meanings the definitions are grouped in num- bered sequences of comparative importance. Occasional comments of grammatical nature provided in the dictionary usually signal some grammatical restrictions in the usage of an ex- pression which may refer to certain limitations in tenses and aspects. Such notations and com- ments may apply to the whole phrase or to some of its meanings. Some entries have cross-refer- ences, that is, contain instructions to look up some other entries for the purpose of comparison or caution. Stylistically colored phrases are normally accompanied by italicized notations which are of special help when the user’s knowledge of the language is inadequate as regards recognition of their stylistic value and the ability to use them in specific social contexts. Some of the phrases designated as dated show signs of obsolescence though may still be used within limited groups of people, whereas expressions designated as ar- chaic are not familiar to the majority of speakers. Other labels may designate various occupational and professional fields with which certain ex- pressions are particularly associated. Phrases contained in the dictionary, both current and obsolete, represent practically all principal styl- istical strata: stylistically neutral phrases, collo- quial, formal and literary expressions, expres- sions normally confined to technical use, folksy expressions, dialectal phrases, phrases pertaining to professional or social jargon, slang, as well as expressions peculiar to any of the principal re- gional varieties of English. Expressions that are not stylistically labeled are considered neutral and may be used in all situations. When stylistic comments apply to all numbered senses of a phrase they are found before the numbered senses, while comments that apply to any one sense are found within the numbered sense be- fore the definition. The mobility of borderlines between various stylistic categories makes it at times difficult to attach unequivocal stylistic tag and stylistic status of many expressions shows considerable fluctuations in different dictio- naries. Stylistically marked phrases must be used with particular care because they reflect a special relationship between speakers or a special social occasion or setting. They belong to ironic, joc- ular, derogatory, euphemistic or other stylis- tically marked register and are labeled accord- ingly. Many of them can only be used in informal spoken English and are inadmissible in formal written English. Phrases marked taboo or coarse slang, included merely for the sake of completeness, warrant special caution in this re- spect because most of them deal with race, sex, or ethnic origin and may have offensive or in- sulting implications. For readers who want to identify a vaguely familiar expression that includes a particular sig- nificant word, are not sure of the precise form of an expression as listed in the dictionary, or simply wish to explore the phrase-building po- tential of individual words, the Phrase Index is compounded by the Key Word Index in which expressions are listed under their second or an- other semantically dominating component, their first component being given within the general alphabetical arrangement of phrases in the dic- tionary body and the Phrase Index. We chose to also include as key words units forming the sec- ond parts of hyphenated nominal compounds: thus the reader can find “boat-train” under “train,” “angel-water” under “water,” “copy-cat” under “cat,” etc. While certain words can func- tion as different parts of speech or refer to dif- ferent homonyms, no attempt has been made to reflect such differences in the Key Word Index. –7– Introduction