[hold one’s tongue]{v. phr.} To be silent; keep still; not talk. — May be considered rude. •/The teacher told Fred to hold his tongue./ •/If people would hold their tongues from unkind speech, fewer people would be hurt/

[hold on to]{v. phr.} 1a. or [hold to] To continue to hold or keep; hold tightly. •/When Jane played horse with her father, she held on to him tightly./ •/The teacher said that if we believed something was true and good we should hold on to it./ •/The old man held on to his job stubbornly and would not retire./ 1b. To stay in control of. •/Ann was so frightened that she had to hold on to herself not to scream./ Contrast: LET GO. 2. To continue to sing or sound. •/The singer held on to the last note of the song for a long time./

[hold on to your hat] See: HANG ON TO YOUR HAT.

[holdout]{n.} A rebel who refuses to go with the majority. •/Sam was a lone holdout in town; he refused to sell his old lakefront cottage to make place for a skyscraper./

[hold out]{v. phr.} 1. To put forward; reach out; extend; offer. •/Mr. Ryan held out his hand in welcome./ •/The clerk held out a dress for Martha to try on./ •/The Company held out many fine promises to Jack in order to get him to work for them./ 2. To keep resisting; not yield; refuse to give up. •/The city held out for six months under siege./ Compare: HANG ON, HOLD ON. 3. To refuse to agree or settle until one’s wishes have been agreed to. •/The strikers held out for a raise of five cents an hour./ 4. {slang} To keep something from; refuse information or belongings to which someone has a right. •/Mr. Porters partner held out on him when the big payment came in./ •/Mother gave Bobby cookies for all the children in the yard, but he held out on them and ate the cookies himself./ •/John knew that the family would go to the beach Saturday, but he held out on his brother./

[hold out an olive branch] See: BURY THE HATCHET.

[holdover]{n.} 1. A successful movie or theater production that plays longer than originally planned. •/Because of its great popularity. Star Wars was a holdover in most movie theaters./ 2. A reservation not used at the lime intended, but used later. •/They kept my seat at the opera as a holdover because I am a patron./

[hold over]{v.} 1. To remain or keep in office past the end of the term. •/The city treasurer held over for six months when the new treasurer died suddenly./ •/The new President held the members of the Cabinet over for some time before appointing new members./ 2. To extend the engagement of; keep longer. •/The theater held over the feature film for another two weeks./ 3. To delay action on; to postpone: to defer. •/The directors held over their decision until they could get more information./

[hold still]{v. phr.} To remain motionless. •/"Hold still," the dentist said. "This won’t hurt you at all."/

[hold the bag]{v. phr.} To be made liable for or victimized. •/We went out to dinner together but when it was time to pay I was left holding the bag./

[hold the fort]{v. phr.} 1. To defend a fort successfully; fight off attackers. •/The little group held the fort for days until help came./ 2. {informal} To keep a position against opposing forces. •/Friends of civil liberties held the fort during a long debate./ 3. {informal} to keep service or operations going •/It was Christmas Eve, and a few workers held the fort in the office./ •/Mother and Father went out and told the children to hold the fort./

[hold the line]{v. phr.} To keep a situation or trouble from getting worse; hold steady; prevent a setback or loss. •/The mayor held the line on taxes./ •/The company held the line on employment./

[hold the stage][v. phr.] 1. To continue to be produced and to attract audiences. •/"Peter Pan" holds the stage year after year at its annual Christmas showing in London./ 2. To be active in a group; attract attention. •/We had only an hour to discuss the question and Mr. Jones held the stage for most of it./ •/Jane likes to hold the stage at any party or meeting, so she does and says anything./

[hold to] See: HOLD ON TO.

[hold true] or [hold good] {v. phr.} To remain true. •/It has always held true that man cannot live without laws./ •/Bob is a good boy and that holds true of Jim./

[holdup]{n.} 1. Robbery. •/John fell victim to a highway holdup./ 2. A delay, as on a crowded highway. •/Boy we’re late! What’s causing this holdup?/

[hold up]{v.} 1. To raise; lift. •/John held up his hand./ 2. To support; hear; carry. •/The chair was too weak to hold up Mrs. Smith./ 3. To show; call attention to; exhibit. •/The teacher held up excellent models of composition for her class to imitate./ 4. To check; stop; delay. •/The wreck held up traffic on the railroad’s main line tracks./ 5. {informal} To rob at gunpoint. •/Masked men held up the bank./ 6. To keep one’s courage or spirits up; remain calm; keep control of oneself. •/The grieving mother held up for her children’s sake./ 7. To remain good; not get worse. •/Sales held up well./ •/Our team’s luck held up and they won the game./ •/The weather held up and the game was played./ 8. To prove true. •/The police were doubtful at first, but Tony’s story held up./ 9. To delay action; defer; postpone. Often used with "on". •/The college held up on plans for the building until more money came in./ •/The President held up on the news until he was sure of it./

[hold up one’s end] See: HOLD ONE’S END UP.

[hold water]{v. phr.} 1. To keep water without leaking. •/That pail still holds water./ 2. {informal} To prove true; stand testing; bear examination. — Usually used in negative, interrogative, or conditional sentences. •/Ernest told the police a story that wouldn’t hold water./

[hold your hat] See: HANG ON TO YOUR HAT.

[hole] See: ACE IN THE HOLE, BURN A HOLE IN ONE’S POCKET, IN A HOLE or IN A SPOT, IN THE HOLE, OUT OF THE HOLE, SQUARE PEG IN A ROUND HOLE.

[hole in] See: HOLE UP.

[hole in one]{n. phr.} A shot in golf that is hit from the tee and goes right into the cup. •/Many golfers play for years before they get a hole in one./

[hole-in-the-wall]{n. phr.} A small place to live, stay in, or work in; a small, hidden, or inferior place. •/The jewelry store occupied a tiny hole-in-the-wall./ •/When Mr. and Mrs. Green were first married, they lived in a little hole-in-fhe-wall in a cheap apartment building./ 2. {slang}, {citizen’s band radio jargon}. A tunnel. •/Let’s get through this hole in the wall, then we’ll change seats./

[hole out]{v.} To finish play in golf by hitting the ball into the cup. •/The other players waited for Palmer to hole out before they putted./

[hole up] also [hole in] {v.}, {slang} To take refuge or shelter; put up; lodge. •/After a day’s motoring, Harry found a room for rent and holed up for the night./ •/The thief holed up at an abandoned farm./ •/"Let’s hole in," said Father as we came to a motel that looked good./

[holiday] See: HALF-HOLIDAY.

[holier-than-thou]{adj.} Acting as if you are better than others in goodness, character, or reverence for God; acting as if morally better than other people. •/Most people find holier-than-thou actions in others hard to accept./ •/After Mr. Howard stopped smoking, he had a holier-than-thou manner toward his friends who still smoked./