throw something over—1. throw smth. across (from one side to another): John glanced at the note and threw it over to me. 2. = overthrow something 1: The horse took fright, and the car- riage was thrown over . 3. abandon or renounce smth.: I’ve decided to throw over the lifestyle I’ve been used to. overturn • turn over overturn—turn upside down; fall over: Pollock’s car crashed into a clump of trees and overturned . turn over—1. = overturn: It was less than a hundred feet from the crossing when the car turned over and threw out the two occupants. 2. turn oneself to face the other way: I heard the clock, but then I turned over and went back to sleep. 3. (of an activity) continue at a usual or slow speed: After a good start, the organization is now just turning over , and is in need of fresh ideas. 4. (of goods) be sold or disposed of: In a grocery store, milk turns over more rapidly than, say, canned aspara- gus. overturn something • turn something over overturn something—1. throw smth. over with violence; cause smth. to fall over: She overturned the chairs and hurled the cushions about. 2. (of a law, verdict, etc.) abolish or inval- idate: Anti-abortion forces have been organizing to overturn the decision of the Supreme Court. turn something over—1. turn smth. upside down: Mr. Cam- pion turned over the battered cardboard-backed book…. “Whose is it?” 2. leaf through the pages of a document, etc.: He turned over the pages with the hopeless air of a connoisseur examining an objet d’art. 3. (also: turn something over in one’s mind) mentally review smth.: Going home that night Dr. Ren- shaw turned over the facts of the case. 4. (sl.) ransack a house, etc.; steal goods from a place: Half the school is on probation for turning over a supermarket. 5. (of money or merchandise) handle in business: Our shop turns over ten thousand dollars a week, but we only make a few hundred dollars profit. overwhelmed by something • overwhelmed with something overwhelmed by something—completely overpowered with emotion: We want them to know what happened; on the other hand, we don’t want them to be overwhelmed by the horror of it all. overwhelmed with something—1. = overwhelmed by something: As you can imagine, I have been overwhelmed with the horror of the stories I’ve read. 2. provided with a very large or exces- sive amount of smth.: Our daughter was so overwhelmed with presents, it took her a good two days to get to all of them. owe for something • owe on something owe for something—owe money for smth. one has bought but not paid for: I still owe the butcher for the meat I had last Sunday. owe on something—owe money for smth. one has bought and partially paid for: We still owe nearly a hundred pounds on that car. oyster catcher • oyster fisher oyster catcher—any of various wading birds of the genus Haematopus: Our game-bag was thinly lined with oyster- catchers , and sanderlings. oyster fisher —a man engaged in oyster-fishing: The mass of ova is spoken of by oyster fishers as “white spat,” and an oyster containing them is said to be “sick.” P pace out the room • pace the room pace out the room—(also: pace off the room) measure the room by counting steps: They walked along the wall, pacing out the room , which turned out to be a square about ten steps long on each wall. pace the room —move restlessly up and down the room: He could not fall asleep, nor even remain in one place, but had to jump up and pace the room with rapid steps. pack something away • pack something off pack something away—1. put smth. (in a box, etc.) for safe keeping: She packed away the clothes until they would be needed again. 2. (coll.) eat (a lot of food): He can pack away more food than anyone else I know. pack something off—send smth. in a parcel: Could you pack these clothes off to my sister? pack them • pack them in pack them —(Austral. sl.) be panic-stricken or terrified (orig- inally of diarrhea caused by nervousness): You know some- thing, thought Ron Fisher, you’re no good. You’re packing them . pack them in —(Theater) attract a capacity audience: Harry James and his band have been helping to pack them in at the Paramount. Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase pack it in—(sl.) 1. (also: pack in) give up doing smth. He had long ago “packed it in ,” and spent his life sitting by the window dozing. 2. die: That’s where Jack’s mate from Hong Kong packed it in . pain barrier • pain threshold pain barrier —a state of greatest pain beyond which the pain diminishes: The muscle is giving me some grief but as long as there is no long-term damage then I am willing to play through the pain barrier . pain threshold —1. the point beyond which a stimulus causes pain: The upper contour is the threshold of pain , above which the sensation is more of pain than of sound (and the result is more or less damaging to the ear). 2. the upper limit of tol- erance to pain: Everyone has a different pain threshold but how much of that is due to what is going on in the mind is hard to say. paint a bow-wow red • paint the town red paint a bow-wow red—(U.S. diners) put ketchup on a hot dog: I was always fascinated at how they used diner talk. … a bow-wow painted red (hot dog with ketchup), they had a new name for everything. paint the town red—go on a spree; have a fun-filled night out: Seniors should get out and paint the town red at this year’s Seniors Festival. We want Victorian seniors to have the time of their lives. painted with the tar brush • touched with the tar brush painted with the tar brush—said of people or things repre- sented as evil or harmful: The myth of the liberal media grew stronger and the Democrats were painted with the tar brush . Cf.: tarred with the same brush—said of people considered to have similar faults or objectionable qualities: As the numbers of would-be immigrants increase, refugees are tarred with the same brush as illegal economic migrants. touched with the tar brush—(may sound offensive) said of a person who is partly black: Her life story includes spending overturn – 262 –