sent a letter away. I’ve been very good to them in leaving them a clear field . leave someone the field—1. (of an army) retreat after having been defeated by the enemy in battle: Shortly before midnight, the French retreated in disarray, leaving the field to the English. 2. yield to an opponent in an argument, etc.; relin- quish smth. to a person: Within Spain itself only pro–Nation- alist accounts of the 1930s could be published, leaving the field of serious scholarship to foreigners. leave someone alone • leave someone to oneself leave someone alone—1. go away from a person: Her parents had gone on holiday for a week, and left us alone in their big house. 2. (also: let someone alone) abstain from disturbing or interfering with a person: She yelled at me to go away and leave her alone . But I ignored her and walked up to her any- way. leave someone to oneself— = leave someone alone 2: With his heart sick and sore, he had resolved to go away and leave her to herself , as he imagined she wished to be. leave someone cold • leave someone out in the cold leave someone cold—fail to impress or interest a person: An orator may discourse very eloquently on injustice and leave his audience cold . leave someone out in the cold—ignore or abandon smb.: Developing countries might be left out in the cold in current world trade talks. Note: The expression does not fully correlate in meaning with the phrase leave someone out1. = leave someone out in the cold: It’s Mary’s own fault if she feels left out at the party; she makes no effort to be friendly to people. 2. fail to include a person (in a list, etc.): He toasted all the other ladies present, but left Jane out . leave someone stew • leave someone stew in one’s own juice leave someone stew—(also: let someone stew) keep a person in a state of uneasy anticipation or suspense: I knew that the group would be wondering what was going to happen next to them but I decided to leave them stew on it for a while. leave someone stew in one’s own juice—(also: let someone stew in one’s own juice) leave a person to his own devices to suffer the consequences of his own actions: He’s run into debt again, but this time we’re leaving him to stew in his own juice . leave someone with something • leave something with someone leave someone with something—leave a person in possession of smth. that may be a burden or responsibility: He asked me to hold this parcel for him a moment, then he went off and left me with it. leave something with someone—leave smth. in a person’s care: You won’t actually get to speak to the minister but you can leave a message with his secretary. lecture at someone • lecture to someone lecture at someone—talk to a person in a sententious, pompous manner: He doesn’t talk to you if you approach him, he lectures at you pedantically. lecture to someone—give a formal talk (to a group of stu- dents, etc.): He still finds the time to make frequent visits to Rio Grande University where he lectures to students in the School of Business. Note: The expression does not fully correlate in meaning with the phrase lecture someone1. reproach or scold a person: He left the room, coming back only minutes later to lecture me for not cleaning off the counter after doing the dishes. 2. = lecture to someone: When Krastins lectures his students on Greco-Roman palaces or baroque churches, he turns to pho- tographs. lecture in something • lecture on something lecture in something—give lectures in a subject to a group of students: Dr. Watson lectures in English literature. lecture on something—1. lecture to students on a specific topic: This term he is lecturing on the nineteenth-century novelists. 2. give a long talk on a topic to a group of people: He goes round the country lecturing on the evils of drink. left at the mercy of someone • left to the tender mercies of someone left at the mercy of someone—left in smb.’s absolute power: Once the Roman army withdrew, England was left at the mercy of various marauding tribes. left to the tender mercies of someone —(ironic) left to be dealt with by smb. who is not likely to show any kindness or sym- pathy: I found her father left to the tender mercies of the sav- ages, deserted by you in the bush. left-hand • left-handed left-hand—1. said of smth. situated on the left side: Carry on past the school and take the left hand turning towards Heddington. 2. said of a car with left-hand steering: By the way, it’s kind of weird drive a left-hand car in a left-hand side lane (a continental car in UK). 3. (of bidirectional traffic) keep- ing to the left side of the road: Countries that use left-hand traffic account for about 30 percent of the world’s population, a sixth of its area and a quarter of its roads. left-handed—1. using the left hand for writing, etc.: When a left-handed person tries to write like a right-handed person, it doesn’t work. 2. (of things) designed to be used in the left hand: With properly designed left handed scissors, your nat- ural cutting action matches that of the scissors. 3. (in the phrase “left-handed compliment”)—a statement that sounds like praise but has an insulting meaning: I wasn’t sure if it was a left- handed compliment or his usual condescension. left-hand man • left-handed man left-hand man—one’s associate who is not really important or effective (a play on the expression “right-hand man”—a per- son’s chief assistant): When he attempted to characterize me as Gritz’s “right-hand man,” I hastened to point out that I barely qualified as his “left-hand man .” left-handed man —a man who uses chiefly the left hand for ordinary tasks: College-educated left-handed men earn almost 15 percent more on average than right-handed men with sim- ilar educations. leg-show • show a leg leg-show—a theatrical performance by scantily-dressed women: At a leg-show of these days you saw far less of the female form than is now exhibited in the streets. show a leg—is used to urge people to get up or do smth. with more effort: In the morning, the boatswain’s mate would awaken the crew with the cry “show a leg .” lending library (UK) • lending library (U.S.) lending library (UK)—a library from which books may be taken away without direct payment: He looked a little on the young side … to spend his life in lending libraries . The per- petual student? lending library (U.S.)—a library from which books may be taken away with direct payment: This payment does not cover verification and location of materials not in the lending library ’s collection. – 215 – lending library