grateful if you would reply at your earliest convenience.

▪ Could you therefore please telephone me at your earliest convenience?

▪ I also enclose a Medical Assessment Card which you should complete and return at your earliest convenience.

at your own risk

▪ Anyone who swims in this part of the river does it at their own risk.

▪ Danger - enter at your own risk.

▪ Journalists were allowed into the area, but only at their own risk.

▪ Visitors who park their cars in the corner lot do so at their own risk.

▪ Any such person relies upon the report at his own risk.

▪ But it's at your own risk.

▪ Follow their advice at your own risk.

▪ Parkers need to be clearly warned that they park their vehicles entirely at their own risk.

▪ Taste them at your own risk.

▪ The trespasser comes on to the premises at his own risk.

▪ There are also sanctioned nude beaches and unsanctioned beaches, where you go buff at your own risk.

▪ You could leave your bicycle at Dingle Station every day for a week for only 6d, at your own risk of course.

at your pleasure

▪ He will appoint a five-member board that serves at his pleasure to oversee development of the island for city use.

▪ He wrung his hands in pleasure at her pleasure.

▪ The first verse concludes: We live at our pleasure, and take our delight.

▪ We change names at our pleasure.

▪ What was she, a communal slave to be passed around at their pleasure?

at/from an early age

▪ Both Maddy and Patrick were professionally successful at an early age, secure, and surrounded by helpful family.

▪ But what about alteration of brain chemistry at an early age?

▪ Did you start painting at an early age?

▪ I worry about cholesterol, because my father died of a heart attack at an early age.

▪ If you get to know about these things at an early age you lose your shame and shyness.

▪ Robin adds that as a boy he saw both the Graf Zeppelin and R-101, obviously an enthusiast from an early age.

▪ Spong does not advocate marriage at an early age.

▪ Women learn at an early age that most men do not like angry women living in the same house.

at/from the outset

▪ It was clear from the outset that there were going to be problems.

▪ It was stated at the outset that this system would not be here, and at once, perfected.

▪ Liverpool, so dominant at the outset, were glad to hear referee Andy D'Urso blow the final whistle.

▪ Local authorities have presented the Treasury with a particular problem from the outset.

▪ She also remarked at the outset that her personal belief was that the category had no place in a psychiatric manual.

▪ There was a whole platoon of black-and-whites on our tail at the outset, but we lost them one by one.

▪ This establishes at the outset for both parties the criterion for evaluation of work done.

▪ This is why it is so important to be consistent in your approach right from the outset.

▪ We had from the outset a desire to cross barriers that had previously existed and to get involved in community groups.

at/in one sitting

▪ Jeff ate a whole bag of potato chips in one sitting.

▪ As in my landscapes, I work quickly and the portrait has to be completed in one sitting.

▪ At other times the sessions are intended to serve the need of teachers of five of six languages at one sitting.

▪ But if you get a copy, save it for when you can read it at one sitting.

▪ I devoured it all almost at one sitting, reading it until my eyes closed.

▪ I read it in one sitting and lay awake that night disturbed by its power and frightened by its implication.

▪ It is an interesting book to dip into, but it can not be read at one sitting.

at/in the back of your mind

▪ I was hurt that she'd left, but I guess at the back of my mind I always knew she would.

▪ There was always a slight feeling of fear at the back of his mind.

at/with the push/touch of a button

be (at the) top of the list/agenda

▪ Improving education is at the top of the mayor's agenda.

be a dab hand at/with sth

▪ However, they might be a dab hand at needlework or crochet.

▪ She was a dab hand at couplets, was Rosie.

▪ They should be dab hands with the diapers, and more in touch with their emotions.

▪ Workers at the Wellingborough factory are dab hands at turning out unusual orders.

be a past master (at sth)

▪ Johnny Morris is a past master at both.

▪ That sort of thing wasn't her style at all, but Susan was a past master at it.

be an old hand (at sth)

▪ Helms is an old hand at backroom politics.

▪ Blue is an old hand at such compositions and has never had any trouble with them.

▪ Habitat is an old hand at changing habits of a lifetime.

▪ Pete Zimmerman is an old hand at water initiatives.

▪ These were old hands, and Dawn Run was effectively still a novice.

▪ We are old hands in the public-school system.

be at a loose end

▪ After her husband died, Mildred found herself suddenly at loose ends.

▪ I felt rather at a loose end at the end of the term so I decided to take a trip to London.

▪ Bert, Alice was pleased to see, missed Jasper, tended to be at a loose end.

▪ He was at a loose end.

▪ One's best friend's cousin's daughter might well be at a loose end after leaving art college.

▪ Rhoda had died a year or two ago, and we had heard that Ralph was at loose ends.

▪ So, through no fault of my own, I was at a loose end quite a bit.

▪ They'd be at a loose end when it was over, which would be the time to approach them.

be at a loss

▪ He was at a loss to explain to himself why he found it so appealing.

▪ Her performances were legendary, and I am at a loss to describe them now.

▪ I am at a loss to understand all this.

▪ I was at a loss with you being so beautiful and intelligent and all that.

▪ Lord said he was at a loss to find room to play his shots in the first two games.

▪ Still, you will not be at a loss for conversation with such an unusual choice.

▪ With the provisions stored away, Robbie was at a loss for occupation.

be at a low ebb

▪ I was at my lowest ebb after the kidney surgery.

▪ Basic research on petrochemicals was at a low ebb around 1980.

▪ He came in when the lads were at a low ebb somewhere on the ocean bed.

▪ Idei is overhauling a corporate structure Sony introduced in mid-1994 when its fortunes were at a low ebb.

▪ Interest in religion seemed to be at a low ebb.

▪ Self-confidence can be at a low ebb if you've just been told to p ... off by an embittered pedestrian.

be at a premium

▪ A less complimentary analysis might be that value was placed on this because intellectual stimulation was at a premium on that unit.

▪ Even in the midst of the current job crisis, some skills are at a premium.

▪ Space is at a premium in the back of a Warrior.

▪ The few remaining hermaphroditic mice are at a premium because only they can produce the sperm that the all-female mice still need.

▪ The mirrors would warp up; there would be odd folds and creases; clarity would be at a premium.

▪ With the combat units dispersed and the opposition extremely difficult to locate, good and timely intelligence was at a premium.

▪ Younger, unattached people were at a premium in Southland.

be at bat

be at daggers drawn

▪ In practice they are at daggers drawn as the furore over Tom Clarke's pronouncements on the subject this week amply illustrates.

▪ The prospect of an interesting friendship had been destroyed and now they were at daggers drawn.

be at death's door

▪ His skin was so pale, he looked like he was at death's door.

be at each other's throats

▪ Congress and the President have been at each other's throats for so long that it's a wonder they can agree on anything.

▪ Lisa and Nicole were at each other's throats the whole trip.

be at large

▪ Two of the escaped prisoners are still at large.

be at liberty to do sth

▪ The secretary of state told reporters, "I am not at liberty to get into the details" of the proposal.

▪ We are not at liberty to discuss our hiring practices.

▪ You are quite at liberty to make an official complaint if you wish.

▪ Also, of course, a trust is at liberty to raise new capital by an issue of additional ordinary or debenture shares.

▪ And the world will say: now she is at liberty to pursue her inclination, the parson is the man.

▪ But we are at liberty to form our own judgement of the person doing so.

▪ Elsewhere anyone was at liberty to hang up a shingle and go into practice as a physician.

▪ Freed from the trappings of conventional morality, Van Ness is at liberty to invent his own.

▪ Staff in these Departments considering additional computers are at liberty to submit suggestions through line management in the usual way. 3.

▪ Time when he was at liberty to go fishing or take a drive along the coast.

▪ While I am still free, I am at liberty to take my pleasure when I choose.

be at loggerheads (with sb)

▪ His trusted advisers are at loggerheads, and he can not put off a decision much longer.

▪ I think Himmler and Speer are at loggerheads.

▪ Interview he sez the idea that industrialists are at loggerheads with conservationists needs to be dispelled.

▪ Now Nicholas's parents and his old school are at loggerheads.

▪ Peasants in grain-short areas may well be at loggerheads with those in grain-surplus areas.

▪ When kings were at loggerheads with their clergy, which was not their usual relationship, morality constituted the most dramatic battleground.

be at odds

▪ Britain and France were constantly at odds with each other throughout the negotiations.

▪ The two sides are still at odds over a pay increase for airline pilots.

▪ Enduring success was at odds with all history and could not be expected.

▪ Her description is at odds with Tiller's.

▪ More often, however, navigation engineers were at odds with drainage men, especially when they were working on existing rivers.

▪ The Buchanan trade plank is at odds with long-standing Republican endorsements of free trade.

▪ The interests of scholarship and pedagogy are at odds here.

▪ The Piagetian / constructivist vision is that educational practice and development need not and should not be at odds.

▪ Their pleasure was tempered with concern that the policy change was at odds with what they requested.

▪ They radiated a fierce interest in their work which was at odds with their taciturn manner.

be at one with sb/sth

▪ Because: In order to be at one with the Static Cosmos, one must achieve a state of supreme stillness.

▪ I have seemed to be at one with the world.

▪ In that belief he was at one with the Communists.

▪ It was at one with consumer bodies in wishing to see their activities stopped.

▪ Nevertheless he was at one with Wheatley on the need to abandon free trade and develop a protected imperial bloc.

▪ Reyntiens' considerable technical expertise is at one with his imagination.

▪ So far the Church is at one with the State.

▪ The gestures they make are at one with their interesting footwork.

be at pains to do sth

▪ Mrs Henessy was at pains to say that she was fighting for a principle, not just for financial compensation.

▪ The U.S. military has been at pains not to offend its Muslim host.

▪ A year on they acknowledge the problems, but are at pains to defend the good name of their community.

▪ I was at pains to show how and why.

▪ Officials were at pains to point out that it was focused on resolving border disputes and promoting trade.

▪ She taught in a racially mixed school and was at pains to correct simple stereotypes and unthinking prejudices.

▪ She was at pains to tell me - several times - that her male friends were divided into two groups.

▪ These he is at pains to hide in order to promote the fiction of his rise from rags to riches.

▪ They are at pains to insist that they are not called to be a denomination.

▪ Writers in the early art and photographic journals were at pains to define its precise meaning.

be at sb's beck and call

▪ I have never liked to be at anybody's beck and call.

▪ She was always rushing around at her mother's beck and call.

▪ I had to be at his beck and call, night and day.

be at sb's side/stay by sb's side/not leave sb's side

be at the centre of sth

▪ Humiliation was at the centre of Jock Stein's disciplinary philosophy.

▪ Perhaps more serious was the failure to understand, or accept, bureaucratic mores which were at the centre of the system.

▪ The Charter will be at the centre of government's decision-making throughout the 1990s.

▪ The duty officer at the Cabinet Office Briefing Room was at the centre of a web of information technology.

▪ The inter-relationships between the flows will be at the centre of the proposed research.

▪ The privatization of up to 40 state-owned companies was at the centre of the governments economic recovery plan.

▪ The problem of deciding what is relevant and important is at the centre of your task as a note-maker.

▪ This is at the centre of the Iasiah's concern.

be at the end of your tether

▪ I had no money, my husband was sick, and I couldn't get a job. I was at the end of my tether.

be at the height of your success/fame/powers etc

▪ By the 1860's, when he was at the height of his fame, tragedy struck as he took increasingly to drink.

▪ However, in 1985 he was at the height of his fame as a novelist.

▪ Outwardly, the Cowboys appear to be at the height of their powers.

be at the top of your game

be at variance (with sb/sth)

▪ Her current statement is at variance with what she said July 10.

▪ Cabinet's vision of the Task Force was at variance with Heseltine's own ideas.

▪ It is quite clear that this thread of non-incrimination is at variance with the recent emphasis on obtaining confession evidence.

▪ The Communists were at variance with all their previous allies and there was room for an alternative viewpoint.

▪ The research examines this conclusion since it is at variance with rational economic planning.

▪ The Spirit reconciles men who were at variance.

▪ There is likely to be material that is at variance with your own views.

▪ This shows a Spartan caution which is at variance with their previous bellicosity over Samos.

▪ This was at variance with the Eurocheque system as exempted by the Commission in 1984.

be at your wits' end

▪ I'm at my wits' end trying to fix this computer.

▪ I don't know what I can do to keep our marriage together -- I'm at my wits' end!

▪ It was two days before the baby was due, and Robert was at his wit's end.

be at/hit/reach rock bottom

▪ By four o'clock Melissa's spirits were at rock bottom.

be at/in/to the forefront (of sth)

▪ Everywhere in the world, it was women who were in the forefront of campaigning.

▪ He is at the forefront of the campaign to save the Elephant from extinction.

▪ Meleager slays his uncles, who are in the forefront of those who would destroy Atalanta.

▪ The brothers were at the forefront of the story from the beginning.

▪ The company's main business is in sheet fed offset and it is at the forefront of printing on recycled paper.

▪ The mill was never to be in the forefront of industry.

▪ Through their own efforts, deaf people were in the forefront of Glasgow society.

▪ You have to be willing to be in the forefront.

be at/near etc the end of your rope

be bursting/bulging at the seams

▪ The auditorium was bulging at the seams during the governor's talk.

▪ The island couldn't be bursting at the seams, surely?

be champing at the bit

▪ David is champing at the bit.

▪ Within three months Eva was champing at the bit.

be clutching at straws

▪ Green ponds should not be a problem now, but come next summer, you may be clutching at straws.

be clutching/grasping at straws

▪ Green ponds should not be a problem now, but come next summer, you may be clutching at straws.

be coming/falling apart at the seams

▪ The country's whole economy is coming apart at the seams.

be foaming at the mouth

▪ One man is foaming at the mouth and moaning.

be getting at sth

▪ But I knew what they were getting at....

▪ Half the time it wasn't Clemence she was getting at - it was me.

▪ I am sure he is the toad behind the unprecedented negative media coverage we are getting at the moment.

▪ I never felt deprived, if that's what Winifred Shalcross is getting at.

▪ Let me try to explain what I am getting at.

▪ Propaganda could be effective - this was what Eliot was getting at - only by ceasing to be mere propaganda.

▪ She wondered what on earth he could be getting at.

▪ Try to identify the heart of the matter the question is getting at.

be hard at it/work

▪ Ahead of her, Bite the Bullet's jockey was hard at work while the horse on his outside was clearly beaten.

▪ Cook was making fresh cornbread rolls for breakfast and lesser mortals were hard at it with brooms and mops.

▪ He was hard at work on the translation of a play which had to be ready two days later.

▪ Not much is said, as each young person, and Bill, is hard at work at the task at hand.

▪ Over the road, Sylvia Brackley and daughter, Karen are hard at work on this year's crop.

▪ Thacker had set him a spot of overtime and he was hard at it in the mill.

▪ Today, all eight of the Van Andel and DeVos offspring are hard at work making this company better.

▪ When she was hard at work and on top of things her productivity was exceptional.

be in at the beginning/start (of sth)

▪ But Effie Bawn was in at the start.

be in attendance (at sth)

▪ A number of celebrities were in attendance.

▪ Almost the entire Cabinet and senior White House staff were in attendance.

▪ Both, however, were in attendance.

▪ Coincidentally, Pelagia was in attendance at that particular sermon.

▪ Mr Guy Salter was in attendance.

▪ Mrs Michael Wigley was in attendance.

▪ The Lady Juliet Townsend was in attendance.

▪ Their parents, Rick Barry and Pam Connelly, were in attendance.

be in the right place at the right time

▪ "You did well to get that contract.'' "Not really, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.''

▪ An off--duty cop happened to be in the right place at the right time to stop a robbery.

▪ Being a successful news photographer is all about being in the right place at the right time.

▪ He could be in the right place at the right time when top jobs come up for grabs next summer.

▪ He was in the right place at the right time and hustling as he usually does.

▪ If we do not provide sufficient places, the necessary skill will not be in the right place at the right time.

▪ It was in the right place at the right time.

▪ They just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

▪ You have to be in the right place at the right time with the right partner and the right judges.

be in the wrong place at the wrong time

▪ Kambule claims he was just a bystander when the shooting occurred, a kid in the wrong place at the wrong time.

▪ The driver was drunk and hit her as she was crossing the road. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

be in/at/to the forefront of sb's mind/attention etc

▪ The risks of a court case also have to be in the forefront of your mind.

▪ This meant that fund-raising news and any other news about the deaf was in the forefront of everyone's attention.

be joined at the hip

be no slouch (at sth)

▪ At 12-1, Stanford is no slouch at home either, you know.

▪ Bonds were no slouch, either.

▪ Reed, 33, is no slouch in the kitchen herself.

▪ Shearer is some talent, but Newell & Gallagher are no slouches.

▪ Your engineer officer, McCafferty, is no slouch either and neither is mine.

be on/at the receiving end (of sth)

▪ I know how it feels to be on the receiving end of that.

▪ On the other there was the undoubted fact that we would be on the receiving end.

▪ Otherwise, his supply unit would be on the receiving end of a simulated bomb or Tomahawk cruise missile.

▪ Talk show hosts can also be on the receiving end of questions.

▪ This is often best done in conjunction with those who are going to be on the receiving end of an appraisal interview.

▪ Today it was my turn to be on the receiving end.

▪ What was it like to be on the receiving end?

▪ You didn't have to be a client or a famous face to be on the receiving end.

be straining at the leash

be/feel at home

▪ As it was with Kip, Martinez seemed to be at home with himself.

▪ But it is here, at this Hillcrest hospital, where he feels at home.

▪ Edwin was the only one in the family who felt at home in Los Angeles and remained there.

▪ The g was less, and that made me feel at home.

▪ This immediate social environment is merely that in which he feels at home.

▪ With the politics of action too, I feel at home.

▪ Would she ever feel at home in this relentless, pitiless city?

be/go/keep on at sb

▪ A strike has been going on at the mine for over three months and the nine who died were all non-union men.

▪ But what's going on at No. 4 and No. 8 are free rides, nothing less.

▪ Funny stuff going on at the Olympics.

▪ He had a bad leg and they kept on at him to hurry up.

▪ I must say I was not totally happy about her going on at Yeo Davis, with me in the government.

▪ Something must be going on at school.

▪ There was some spitting going on at the end of the game.

▪ You used to go on at me about getting out.

be/lie at the bottom of sth

▪ His girlfriend had been woken by the noise, and had found him lying at the bottom of the stairs.

▪ Holman lay at the bottom of the open grave where he'd been roughly dumped.

▪ Knowing that self-interest lay at the bottom of his proposal did not prevent my being grateful.

▪ Mind you're not found lying at the bottom of the steps with a broken neck like Amy Robsart.

▪ The female's sperm storage tubules are sausage-shaped and sperm lie at the bottom of the tube.

▪ The rest, including your own clothes, now lie at the bottom of some deep, evil-smelling swamp.

▪ To deliver water from these depths the pumping machine has to be at the bottom of the well.

▪ Your name will be at the bottom of the letter-why write it twice?

beat sb at their own game

burn the candle at both ends

▪ Back in the twenties, the Millay sisters were known in New York society for burning the candle at both ends.

buy sth at the cost/expense/price of sth

charity begins at home

▪ After all, charity begins at home.

▪ Despite the profit-making prospects in this it has been treated with utter contempt on the grounds that charity begins at home.

cheap at the price/at any price

clutch at sb's heart

cock a snook at sb/sth

▪ The federal parliament also cocked a snook at the United Nations administration in Kosovo.

▪ Tom Keating spent a lifetime cocking a snook at the art world.

do sth at your peril

▪ These are grave environmental warnings, which we ignore at our peril.

▪ He spoke with the sort of quietly threatening tone that you ignored at your peril.

▪ Into this potent politicization of what remained, at heart, a medical mystery, scientists ventured at their peril.

▪ Kings neglected the sea at their peril.

▪ Mess with us at your peril.

▪ More than a million fled abroad, often at their peril.

▪ Some people say that lurking in its depths is a fish so dangerous that oarsmen venture out at their peril.

▪ Those who cross him do so at their peril.

▪ Yet it is also one of the most popular programs, and politicians have made changes to it at their peril.

draw the line (at sth)

▪ I don't mind a little mess, but I draw the line at wearing work boots in the house.

▪ But the problem will not be where to draw the line but how to draw it.

▪ I draw the line at Ppesetas and Ppfennigs.

▪ I also needed to draw the line at what I considered appropriate to discuss publicly.

▪ I fell in with those who drew the line at violence.

▪ Mr Clinton drew the line at around $ 52 billion.

▪ Once again, it is left to the courts to draw the line according to their overall judgment of the facts.

▪ The key is knowing where to draw the line before persistence leads to annoyance.

fire questions at sb

▪ The Professor had finished, and Ace and Daak were firing questions at her.

▪ The young man took the seat behind the cold metal desk and began to fire questions at me.

flash a smile/glance/look etc (at sb)

▪ But spirited Patsy flashed a look of encouragement at him.

▪ Zak flashed a glance at the crew, saw me and gave me a thumbs-up sign.

flick a glance/look at sb/sth

▪ Baptiste flicked a look at Léonie.

▪ She flicked a glance at her watch.

fling yourself at sb

▪ And I do not give you permission to fling yourself at her feet, grab her hands and weep into her palms.

▪ As I flung myself at it, pounding footsteps were behind me.

▪ He flung himself at her, springing the top button of his jeans and jerking them down as he did so.

▪ McCoist flung himself at the ball and beat Lukic with a wonderful diving header.

▪ She flung herself at the gunman, who was then felled by police fire.

▪ Tabitha flung herself at the hard bunk with an angry sigh.

▪ They flung themselves at sailors in a bid for immortality.

flutter your eyelashes (at sb)

▪ I began to flutter my eyelashes in a rather exaggerated way.

froth at the mouth

▪ Access problems and the odd bolt on Lakeland mountain crags have had activists frothing at the mouth.

▪ He died at a friend's flat in Rock Ferry after going into convulsions and frothing at the mouth.

▪ He then started frothing at the mouth and had a fit.

▪ Hoomey thought he could easily start frothing at the mouth, the way his colour had drained.

▪ Mortally wounded, frothing at the mouth, grinding his teeth in pain, he chose the floor instead.

▪ Then, last June, she keeled over frothing at the mouth while out partying with pals in a London club.

▪ With a strangled, gargling shriek, Carradine fell over, frothing at the mouth, arms waving.

gaze at/contemplate your navel

go in (at) one ear and out (at) the other

▪ It goes in one ear and out the other.

go off at a tangent

▪ As for going off at tangents, my dear, I do it myself, hormone balance not withstanding.

▪ Loretta's mind went off at a tangent.

go off at the deep end

hark at him/her/you!

have a bash (at sth)

▪ Maybe nothing at all, but for the love of a good woman he was at least prepared to have a bash.

▪ The women all have bashed in noses and black eyes and the men have scars.

▪ There's something to have a bash at while you're relaxing over the Christmas hols!

have a whack at sth

have sb/sth at your feet

▪ I have lain at his feet.

have sth at your/their etc fingertips

have the world at your feet

have/take a gander at sth

▪ Take a gander at this letter I just got from Janet.

▪ Ye take a gander at the engines.

have/take a squint at sth

hold sth at arm's length

hurl abuse/insults/accusations etc (at sb)

▪ She heard the boys hurling abuse at her, shouting to her to stop, but she shut her ears to them.

▪ There is not much to be achieved by hurling insults.

▪ When I first met her she had been hurling abuse at her daughters-in-law who took no notice whatsoever.

hurl yourself at/against etc sb/sth

▪ And yet people still hurl themselves at this fence.

▪ For an instant, Jimmy wondered whether he should hurl himself at the plate-glass windows.

▪ I hurl myself at the soldier.

▪ Shopkeeper Nasser Ali, 25, hurled himself at Conroy, who emptied his magazine of all six shots.

▪ The control room door slammed shut behind Atrimonides as he ran on to the gallery and hurled himself at Christine.

▪ The warriors hurled themselves at the heads or horns of their animals to make them lie down.

▪ The wind was gusting through the branches of the old oak tree outside and hurling itself against his window.

ill at ease

▪ Dave always looks ill at ease in a suit.

▪ Rehnquist sometimes can appear ill at ease in public.

▪ And all of this is inevitable, for Utopians are ill at ease at the sharp end of politics.

▪ By the way, most women are very ill at ease when you call them out from the jury pool.

▪ He is extremely ill at ease.

▪ He looked about him, for once strangely ill at ease, disconcerted to learn that she had ridden off ahead of him.

▪ If people are already ill at ease in unfamiliar surroundings the order of service becomes another pressure.

▪ Nevertheless, their formality sits ill at ease with Esau's spontaneous show of love.

▪ The thought of confinement can make me ill at ease.

▪ They looked ill at ease in the same camera frame.

ill at ease

▪ And all of this is inevitable, for Utopians are ill at ease at the sharp end of politics.

▪ By the way, most women are very ill at ease when you call them out from the jury pool.

▪ He is extremely ill at ease.

▪ He looked about him, for once strangely ill at ease, disconcerted to learn that she had ridden off ahead of him.

▪ If people are already ill at ease in unfamiliar surroundings the order of service becomes another pressure.

▪ Nevertheless, their formality sits ill at ease with Esau's spontaneous show of love.

▪ The thought of confinement can make me ill at ease.

▪ They looked ill at ease in the same camera frame.

in no time (at all)/in next to no time

in/at the pit of your stomach

▪ He was developing a peculiar feeling in the pit of his stomach; a feeling beyond sickness, beyond shock.

▪ I felt a twinge in the pit of my stomach.

▪ Now suddenly she could feel the pleasure such imaginings had aroused uncurling in a warm spiral in the pit of her stomach.

▪ She closed her eyes for a moment, fighting the tremor that began somewhere in the pit of her stomach.

▪ She watched as he crossed the meadow and felt the familiar jolt in the pit of her stomach as he came near.

▪ When that first cup of coffee was finished, a ball of fear nestled in the pit of my stomach.

in/at the vanguard (of sth)

▪ Poland put itself at the vanguard of Eastern Europe's democratic revolution.

▪ California leads the nation in shifting to managed care, with San Diego County in the vanguard.

▪ For it is the non-elite institutions that are in the vanguard of recruiting non-standard students.

▪ Kerry was on his older bike, riding between Ronny Taskin and Alistair in the vanguard of a flock of other boys.

▪ The crowd began to advance upon the threesome, and Omally was in the vanguard.

▪ The prototype was in the vanguard of technical development.

▪ These preferences, of course, placed the Wiener Werkstatte squarely in the vanguard of Modernism.

▪ They were in the vanguard of the religious revolutionaries.

install yourself in/at etc

▪ Geoffrey, Joe and I installed ourselves in the aft cabin.

▪ The Madeirans were worried, in particular, in case a post-revolutionary Communist dictatorship should install itself in Lisbon.

▪ Tom suggested they go straight to his house, but Mr Greenleaf wanted to install himself in a hotel first.

jump/be thrown in at the deep end

keep at it

keep sb at sth

keep/hold sb at arm's length

▪ Economic policies kept the Soviet Union and Japan at arm's length during the Cold War.

keep/hold sth at bay

▪ Sandbags kept the floodwaters at bay.

▪ The government hopes to keep inflation at bay.

▪ All in all, the eatery is a breakfast bargain, with enough different components to keep boredom at bay.

▪ Another technique for keeping performance anxiety at bay is the group sing-along.

▪ Brown has kept the tumult at bay.

▪ Concentrating on Emma would help to keep her worries at bay for a little while.

▪ He was gritting his teeth against the pain, keeping it at bay while he studied the stump, the severed hand.

▪ My voice holds them at bay.

▪ She holds the adventurers at bay by holding the scroll over a candle flame and threatening to destroy it.

▪ Two green glazed lions guarded the gates to keep evil spirits at bay.

last thing (at night)

▪ Take a couple of these pills last thing at night to help you get to sleep.

▪ I agree with that last thing.

▪ It was the last thing he wanted to do.

▪ The last thing he said to me last night: I still want that money.

▪ The last thing Republicans need is a nominee who runs from the Republican House, who is defensive about their agenda.

▪ The last thing she felt, apart from the pain, was surprise.

▪ The last thing that I want to do is stray out of order.

▪ The last thing you need is confusion over that.

▪ Working is the last thing on their minds.

last thing at night

▪ Lock the doors and turn off the lights last thing at night.

▪ The soldiers are supposed to polish their shoes last thing at night.

▪ Empty ashtrays last thing at night, and don't smoke in bed.

▪ It's the first thing I look at when I wake up, the last thing at night.

▪ It was after dark; the last thing at night.

▪ Of course, only in moderate quantities, and generally to be taken last thing at night.

▪ The only times my father could be found in his room were first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

▪ The rosary last thing at night.

▪ This can be carried out last thing at night, once the puppy has been outside to relieve itself.

▪ Why not set a few moments aside first thing in the morning and last thing at night?

lay sth at the door of sb/sth

leap at the chance/opportunity

▪ It would be naive to believe that there aren't lots of people who would leap at the opportunity.

▪ Some may leap at the chance.

learn/be taught sth at your mother's knee

level criticism/charges/accusations etc at/against sb

▪ Even Mrs Thatcher levelled criticism at the lack of compartment privacy, but the policy against compartments was now firmly established.

lie at the heart/centre/root of sth

▪ As we shall find, this distinction lies at the root of Anselm's movements in his last years as archbishop.

▪ Basic compassion, not just for the old but for the younger generation too, lies at the heart of this idea.

▪ That is the issue which lies at the heart of Mr. Thorpe's case.

▪ That question appears to lie at the heart of the highly publicized battle raging between Hasbro Inc. and Mattel Inc.

▪ That view lies at the root of a government drive against the racist right.

▪ The creation of a modernised democracy therefore lies at the heart of all our proposals.

▪ They overlook the human ability to negate, which lies at the root of thinking.

▪ We found that two key resource uses and two basic technologies lay at the root of lunar industry.

light at the end of the tunnel

▪ After a year of declining profits, there's finally a light at the end of the tunnel.

▪ After all the problems we've had we're finally beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel.

▪ For Jane there is some light at the end of the tunnel, but many anorexia sufferers continue to suffer in silence.

like a bull at a gate

▪ They may fight like a lion or go at something like a bull at a gate.

look askance (at sb/sth)

▪ It often looked askance at the mainland.

▪ No, it was not Jenny who made him look askance at the legacy.

▪ Sometimes they would look askance at what I had thrown on.

▪ The tradition that you came from often looked askance at constitutions, regarding them as mere pieces of paper.

▪ Yet this restatement of his views won him political support from Liberals who looked askance at this quasi-nationalization programme.

look at sb/sth

look at that!

▪ Wow, look at that! It's huge!

look daggers at sb

▪ The lady behind the counter looked daggers at me.

▪ Their relationship is not free and easy but at least Red is no longer looking daggers at her.

look daggers at sb

▪ Their relationship is not free and easy but at least Red is no longer looking daggers at her.

look down your nose at sb/sth

▪ I can go in a shirt and jeans and no one looks down his nose at me.

▪ Besides, I didn't fancy going to the Chapel and having all the family looking down their noses at me.

▪ But I was not one to look down my nose at shabbiness.

▪ Don't look down their noses at you.

▪ Never had any man so looked down his nose at her.

▪ No more will I look down my nose at whining, spineless malcontents.

▪ Normally she looked down her nose at men and then ignored them unless they needed the sharp edge of her tongue.

▪ One who doesn't look down her nose at anybody.

▪ We looked down our noses at this pair of student hicks.

make a grab for/at sth

▪ He made a grab for the knife.

▪ He made a grab for Isaac, but wasn't quick enough.

▪ She dodged around him and ran into the road as he made a grab for her.

▪ The realization felt as if the world had made a grab at him.

▪ Then Rose made a grab for Evelyn's hair and started banging her head against the floor with both hands.

make a pass at sb

▪ And the examiner was arrested only after he made passes at a military policeman's wife.

▪ Had he made a pass at her?

▪ He made a pass at me once.

▪ It seemed odd that he loathed her with such intensity and yet had made a pass at her.

▪ Men who made passes at her were not rude ruffians but agents of evil river spirits.

▪ Nigel told Eleanor that he despised her for making a pass at him.

▪ Some said he'd made a pass at Stella, others said he'd made a pass at Dempster.

▪ The last thing she had wanted was for Luke to make a pass at her.

make eyes at sb/give sb the eye

make sb feel at home

▪ He had done his best to make Harvey feel at home.

▪ It is our duty to make them feel at home here.

▪ Or some chum of Matt's put it there to make him feel at home.

▪ The g was less, and that made me feel at home.

▪ Tourists too can expect a right Royal welcome, for the traditional friendliness of the islanders makes everyone feel at home.

make sheep's eyes at sb

make yourself at home

▪ Make yourselves at home. Would you like a cup of coffee?

▪ Cynthia, he thought, did not have much trouble making herself at home.

▪ Here, sit down and make yourself at home.

▪ Nothing like making yourself at home.

▪ Perspective 6: People make themselves at home throughout the solar system.

▪ She had to make herself at home, somehow.

▪ She pulled off her hat, she made herself at home.

▪ They float right through the glass and make themselves at home.

▪ Two weeks later a young married couple were the new tenants filling the house, making themselves at home.

not at all

▪ I do not like his attitude at all.

▪ No, no, no, that's wrong. That's not what I meant at all.

▪ She's not at all happy about the situation.

▪ The changes were not at all surprising.

▪ But better in the nick of time than not at all.

▪ Everything is preserved perfectly or not at all.

▪ For example, the abstract either comes first or not at all.

▪ He's not at all well.

▪ I see her again, very straight, dressed in light colors, not at all showy.

▪ She pushes down her dress but is not at all embarrassed.

▪ Their steady, reliable earnings growth attracts investors primarily when the economy is growing slowly or not at all.

not at any price

▪ Sorry, the car's not for sale at any price.

▪ Greens are right to take positions in government, but not at any price.

not much to look at

▪ Edward's not much to look at, but he has a great personality.

not to be sneezed at

▪ A lot of them were here, because a free meal is not to be sneezed at.

▪ An additional payoff not to be sneezed at is that lecturers, forced to integrate, begin to rethink their subject!

▪ In the days of rock bottom underground pay, 20 was not to be sneezed at.

on/at the periphery (of sth)

▪ He had never met Hindley Foster, some one who seemed very much on the periphery of their lives.

▪ Ken's friendships and the way he established them continued to surprise those who were on the periphery of his activities.

▪ Moss moved on the broken trees at the periphery of the golf grass.

▪ Now she was standing at the periphery of the crowd, wondering whether Cantor would even open the envelope she was clutching.

▪ That's always a very easy thing to do on the periphery.

▪ They may stay on the periphery watching the recess-time basketball games and jump-rope competitions from the sidelines of the playground.

our man in/at sth

▪ He slaughtered our men in forty minutes.

▪ Soon, reports our man in the black wellies, all he had left were four golden orfe and a koi.

▪ Still there was no demoralization of our men in line.

pip sb at the post

point the/a finger at sb

▪ After much speculation we all started to point the finger at Dawn.

▪ Each time there is a suicide bomb or attack we should point a finger at ourselves?

▪ It needed to point a finger at Simpson, the manufacturer.

▪ Now the computer's resources are to be used to help point the finger at the possible killer of James Bulger.

▪ The recreationists point the finger at developers.

▪ There shall not need anyone but myself to point the finger at me.

▪ To minimise his sentence, Boesky pointed the finger at people he had dealt with.

▪ Why did no one point a finger at a man for yielding to his desires?

poke fun at sb

▪ A whole category of jokes has been created to poke fun at Microsoft and its operating system, Windows 95.

▪ Again and again these feminist lexicographers refuse and indeed poke fun at the authoritative pronouncements of mainstream lexicography.

▪ At the moment he cheerily condemns protesters or pokes fun at the Tories.

▪ He carries on conversations with the fans, jokes with refs, and pokes fun at his own players.

▪ I was even afraid lest any-one poke fun at me.

▪ In fact, one of his most endearing qualities was his ability to puncture his own pomposity and poke fun at himself.

▪ It's time you scrapped your overwritten early loves and learned to poke fun at the real thing.

▪ Newspapers started to defy the strict censorship imposed during the coup and to poke fun at Mr Serrano.

put two fingers up at sb

put/set sb's mind at rest

▪ But let me set your mind at rest.

▪ But she'd like to see him, to try and set her mind at rest.

▪ He's been very kind to me and Lily, as regards putting our minds at rest about Stella.

▪ He's unlikely to know how you feel, and until he does, he can't put your mind at rest.

▪ He must set their minds at rest about the Freddie affair, because they knew of Freddie.

▪ I wish I could put their minds at rest.

▪ It puts my mind at rest.

▪ Quite often, all that is required is a friendly chat to put your mind at rest.

run off at the mouth

▪ Boyd seems to enjoy running off at the mouth to the press.

▪ That never used to be a fault of his, running off at the mouth.

▪ To what smug labors and running off at the mouth!

sb puts his pants on one leg at a time

sb's time in/at/as sth

set/put sb's mind at rest

▪ Just to put your mind at ease, we will get a second opinion from a cardiac specialist.

▪ The doctor set my mind at rest by explaining exactly what effect the drug would have on me.

▪ But let me set your mind at rest.

▪ But she'd like to see him, to try and set her mind at rest.

▪ He's been very kind to me and Lily, as regards putting our minds at rest about Stella.

▪ He's unlikely to know how you feel, and until he does, he can't put your mind at rest.

▪ He must set their minds at rest about the Freddie affair, because they knew of Freddie.

▪ I wish I could put their minds at rest.

▪ It puts my mind at rest.

▪ Quite often, all that is required is a friendly chat to put your mind at rest.

shake your fist (at sb)

▪ Asshe shook his fist, and advanced threateningly.

▪ Better to leave your audience wailing in the dark, shaking their fists, some crying How?, others why?

▪ Eighteen years and 110 Tests later he bowed out, with Nemesis unable to resist shaking her fist at him.

▪ Follow me round muttering and shaking their fists.

▪ In the midst of all this I let go of one handful of weed to shake my fist at him.

▪ It made him laugh to see her standing there, shaking her fist at the departing van.

▪ She shook her fist as she had at the old man in the lobby.

▪ Then he spoke roughly once more, shoved the teeth deeper into his pocket and shook his fist at her.

shoot questions at sb

▪ The prosecutor shot a series of rapid questions at Hendrickson.

sick at heart

▪ All the cruelty and injustice made her sick at heart.

▪ But Aeschylus too was sick at heart.

▪ He struggles against it, he rejects it, he grows sick at heart.

▪ I was alone, dry of mouth, sick at heart.

▪ She turned away, feeling sick at heart, even though she knew she should be glad.

▪ They were sick at heart, weak in the bones.

sing/shout at the top of your voice

spend the night (at sth)

▪ At best, the staff may be invited to spend the night, but all facilities must be tested.

▪ Jones received medical attention on the canvas and spent the night in hospital for observation.

▪ Perhaps they're going to spend the night on the mountain.

▪ She had taken it for granted that they would spend the night in Denver.

▪ Wan na spend the night at my house?

▪ When Hakuhinkan finally said it would have some this morning, she and Tanaka spent the night on the sidewalk.

▪ Yet I also felt very fearful: I was a cosmos that had nowhere to spend the night.

stab at (doing) sth

▪ A few years earlier, the Sellers shops had taken some early stabs at the problem.

▪ But the extreme suffering of women and their children stabbed at my heart.

▪ But there was an interesting sequel, which gave him his first, insightful, small stab at directing.

▪ But this last little stab at optimism soon comes to naught.

▪ He stabbed at it with his talons and beak.

▪ I knew the day and the month and made a stab at the year.

▪ Of course, she thought with a stab at realism, all this could apply to anyone.

▪ There have been several other attempts with the Department of Defense that took a stab at a new vehicle.

stand to/at attention

▪ As soon as you saw that you were about to be struck, you stood at attention and waited for the blows.

▪ As they approached, Schellenberg pulled Devlin to one side and stood at attention.

▪ He stood at attention before me and the rest of my men.

▪ It stands to attention, striking the air with a knowing finger.

▪ The guide should have made us all stand to attention and salute.

▪ When a teacher entered or left a room, we stood at attention until given permission to do otherwise.

▪ You stand at attention until assigned.

sth is not to be sniffed at

▪ The price, however, is not to be sniffed at: £17.50!

stick at nothing

take a (long) hard look at sth/sb

▪ After the inevitable posture of being affronted, I took a hard look at what I was doing.

▪ Blairites could take a harder look at a rhetorical vocabulary in which every single item was anticipated by totalitarianism.

▪ In practice, many doctors are too busy to take a long hard look at every patient.

▪ Instead, they take a hard look at a difficult moral and political dilemma and find no easy answers.

▪ Or you can take a hard look at the feminist agenda.

▪ Some one needs to take a long hard look at what has happened to tennis in Ulster over the last 20 years.

▪ The latter allows both parties a chance to stand back from the daily routine and take a harder look at overall performance.

take a pop at sb

take a pot shot at sb/sth

▪ There is a small but vocal minority that likes to take pot shots at the United Nations.

▪ It would be easy, even tempting, to take a pot shot at us.

take aim at sb/sth

▪ The environmental agency is taking aim at a popular but dangerous chemical used by farmers.

▪ Duval is the one taking aim at the history books, four or more in a row.

▪ In each of these Leapor takes aim at that object of Scriblerian mockery, the beau.

▪ Segev also takes aim at some myths.

▪ She took aim at the sniper, but his roof collapsed under him, dropping him into the fire.

▪ The second enemy took aim at point-blank range.

▪ This one takes aim at criminals who use guns.

▪ When Sanders moved into the lineup, quarterbacks took aim at the other side.

take offence (at sth)

▪ Corbett loved the brilliant logic delivered so tongue-in-cheek that only those who wished to take offence would be affronted.

▪ It is music for the coach trade, at which only the most high-minded purist is likely to take offence.

▪ Lane did not take offence at his boss's comment, nor did he slow down.

▪ No one will take offence and you might secure win: win.

▪ Poor Mrs Sugden considered we were being very superior, and took offence.

▪ The driver would have known it was his first time, didn't take offence at the yelling.

▪ There was little point in taking offence, and no time to do so in any case.

▪ Would Bonaventure return or take offence at not being fed by him and disappear for ever into the stinking alleyways?

take sth at face value

▪ The newspapers have taken this propaganda at face value, without questioning it.

▪ And he no longer took things at face value.

▪ Because Kate, for all her faults real and imagined, was the only person ever to take him at face value.

▪ But now, a hundred years on, certain factions persist in taking it at face value.

take umbrage (at sth)

▪ Maynard angrily took umbrage at Campbell's remarks.

▪ Ever a stickler for protocol, he and his wife took umbrage at the democratic etiquette of President Thomas Jefferson's administration.

▪ He got on very well with the patients, and made them laugh without taking umbrage when they laughed at him.

▪ If they take umbrage, then they were never a proper friend in the first place.

▪ She took umbrage at his remarks, but made no attempt to get her figure back.

▪ The Republicans, naturally, take umbrage at predictions about what they might do.

tear sb's heart (out)/tear at sb's heart

the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo

the population/public/society/world etc at large

▪ Equally important is how a baby communicates back to caregivers and the world at large.

▪ How then did this concept originate, and why has it received such currency among specialists and the public at large?

▪ However, in spite of that, the availability both here and in Britain should be known to the public at large.

▪ I came and looked around and felt this campus is no different than the society at large.

▪ In some societies the boy-preferring habit seems to have spread from elites to the society at large.

▪ The rise of the Internet has taken that idea from offices to the world at large.

▪ They chattered on among themselves, oblivious to the world at large, lovingly cared for in this cozy place.

the pot of gold (at the end of the rainbow)

throw a question/remark etc (at sb)

▪ One day, as she was scolding me, I suddenly threw a question at her.

▪ Sally arranged herself on his other side and they walked him away, throwing questions at him.

▪ These disparities throw a question mark over the accuracy of social costs data.

throw money at sth

▪ Combs said he did not see a man throwing money at him, an incident that the prosecution says sparked the clash.

▪ Even so, Clinton is not exactly throwing money at the illiteracy problem.

▪ Labour would throw money at industry.

throw the book at sb

▪ Judge Smith threw the book at Flynn, fining him $1.6 million and giving him six years in prison.

▪ From the beginning, he seemed determined to throw the book at her.

▪ In short, they threw the book at him.

throw yourself at sb

▪ Could you believe how Diana threw herself at Eric?

▪ Ace threw herself at the speeder controls, stamping on the throttle override while wrenching the steering column forward.

▪ Alyson throws herself at all angles on the big couch.

▪ By holding back, pretending concern, he'd made her practically throw herself at him.

▪ I throw myself at this Azadi and we wrestle like children in the mud.

▪ Moravcik sent over another delicious corner, which Stilian Petrov threw himself at to score.

▪ She's throwing herself at that man, making a complete fool of herself.

▪ She had no urge whatever to throw herself at Mitch.

▪ You put him in a situation where women are throwing themselves at him.

throw yourself at/on/into/down etc

▪ At this stage, the urge to do something was unfocused, but it was extraordinary how people threw themselves into it.

▪ Grief-stricken, he threw himself on her..

▪ He kicked it in, threw himself on the floor and rolled under the bed.

▪ I threw myself down on the bed and sobbed bitterly.

▪ I threw myself into organising the funeral, picking out the music I wanted played.

▪ Like Billy McFadzean who in 1916 threw himself on two bombs to save his comrades in the trenches of the Somme.

▪ They threw themselves down on the street or took shelter behind cars and in doorways.

▪ You put him in a situation where women are throwing themselves at him.

thumb your nose at sb/sth

▪ This is yet another example of Republicans thumbing their nose at the poor.

▪ Faubus had again thumbed his nose at the judiciary by refusing to appear.

▪ Judges who thumb their noses at presidents are thought to be good for democracy.

▪ So long as he had the support of Sir Rufus Stone, he could thumb his nose at Cotton.

▪ The protestors were denigrating the primary symbol of the ordained ministry, they claimed, and thumbing their noses at the Church.

▪ Voters have thumbed their noses at it.

▪ Voters here have always been drawn to against-the-grain outsiders who make a career of thumbing their noses at party traditionalists.

tilt at windmills

▪ Manning admits he was tilting at windmills in trying to change the nation's prison system.

▪ But Woodhead's art was to tilt at windmills.

▪ Commitment and dedication remained, but tilting at windmills had to stop.

▪ For the past 12 years the Government have behaved like latter day Don Quixotes tilting at windmills and all the other renewables.

▪ I felt that just by being there I was tilting at windmills.

▪ While the Hague event may seem to be an exercise in tilting at windmills, the opposite may also be true.

tip the scales at sth

▪ At today's weigh-in, he tipped the scales at just over 15 stone.

▪ I went to see Hoppy for a checkup and I tip the scales at exactly eighty-six pounds.

▪ Reports claimed that the elfin figured star's weight plunged terrifyingly until she tipped the scales at a mere five stones.

▪ Sid Kelly, who minds the net for table-topping Eccleshall, is believed to tip the scales at around 20 stones.

▪ Tall and stately, fairly bursting from her corset, she sometimes tipped the scales at over 200 pounds.

try your hand at (doing) sth

▪ A visit to West Dorset also offers a perfect opportunity to try your hand at windsurfing.

▪ If you have the urge to try your hand at a grant, do so!

▪ Isaac Mizrahi tried his hand at the corset, and in the process turned out some fabulous evening dresses.

▪ It's time to try my hand at the settled life.

▪ Just like Walsh, too, Robinson first tried his hand at broadcasting.

▪ Many who are in the process of acquiring these technical skills may wish to try their hand at grantsmanship.

▪ More than once, more than a dozen times I have been tempted to try my hand at another profession.

▪ Plenty of Christians have tried their hand at putting their beliefs into prose or poetry, usually with calamitous aesthetic results.

try your hand at sth

▪ Diane has always wanted to try her hand at acting.

▪ But he decided to try his hand at writing books and was enormously successful.

▪ Guinness tried his hand at the new Porter with rather more success than his fellow Dublin brewers.

▪ If you have the urge to try your hand at a grant, do so!

▪ Isaac Mizrahi tried his hand at the corset, and in the process turned out some fabulous evening dresses.

▪ It's time to try my hand at the settled life.

▪ Many who are in the process of acquiring these technical skills may wish to try their hand at grantsmanship.

▪ Plenty of Christians have tried their hand at putting their beliefs into prose or poetry, usually with calamitous aesthetic results.

▪ Sons wanted to try its hand at selling iced tea.

tug at sb's heart/heartstrings

▪ The sight of the puppies in the cages tugged at the women's hearts.

▪ Charity had felt something tug at her heart the moment she had first seen this cove.

tug/tear/pull at sb's heartstrings

▪ It pulls at the heartstrings of every agent out there to see a young lady or anyone jeopardized by these conditions.

▪ That night the little creature did not stop crying and its pitiful little squeak tore at Aggie's heartstrings.

turn your nose up (at sth)

▪ Many professors turn their noses up at television.

▪ Time and again he had to turn his nose up into the arch of the drain to keep from drowning.

two can play at that game

weak at the knees

▪ A quick bit of mental arithmetic was enough to make Chrissy weak at the knees.

▪ Instead, here she was, going weak at the knees like an adolescent schoolgirl.

▪ Now we know the real meaning of going weak at the knees.

▪ Or we would shower in our bathroom, whose tiles and design would make Martha Stewart weak at the knees.

▪ Pain and nausea swept over him in waves that left him hot and sticky and weak at the knees.

▪ The idea makes me feel weak at the knees.

what sb is driving at

▪ She didn't mention "sexual harassment," but I knew what she was driving at.

▪ Many candidates don't recognize what the question is driving at.

what's that when it's at home?

while I'm/you're etc at/about it

will/would stop at nothing (to do sth)

▪ Clearly, Franco would stop at nothing to retain his hegemonic position.

▪ Detectives are hunting three masked raiders who they believe will stop at nothing.

▪ Luke Calder was a coolly calculating, ruthless man who would stop at nothing to get where or what he wanted.

▪ Robert Sheldrake is an unscrupulous man who will stop at nothing to get this practice.

with/at a stroke of the pen

▪ With a stroke of the pen, the two leaders have cut the number of nuclear weapons in half.

with/at the touch of a button/key

▪ A customer uses her remote control to shop different channels with the touch of a button.

▪ An oil dispensing massage head dispenses oil at the touch of a button to give a smooth, drag free massage.

▪ At the touch of a button a huge gate opens and I am confined in a small area between fences.

▪ At the touch of a button they can still be made to disappear.

▪ Jet start operates for 30 seconds at the touch of a button.

▪ Letters, words or whole lines can be deleted and new texts inserted at the touch of a button.

▪ Up to ten needles can be operated separately by computer programme producing endless designs and colourways at the touch of a button.

▪ You can add categories and recipes at the touch of a button.

you only have to read/look at/listen to etc sth

young at heart

▪ Arthur's 96, but he's still young at heart.

▪ It's ideal for children aged over five and adults who are young at heart.

▪ Obtain a fifty five Plymouth for the young at heart.

EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

▪ "Where were you last night?" "We were at a play."

▪ A lot of people get very lonely at Christmas.

▪ Andy, I'm surprised at you!

▪ Cliff works at night.

▪ Frank joined the navy at the beginning of the war.

▪ Gas is selling at about $1.35 a gallon.

▪ He starts work at 10, and finishes at 6:30.

▪ How's Kevin doing at his new job?

▪ I'll meet you at the station at 6.30.

▪ I get the shopping done when the kids are at school.

▪ I have a hospital appointment at 9.00 am.

▪ I saw your mother at the supermarket.

▪ I threw the ball at Joe and hit him on the back of the neck.

▪ Joe's at the dentist.

▪ Look at that!

▪ Meet me at my house.

▪ Nick looked back and grinned at her.

▪ Nobody laughed at his jokes.

▪ Pete is at Jane's right now.

▪ Stop shouting at me!

The Collaborative International Dictionary

At \At\, prep. [AS. [ae]t; akin to OHG. az, Goth., OS., & Icel. at, Sw. [*a]t, Dan. & L. ad.] Primarily, this word expresses the relations of presence, nearness in place or time, or direction toward; as, at the ninth hour; at the house; to aim at a mark. It is less definite than in or on; at the house may be in or near the house. From this original import are derived all the various uses of at. It expresses:

A relation of proximity to, or of presence in or on, something; as, at the door; at your shop; at home; at school; at hand; at sea and on land.
The relation of some state or condition; as, at war; at peace; at ease; at your service; at fault; at liberty; at risk; at disadvantage.
The relation of some employment or action; occupied with; as, at engraving; at husbandry; at play; at work; at meat (eating); except at puns.
The relation of a point or position in a series, or of degree, rate, or value; as, with the thermometer at 80[deg]; goods sold at a cheap price; a country estimated at 10,000 square miles; life is short at the longest.
The relations of time, age, or order; as, at ten o'clock; at twenty-one; at once; at first.
The relations of source, occasion, reason, consequence, or effect; as, at the sight; at this news; merry at anything; at this declaration; at his command; to demand, require, receive, deserve, endure at your hands.
Relation of direction toward an object or end; as, look at it; to point at one; to aim at a mark; to throw, strike, shoot, wink, mock, laugh at any one.

At all, At home, At large, At last, At length, At once, etc. See under All, Home, Large, Last (phrase and syn.), Length, Once, etc.

At it, busily or actively engaged.

At least. See Least and However.

At one. See At one, in the Vocabulary.

Syn: In, At.

Usage: When reference to the interior of any place is made prominent in is used. It is used before the names of countries and cities (esp. large cities); as, we live in America, in New York, in the South. At is commonly employed before names of houses, institutions, villages, and small places; as, Milton was educated at Christ's College; money taken in at the Customhouse; I saw him at the jeweler's; we live at Beachville. At may be used before the name of a city when it is regarded as a mere point of locality. ``An English king was crowned at Paris.''
--Macaulay. ``Jean Jacques Rousseau was born at Geneva, June, 28, 1712.''
--J. Morley. In regard to time, we say at the hour, on the day, in the year; as, at 9 o'clock, on the morning of July 5th, in the year 1775.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary

Old English æt, from Proto-Germanic *at (cognates: Old Norse, Gothic at, Old Frisian et, Old High German az), from PIE *ad- "to, near, at" (cognates: Latin ad "to, toward" Sanskrit adhi "near;" see ad-).\n

\nLost in German and Dutch, which use their equivalent of to; in Scandinavian, however, to has been lost and at fills its place. In choosing between at church, in church, etc. at is properly distinguished from in or on by involving some practical connection; a worshipper is at church; a tourist is in the church.\n

\nThe colloquial use of at after where ("where it's at") is attested from 1859. At last is recorded from late 13c.; adverbial phrase at least was in use by 1775. At in Middle English was used freely with prepositions (as in at after, which is in Shakespeare), but this has faded with the exception of at about, which was used in modern times by Trollope, Virginia Woolfe, D.H. Lawrence, and Evelyn Waugh, but nonetheless is regarded as a sign of incompetent writing by my copy editor bosses.

Wiktionary

n. the @ symbol. prep. 1 in or very near a particular place. 2 (qualifier: indicating time) simultaneous, during.

WordNet

Gazetteer

Wikipedia

The word at is an English word, which may act as a preposition.

AT (or similar) may also refer to:

At (Unix)

In Unix-like computer operating systems, the at command is used to schedule commands to be executed once, at a particular time in the future.

AT (form factor)

In the area of IBM compatible personal computers, the AT form factor referred to the dimensions and layout ( form factor) of the motherboard for the IBM AT. Like the IBM PC and IBM XT models before it, many third-party manufacturers produced motherboards compatible with the IBM AT form factor, allowing end users to upgrade their computers for faster processors. The IBM AT became a widely copied design in the booming home computer market of the 1980s. IBM clones made at the time began using AT compatible designs, contributing to its popularity. In the 1990s many computers still used AT and its variants. Since 1997, the AT form factor has been largely supplanted by ATX.

Usage examples of "at".

Here was my wife, who had secretly aided and abetted her son in his design, and been the recipient of his hopes and fears on the subject, turning to me, who had dared to utter a feeble protest or two only to be scoffed at, and summarily sat upon, asking if the game was really safe.

Is there ony bit ye can bide at, not abune twenty miles frae Woodilee?

It was not at the agonized contortions and posturing of the wretched boy that he was shocked, but at the cosmic obscenity of these beings which could drag to light the abysmal secrets that sleep in the unfathomed darkness of the human soul, and find pleasure in the brazen flaunting of such things as should not be hinted at, even in restless nightmares.

Peter and Mary laughed together again Alee said, You two should have your heads looked at.

Later on, when you are less appalling to look at, I shall require that you apologize to Lucius Cornelius Sulla.

He had drunk the best part of a bottle of arrack, had woken in the night with gripes in the belly, and then slept unevenly until dawn when someone had scratched at his door and Torrance had shouted at, the pest to go away, after which he had at last fallen into a deeper sleep.

It cannot therefore be wondered at, that the many particular circumstances which attended our travellers, and especially their retiring all to sleep at so extraordinary and unusual an hour as ten in the morning, should excite his curiosity.

He was looking at, he knew, a great auk, a bird that up in his world had been extinct but which, a few centuries before, had been common from Cape Cod to far north in Canada.

Village in its capacity as bailee, however inadvertently and unhappily arrived at, failed in its duty to bailor under the requisite standard of care and through such alleged negligence is liable for damages so incurred.

Gladys turned to see what he was staring at, and Barbie stepped through from the hall, white-faced and shaken.

As he did I looked past his right shin and saw what Bish had been shooting at.

I read the stanzas with so much expression that the cardinal was enraptured, but I brought a deep carnation tint upon the cheeks of the lovely marchioness when I came to the description of those beauties which the imagination of the poet is allowed to guess at, but which I could not, of course, have gazed upon.

Kmart, and even though there was no way to see her eyes, Ceese knew exactly who she was and what she was looking at.

As soon as it was daylight I ran out of the wretched garret, and, after complaining to the girl of all I had endured during the night, I asked her to give me a Clean shirt, the one I had on being disgusting to look at, but she answered that I could only change my linen on a Sunday, and laughed at me when I threatened to complain to the mistress.

Marcoline knew how to manage her mezzaro so well that, though he was both seen and laughed at, the poor devil could not be certain that she had noticed him at all, and in addition the sly girl held me so closely by the arm that he must have concluded we were very intimate.

Find the word definition

What is "at"

Crossword clues for at

at home

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

The Collaborative International Dictionary

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary

Wiktionary

WordNet

Gazetteer

Wikipedia

Usage examples of "at".

Find the word definition

What is "at"

Crossword clues for at

at home

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

The Collaborative International Dictionary

Related phrases:

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary

Related phrases:

Wiktionary

Related phrases:

WordNet

Related phrases:

Gazetteer

Related phrases:

Wikipedia

Related phrases:

Usage examples of "at".