working on a case: The police insinuate that David may have been involved in illegal activities and seem to close the book on the case. Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase closed book, a—used of a person or thing one can’t figure out or does not know anything about: “At first, I politely refused the commission, as opera is a closed book to me,” says Tojuro… close the books on something —balance accounts at the end of an accounting period: While residential brokerages expect to close the books next month on a record sales year, they are al- ready seeing signs of a slowdown. See also: open a book on something / open book, an. close the door on someone • close the door to someone close the door on someone—1. refuse to allow a person in: Next a policeman let several people in including Dick, but closed the door on me. 2. refuse to talk to or have any more dealings with a person: They closed the door on their daughter when she married without their consent. close the door to someone—(of a club, university, etc.) refuse admission: This country must not close the door to immi- grants and refugees. Cf.: open the door to someone—allow a certain category of people to enter or join: The Anglican church had recently opened the door to women by ruling that national bodies could choose their own bishops. close thing • closest thing, the close thing—(also: close shave) said of a dangerous situation that a person just manages to avoid: John had just saved his bacon. It had been a very close thing . closest thing, the—most similar to a person or thing men- tioned: Pat Branson was the closest thing to a manual worker among us. close time • closing time close time —a season when it is illegal to kill certain animals or fish: He would extend the close time , and he believes that in a year the nets would be catching far more fish. closing time —the time at which pubs, shops, etc. end busi- ness: The art museum was fantastic, and we stayed until clos - ing time . close to someone • close with someone close to someone—intimate or very familiar with smb.: Mr. Weinberger is close to the President … much closer than Mr. Haig has ever been. close with someone —(coll.) stingy towards a person: He was close with his son and never allowed him any pocket-money. close to something • close with something close to something—1. situated near to smth.: The area is a 70-hectare nature reserve lying close to the town. 2. nearly equal to smth.: Visually the print is very close to the original painting in color, tone and texture. close with something—mean with one’s money, etc.: “Was he in the habit of making you presents?” “Oh, no, sir; he was very close with his money, sir.” close up • close-up close up —1. close completely: The wound is closing up but underneath it it’s still a little tender and bruised. 2. come nearer to each other: As soon as he saw the movement of the crowd the captain gave the order to his men to close up . 3. (of a shop, etc.) close (for a short time): By the time we got to the main dealer’s room, it was already closing up for the day. 4. (coll.) become silent or secretive: We had a good conversation before I asked, but when I asked, he closed up and looked away. close-up —1. (Photography, TV) a shot taken from a position very close to the subject: The film, with a surplus of gigantic close-ups , seems more calculated to appeal to American than British audiences. 2. a detailed picture or display of smth.: This experience provided me with a close-up of how a halftime show is produced and executed. close up a shop • close up shop close up a shop —(also: shut up a shop) close a shop securely before leaving (for the weekend, etc.): The shop was closed up for the night, so Kermit used his key and went up the back way. close up shop —(also: shut up shop) 1. (of an office, firm, etc.) stop doing business for the day or more: The restaurant will not close up shop until 11 P .M. every night of the week. 2. go out of business: Mr. Lemoyne had reluctantly closed up shop when the library had reached a rock-bottom membership of eleven. Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase closed shop—a plant or factory that employs only union workers: Under a closed shop agreement, non-union employees must join the union or face dismissal. closed case • open-and-shut case closed case —a legal case that has been decided: Trying to re- open a closed case is a very difficult, time consuming (and usually expensive) process. open-and-shut case —a legal case that is easily settled or de- cided: The jury feels this is an open-and-shut case but Sir John experiences doubts. clothes man • old-clothes man clothes man—a dealer in cast-off or second-hand clothes: I bought from the clothes-man a suit of the most gentlemanly garments he possessed. Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase man of the cloth— a priest: It’s nice to see a man of the cloth actually using and believing in science. Cf.: clothier—a retail seller of cloth: My father was a clothier . He sold cloth to the tailors or to men who would then go to a tailor. old-clothes man— = clothes man: This mantle he had just purchased of the old-clothes man … to protect himself from the cold of the March. clown around • make a clown of oneself clown around—do silly things in order to make people laugh: The boys were clowning around when the teacher came in. make a clown of oneself—do smth. silly which makes one appear foolish: This meeting led Rothermere to make a clown of himself and also of his newspaper. cock-eye Bob • cockeye pilot cock-eye Bob(Austral. sl.) a cyclone which occurs on the coast of Western Australia during the summer: Almost daily the sky blackened as cock-eye Bobs shrieked upon them, to lash them in sheets of rain. cockeye pilot—a brightly colored fish (Eupomacentrus leu- costictus) found in Florida and the West Indies: The “cockeye pilot ,” or jaqueta … green with black bands, swarms in the West Indies. coffee break • coffee hour coffee break—a short time out from work in which to rest and drink coffee: Take a coffee break : Coffee is a must for most college students studying into the night. coffee hour—a time to socialize and have refreshments: A weekly coffee hour provides a chance for international students to socialize with American students, staff and faculty. close the door on someone – 74 –