to taste • to the taste to taste —(in recipes) in the amount preferred: Combine the cottage cheese with the egg and season to taste with salt. to the taste —1. said of the particular sensation in the tongue: The malt is decidedly sweeter to the taste then the original barley. 2. to a person’s liking: Her neck and all about her is of that comeliness which is most to the taste of a man of my age. to the bone • to the bone of one’s back to the bone—1. to the inmost part; completely: She was English to the bone and so naturally loved puzzles and intel- lectual entertainments. 2. (coll., of prices) reduce as much as possible: We’ve cut our prices to the bone , and still the public aren’t buying. Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase close to the bone—1. tactless to the point of offensiveness: a remark close to the bone ; a joke close to the bone . 2. hard up; destitute: He declined, in a family which was always living close to the bone , to take on any job. to the backbone—(also: to the bone of one’s back) = to the bone 1: Working-class to the backbone , just like us…. And if he’s been filling you up with a lot of toffee to the contrary, more fool you. to the day • to this day to the day —1. (of time measured in days) exactly: “How long will you take to finish?” “I can’t tell you to the day , but between two and three weeks should be sufficient.” 2. up until the day: From the day we arrived in Italy to the day we left Athens, we had a tour guide showing us every interesting detail. to this day —until and including today (from the time smth. happened): Still Crozier would not name his accomplices, and to this day he has kept silent about them. to the nines • to the nth degree to the nines —to perfection (mainly in matters of dress): This time, Mrs. Bassett was dressed to the nines in a fashionable frock of black chiffon and a black velvet picture hat. to the nth degree —to the utmost; to the highest degree: True, the situations Mrs. Connelly causes are frustrating to the nth degree , but I guess the whole thing is open to debate. toad in a hole • toad in the hole toad in a hole—meat or sausages baked in paste: It looks more like fish-in-a-pond than toad-in-a-hole : you forgot to turn the oven on. toad in the hole—1. = toad in a hole: To serve, cut the toad in the hole into sections with one or two sausages in each. 2. a game in which lead discs are thrown at holes in a wooden structure: Toad-in-the-hole probably originated in Tudor times. Since then, it has been played in many parts of the world. 3. a form of hide-and-seek: The children got tired playing toad in the hole in the deep weeds. too many chiefs and not enough Indians • too many cooks spoil the broth too many chiefs and not enough Indians —(saying ) there are too many bosses and not enough people to do the work: “Too many chiefs and not enough Indians .” In some cases that’s what we are seeing in high-tech industry today. too many cooks spoil the broth —(saying ) when too many peo- ple try to manage smth. they only spoil it: “Too many cooks spoil the broth ”…. In other words, a good simple idea can be ruined by too many people trying to improve it. top line • up line top line—1. the uppermost line of text: A special machine, an “interpreter,” can be used to read the cards and print their contents on the top line . 2. the head item on a bill of enter- tainment: His duets with Miss Muriel George have reached a top-line position on the halls. 3. headline of a newspaper: This big “top line ” caught my eye: “The Pocasset filicide.” 4. said of the best or most important traded items: Our huge purchase includes many carloads of the top lines of merchan- dise. up line —(Railroad) a single track of rails in a double line of railway (for trains traveling from left to right): The train was accordingly shunted on to the up line and proceeded back to town. See also: bottom line / bottom of the line. top ten • upper ten top ten—the highest ranking music items, goods, etc. on a ten-point scale: Pet foods come sixth in the consumer top ten . Baby food lags way behind. upper ten—the upper social classes; the aristocrats: The upper ten still send their children to Eton or Harrow. touch and go • touch and goes touch and go —said of a very uncertain or critical situation: The day after the operation was touch-and-go . The patient needed a tremendous amount of fluid… touch and goes —(RAF) landing and immediate take-off as part of the training for pilots: Touch and goes proved fairly simple; power on, flaps up produced almost spontaneous response with a short ground roll. touch something • touch upon something touch something—1. put the hand or finger upon smth. so as to feel it: As his hand touched the surface of the mirror, it rippled like the water in a pond. He drew his hand back, star- tled. 2. (cause to) be in contact with smth.: Scientific infor- mation on the Martian atmosphere was gathered even before the Landers touched the surface. 3. have to do with smth.: I still find it hard to believe teachers would come to workshops and refuse to touch the computers. touch upon something—mention smth. briefly, casually, or in passing: Himes succeeded in treating more extensively and intensively themes he had only touched upon in his first book. tough cookie • tough cookies tough cookie —(sl.) an unyielding person who is difficult to deal with: He’s a real tough cookie and you know it. tough cookies —(sl., parenthetical) too bad; very unfortunate (also: tough bananas): If you give the wrong answer, well, tough cookies , you have to move backward. tough nut to crack • tough row to hoe tough nut to crack —(also: hard nut to crack) 1. a difficult per- son to deal with: Meggie was going to be a tough nut to crack and he couldn’t afford to frighten her. 2. a difficult problem or task to undertake: Getting them all here on time will be a tough nut to crack . tough row to hoe—(also: hard row to hoe) = tough nut to crack 2: Getting the contract signed is going to be a tough row to hoe . Note: Neither expression correlates in meaning with the phrase tough act to follow—(also: hard act to follow) used of an out- standing individual or a particularly good performance that will be difficult to emulate: The gifts, the decorations, the food— everything was exacting and amazing. It will be a tough act to follow . touring car • tourist car touring car —an open automobile with a folding top: Mac and Jim circled the buildings and went to the ancient Ford touring car . to taste – 324 –