sluggish but the car still has get up and go when you really need it. be a good hand • have good hands be a good hand —1. be a diligent, industrious worker: He is a good hand and enjoys his work which he does faithfully and well. 2. possess the necessary skill to do smth. well: He is a good hand at making bows and arrows, and a fine knife would be just the thing for him. have good hands—(Sport) have the ability to throw a ball well: Chris has good hands , catches the ball well in traffic and is quick enough. be a good life • live a good life be a good life —be likely to live long enough: I want to find out if he is a good life to insure. Does he live temperately? live a good life—lead a morally commendable life: I would like to be remembered as someone who lived a good life . be a know-all • know it all be a know-all—said of smb. who thinks he knows every- thing and annoys people by showing how clever he is: I don’t see the point in arguing with someone who plays such a know- all . know it all—1. be extremely knowledgeable; be fully in- formed: Did he choose the Pharisees and the Sadducees — the scribes and men who did nothing all day but study the scrip- ture—men who knew it all ? 2. is often used with the impli- cation of overconfidence: The older I get, the more I realize that my dad really did know what he was talking about (but I was a young punk who “knew it all ”…). be a law unto oneself • take the law into one’s own hands be a law unto oneself —do what one believes is right and ig- nore established laws or custom: If the government becomes a law breaker it invites every man to become a law unto him - self . Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase lay down the law— assert smth. positively; state or declare smth. firmly: The new basketball coach can recruit, teach and lay down the law , when necessary. take the law into one’s own hands—get justice in one’s own way, without involving the police: These men took the law into their own hands . They killed a score of men who, they said, were outlaws of various kinds. be a little short of something • be little short of something be a little short of something —just barely fail to have the re- quired amount of smth.: Mr. Rhodes was prevented from sail- ing for Europe owing to the fact that he was a little short of passage money. be little short of something—(also: be nothing short of some- thing ) be the same as smth.; be nothing less than smth.: A mere look was enough to provoke him to anger that was little short of madness. be a long day coming • it’s going to be a long day be a long day coming—said of smth. that has taken long to materialize: The team’s achieving success by winning the di- vision title has been a long day coming . it’s going to be a long day—1. said of a day perceived as long and boring: With nothing else to be done, and Steve’s not ar- riving before seven, it was going to be a long day . 2. said of a day that is going to be full of troubles: Jack overslept and was stalled in a traffic jam. By the time he arrived at the office, he knew it was going to be a long day . be a man of character • be quite the character be a man of character—be a man of good repute: He was a man of character . He performed more acts of charity and kind- ness than any of us will ever know of. be quite the character—used as a mild form of reproof or humorous admiration for a person showing independence in thoughts or actions: She is quite the character and always speaks her mind. be a natural • be natural be a natural —1. be naturally deficient in intellect; be a half- witted person: She is not quite a natural , that is, not an ab- solute idiot. 2. have natural talents that make smb. particularly suitable for a task: I’m not a natural . This present play is my last, I’ve decided. be natural—demonstrate behavior that is not affected or self-conscious: On the stage he was natural , simple…. ’Twas only that, when he was off, he was acting. Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase be in one’s natural state—(also: be in a state of nature) 1. used of the conditions of people before civilization: Man in his natural state is the work of God. 2. (of land or animals) in an uncultivated or undomesticated condition: The ground was partly cultivated, and partly left in its natural state . 3. (euph.) completely naked: How temptingly lovely she was in her natural state ! I could not tear my eyes from her. 4. (of substances) not treated or processed: a large mass of stone or rock in its natural state ; an egg in its natural state in the shell. be a queer fish • be queer be a queer fish—(also: be a queer bird) be an eccentric or odd person: He was a queer fish , but they were used to queer fish, and they took him for granted. be queer —1. = be a queer fish: Every woman who steps for- ward to claim her rights faces the allegation that she is queer . 2. be a homosexual: I always thought he was queer . His room- mate was gay and you just couldn’t pull them away from each other. be a sight for sore eyes • be a sight to behold be a sight for sore eyes—said of a person or thing one is pleased or happy to see: MacLaine is quite a sight for sore eyes when she shows up in the movie. Note: The expression is not equivalent in meaning to the phrase be eye candy1. be visually attractive: We waited a little long for our food, and it did help that our waiter was eye candy . 2. (Internet) used of extra graphics on a Web page that usually makes it look worse: First I’m told that my site is too simple … and then I’m told that my site has too much eye candy . Cf.: be ear candy — said of music with an instant appeal but with little sig- nificance: This is anything but ear-candy , and the music is meant to be listened to and savored many times. be a sight to behold—1. = be a sight for sore eyes: The sunset on the horizon was a sight to behold . The soft glow of orange over the mountains was breath-taking. 2. look untidy, repul- sive, or ridiculous: We soon arrived at the local abattoir, which was a sight to behold . Used to the clinical approach of the western world, we were stunned… Note: The expression does not fully correlate in meaning with the phrase be a sight— = be a sight to behold 2: It was raining and lightning, I was crying, I was cold … Believe me, I was a sight ! be a standoff • be standoffish be a standoff—said of a situation in which the two sides in a conflict, etc. are equally matched or equally unyielding: There was a standoff for a few hours, while police spoke to the man urging him to give himself up. be standoffish—said of a person who is reluctant to show – 31 – be a standoff