phrase walk of life— a profession, occupation, or position in soci- ety: It is rare to meet someone so young who had an impact on so many people from different walks of life . root about for something • root for something root about for something—1. (of pigs, etc.) turn up the ground with the snout in search of food: A wild boar has been spotted rooting about for food scraps left behind by tourists. 2. search for smth. (by turning things over): He has been in the habit of taking more or less prolonged trips to the Continent for the purpose of rooting about for antiques. root for something—1. (Sport) support or encourage one’s favorite team: Most people tend to root for the team that dominates the local sports scene. 2. = root about for something 1: Digging in your purse or wallet like a hog rooting for acorns will always cast doubt in the mind of a bartender. roses, roses all the way • roses round the door roses, roses all the way—said of comfort, favorable circum- stances, success, etc.: I should have thought you would be so glad to get back from Brazil that life would have been roses, roses all the way . Cf.: not all roses—(of a situation, job, etc.) there are unpleasant things to deal with as well as the pleasant ones: Wait, don’t you want to read my review first? It’s not all roses you know! roses round the door —usually said of marital or rural domes- tic happiness: “Roses round the door and all that,” as Norman used to say when Letty’s retirement plans were mentioned. See also: come up roses / come up smelling of roses. rot away • rot off rot away —decay slowly and completely: The soil in the for- est is rich with dead leaves and branches that have been rotting away for centuries. rot off—fall off because of decay: The ground is covered with stiff, dry branches which have rotted off as the trees die. rotten apple • rotten egg rotten apple —(coll.) a single bad person in a group (also: bad apple): Today, the company, a shadow of its former self, is the rotten apple of the highly competitive supermarket sec- tor. rotten egg —(coll.) a bad or despised individual (also: bad egg ): But even if he was a rotten egg , what could he actually do? Does he stonewall any important cases before they reach the Supreme Court? rough customer • tough customer rough customer—a disagreeable person who may turn vio- lent: Lord Carmarthen, besides being an amateur sailor, was, like his guest, a most immoderate brandy drinker and alto- gether a rough customer . tough customer—an unyielding person who is difficult to deal with: I started designing our garden, but Dave is a tough customer and rejected all my plans. See also: slippery customer / smooth customer. rough it out • rough it up rough it out—withstand to the end difficult conditions or adverse circumstances without flinching: We have no other course for it but to rough it out as well as we can. Note: The expression is not equivalent in meaning to the phrase rough it—(also: rough it in the bush) live for a short period of time without the usual comforts and conveniences: The explorers had to rough it when they got into the jungle. rough it up—(Sport) intensify the tempo and competitive- ness of a game: He has great agility on the ice and is not scared to rough it up in front of the net to gain position. round about • roundabout round about—1. approximately; around: When I had my boy in day care, it used to cost me round about fifty dollars. 2. in the neighborhood: We would go off to collect mush- rooms, there were plenty in the fields round about . roundabout—1. (UK) merry-go-round (a revolving structure for children to ride on): The photo shows a group of children on a roundabout in the park. 2. a road junction consisting of a circular area around which traffic can flow continuously: Exit the airport, then turn left and drive to the roundabout . 3. (of an answer, etc.) not direct or straightforward: Ask him what he does for a living, and he’ll give you a roundabout answer. round the bend • round the corner round the bend—(also: around the bend) 1. said of smth. about to happen very soon: The Harpoon Brewery’s annual two-day St. Patrick’s Festival is “round the bend ”! 2. (coll.) crazy; insane: People’s initial reaction is to think that you must be round the bend . round the corner—(also: around the corner) = round the bend 1: Hoover was saying that prosperity was just round the cor - ner . row someone up Salt River • send someone up the river row someone up Salt River—(U.S.) defeat political opponents in an election, etc.: The distance to which a party is rowed up Salt River depends entirely upon the magnitude of the majority against its candidates. send someone up the river—(coll., also: send someone up) send a person to prison: The same judge sent him up the river the last time. Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase put someone up the creek—(sl.) 1. put a person in trou- ble: It doesn’t look like I’m going to be able to do my gradu- ation course, which pretty much puts me up the creek . 2. render a girl or a woman pregnant: I know a girl who thinks her bloke may have put her up the creek . See also: sell someone down the river / send someone down the river. rub noses with someone • rub someone’s nose in something rub noses with someone —(coll.) associate or mix with people (also: rub elbows with someone): I might actually learn some- thing, here. After all, this was my chance to rub noses with people who cared. rub someone’s nose in something—(coll.) remind a person humiliatingly of smth. such as an error, fault, oversight, etc.: There’s no need to rub my nose in the fact that she’s so much more attractive than I am. rule something off • rule something out rule something off—draw a straight line with a ruler after a piece of work: Rule off each exercise as you finish it. rule something out—1. cancel an item on a list, etc. by draw- ing a line through it: Rule out that entry in the ledger, the transaction was cancelled. 2. make smth. impossible; prevent smth.: The conditions of the ground ruled out any chance of hunting that day. run after girls • run the girls run after girls—continually approach girls in the hope of a romantic relationship: “I don’t care about politics,” he said. “I just listen to music and run after girls .” run the girls—(sl., of a pimp) be in charge of prostitutes: The police try to break up illegal brothels when they can, using intelligence to track the pimps who run the girls . – 285 – run after girls