out slowly. 3. (of a piece of clothing ) draw tight or cause to shrink: This billowing dress can be drawn in by adding a belt. 4. (of spending ) reduce: If prices continue to rise, we shall have to draw in our spending even further. pull something in—1. = draw something in 1: He ran out of worms so after a while he pulled in his fishing line and walked away. 2. (of an animal) control; restrain: Your horse is trying to go too fast; you must pull him in . 3. (coll.) earn money: You can pull in over 6,000 a year at that factory. 4. = draw something in 4: You now have to pull in your spending some- how. draw something out • pull something out draw something out—1. take smth. out; remove smth.: He put his hand in the drawer, and drew out a gun. 2. stretch smth.: Draw out the wire until it is very thin. 3. lengthen or prolong smth.: The politician drew out his speech to almost two hours. 4. take money from a bank account: I shall have to draw out some more money to pay all these people. 5. for- mulate a plan, program, etc.: The committee drew out a plan for the reorganization. pull something out—1. = draw something out 1: Before I could see what he was doing, he had pulled out a gun. 2. = draw something out 2: The wool from the sheep has to be pulled out until it forms a thread. 3. produce particular facts, ideas, or an answer: I hope you can pull out a better answer before the end of the meeting. draw something up • pull something up draw something up —1. move smth. by pulling forward: The boat was drawn up and made fast at the landing. 2. (of a bridge) lift at one end so as to prevent passage over it or allow passage through the channel which it crosses: The gate was shut, the bridge was drawn up . 3. (of a vehicle) bring to a stop; place close to a building: A van was drawn up on a path out- side the door. 4. formulate a plan, program, etc.: The report was drawn up by men who had the means of knowing the truth. pull something up—1. (of weeds) take out of the ground: You’ll find my mother in the garden as usual, pulling up un- wanted plants. 2. = draw something up 1: The only mark that was left behind by Angus was the mark where he pulled his boat up on to the shore. 3. = draw something up 2: A few min- utes later, Rupert crossed the drawbridge and it was pulled up . 4. = draw something up 3: He had pulled his car up to a gentle stop, swung sideways in his seat, and looked at the cottage. 5. (coll.) improve smth.: You’ll have to pull up your English to a higher standard if you want to pass the examina- tion. draw the badger • overdraw one’s badger draw the badger—provoke a person to reveal his thoughts, etc.: The Parnellite taunts regarding Balfour’s indifference have at last drawn the badger . overdraw one’s badger—(dated sl., in humorous reference to the above) overdraw one’s banking account: His checks no longer drew the cash…. He had overdrawn his badger . draw the curtain over something • ring down the curtain on something draw the curtain over something—(also: draw the curtain on something ) refrain from discussing smth.; be secretive about smth.: The current leader has been trying to draw the curtain over the events of the past decade. ring down the curtain on something—(also: bring down the curtain on something ) cause an activity, business, etc. to come to an end: Very shortly, school bells will ring down the curtain on the final term of the millennium. draw the line at something • draw the line under something draw the line at something—refuse to do smth. because it is more than one is prepared to do: I draw the line at nappy- changing, not because I am a man but because I don’t like surprises of that nature. draw the line under something—try to forget about a bad situation, etc., so that one can start again: Vicky and I agreed to draw the line under our disagreements and try to look to- wards our future together. dreamlike air • dreamy air dreamlike air —is used to describe smth. that seems illusory or unreal: The fortress retains the dreamlike air of a fairytale castle that one might read of in a historical romance. dreamy air—is used of the facial expression of smb. whose thoughts are far away: He appeared to be a quiet and shy red- head with the dreamy air of a poet. dress someone down • dress someone up dress someone down—1. make smb. wear informal clothes for an occasion: Craig was dressed up in a Brioni suit, and what would be the point of that if they were to dress him down for the movie? 2. (coll.) scold or reprimand a person: Well, I let Chris have it, dressing him down for his beard! Needless to say, I lost a friend. dress someone up—1. dress smb. formally; make a person wear his best clothes: Mr. Wilde procured the boy a suit of clothes to dress him up like a gentleman’s son. 2. make smb. wear fancy clothing; disguise a person: I dressed her up as a doctor and painstakingly made her rehearse lines for the fancy dress competition at school. dressing table • kitchen dresser dressing table—a low table with a mirror at which one sits while dressing, applying makeup, etc.: The following day, in the late afternoon, she’d been sitting in front of her dressing- table rearranging her jewellery in its box… kitchen dresser—a tall piece of furniture with cupboards below and shelves on the top half: Last bank holiday found me on my knees, clearing out the cupboards in the kitchen dresser , a ritual to which I return every five years or so. dried bread • dry bread dried bread—bread that has lost all the water in it: My worldly goods are a knapsack with some dried bread in it, and in my breast-pocket a Bible. dry bread—bread which is plain and not covered with butter or jam: He managed to swallow a little soup and dry bread . drink hard • drink hard liquor drink hard—(also: drink heavily) indulge in alcohol to ex- cess: Jimmy Muir is a typical factory worker who drinks hard and lacks any kind of respect for authority. drink hard liquor—consume strong alcoholic beverages (in preference over wine or beer): My boyfriend acts like an ass regardless of what he drinks although he truly believes that he only acts out when he drinks hard liquor . drive someone to the wall • drive someone up the wall drive someone to the wall—push a person to the last extrem- ity: He complained that the company was being driven to the wall by the workers’ demands for higher wages. drive someone up the wall—make smb. very angry or men- tally confused: Someone is running a jackhammer outside of my office and it’s driving me up the wall . – 107 – drive someone to the wall