[hear] See: WILL NOT HEAR OF.

[hear a pin drop]{v. phr.} Absolute silence. •/It’s so quiet in the room you could hear a pin drop./

[heart] See: AFTER ONE’S OWN HEART, AT HEART, EAT ONE’S HEART OUT, BREAK ONE’S HEART, BY HEART, CHANGE OF HEART, CROSS ONE’S HEART, DO ONE GOOD or DO ONE’S HEART GOOD, FIND IT IN ONE’S HEART, FROM THE BOTTOM OF ONE’S HEART or WITH ALL ONE’S HEART, FROM THE HEART, GET TO THE HEART OF, HAVE A HEART, HEAVY HEART, LOSE HEART, LOSE ONE’S HEART, OPEN HEART, OPEN ONE’S HEART, SEARCH ONE’S HEART, SET ONE’S HEART ON, TAKE HEART, TAKE TO HEART, TO ONE’S HEART’S CONTENT, WEAR ONE’S HEART ON ONE’S SLEEVE.

[heartbreaker]{n.} One with numerous admirers of the opposite sex; one with whom others fall in love readily. •/Tom, who has four girls in love with him at college, has developed the reputation of being a heartbreaker./

[heart and soul(1)]{n.} Eager love; strong feeling; great enthusiasm. Often used with a singular verb. •/When Mr. Pitt plays the piano, his heart and soul is in it./ •/John plays tennis badly, but with heart and soul./ •/Mary wanted a puppy with all her heart and soul./

[heart and soul(2)]{adv.} Wholly and eagerly; with all one’s interest and strength; completely. •/Will you try to make our city a better place? Then we are with you heart and soul./ •/Mike was heart and soul against the new rules./ Compare: BODY AND SOUL.

[heart goes out to]{formal} You feel very sorry for; you feel pity or sympathy for. — Used with a possessive. •/Frank’s heart went out to the poor children playing in the slum street./ •/Our hearts went out to the young mother whose child had died./

[hear the beat] or [see the beat] {v. phr.}, {dialect} To hear of or to see someone or something better or surpassing. — Usually used in negative or interrogative sentences and often followed by "of". •/I never heard the beat! John swam all the way across the river. Did you ever hear the beat of it?/ •/The juggler spun a table around on the tip of his finger. I never saw the beat of that./

[heart in one’s mouth] or [heart in one’s boots] A feeling of great fear or nervousness. — Often considered trite. •/Charles got up to make his first speech with his heart in his mouth./ •/My heart was in my mouth as I went into the haunted house./ •/When the bear came out of the woods towards us, our hearts were in our mouths./ Compare: HAIR STAND ON END.

[heart is in the right place] or [have one’s heart in the right place] To be kind-hearted, sympathetic or well-meaning; have good intentions. •/All the tramps and stray dogs in the neighborhood knew that Mrs. Brown’s heart was in the right place./ •/Tom looks very rough but his heart is in the right place./

[heart miss a beat] See: HEART SKIP A BEAT.

[heart of gold]{n. phr.} A kind, generous, or forgiving nature. •/John has a heart of gold. I never saw him angry at anyone./ •/Mrs. Brown is a rich woman with a heart of gold./ Compare: GOOD AS GOLD, HEART IN THE RIGHT PLACE.

[heart of stone]{n. phr.} A. nature without pity. •/Mr. Smith has a heart of stone. He whipped his horse until it fell down./

[heart-searching] See: SEARCH ONE’S HEART.

[heart set] See: SET ONE’S HEART ON.

[heart sink] To lose hope, courage, or eagerness; be very disappointed. •/The soldiers' hearts sank when they saw that they were surrounded by Indians./ •/The children were happy because they were going to the beach to swim, but their hearts sank when it began to rain./

[heart skip a beat] or [heart miss a beat] 1. The heart leaves out or seems to leave out a beat; the heart beats hard or leaps from excitement or strong feeling. — Often considered trite. •/When Paul saw the bear standing in front of him, his heart skipped a beat./ 2. To be startled or excited from surprise, joy. or fright. •/When Linda was told that she had won, her heart missed a beat./

[heart stand still]{v. phr.} To be very frightened or worried. •/Johnny’s heart stood still when he saw his dog run into the street in front of a car./ •/Everybody’s heart stood still when the President announced that war was declared./ Compare: HAIR STAND ON END.

[heart-to-heart]{adj.} Speaking freely and seriously about something private. •/The father decided to have a heart-to-heart talk with his son about smoking./ •/She waited until they were alone so she could have a heart-to-heart talk with him./ Compare: MAN-TO-MAN.

[hearty] See: HALE AND HEARTY.

[heat] See: CANNED HEAT.

[heave in sight]{v. phr.} To seem to rise above the horizon at sea and come into sight; come into view; become visible. — Usually used of ships. •/A ship hove in sight many miles away on the horizon./

[heaven] See: MOVE HEAVEN AND EARTH, WOULD THAT or WOULD HEAVEN.

[heaven knows] or [heaven only knows] See: GOD KNOWS.

[heavenly days!]{interj.}, {informal} Exclamation of amazement and disbelief with negative coloring. •/Heavenly days! Look what happened! The dog did it again on the Persian carpet!/ Compare: GOOD GRIEF!

[heave to]{v.} To bring a ship to a stop; bring a sailing ship to a standstill by setting the sails in a certain way. •/"Heave to!" the captain shouted to his crew./ •/We fired a warning shot across the front of the pirate ship to make her heave to./

[heave up] See: THROW UP.

[heavy] See: HANG HEAVY or HANG HEAVY ON ONE’S HANDS, HOT AND HEAVY.

[heavy-duty]{adj.} Made for long or hard use; very strong. •/The lumberman used heavy-duty trucks for hauling logs down the mountains./ •/The workers in the steel mill have heavy-duty gloves for handling hot steel./ •/Mrs. Carlson bought a heavy-duty cleanser to clean her greasy oven./

[heavy-footed]{adj.} 1. Slow and clumsy in walking or movement; awkward in using your feet. •/The fat man tried to dance, but he was too heavy-footed./ •/Martha is not fat, but she is heavy-footed and walks noisily./ 2. Awkward in choice and order of words; not smooth and graceful; clumsy. •/In Mary’s compositions, the words seem to dance, but John’s compositions are always heavy-footed./ 3. or [lead-footed] {informal} Likely to drive an automobile fast. •/Jerry is a bad driver because he is too heavy-footed./ Compare: STEP ON IT.

[heavy-handed]{adj.} 1. Not skillful or graceful; clumsy. •/George is heavy-handed and seldom catches the ball./ •/My sister plays the piano badly; she is too heavy-handed./ •/Tim told a heavy-handed joke about the principal’s baldness that embarrassed everyone./ 2. Likely to hit or punish hard; harsh or cruel in making (someone) obey. •/Years ago many fathers were heavy-handed bosses in their homes./ •/Many American colonists believed that the English tax collectors were too heavy-handed./ 3. See: HAM-HANDED.

[heavy heart]{n. phr.} A feeling of being weighed down with sorrow; unhappiness. •/They had very heavy hearts as they went to the funeral./

[heck] See: RAISE THE DEVIL or RAISE HECK or RAISE HOB or RAISE NED.

[heck of it] See: DEVIL OF IT.

[hedge about] or [hedge in] 1. To surround with a hedge or barrier; protect or separate by closing in. •/The house is hedged about with hushes and trees./ •/The little garden is hedged in to keep the chickens out./ 2. To keep from getting out or moving freely; keep from acting freely; block in. •/The boys are hedged in today. They can only play in the backyard./ •/The king said he could not make new laws if he was so hedged in by old ones./ Syn.: FENCE IN.