something ) reach the lowest point of smth.: They were resolved to renew their work in the same pit but they had scarce got to the bottom of the stairs that led to the pit. 2. explore smth. thoroughly (to determine the cause, etc.): We’ll get to the bot - tom of the problem and get your vehicle back on the road as quickly as possible. get to the bottom of the barrel—run out of resources or pos- sibilities: It seems nobody has any fresh ideas on the subject. We are getting to the bottom of the barrel . get warmed up • warm up get warmed up —become excited and impetuous: They both got warmed up in their dispute over the merits of the two candidates. warm up—be roused from indifference: He soon warmed up and was able to not only overbeat hostility, but to com- mand enthusiastic applause. ghost ship • ghost train ghost ship—1. the apparition of a ship known to have dis- appeared years or centuries before: The sighting of a ghost ship is not a good omen, and superstition holds that bad luck will soon follow. 2. an abandoned vessel found floating with no crew: What happened on board the ghost ship Mary Celeste has baffled and tantalized the world for 130 years. ghost train —1. (UK) a riding vehicle in an amusement park providing exciting and frightening experiences: Grayling calls this “recreational fear”—the sort we experience during a ride on a ghost train . 2. a paranormal sighting of a phantom train wrecked in an earlier crash: Most ghost train sightings have been recorded in the United States where railway lines were the most extensive. See also: dead ship / death ship. GI bride • GI Jane GI bride —(UK sl.) an English girl who is an American sol- dier’s bride or wife: A group of GI brides was asking Tracy for his autograph. Note: The expression is not equivalent in meaning to the phrase war bride—a woman who marries a man who is on active duty in wartime: My mother was a war bride . She met my father, an american soldier, in 1944. GI Jane—(U.S. sl.) a servicewoman: And what about the female officers? … The military must be brutalizing these GI Janes . gilded youth • golden boys gilded youth—young men of fashion and wealth: He was invited to dine with some of the gilded youth of the city at a certain club. golden boys —young people admired for their talent and skill: He’s one of the company’s golden boys ; sales have doubled since he took over as marketing director. gin house • gin palace gin house —1. a building where cotton is pressed: There was a large quantity of yellow unpicked cotton lying in the gin house . 2. a bar retailing chiefly gin: Used to be some little stores out there and I think a gin house … on the Avenue Highway. gin palace —(UK dated) a large bar furnished in a gaudy style: I sat one evening in a gin palace among a set of pigeon fanciers. girdle of Venus • Venus’s girdle girdle of Venus—(Palmistry) a line believed to denote sen- sitive intellectual nature: Fussing over life-lines and measuring the girdle of Venus seems a desperate and futile way to fill the emptiness in many a woman’s life. Venus’s girdle—a ribbonlike gelatinous sea creature found in the Mediterranean Sea: In Cestum, or Venus’s Girdle , elon- gation takes place to an extraordinary extent. girl-boy • girlie-boy girl-boy—1. (derog.) a girlish boy whose behavior is more suitable for a girl than for a boy: Little boys are laughed at as effeminate, silly girl-boys if they want to make patchwork or play with a doll. 2. a girl considered boyish in behavior or manner: My first baby was a girl-boy , she was hell on wheels, I am glad my other two were boys. girlie-boy —(UK sl.) an effeminate young male homosexual (also: ladyboy): The popular rock musical tells the story of a “girlie-boy ” singer who undergoes a botched sex-change oper- ation. Girl Guide • Girl Guider Girl Guide—(UK) a girl between about 10 and 16 who is a member of the Girl Guides Association (an organization of girls corresponding to the Boy Scouts): She had on a starchy white blouse and blue skirt. Looked like a goddam girl guide . Girl Guider —(UK) an adult leader in the Girl Guide move- ment: An old girl from the Class of 1951, she was a school ath- lete and netball player; a ballet and tap-dancer and a Girl Guider . give a name to someone • put a name to someone give a name to someone—name a newborn child: One should not give a name to a child that will be difficult to pronounce or to write. put a name to someone—remember the name of a person: I would find it difficult to put a name to everyone in this room. give a name to something • give one’s name to something give a name to something—assign a name to a thing: Go to a village and ask a peasant what his religion is. He will not be able to give a name to his religion. give one’s name to something—(also: lend one’s name to some- thing ) allow one’s name to be associated with smth.: He gave his name to a well-known brand of frozen food. Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase have someone’s name on it—(also: have someone’s name written all over it) 1. (of a bomb, bullet, etc.) be the instrument of a person’s fate: The bomb probably had my name on it in the first place. 2. be especially suitable or intended for a particular person: Come on, Paul, there’s one piece of chocolate cake left and it’s got your name on it . 3. be characteristic of a particular person: When I heard about the prank, I felt it had Steve’s name written all over it . See also: put one’s name down for something / put one’s name to something. give a pledge • give the pledge give a pledge —1. make a solemn promise: During his inau- guration speech he gave a pledge not to declare the island independent during his term of office. 2. promise to pay money or make a donation: A senior member of your staff, Charlie Phillips, acting on your behalf, gave a pledge of $10 000 to a charity function. give the pledge —1. = give a pledge 1: There was a royalist spy in the midst playing the hypocrite—Joseph Galloway, a Penn- sylvania delegate — who gave the pledge and broke it. 2. (of a priest, etc.) get other people to take an oath never to drink alcohol: Bishop Hughes formed a Catholic abstinence society and gave the pledge to over 20,000 people. Cf.: take the pledge—make a solemn promise never to drink alcohol: Eileen’s husband, who is almost permanently drunk, declares that he wants to take the pledge . – 139 – give a pledge