[learn] See: LIVE AND LEARN.

[learn by heart] See: BY HEART.

[learn by rote]{v. phr.} To blindly memorize what was taught without thinking about it. •/If you learn a subject by rote, it will be difficult to say anything original about it./

[learn one’s way around] See: KNOW ONE’S WAY AROUND.

[learn the hard way] See: HARD WAY.

[learn the ropes] See: THE ROPES.

[least] See: AT LEAST, IN THE LEAST, LAST BUT NOT LEAST, LINE OF LEAST RESISTANCE.

[leatherneck]{n.}, {slang}, {informal} A member of the United States Marine Corps. •/I didn’t know your son Joe became a leatherneck./

[leave] See: SHORE LEAVE, TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT, TAKE LEAVE OF, TAKE ONE’S LEAVE.

[leave a bad taste in one’s mouth]{v. phr.} To feel a bad impression; make you feel disgusted. •/Seeing a man beat his horse leaves a bad taste in your mouth./ •/His rudeness to the teacher left a bad taste in my mouth./

[leave alone] See: LET ALONE.

[leave at the altar]{v. phr.} 1. To decide not to marry someone in the last minute; jilt. •/Ed left poor Susan at the altar./ 2. To overlook and skip for promotion; not fulfill deserved expectation. •/Once again I didn’t get my promotion and was left at the altar./

[leave behind]{v. phr.} 1. Abandon. •/Refugees on the run must sometimes leave old and sick people behind./ 2. To forget; go away without. •/We had reached our car when we noticed that we had left our keys behind./

[leave flat]{v. phr.}, {informal} To quit or leave suddenly without warning when wanted or needed; desert; forsake; abandon. •/Sam found that being a member of the trail-clearing group was a lot of hard work, so he left them flat./ •/My car ran out of gas and left me flat, ten miles from town./ Compare: LEAVE IN THE LURCH, WALK OUT(2).

[leave hanging] or [leave hanging in the air] {v. phr.} To leave undecided or unsettled. •/Because the committee could not decide on a time and place, the matter of the spring dance was left hanging./ •/Ted’s mother didn’t know what to do about the broken window, so his punishment was left hanging in the air until his father came home./ Compare: UP IN THE AIR.

[leave high and dry] See: HIGH AND DRY.

[leave holding the bag] or [leave holding the sack] {v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To cause (someone) not to have something needed; leave without anything, •/In the rush for seats, Joe was left holding the bag./ 2. To force (someone) to take the whole responsibility or blame for something that others should share. •/When the ball hit the glass, the team scattered and left George holding the bag./ •/After the party, the other girls on the clean-up committee went away with their dates, and left Mary holding the bag./

[leave in the lurch]{v. phr.} To desert or leave alone in trouble; refuse to help or support. •/The town bully caught Eddie, and Tom left him in the lurch./ •/Bill quit his job, leaving his boss in the lurch./ Compare: LEAVE FLAT, HIGH AND DRY(2), WALK OUT(2).

[leave it at that]{v. phr.} To avoid further and more acrimonious disagreement; not argue or discuss any further. •/Our opinion on health care is obviously different, so let’s just leave it at that./

[leave no stone unturned]{v. phr.} To try in every way; miss no chance; do everything possible. — Usually used in the negative. •/The police will leave no stone unturned in their search for the bank robbers./ Compare: ALL OUT, BEND HEAVEN AND EARTH, FINE-TOOTH COMB.

[leave off]{v.} To come or put to an end; stop. •/There is a high fence where the school yard leaves off and the woods begin./ •/Don told the boys to leave off teasing his little brother./ •/Marion put a marker in her book so that she would know where she left off./ Contrast: TAKE UP.

[leave one’s mark]{v. phr.} To leave an impression upon; influence someone. •/Tolstoy never won the Nobel Prize, but he left his mark on world literature./ See: MAKE ONE’S MARK.

[leave open]{v. phr.} To remain temporarily unsettled; subject to further discussion. •/Brad said that the question of health insurance would be left open until some future date./

[leave out]{v. phr.} To skip; omit. •/The printer accidentally left out two paragraphs from Alan’s novel./

[leave out in the cold] See: OUT IN THE COLD.

[leave out of account]{v. phr.} To fail to consider; forget about. •/The picnic planners left out of account that it might rain./ Contrast: TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.

[leave-taking] See: TAKE ONE’S LEAVE.

[leave the matter open] See: LEAVE OPEN.

[leave well enough alone] See: LET WELL ENOUGH ALONE.

[leave without a leg to stand on] See: LEG TO STAND ON.

[leave word with]{v. phr.} To leave a message. •/Hank left word with his secretary where he could be reached by phone while he was away from his office./

[left] See: OUT IN LEFT FIELD, RIGHT AND LEFT.

[left field]{n.} 1. The part of a baseball out-field to the batter’s left. •/Right-handed batters usually hit to left field./ Compare: CENTER FIELD, RIGHT FIELD. 2. See: OUT IN LEFT FIELD. — [left fielder] {n.} The player in baseball who plays in left field. •/The scoreboard in the ball park is on the fence behind the left fielder./

[left-handed]{adj.}, {informal} 1. Using the left hand habitually. 2. Crooked; phoney; homosexual. •/Morris is such a left-handed guy./ 3. Clumsy; untoward; awkward. •/Grab that hammer and stop acting so left-handed./

[left-handed compliment] An ambiguous compliment which is interpretable as an offense. •/I didn’t know you could look so pretty! Is that a wig you’re wearing?/

[left-wing]{adj.} That which is or belongs to a group of people in politics that favors radical change in the direction of socialism or communism. •/The left-wing faction called for an immediate strike./

[leg] See: ON ONE’S LAST LEGS, PULL ONE’S LEG, SHAKE A LEG, TAIL BETWEEN ONE’S LEGS.

[legal age] or [lawful age] The age at which a person is allowed to do a certain thing or is held responsible for an action. •/In most states the legal age for voting is 27./ •/He could not get a driver’s license because he was not of lawful age./

[leg man]{n.}, {informal} 1. An errand boy; one who performs messenger services, or the like. •/Joe hired a leg man for the office./ 2. {slang}, {semi-vulgar}, {avoidable} A man who is particularly attracted to good looking female legs and pays less attention to other parts of the female anatomy. •/Herb is a leg man./

[leg-pulling] See: PULL ONE’S LEG.

[Legree] See: SIMON LEGREE.

[leg to stand on]{n. phr.} A firm foundation of facts; facts to support your claim. — Usually used in the negative. •/Jerry’s answering speech left his opponent without a leg to stand on./ •/Amos sued for damages, but did not have a leg to stand on./

[leg work]{n.}, {informal} The physical end of a project, such as the typing of research reports; the physical investigating of a criminal affair; the carrying of books to and from libraries; etc. •/Joe, my research assistant, does a lot of leg work for me./

[leisure] See: AT LEISURE or AT ONE’S LEISURE.