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Crossword clues for doing

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
doing
noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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 useful way of doing sth
▪ Keeping lists of the words you learn is a useful way of remembering vocabulary.
arrest sb on charges/suspicion of (doing) sth
▪ He was arrested on suspicion of supplying drugs.
be a great one for doing sth
▪ She’s a great one for telling stories about her schooldays.
be all for (doing) sth (=support something very much)
▪ I’m all for giving people more freedom.
be better off doing sth (=used to give advice or an opinion)
▪ He’d be better off starting with something simpler.
be in danger of doing sth
▪ It was clear that the ship was in grave danger of sinking.
be in the habit of doing sth
▪ On Friday evenings Carrie was in the habit of visiting her parents.
be sold on (doing) sth (=think an idea or plan is very good)
▪ Joe’s completely sold on the concept.
be unable to resist (doing) sth
▪ He was unable to resist the temptation to smoke.
bluff sb into (doing) sth (=make someone do something by deceiving them)
brainwash sb into doing sth
▪ Commercials brainwash consumers into buying things they don’t need.
(can) understand sb doing sth
▪ I can understand her wanting to live alone and be independent.
cannot resist (doing) sth
▪ I couldn't resist teasing him.
catch sb in the act (of doing sth) (=catch someone while they are doing something illegal)
▪ The gang was caught in the act of unloading the cigarettes.
consider the possibility of (doing) sth
▪ Have you considered the possibility of retraining?
cost-effective way of doing sth
▪ the most cost-effective way of reducing carbon dioxide emissions
describe doing sth
▪ He described finding his mother lying on the floor.
doing a demolition job on
▪ He accused opposition leaders of doing a demolition job on the President.
doing fuck all
▪ Most of the time he sat around doing fuck all.
doing good
▪ The business is doing good now.
doing OK
▪ Mum’s doing OK now.
doing rolls
▪ gymnasts doing rolls and handsprings
doing the ironing
▪ I hate doing the ironing.
doing the school run
▪ We hope to increase the safety of children who walk to school and cut the number of cars doing the school run.
doing the spring-cleaning
▪ Judith’s busy doing the spring-cleaning.
doing...dictations
▪ I hate doing French dictations.
doing...nicely for himself
▪ Ed’s doing very nicely for himself out in Japan.
do/make a good job (of doing sth) (=do something well)
▪ Mike’s done a good job of painting the windows.
doubtful about (doing) sth
▪ At first we were doubtful about employing Charlie.
dread the thought/prospect of (doing) sth
▪ He dreaded the prospect of being all alone in that house.
face the task of doing sth
▪ He faced the task of preparing a three-course meal for 50 people.
find pleasure in (doing) sth
▪ I find great pleasure in reading.
find yourself/your mind etc doing sth
▪ When he left, Karen found herself heaving a huge sigh of relief.
▪ She tried to concentrate, but found her mind drifting back to Alex.
get as far as doing sth
▪ They had got as far as painting the kitchen.
get £2,000/$4,000 etc for doing sth
▪ He gets £4 an hour for stacking shelves.
give sb a chance of doing sth (=say how likely it is that they will do it)
▪ He has been given a fifty-fifty chance of being fit for Sunday’s match.
go through the hassle of doing sth (=experience the problems of doing something)
▪ The shirt didn’t fit so I had to go through the hassle of taking it back to the shop.
go to the expense of doing sth (=do something that costs a lot of money)
▪ The council must now decide whether to go to the expense of appealing through the courts.
good/bad etc at (doing) sth
▪ I’ve always been good at maths.
▪ Matt’s bad at handling people.
have a habit (of doing sth)
▪ He has a habit of being late.
have a hard time doing sth (=be difficult for someone to do something)
▪ You’ll have a hard time proving that.
▪ I had a hard time persuading him to accept the offer.
have ever had the misfortune to do/of doing (=used for emphasizing how bad something is)
▪ He was the most arrogant man I'd ever had the misfortune of meeting.
have no/any/some means of doing sth
▪ There was no path, and they had no means of knowing where they were.
have no/every intention of doing sth
▪ I have no intention of retiring just yet.
have responsibility for (doing) sth
▪ The Council has responsibility for maintaining the streetlights.
have the effect of doing sth
▪ The news had the effect of making everyone feel better.
have the misfortune to do sth/of doing sth
▪ Last year, he had the misfortune to be involved in a car crash.
have the satisfaction of doing sth
▪ They have the satisfaction of knowing that the company needs them.
have the task of doing sth
▪ He had the task of judging the competition.
have the unfortunate habit of doing sth (=do something that makes other people feel embarrassed or offended)
▪ Teenage girls have the unfortunate habit of laughing too loudly.
have/feel no compunction about (doing) sth
▪ He had no compunction about interfering in her private affairs.
have/make/take a stab at (doing) sth
▪ I’ll have one more stab at it.
How are you doing
How are you doing?
know what...doing (=I do not have enough skill and experience to deal with something)
▪ I don’t really know what I’m doing when it comes to cars.
lose no time in doing sth (=do something immediately)
▪ Murdock lost no time in taking out a patent for his invention.
make the mistake of doing sth
▪ He made the mistake of revealing his true intentions.
physically capable of doing sth
▪ Any one of them would have been physically capable of committing the crime.
put effort into (doing) sth (=try hard to do something)
▪ Let’s try again, only put more effort into it this time.
question/doubt the wisdom of (doing) sth
▪ Local people are questioning the wisdom of spending so much money on a new road.
save sb the trouble/bother (of doing sth)
▪ I’ll get a taxi from the station to save you the trouble of coming to collect me.
spare no expense (in doing sth) (=spend a lot of money to buy the best things)
▪ Her parents spared no expense in arranging the wedding.
▪ Everything has been provided tonight – no expense has been spared!
spend the afternoon somewhere/doing sth
▪ We decided to spend the afternoon in town.
spend the day doing sth
▪ I spent the day shopping with my friends.
spend time etc doing sth
▪ Stacey spends all her free time painting.
stand (somewhere) doing sth
▪ They just stood there laughing.
▪ We stood watching the rain fall.
stop what you’re doing
▪ Right, stop what you’re doing and come over here.
stress your commitment to (doing) sth
▪ The President stressed his commitment to tackling world poverty.
take comfort from/in (doing) sth
▪ Investors can take comfort from the fact that the World Bank is underwriting the shares.
take delight/pleasure/pride etc in (doing) sth
▪ You should take pride in your work.
▪ At first, he took no interest in the baby.
take pleasure in (doing) sth
▪ He takes great pleasure in boasting about his big salary.
take responsibility for (doing) sth
▪ Who do you trust to take responsibility for our country's defence?
take some doingBritish Englishinformal (= need a lot of time or effort)
▪ Catching up four goals will take some doing.
the best way to do/of doing sth
▪ The best way to learn a language is to live in a country where it is spoken.
there’s nothing to stop sb (from) doing sth
▪ There’s nothing to stop you applying for the job yourself.
toy with the idea of doing sth
▪ I’ve been toying with the idea of going to Japan to visit them.
unenviable task/job etc (of doing sth)
▪ the unenviable task of informing the victim’s relations
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
business
▪ And I always like doing business with a man who knows he's over a barrel.
things
▪ I really like doing things together.
▪ Your competitors may not be doing things in the best possible way.
▪ I don't like people doing things like that.
▪ The fact that it was much pleasanter doing things for John was really quite irrelevant.
▪ Most people enjoy doing things if they can, it helps keep our minds active and our bodies healthy.
▪ Try hard - this driver demands that you put extra effort into something, so people try doing things in difficult ways.
■ VERB
enjoy
▪ I get a real kick out of it and thoroughly enjoy doing it.
▪ There won't be any fun in walking on the beach unless you enjoy doing battle with the storm.
▪ That's what I enjoy doing, making sundials.
▪ Most people enjoy doing things if they can, it helps keep our minds active and our bodies healthy.
▪ It is a trick he has been taught and he enjoys doing it.
feel
▪ As she turned away from the limousine, the last thing Katherine felt like doing was laughing.
▪ Is there something that you really enjoy, that you can afford, but that you feel guilty doing?
like
▪ When are the regulars coming, and what did they like doing last year?
▪ I like doing jobs where I can get down and concentrate for a period F Artistic 21.
▪ I really like doing things together.
▪ I don't like people doing things like that.
▪ Male speaker No-one likes moving from the job they like doing.
▪ And I always like doing business with a man who knows he's over a barrel.
▪ I like doing puzzles that involve words 7.
need
▪ When something needs doing, Murdoch does it.
▪ Winter, spring, summer and autumn - there's always something that needs doing out there.
▪ The final job that needed doing was for the trip to be advertised and participants sought.
▪ And it is with the statistical evaluation of leys that there is most controversy and where much work still needs doing.
▪ Anything you need doing around the place.
▪ If anything needs doing, she does it.
stop
▪ In return for their addresses he would allow me to stop doing press-ups in the mud.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
I can't be doing with sth
I wouldn't mind (doing) sth
I'm not in the habit of doing sth
▪ I'm not in the habit of lying to my friends.
I'm only/just doing my job
a genius for (doing) sth
▪ He has a genius for conducting but he doesn't enjoy doing it.
▪ I recall one private who had a genius for drawing....
▪ Joan was discovered to have a genius for turning an ancient block of stone into a home.
▪ Jobs had a genius for building group identity.
▪ Mat had a genius for sensitivity.
▪ Mr Havel, who has a genius for pinpointing the absurd, smiled gently and sipped at some mineral water.
▪ The Clinton staff developed a genius for tapping into the emotions and aspirations of a winning number of voters.
▪ Woosnam has a genius for golf that Teravainen lacks, or at least has not yet developed.
a lot/something/not much etc to be said for (doing) sth
argue sb into/out of doing sth
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.
bar to (doing) sth
▪ A goy enters a bar to have a little glass of wine.
▪ Every hash-house club needs a hash house, a bar to hang out in before the run.
▪ However, a private practice background, either during or after articles, is no bar to subsequent progress in local government.
▪ It was as if she'd been given a glimpse of paradise, and then had it barred to her for ever.
▪ Like a 996 it needs a lot of encouragement at the bars to start turning.
▪ Nor is there any double jeopardy bar to a civil case following a criminal acquittal.
▪ The opera crowd was jamming the bars from bar to wall.
▪ The program opens with a blank drawing screen and a single menu bar to the left-hand side.
be a matter of doing sth
▪ Below that level it is a matter of getting bogged down.
▪ How much money Simpson has is a matter of intense speculation and debate.
▪ It is a matter of perception.
▪ Nearly all his problems are a matter of remembering things.
▪ This seems to be a matter of level of attention.
▪ This was a matter of both intellectual curiosity and national security.
▪ This was a matter of extreme concern - with its many implications, for both jurisdictions of Church and State.
be accustomed to (doing) sth
▪ I'm not accustomed to getting up so early.
▪ Steph was accustomed to a regular paycheck.
▪ A judge, however, perhaps more than any other person, is accustomed to making and announcing his decisions in public.
▪ Allen Iverson had been spectacular, but he is accustomed to that.
▪ I am accustomed to a political argument that cuts to the core.
▪ Pagans were accustomed to using temples as safe-deposits for their treasures.
▪ She was accustomed to hanging up her own coat.
▪ The two girls were accustomed to not talking at meals.
▪ Watson, I am accustomed to being baffled by complexity.
▪ We are accustomed to the infinite length of the horizon all about us.
be doing nicely
▪ Hockey is doing nicely by itself without FoxTrax.
▪ The government says farmers are doing nicely, thank you, and that savings in agricultural cooperatives are rising.
▪ Your boyfriend said to say he was sorry he had missed you, and he'd be writing and was doing nicely.
be fond of (doing) sth
▪ All this results in a rare phenomenon: Marks and Spencer is a company people are fond of.
▪ Commentators are fond of discovering and praising a guidebook clarity in the novel.
▪ First, he knew Lewie was fond of him, and Lewie was the boss.
▪ I am fond of him, he has been unfailingly kind to me.
▪ Kromko noted lawyers and their ilk are fond of worthless boiler-plate.
▪ Like Dad, he was fond of whisky.
▪ She was fond of, she liked, probably she loved, Wharton Horricker.
▪ There was a desk I was fond of, it's true.
be fond of doing sth
▪ "The only reason I make money is so I can give it away," Quigley is fond of saying.
▪ Sue's very fond of hiking and backpacking.
▪ Dad was fond of whisky, but normally only drank on an evening when work was done.
▪ First, he knew Lewie was fond of him, and Lewie was the boss.
▪ He is fond of Machiavelli the rake, the prankster and the scoundrel.
▪ He travelled extensively, was fond of music, and was a competent pianist.
▪ Just why this is called a boil-off and just why auditors are fond of the term is obscure.
▪ Kromko noted lawyers and their ilk are fond of worthless boiler-plate.
▪ She was fond of, she liked, probably she loved, Wharton Horricker.
be forever doing sth
▪ He never does his homework on time and is forever getting into trouble at school.
▪ Science is forever trying to pinpoint the truth.
▪ We bought a new washing machine. The old one was forever breaking down.
be given to (doing) sth
▪ Some adults are still given to temper tantrums.
▪ But when that remedy was given to a sick person exhibiting those same symptoms, it helped cure the person.
▪ Consideration should be given to arranging for a banker's guarantee in the firm's favour.
▪ Examination also needs to be given to the type of religious environment which permits the abuse of women to occur without reparations.
▪ Extra funds were given to agricultural production, food subsidies, and housing for armed forces personnel.
▪ For example, careful attention is given to communication in writing.
▪ I would like my poem to be given to such a man by the Police.
▪ Some thought has to be given to what is possible and it may be that time out can not be used.
▪ We were young and our waking hours were given to games.
be in the middle of (doing) sth
▪ He's in the middle of a meeting.
▪ I'm in the middle of fixing dinner -- can I call you back?
▪ I listened to others' crises but didn't want to accept that I was in the middle of my own.
▪ It was in the middle of the miners' strike, and feelings were running high.
▪ Mr Malik was in the middle of a group crowded round Mafouz.
▪ The grunts were in the middle of a fire mission.
▪ The kid who still enrolled at the school where he was in the middle of all that trouble.
▪ The Z42 is in the middle of the field on print speed.
▪ Todd Dexter was in the middle of the Tet Offensive near Saigon and had little time to appreciate his surroundings.
▪ We were in the middle of that when he was called inside to do his homework and I was sent home.
be in the process of (doing) sth
▪ He is in the process of changing his swing and said his old method had started to show up a little too much.
▪ Many who are in the process of acquiring these technical skills may wish to try their hand at grantsmanship.
▪ Sadly, Attia Hosain died while this book was in the process of being put together.
▪ Some 300 native applications are said to be in the process of moving to Solaris x86.
▪ Thames Water Authority are in the process of carrying out a general refurbishment programme at the plant.
▪ The chain was in the process of curling round as if to join and form a circle.
▪ The Committee is in the process of finalizing its first draft.
▪ The gluten is in the process of setting and the crust is deceptively crisp, hiding the immature bread within.
be in with a shout (of doing sth)
▪ Dave Mitchell is running about and is in with a shout.
be instrumental in (doing) sth
▪ Siegel was instrumental in creating the Las Vegas as it is today.
▪ By virtue of their ubiquity, popular prints were instrumental in helping to shape the perceptions of the vast majority.
▪ In objectification, the artefact appears to be instrumental in linking these major processes of abstraction and specificity.
▪ Last December they were instrumental in getting rid of Mr Gaidar and replacing him with one of those industrialists.
▪ Page was instrumental in the creation of the new Mainan ambitious public works project funded through a public-private partnership.
▪ The symbolism of the room was instrumental in setting the tone.
▪ These developments are instrumental in the increased regulation and stability of affective thought.
▪ Yaki, who was instrumental in negotiating the leases as an aide to Rep.
▪ You will also be instrumental in preparing reports on the effects of immediate and short term changes in electricity supply and demand.
be intent on/upon (doing) sth
▪ Abortion foes are intent on changing the laws allowing abortion.
▪ And as they were intent on their work, Bill was getting hysterical, calling his agent.
▪ Even then, too, Alvin was intent on displaying the male dancer in all his vitality.
▪ His best work is done far in advance, and he is intent on broadening his base.
▪ If his opponents were intent on overplaying their hand, it could only improve his position with the cardinal.
▪ Mr Mieno is still talking and acting tough because he is intent on bursting the speculative bubbles in shares and property.
▪ No-one spoke, everyone was intent on listening.
▪ The company is intent upon shielding them from the prying eyes of reporters.
▪ The staff at Howard were intent on giving their students the best they could offer.
be on the point of (doing) sth
▪ And I was on the point of telling you about Gwendoline.
▪ For a second she was on the point of executing Ace for insubordination.
▪ He thought she might be on the point of offering him a nip of whisky but she did not go that far.
▪ He was on the point of saying so when he despaired.
▪ Now Propane is on the point of pulling out because of insufficient interest.
▪ She was on the point of saying something but changed her mind.
▪ This was important, for Bonar Law's health was on the point of finally breaking up.
be resigned to (doing) sth
▪ BAshley, cynical beyond her 10 years, is resigned to more disappointment.
▪ Even the players are resigned to the prospect of starting their Premier League campaign without him.
▪ He is resigned to public indifference to the benefits of efficiency, as well as to the effects of greenhouse gases.
▪ He was resigned to his own fate.
▪ Most women are resigned to this and some use their martyrdom to manipulate their men.
▪ Opponents of the bill said they are resigned to its passage in the House.
▪ She had been thinking about it all night and was resigned to it.
▪ They are resigned to this battle.
be sick (and tired) of (doing) sth
▪ Gad, I was sick and tired of life.
▪ I think the archivist who helped me is sick of the sight of me by now.
▪ I was sick of concealments - those retentions of his.
▪ I was sick of following baseball through the abbreviated box scores of the international Herald Tribune.
▪ No one, knowing the Patriarch, could doubt that, after a day of his voice, Zacco was sick of him.
▪ People were sick of the war.
▪ We are sick and tired of the proliferation of guns.
▪ When we first started we were sick of the way many groups would adopt a cool persona for interviews.
be sure of (doing) sth
▪ After all, he was sure of 100 percent of the vote from the north.
▪ And I was sure of it!
▪ But nobody is sure of the white extremists' power.
▪ Females evolved the ability to be charmed to be sure of picking the best males.
▪ Mummy was worried because she didn't know when daddy was coming home - Anna was sure of that now.
▪ The prisoners can each be sure of benefiting if they have a previously agreed pact never to confess, whatever the circumstances.
▪ The reporters were sure of their facts, he told Moore.
▪ The sea was such a mess that it took him a few moments to be sure of the reef.
be worth (doing) sth
▪ But for the converted it was worth the wait.
▪ He hoped some day some one would play it - if it was worth playing.
▪ It must demonstrate to consumers that a Pro Logic receiver is worth $ 859.
▪ Obviously it is worth keeping watch over the pond during these times to ensure that the fish do not become stuck.
▪ Symington has maintained that the funds had locked themselves into making the loans regardless of what he said his holdings were worth.
▪ The gazettes are worth an army of 300,000 men to Napoleon.
▪ To him an evening with one woman is worth an evening with ten of us.
▪ When the railroads provided a market for beef, suddenly the six million longhorns running loose in Texas were worth something.
be worth sb's while (to do/doing sth)
▪ And finally the Soft Sell - it will always be worth your while to invest in a stout umbrella!
▪ Controversy really begins when there are varying views as to whether a house is worth saving.
▪ Dardis assured Bernstein that it would be worth his while to fly down to Miami again.
▪ However, rather than getting upset about this it spurs her on to try harder to show that they are worth watching.
▪ I had to make her see that the exercise was worth her while.
▪ If he! ital! is! off! going to fight, he wants it to be worth his while.
▪ It could be worth your while.
▪ The try is to be worth five points while the drop goal will count for two points.
be/become habituated to (doing) sth
▪ Some patients with severe headache problems become habituated to ergotamines and other non-narcotic drugs.
▪ Un-learning is more difficult than learning - because we become habituated to thinking or feeling in certain ways over time.
be/come/go halfway to doing sth
be/get used to (doing) sth
▪ Zach's not used to such spicy food.
▪ Could it be used to predict the mating system of species that had not been studied?
▪ He walked like an old man trying to get used to new glasses.
▪ In housing, the market can not be used to move to the market.
▪ Left: Scenes shot on telephoto appear to have compressed perspectives which can be used to good effect.
▪ The bulldozer would be used to load them.
▪ The password which will be used to limit access to the packages created.
▪ The threat of this ex ante can then be used to ensure adherence to the agreement.
▪ This money would be used to provide education, job-training assistance, childcare and program administration beginning later this year.
bulldoze sb into (doing) sth
by dint of (doing) sth
▪ A peculiar light seemed shed over everything, by dint of it being that house and no other!
▪ And though his grades each week never varied much from 9 and 10, it was only by dint of hard work.
capable of (doing) sth
▪ He was capable of sudden aggressiveness, such as over Matkovsky's telephone account.
▪ Instead, he had proved himself to be capable of great human emotion.
▪ Now she could relax, she thought, if she was still capable of thinking.
▪ Redundant systems won't provide such clear-cut results because all of the modules are capable of doing the same job.
▪ Roman had said half an hour and he was quite capable of walking in on her if she was late.
▪ The system must be capable of identifying any new entries or sense sections which have been incorporated into the dictionary text.
▪ We are all fully capable of managing that responsibility.
catch yourself doing sth
▪ I caught myself watching everybody else instead of paying attention to the lecture.
come close (to doing sth)
▪ A loose end, Kirov reminded himself as he came close to the man.
▪ A visit to the ancient ruins, especially on a quiet weekday, comes close to a religious experience.
▪ And this night, he comes close to getting seriously injured.
▪ Even La Scala, where an opening-night stall seat goes for £500, rarely comes close to breaking even.
▪ He can come close, perhaps, but the closer he comes, the greater the risk of slippage.
▪ Her horse came close and watched her.
▪ Later Mr O'Malley came close to confirming that his party would quit the coalition later this week.
▪ Miguel wanted to trust Firebug; he came close to letting everything spill out.
come within a whisker of (doing) sth
content yourself with (doing) sth
▪ But Borssele has not simply contented herself with the odd leak.
▪ He said not a word to her, but contented himself with sending a stern reprimand to Aeolus.
▪ If Sister doesn't get a move on, they could always content themselves with the shortest children's story ever told.
▪ Ishmael is the only Person aboard the Pequod who never contents himself with seeing only one meaning for anything.
▪ Jones, shoulders hunched against the numbing cold, contented himself with a quiet display.
▪ The intrepid manager had to content himself with numbering his reserve teams.
▪ When the Suns came to watch in Game 1, he contented himself with 28 points and six rebounds.
▪ You must content yourself with maintaining your present level and role in the organization for the duration or leave!
credit sb with (doing) sth
▪ But borrowers may be more attracted to egg's offer of free credit.
▪ I just received my new in-store credit card with a charge of $ 24 for fraud insurance on the card.
▪ Inherent musical sense Several recent studies have credited infants with an inherent musical sense, without measuring related brain development.
▪ Leiser credits Franz Liszt with bringing him to San Diego.
▪ Revolving Credit: a credit facility with a pre-determined limit.
▪ She credited Mosby with spearheading the suit by convincing the other women to join.
▪ Such corporations also tend to maintain credit lines with their banks sufficient to repay all their outstanding commercial paper.
▪ The ultimate in objectivity is credit scoring.
do sb the courtesy of doing sth
▪ He always did us the courtesy of a reply, mind.
don't go doing sth
▪ It's a secret, so don't go telling everyone.
fall into/avoid the trap of doing sth
▪ But do not fall into the trap of doing something I saw recently.
▪ Don't fall into the trap of comparing your wages and conditions with other volunteers and development workers.
▪ Duffy refuses to fall into the trap of spoon-feeding the material to passive students, which only increases their passivity.
▪ During the 90s Washington fell into the trap of allowing events to dictate the relationship, with increasingly destabilising results.
▪ Journalists can fall into the trap of being hypercritical.
▪ She was not going to fall into the trap of thinking she wanted Vitor as Vitor.
▪ So answer this question truthfully, lest your smart organization fall into the trap of continuing to outsmart itself.
▪ When we tie it to jobs, or to survival needs, we fall into the trap of mechanistic literacy.
feel like (doing) sth
▪ I just don't feel like doing anything tonight.
▪ Joe says he feels like Mexican food.
▪ But the whole thing feels like a retread.&.
▪ He feels like the captain of a sleeping ship, alone at the helm, steering his oblivious crew through dangerous seas.
▪ I hang up, feeling like a wind-up toy.
▪ She felt like screaming at him, but she was determined not to lose her self-control.
▪ The careful procession into the Hall had felt like a kind of funeral.
▪ They stepped forward, and his muscles stiffened until they felt like bone.
▪ You made me feel like I was your family, a part of you.
fight shy of (doing) sth
▪ After fighting shy of the idea, Mr Mandela, 82, agreed to it during a visit to London last year.
▪ In considering the right to live issue, there is a tendency to fight shy of the emotive word of murder.
▪ Over the years, courts and tribunals have fought shy of laying down detailed procedural guidance.
▪ This, he says, accounts for developers fighting shy of putting money into the city.
▪ Yet the 18 counties fight shy of the risk, but what are they frightened of?
get doing sth
get into the way of doing sth
▪ The women had got into the way of going up on the deck every evening.
go a long way towards doing sth
▪ And Monday's game will go a long way towards determining Wright's future.
▪ For it was he who arranged the finance which went a long way towards putting the station on the air.
▪ Friedman's statement of the natural rate hypothesis went a long way towards reconciling such evidence with basic classical theory.
▪ In doing so it can go a long way towards lifting the depression which has afflicted too many teachers in recent years.
▪ Schema theory can go a long way towards explaining the sender's choice and arrangement of information in communication.
▪ The new, improved materials available have gone a long way towards extending the lifespan of today's flat roof.
▪ This decision goes a long way towards demonstrating the untenability of the marital-rape exemption in modern times.
▪ This will also go a long way towards preventing your neighbour complaining about the noise you make.
go some way towards doing sth
▪ But Mala had gone some way towards the opposite.
▪ Funding for public works, including community-based arts projects, went some way towards alleviating mass unemployment.
▪ However, the Commission has recently issued a notice which goes some way towards defining the elements of them.
▪ It is proposed that hypertext systems go some way towards providing students with alternative structures for organizing their knowledge of electronic publishing.
▪ Most of the old great Elf towns date from this period and it goes some way towards accounting for their remoteness.
▪ The theory also goes some way towards answering the question of why people speak indirectly.
▪ This goes some way towards typing the organism causing the disease.
▪ Will he go some way towards reviewing the process?
go through the motions (of doing sth)
▪ But the picking up strikes a chord and going through the motions always works.
▪ Everybody said the right thing; everybody went through the motions the way they should.
▪ Still others go through the motions but without any real desire to improve the relationship.
▪ The authorities occasionally go through the motions of clamping down.
▪ To Harry, Jack looked like a man going through the motions.
▪ Too many students are going through the motions without any significant engagement in learning.
▪ We just give up and go through the motions and we let our negativity harden inside us.
▪ You can go through the motions.
have a habit of doing sth
▪ Be careful not to annoy the boss. He has a habit of losing his temper.
▪ My teenage daughter has a habit of leaving home without her house key.
▪ We shouldn't rule out a Democrat victory yet. These things have a habit of changing just when you least expect it.
▪ Arizonans have a habit of embracing wealthy businessmen with virtually no elective experience.
▪ Here, the guards have a habit of touching the women.
▪ I have a habit of filling small sketchbooks with hour or day-long sequences of watercolours.
▪ I have a habit of turning it off as soon as I hear the first commercial.
▪ Low-confidence people have a habit of trying to accomplish the impossible.-Praise yourself when you do something well.
▪ Myths have a habit of ignoring the truth.
▪ Things have a habit of disappearing there.
▪ Things he predicts have a habit of coming true.
have a job doing sth/have a job to do sth
have a knack of doing sth
▪ Children have a knack of choosing the most inconvenient or embarrassing times for their Socratic dialogues.
▪ I have spent years using buses, and seem to have a knack of sitting next to some very odd people.
have a trick of doing sth
▪ But the agents have tricks of their own.
have a way of doing sth
▪ Don't worry too much. These problems usually have a way of working out.
▪ And we have ways of making sure that the escapade of that silly young man at Southend gets widely reported.
▪ But the Washington Wizards have a way of bringing out the best in their opponents.
▪ Evenings like this have a way of going on!
▪ If history has taught us anything about imaginary customers, it is that they have a way of doing unexpected things.
▪ So do Humpbacks have ways of expressing the same request for the repetition of a pleasurable sonic experience?
▪ The powerful have a way of establishing contracts that suit them.
▪ Things like this have a way of surprising you.
▪ Yet things have a way of evening ut, and I paid a heavy price for my hypocrisy.
have no business doing sth/have no business to do sth
have no interest in doing sth
▪ I have no interest in continuing this conversation.
▪ He seemed to have no interest in doing anything.
▪ I have no interest in hating white people.
▪ I have no interest in high-tech commercial videos at all these days.
▪ I have no interest in the psychological interpretation of my sitters, I want to convey their physical appearance.
▪ Nor could they understand a young, good-looking man who appeared to have no interest in girls.
▪ Pound seems to have no interest in that.
▪ That is, leaders have no interest in proving themselves, but an abiding interest in expressing themselves.
▪ You might have no interest in building a fancy themed site or even learning anything about creating Web pages.
have no problem (in) doing sth
have sb to thank for (doing) sth
▪ Do we have Lady Thatcher to thank for the improved state of the nation's teeth?
▪ I have Phil to thank for my first break on the Cutters.
▪ I have you to thank for that.
▪ In fact, I always have remembered - and I have Monty Lee to thank for that.
▪ Perhaps we have Pat Buchanan to thank for at least some of this raising of consciousness.
▪ We have Alan Austin to thank for this character-building little outing - an experience you won't forget in a hurry!
▪ We have Sigmund Freud to thank for a rather curious state of affairs.
here he/she etc is (doing sth)
▪ And here she is, all freshly powdered.
▪ And now here she is, staying at my house.
▪ Anyhow, here he is at the bottom, and ready to be introduced to you.
▪ But here he is, in full measured flood.
▪ Her own said that she should never teach, and here she is doing it.
▪ I mean, here he is, installed at the Priory.
▪ Sam Sheppard knew Richard Eberling and here he is fighting with this intruder through the house and he never recognized him.
▪ Yet here he is, pleading for the life of the stubborn nation that caused him nothing but trouble!
how (are) you doing?
▪ Hiya George how are you doing?
▪ How are you doing on those?
▪ How you doing, Mr West?
▪ William Yes-hey, how you doing?
insist on doing sth
▪ Finally, he insisted on carrying it.
▪ For example, insisting on conditions that would in theory make the employment of women more likely often has the opposite effect.
▪ I declined, but she insisted on following me for several hundred yards.
▪ In fact, the only thing likely to take any time is deciding which to have. Insist on the best.
▪ She insisted on cleaning my flat very thoroughly every Tuesday and Thursday, and often left me a casserole in the oven.
▪ Surely Harrison would have insisted on having it pose with him.
▪ Tanya insists on moving in many circles and, above all, on thinking for herself.
▪ Together the two books test what can be gained and lost by insisting on either innocence or experience.
it's just/only/simply a question of doing sth
▪ Sometimes, it's simply a question of somewhere safe to go after school while parents are working.
it's no good (doing sth)
▪ But ... but I will worry if I think you are hanging on waiting, because it's no good.
▪ Here we are on the hills, and it's no better.
▪ It's no good just bleating on about the rising tide of crime to get money out of the government.
▪ It's no good pretending you've any aptitude for art when it's quite clear you've none at all.
▪ It's no good printing my letter if you're just going to do it again.
▪ It's no good tying up money for years unless you're certain you won't need it.
▪ It's no good, she rebuked herself sternly; there's no future in feeling like this about Luke Travis.
▪ It's very easy to tell an actor that it's no good.
it's no use doing sth
▪ It's no use complaining - you just need to take the test again later.
▪ But it's no use running away from it.
▪ He says it's no use having a ban if it can't be enforced.
▪ I've telephoned everyone I can think of, but it's no use.
▪ I can buy the best legal brains in the business, so it's no use your fighting.
▪ I said to him, Listen, George, it's no use living in the past.
▪ No, it's no use protesting!
▪ On the open road, it's no use pretending that the Bentley handles with the agility of a Porsche.
lay claim to (doing) sth
▪ Dole himself did not expect to lay claim to the title of presumptive nominee until after the March 26 primary in California.
▪ I'd guess it also can lay claim to the oldest leader of a still-functioning organisation today.
▪ Initially these had been one hundred and seventy-five men and twenty-five horses laying claim to an empire of fourteen million.
▪ They seem to lay claim to being purely of the mind's eye, a manifestation of pure objectivity.
▪ This latter idea could lay claim to a basis in ideas of collegiality - but only of a limited nature.
▪ With his victory in Florida officially certified, Bush announced new moves to lay claim to the White House.
look what you're doing/look where you're going etc
make a mess of (doing) sth
▪ An explosion would have made a mess of them, and matchsticks of that tub.
▪ Convinced of his own plainness, Graham is here engaged in taking Jenny out and making a mess of kissing her.
▪ Hands were wrung in every quarter at the prospect of homosexuals making a mess of this fine, strong outfit.
▪ He made a mess of things in the park, but it's the first time he's got it wrong.
▪ If I make a mess of it that woman is going to be so glad.
▪ Most people make a mess of handling money.
▪ She made a mess of her life.
▪ The shell hit the roof of the building and made a mess of the inside of the building.
make a point of doing sth
▪ Bridget made a point of thanking each of us for the gift.
▪ He makes a point of letting his congregation know he takes care of his children.
▪ He seemed to make a point of taking two steps backward for every one step forward.
▪ Hitachi is expected to make a point of integration, management and directory synchronisation.
▪ It's a spectacular scene and I make a point of leaving my dictation and watching through the curtains each evening.
▪ Kramer braced and made a point of looking tough and bored.
▪ They'd made a point of it.
▪ They made a point of recruiting fledgling Latino engineers into the organization.
make no bones about (doing) sth
▪ Mr. Stutzman makes no bones about his religious beliefs.
▪ At least he made no bones about it.
▪ He made no bones about displaying his artistic temperament.
▪ He made no bones about stating his own views or criticising theirs.
▪ I make no apology or make no bones about being partisan.
▪ The secretary was enormously dissatisfied with how some of our programs were being managed, and made no bones about it.
▪ These five women made no bones about national honor or scientific achievement.
▪ Well, the two of them had made no bones about what they thought of her.
make noises about doing sth
▪ Apparently Bradford is interested in having it and Bristol has also made noises about it.
▪ I made noises about the absence of a bank in this so-called international airport; but what choice did I have?
▪ It was extended, but the Provisionals continued to make noises about renewing the violence.
make short work of (doing) sth
▪ Carmen would have made short work of Michael too.
▪ Fourth placed Guisborough made short work of the opposition at Saltburn.
▪ Guernsey made short work of the opposition when they won the event on home soil in 1990.
▪ He made short work of the remainder of his lunch, pushed his chair from the table, and stood up.
▪ It is fair to warn anglers that thousands of crabs soon make short work of rag and lugworm.
▪ It made short work of our Windows performance tests, WinTach, clocking up an impressive index of over 9.3.
▪ The second game we pull away early and make short work of it.
▪ These cannibalistic tadpoles make short work of one of their siblings.
never let a day/week/year etc go by without doing sth
never tire of doing sth
▪ He never tires of talking about the good old days.
▪ And it was true, as Christians never tired of pointing out, that a painful spiritual confusion reigned.
▪ And when speech gave way to the rhythmic breathing and small cries or even angry groans that I never tired of overhearing?
▪ As Otis never tired of saying, this was the promised land.
▪ I look at both my sewing and knitting as wonderful gifts that I will never tire of.
▪ I never tire of watching this strange beast that lurches like a turkey and sways its neck like a swan.
▪ She felt she would never tire of the way Ludo demonstrated each change in his mood.
▪ Still, never tired of handing them out.
▪ Yet certain films he would watch over and over again and never tire of them.
no warrant for (doing) sth
not be above (doing) sth
not be alone in (doing) sth
▪ But this market has not yet developed, and when it does Pippin will not be alone in it.
not be in the business of doing sth
▪ Labour may not be in the business of re-connecting with the past, but its attachment to the future is still confused.
not flinch from (doing) sth
not for want of (doing) sth
▪ I never read any of them although it was not for want of trying.
▪ It is not for want of encouragement.
▪ This is not for want of official concern by education commissions, curriculum projects and national ministries.
▪ This is not for want of talent or know-how.
not have a prayer (of doing sth)
▪ The Seahawks don't have a prayer of winning the Superbowl.
▪ Boxing White Hopes like Cooney do not have a prayer of toppling Tyson.
not make a habit of (doing) sth
▪ The nutritive arguments still stand and I would not make a habit of eating lots of white bread.
not mind doing sth
▪ I don't mind driving if you're tired.
▪ If you don't mind waiting a few minutes, we can check our records for you.
▪ San Diego's nice, I wouldn't mind living there.
▪ He did not mind being flippant about New York, but disliked to hear any one else take the same tone.
▪ He might not mind being placeless, but I mind.
▪ It had been worse than she had expected, but she had not minded it.
▪ It was remarkable the way people sought her out, often not minding that their conversation was public.
▪ Just as long, that is, as the masses do not mind interminable delays.
▪ The girls were late at breakfast, but Mrs Roberts did not mind.
▪ The world was giving to him, he did not mind giving back.
not stand/have a cat in hell's chance (of doing sth)
not/never be (a great) one for (doing) sth
nothing doing
▪ Lend you $500? Nothing doing!
▪ Clinton did some frantic shuttle diplomacy, but there was nothing doing.
▪ I wanted to get to know him all right, but nothing doing.
only succeed in doing sth
▪ However, the utterance only succeeds in having this function if certain external conditions are fulfilled.
▪ It's always been a Dark Force, and you've only succeeded in harnessing a minuscule aspect of it.
▪ Laws against abortion only succeed in making it painful and dangerous.
▪ Revolutions only succeed in Britain if they pretend to be fondly restoring the past, not accelerating change.
▪ She tried to get out of it, but only succeeded in making herself the last to sing.
▪ Triumphant Rome tried to exterminate the Church of Mary, but only succeeded in driving it underground.
▪ We shall only succeed in dealing with the problems through a vast international cooperative effort.
press-gang sb into doing sth
pride yourself on (doing) sth
▪ As a nation we pride ourselves on our strong sense of sportsmanship and fair play.
▪ At Midland, we pride ourselves on establishing long term relationships with our customers.
▪ But then at Boots we pride ourselves on our usefulness to mums.
▪ Likud prides itself on being the party of the outsiders, and they are now a majority.
▪ The accommodation is cool and spotless and staff pride themselves on offering a warm welcome.
▪ The school prides itself on its ethnic diversity, Schaeffer said.
▪ We pride ourselves on the front seven and tackling people.
rate sb's chances (of doing sth)
▪ But few analysts rate the chances of Washington's prefered successors very highly.
▪ But officials will not rate the survival chances above 50 percent until a month after birth.
▪ How high do you rate my chances?
▪ I didn't really rate his chances of living that long.
▪ The doctors rated his chances as virtually nil.
reduce sb to doing sth
▪ They were reduced to begging on the streets.
resign yourself to (doing) sth
▪ He seems to have resigned himself to living without her.
▪ Adair, who loves Virgilia, resigns himself to be her confidant and Fergus' mentor.
▪ Finally I resign myself to the truth: Anne Frank is dead, she will never write anything else.
▪ He had resigned himself to it.
▪ I resign myself to being among them soon enough.
▪ I resigned myself to merciless stick over the coming week.
▪ I never particularly relished torture, but I resigned myself to it when I arrived in Algiers...
▪ Lucille had seen the Prince's arrival and hasty departure, and had resigned herself to Sharpe's absence.
▪ Lydia was resigning herself to a long stretch of celibacy.
restrict yourself/sb to (doing) sth
▪ But some states have restricted access to medications.
▪ Even if you have restricted access to kids-only Internet sites and chat rooms, kids can still do it.
▪ Note, we do not restrict player A to use a linear strategy.
▪ Scarlet was enormously prestigious: the thirteenth-century sumptuary laws of the kingdom of Castile and Leon restricted its use to the king.
▪ She spent time with her friends and restricted herself to ten minutes on the perfection of Lucy.
▪ The funds do not, in practice, restrict themselves to big companies.
▪ We ow restrict our attention to simple pencils, where symmetric or not.
sb can't help (doing) sth
▪ I can't help it. I hear that song and I have to dance.
▪ I can't help wondering what happened to that little girl.
▪ Ron can't help the way he feels about her.
▪ You talk to the guy for five minutes, and you can't help but like him.
sb is not shy about (doing) sth
sb may be pardoned for doing sth
sb will not be doing sth (again) in a hurry
sb won't thank you (for doing sth)
see your way (clear) to doing sth
▪ Finally he could see his way clear to his goal.
▪ Small builders can not see their way to take on many trainees.
▪ There was just enough light for her to see her way to the bathroom.
see your way clear (to doing sth)
▪ If you can see your way clear, call this number to volunteer.
▪ Finally he could see his way clear to his goal.
set on/upon/against (doing) sth
▪ A pail of cold water for washing was set on the floor so that performers had to bend over to use it.
▪ Lance Rees was set on as he passed the sorting office in Withernsea, Humberside, on his way to school.
▪ Manuel Perez's brother left after his house was set on fire.
▪ Margarett set upon the package, tearing at its wrappings, only to find beneath it another carton, then still another.
▪ Once again I detect a false opposition: an idealised reality set against the alien forces of darkness.
▪ They were hacked to death and their bodies set on fire.
▪ Time limits may be set on how long employees can leave their goods in storage and receive reimbursement from their employers.
▪ Were the limits set on their radiation exposure acceptable?
set your heart/mind/sights on (doing) sth
▪ But where there are sellers there are buyers, and it was this latter rare species we had set our sights on.
▪ Gazing intently into her computer screen, Christine Montgomery has set her sights on the next generation of electronic language translators.
▪ He knew he was bound to pull any girl he set his mind on - he always had.
▪ Heath had set her sights on the U. S. Senate seat from Colorado.
▪ Her youth and beauty elicited a predictable reaction from my father, who set his sights on her at once.
▪ Sofa Head's greatest asset is the realisation that you don't have to set your sights on one target.
▪ Wagner set his sights on a degree in electrical engineering, and he followed his star with a fervid intensity.
▪ Yes, she thought, if Tamar had set her mind on something she would never rest until it was accomplished.
set yourself against (doing) sth
▪ But pop sets itself against nature and abandons wisdom for folly, moments of dissipation.
▪ She leaned into him, set herself against him.
▪ The three Established Church representatives set themselves against; the other four who were Free Churchmen were for it.
▪ Why has the Supreme Court set itself against the will of the majority on such an unprecedented scale?
shame sb into doing sth
▪ His wife shamed him into handing the money back.
short of (doing) sth
Short of selling the house, I don't know how we're going to get that amount of money.
▪ A pair to fit wellies which reach right up to the knee cost a penny short of a fiver.
▪ Apart from Ferkhan, everybody was short of food.
▪ Even in the best of years, Journal news coverage inevitably falls short of perfection.
▪ San Francisco may be running short of characters, but new communities pop up every day.
▪ That is nothing short of stupidity.
▪ The company said its earnings would fall short of previous expectations mainly because of lower earnings from its Gulf Printing unit.
▪ The House vote fell well short of the 291 required to override a veto.
spare sb the trouble/difficulty/pain etc (of doing sth)
sporting chance (of doing sth)
▪ After all, you are meant to give the quarry a sporting chance.
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 a chance/hope (of doing sth)
▪ You'll stand a better chance of getting a job with a degree.
▪ C., woman fumed outside the museum where a crowd stood hoping to get a ticket to hear Wiesel.
▪ Dougal didn't struggle: even if he could have got out of the duvet, he wouldn't have stood a chance.
▪ In the face of Queeensrÿche they didn't stand a chance.
▪ No Labour rethink that ignores this will stand a chance of success in the future.
▪ Schools from across the country craved his talents, but only two stood a chance.
▪ The rest must keep pace if they are to stand a chance-advertising works.
▪ The women stand a chance in the foil competition with Charlene DiMiceli.
▪ This was the crunch match they really had to win to stand a chance of staying up.
stop short of (doing) sth
▪ Shepherd stopped short of calling him a liar.
▪ Doctors stop short of saying the disease is always fatal, but medical literature paints a bleak picture.
▪ Eric Gray charged back up the court before stopping short of the center line.
▪ Even if it stops short of this extreme, retroactive cost justification is largely ineffective.
▪ He stopped short of making recommendations about weapons programs in his 90-minute meeting at the White House.
▪ I know people who would maim and yet stop short of murder.
▪ In fact, no general pattern is discernible, except that almost all stop short of full accountability to Parliament.
▪ Yet the argument against Ashdown's triumphalism has to stop short of encouraging the same fatal hubris among Labour politicians.
stop short of doing sth
▪ Paula stopped just short of calling me a thief.
▪ But they have stopped short of rejecting the idea altogether.
▪ Doctors stop short of saying the disease is always fatal, but medical literature paints a bleak picture.
▪ Even then I stopped short of making a complaint.
▪ He believed in a kind of progressive development of forms, but like Forbes stopped short of an actual evolutionary theory.
▪ His passion has only just stopped short of writing a structural critique of the civil engineering faults at Valhalla.
▪ Wisely, perhaps, Marochnik stops short of drawing any dramatic conclusions, but two things are clear.
▪ Yet we stop short of analysing what it is.
take a bit of doing/explaining etc
▪ It took a bit of doing - for instance, the disposal site had to check out 100 percent.
▪ It took a bit of explaining.
▪ That's going to take a bit of explaining.
take delight in (doing) sth
▪ My dad took delight in calling me "The Big Ox" when I started growing taller than the other girls.
▪ But do I take delight in pushing you down, making you worse?
▪ Congressional wives take delight in pointing out that kind of error to their husbands.
▪ John, of course, had long since lost his northern accent and took delight in his appearance as the well-heeled businessman.
▪ Or a human parent will take delight in teaching their child to walk and talk and do so many things.
▪ The story of the purchase of Sarah's burial plot is comedy, and comedy frequently takes delight in debunking heroes.
▪ They remember you at your most awkward and unformed and they take delight in reminding you of it.
▪ You take delight in vexing me.
take the lead (in doing sth)
▪ It shows what is being done right now by companies taking the lead.
▪ It took only eight minutes for Portadown to take the lead.
▪ It was Olsson who had taken the lead with the jump immediately before Edwards when he leapt 17.47m.
▪ Meanwhile, in the brothers' partnership, Joe took the lead.
▪ Principals are key players and are encouraged to take the lead to ensure that identification procedures are implemented.
▪ Toronto took the lead on the power play with less than two minutes remaining in the second period.
▪ United took the lead midway through the first half.
the dubious honour/distinction/pleasure (of doing sth)
▪ I therefore inherited the dubious honour of making it available on loan to youth workers.
▪ Mr Edmond has the dubious honour of being tried by the District of Columbia's first anonymous jury.
▪ Sarah, left alone, had the dubious distinction of being the last of all the Titfords in Frome.
the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing
the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing
the mechanics of (doing) sth
▪ He may not understand the mechanics of cooking, but he certainly enjoys fine food.
▪ A lack of knowledge of the mechanics of the council may prejudice the success of a good proposal.
▪ Council members actively began to seek information about the mechanics of housing rehabilitation programs in other cities.
▪ Exhibit 4. 6 illustrates the mechanics of this process.
▪ For more on the mechanics of doing this see Behaviour modification on page 16.
▪ He scooped up the heavy wet snow, digging hard, his mind ticking through the mechanics of a last nifty illusion.
▪ The passages that follow illustrate the mechanics of this type of metaphor.
▪ We then use the diagram to go over the mechanics of monetary and fiscal policy.
▪ Yes, your garden-master was only a puppet, and yes, the mechanics of it were built by others in Spiderglass.
there is no percentage in doing sth
there is no question of sth happening/sb doing sth
▪ Each has much to offer to the other and there is no question of one tradition being right and the other wrong.
▪ Even if the practice overspends its funds, there is no question of patients not getting the treatment they need.
▪ Since there is no means of changing the weather, there is no question of protest.
▪ This again suggests that the boys may have been in the wrong, which there is no question of in Ballantyne.
▪ This particularly applies where there is no question of a divorced previous spouse.
▪ This phenomenon is distinct from onomatopoeia - it is sometimes called sound symbolism: there is no question of auditory resemblance.
▪ Yet there is no question of one's hair rising.
there's no doing sth
▪ And there's no mystery to bands any more.
▪ But police experts say there's no evidence to support that.
▪ But there's no way to get money for real investment.
▪ He says that the budget is a disaster, there's no way that the county can now avoid charge capping.
▪ I - I've decided that since you've got everything under control there's no point in my staying here any longer.
▪ I usually read to them a bit, but there's no need for you to.
▪ Make sure there's no plan to change the exam format this year.
▪ With amateurs there's no point in paying, they're likely to kill the victim off anyway, out of fear.
there's no harm in doing sth/it does no harm to do sth
think nothing of doing sth
▪ He'd think nothing of checking up on a fellow's credentials.
▪ He thought nothing of playing in ten or eleven consecutive events.
▪ He would think nothing of walking up and hugging you.
▪ I thought nothing of it, just that whoever closed the house up had overlooked it.
▪ She just found it hard to be owned by customers; men especially thought nothing of appraising her through her clothes.
▪ The Human Piranha, a Harvard graduate, thought nothing of it.
▪ They have been in the middle of war and think nothing of hearing shooting all round them.
▪ When she was young enough to travel alone and think nothing of it.
think of/about doing sth
▪ I've often thought about starting my own business.
tired of (doing) sth
▪ But by then, the hedgehog was tired of waiting and was walking away across the croquet-ground.
▪ His sister, Marie, his children-they had all grown tired of him.
▪ I am old, and tired of life.
▪ It was April, his children were tired of riding, and his wife, Clara, was pregnant.
▪ It was possible, of course, but not likely that Zacco had grown tired of his Christmas truce.
▪ She is tired of being asked.
▪ This line has won him widespread backing among middle class voters tired of 17 uninterrupted years of Tory rule.
▪ We are getting tired of people behaving like prima donnas.
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.
turn your hand to (doing) sth
▪ Adam Burns was probably good at everything he turned his hand to.
▪ Adult women could often turn their hand to more than one form of casual employment.
▪ Friday marks the start of a new music programme as Channel 4 turns its hand to dance.
▪ He has had to be able to turn his hand to almost anything.
▪ I have turned my hand to trying a bit of writing and I keep meaning to take it up again.
▪ Roth also turned his hand to poetry, his best-known volume being, as you no doubt guessed, his Shit Poems.
▪ She can also turn her hand to mending and spotting.
▪ She turned her hand to short stories, getting two published in the early 1990s.
unaccustomed to (doing) sth
▪ Hazel, like nearly all wild animals, was unaccustomed to look up at the sky.
▪ Human Resource departments are also unaccustomed to classifying employees according to these informal roles that are so vital to innovation.
▪ Many had, during marriage, distinct conjugal roles and were therefore quite unaccustomed to undertaking partners' household tasks.
▪ Some of these visitors will be unaccustomed to country roads and to the hazards of walking along a road with no footpath.
▪ They had grown unaccustomed to using their power of collective action.
▪ They were people who were unaccustomed to silence, who were comforted by the racket of their own voices.
▪ Unemployed or still at school, often unaccustomed to budget discipline, young people now have unprecedented opportunities to outspend their means.
▪ We became unaccustomed to silence, which was a signal for alarm.
unused to (doing) sth
▪ He was a man who was unused to sitting still.
▪ I was unused to the heavy city traffic.
▪ He walked a little uncertainly, unused to the solid earth under his feet.
▪ If you are unused to exercise, it hurts.
▪ Jonathon's eyes, unprotected, blinked on and off, unused to open air.
▪ Negotiations are sometimes difficult, especially when styles vary and both sides are unused to such interactions.
▪ Of course it was faintly possible that masons unused to waterproofing could nevertheless carry out the architects' detailed instructions effectively.
▪ She was unused to booze, the bloody Marys; still a little woozy.
▪ The men, however, for the most part, were unused to marching.
▪ The tendency for anyone unused to such enormous forces is literally to be thrown over the handlebars.
warn sb off (doing) sth
waste no time (in) doing sth
▪ Peter wasted no time finding himself another girlfriend.
▪ Additionally, less electricity is used and the chef wastes no time waiting for the correct temperature to be reached.
▪ Emil, the crew and I wasted no time watching.
▪ If it demurred, the Corps might waste no time in trying to build it instead.
▪ Lee wasted no time entering Maryland, the men being in high spirits as the bold move was made.
▪ Ringwald wastes no time wedging herself between McGaw and his coed girlfriend, Sarah Lassez.
▪ Shouting to Wemyss to cope with this situation, Douglas wasted no time.
▪ The man's wife had wasted no time going through his closets picking up worn and odd pairs.
▪ The Right was wasting no time, meanwhile.
what is sb doing with sth?
what is sb/sth doing?
▪ And in the back of my mind was the wild thought, Where is Dean and what is he doing right now?
▪ And now what is she doing?
▪ But what is Rabbit Maranville doing in there?
▪ Just what is this doing to the hearts and minds of our children?
▪ What is Lucinda doing right this moment?
▪ What is the submarine doing up here?
▪ What is this government doing to encourage cycling?
▪ Where is he and what is he doing?
what's doing ...?
with a view to (doing) sth
▪ They've torn down the old buildings with a view to renovating the whole neighborhood.
▪ Loyalists are rumoured to be arming themselves, with a view to throwing the federal government out of the kingdom.
▪ Once a year, take a look at how your investments have performed, with a view to dumping the persistent laggards.
▪ The Commerce Clause was not drawn with a view to having the validity of state laws turn on such pointless distinctions.
▪ The public policy of the United States is shaped with a view to the benefit of the nation as a whole.
with an eye to (doing) sth
▪ Departments with an eye to the ratings tend to appoint established researchers with proven records, rather than younger, unpublished candidates.
▪ Each side was building its forces with an eye to gaining military supremacy.
▪ He had the personality for it, strong, aggressive and with an eye to a bargain.
▪ He recently shed a number of pounds, which even some friends say he lost with an eye to a national race.
▪ Lord Taylor's main point is to suggest that judges should pass sentence with an eye to the public's expectations.
▪ So she works with an eye to adjusting the Outside world too.
▪ These are also designed with an eye to reassuring those who did well out of the switch from rates to poll tax.
within an ace of (doing) sth
▪ I came within an ace of slapping her around.
work/effort etc involved in doing sth
▪ A further disadvantage is the work involved in returning the manure to the field.
▪ It is also often used to pay for the preliminary work involved in making applications for civil and criminal legal aid.
▪ She would like to know their reaction to the work involved in taking the course. 14.
▪ The chief drawback to small-scale silage-making is the extra physical work involved in handling the green crop with its high water content.
▪ The effort involved in constructing such circles was enormous.
▪ The work involved in writing this summation must have been back-breaking, and certainly took years of research.
▪ We have to do the more general piece of work involved in clearing one more bias from our morality.
worm your way out of (doing) sth
▪ Somehow Ben wormed his way out of mowing the lawn.
wouldn't dream of (doing) sth
you won't catch me doing sth
▪ You won't catch me ironing his shirts!
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Laurie had a warmth of personality in all his doings with people and politics.
▪ Mrs Archer was a shy woman and shrank from society; but she liked to be well-informed as to its doings.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Doing

Doing \Do"ing\, n.; pl. Doings. Anything done; a deed; an action good or bad; hence, in the plural, conduct; behavior. See Do.

To render an account of his doings. -- Barrow.

Doing

do \do\ (d[=oo]), v. t. or auxiliary. [imp. did (d[i^]d); p. p. done (d[u^]n); p. pr. & vb. n. Doing (d[=oo]"[i^]ng). This verb, when transitive, is formed in the indicative, present tense, thus: I do, thou doest (d[=oo]"[e^]st) or dost (d[u^]st), he does (d[u^]z), doeth (d[=oo]"[e^]th), or doth (d[u^]th); when auxiliary, the second person is, thou dost. As an independent verb, dost is obsolete or rare, except in poetry. ``What dost thou in this world?'' --Milton. The form doeth is a verb unlimited, doth, formerly so used, now being the auxiliary form. The second pers, sing., imperfect tense, is didst (d[i^]dst), formerly didest (d[i^]d"[e^]st).] [AS. d[=o]n; akin to D. doen, OS. duan, OHG. tuon, G. thun, Lith. deti, OSlav. d[=e]ti, OIr. d['e]nim I do, Gr. tiqe`nai to put, Skr. dh[=a], and to E. suffix -dom, and prob. to L. facere to do, E. fact, and perh. to L. -dere in some compounds, as addere to add, credere to trust. [root]65. Cf. Deed, Deem, Doom, Fact, Creed, Theme.]

  1. To place; to put. [Obs.]
    --Tale of a Usurer (about 1330).

  2. To cause; to make; -- with an infinitive. [Obs.]

    My lord Abbot of Westminster did do shewe to me late certain evidences.
    --W. Caxton.

    I shall . . . your cloister do make.
    --Piers Plowman.

    A fatal plague which many did to die.
    --Spenser.

    We do you to wit [i. e., We make you to know] of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia.
    --2 Cor. viii. 1.

    Note: We have lost the idiom shown by the citations (do used like the French faire or laisser), in which the verb in the infinitive apparently, but not really, has a passive signification, i. e., cause . . . to be made.

  3. To bring about; to produce, as an effect or result; to effect; to achieve.

    The neglecting it may do much danger.
    --Shak.

    He waved indifferently 'twixt doing them neither good not harm.
    --Shak.

  4. To perform, as an action; to execute; to transact to carry out in action; as, to do a good or a bad act; do our duty; to do what I can.

    Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work.
    --Ex. xx. 9.

    We did not do these things.
    --Ld. Lytton.

    You can not do wrong without suffering wrong.
    --Emerson. Hence: To do homage, honor, favor, justice, etc., to render homage, honor, etc.

  5. To bring to an end by action; to perform completely; to finish; to accomplish; -- a sense conveyed by the construction, which is that of the past participle done. ``Ere summer half be done.'' ``I have done weeping.''
    --Shak.

  6. To make ready for an object, purpose, or use, as food by cooking; to cook completely or sufficiently; as, the meat is done on one side only.

  7. To put or bring into a form, state, or condition, especially in the phrases, to do death, to put to death; to slay; to do away (often do away with), to put away; to remove; to do on, to put on; to don; to do off, to take off, as dress; to doff; to do into, to put into the form of; to translate or transform into, as a text.

    Done to death by slanderous tongues. -- Shak.

    The ground of the difficulty is done away. -- Paley.

    Suspicions regarding his loyalty were entirely done away.
    --Thackeray.

    To do on our own harness, that we may not; but we must do on the armor of God. -- Latimer.

    Then Jason rose and did on him a fair Blue woolen tunic. -- W. Morris (Jason).

    Though the former legal pollution be now done off, yet there is a spiritual contagion in idolatry as much to be shunned.
    --Milton.

    It [``Pilgrim's Progress''] has been done into verse: it has been done into modern English. -- Macaulay.

  8. To cheat; to gull; to overreach. [Colloq.]

    He was not be done, at his time of life, by frivolous offers of a compromise that might have secured him seventy-five per cent. -- De Quincey.

  9. To see or inspect; to explore; as, to do all the points of interest. [Colloq.]

  10. (Stock Exchange) To cash or to advance money for, as a bill or note.

  11. To perform work upon, about, for, or at, by way of caring for, looking after, preparing, cleaning, keeping in order, or the like.

    The sergeants seem to do themselves pretty well.
    --Harper's Mag.

  12. To deal with for good and all; to finish up; to undo; to ruin; to do for. [Colloq. or Slang]

    Sometimes they lie in wait in these dark streets, and fracture his skull, . . . or break his arm, or cut the sinew of his wrist; and that they call doing him.
    --Charles Reade.

    Note: (a) Do and did are much employed as auxiliaries, the verb to which they are joined being an infinitive. As an auxiliary the verb do has no participle. ``I do set my bow in the cloud.''
    --Gen. ix.

  13. [Now archaic or rare except for emphatic assertion.] Rarely . . . did the wrongs of individuals to the knowledge of the public. -- Macaulay. (b) They are often used in emphatic construction. ``You don't say so, Mr. Jobson. -- but I do say so.'' --Sir W. Scott. ``I did love him, but scorn him now.'' --Latham. (c) In negative and interrogative constructions, do and did are in common use. I do not wish to see them; what do you think? Did C[ae]sar cross the Tiber? He did not. ``Do you love me?'' --Shak. (d) Do, as an auxiliary, is supposed to have been first used before imperatives. It expresses entreaty or earnest request; as, do help me. In the imperative mood, but not in the indicative, it may be used with the verb to be; as, do be quiet. Do, did, and done often stand as a general substitute or representative verb, and thus save the repetition of the principal verb. ``To live and die is all we have to do.'' --Denham. In the case of do and did as auxiliaries, the sense may be completed by the infinitive (without to) of the verb represented. ``When beauty lived and died as flowers do now.'' --Shak. ``I . . . chose my wife as she did her wedding gown.'' --Goldsmith. My brightest hopes giving dark fears a being. As the light does the shadow. -- Longfellow. In unemphatic affirmative sentences do is, for the most part, archaic or poetical; as, ``This just reproach their virtue does excite.'' --Dryden. To do one's best, To do one's diligence (and the like), to exert one's self; to put forth one's best or most or most diligent efforts. ``We will . . . do our best to gain their assent.'' --Jowett (Thucyd.). To do one's business, to ruin one. [Colloq.] --Wycherley. To do one shame, to cause one shame. [Obs.] To do over.

    1. To make over; to perform a second time.

    2. To cover; to spread; to smear. ``Boats . . . sewed together and done over with a kind of slimy stuff like rosin.'' --De Foe. To do to death, to put to death. (See 7.) [Obs.] To do up.

      1. To put up; to raise. [Obs.]
        --Chaucer.

      2. To pack together and envelop; to pack up.

    3. To accomplish thoroughly. [Colloq.]

    4. To starch and iron. ``A rich gown of velvet, and a ruff done up with the famous yellow starch.''
      --Hawthorne.

      To do way, to put away; to lay aside. [Obs.]
      --Chaucer.

      To do with, to dispose of; to make use of; to employ; -- usually preceded by what. ``Men are many times brought to that extremity, that were it not for God they would not know what to do with themselves.''
      --Tillotson.

      To have to do with, to have concern, business or intercourse with; to deal with. When preceded by what, the notion is usually implied that the affair does not concern the person denoted by the subject of have. ``Philology has to do with language in its fullest sense.''
      --Earle. ``What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah?
      --2 Sam. xvi. 10.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
doing

early 13c., verbal noun from do (v.). From c.1600-1800 it also was a euphemism for "copulation."

Wiktionary
doing

Etymology 1 n. A deed or action, especially when somebody is held responsible for it. vb. (present participle of do English) Etymology 2

interj. The sound made by an elastic object when struck by or striking a hard object.

Wikipedia

Usage examples of "doing".

Men were started aboard this ship, it seemed, even when they were doing their work efficiently.

Stillbirths, abortuses, and placentas are in hot demand at the BLI for the dozen or so groups doing hormone research.

Yet during abreaction at one point she was acting out holding the knife and doing the slashing.

If he smoked too many cigarettes and drank too much absinth it was because he took civilization as he found it, and did the things that he found his civilized brothers doing.

You get older daughters trying to protect younger siblings by doing anything they can to keep the abusive father focused on them.

The sisters were busy with their toddlers doing that Yuppie shuffle of day care for the abysmally affluent.

I thanked him for doing Margarita the honour of accepting a cup of coffee from her hands, and begged him to take one with me, saying I would breakfast with him next morning.

This is true of everything a man does from such persuasive faith, whether he is acknowledging God, worshiping Him at home or in church, or doing good deeds.

It cannot be justly said, however, that in so doing they have acted without considerable support from precedent.

Eric thought they were the same thing, these two, and the old Chinese was the same, doing acupoint massage, and the repair crew passing fiber-optic cable down a manhole from an enormous yellow spool.

Smoking, like all drug addiction, is a tug-of-war of fear: the fear of what the drug is doing to us, and the fear of not being able to enjoy or cope with life without it.

But here was Addle, taking him on faith, doing his work toboot--even though, according to Delilah, fate had screwed her over, too.

Salem Falls 313 It hit Addle then, what Meg had been doing at the cemetery.

Was Aden really doing what I thought he was doing, essentially establishing me as the goto person for conducting archaeological research in Stone Harbor?

There was really no indication of a micro adenoma from those numbers, she said, not enough to even warrant doing an MRI, although, again, I could talk over treatment with my doctor.