[lend a hand] or [give a hand] also [bear a hand] {v. phr.} To give help; make yourself useful; help. •/The stage manager asked some of the boys to lend a hand with the scenery./ •/Dick saw a woman with a flat tire and offered to give her a hand with it./ Compare: LIFT A FINGER.

[lend an ear to] See: GIVE AN EAR TO.

[lend color to] See: GIVE COLOR TO.

[lend itself to]{v. phr.} To give a chance for or be useful for; to be possible or right for. •/Bob was sick and did not go to Jane’s party, but his absence lent itself to misunderstanding./ •/The teacher’s paperweight was a heavy piece of metal which sometimes lent itself to use as a hammer./ •/This poem lends itself to our program very well./ Compare: LEND ONESELF TO.

[lend oneself to]{v. phr.} To give help or approval to; encourage; assist. •/Alice wouldn’t lend herself to the plot to hide the teacher’s chalk./

[length] See: AT LENGTH, GO TO ANY LENGTH, KEEP AT A DISTANCE or KEEP AT ARM’S LENGTH.

[less] See: MORE OR LESS, MUCH LESS.

[lesson] See: TEACH A LESSON.

[less than]{adv.} Not; little. •/We were busy and less than delighted to have company that day./ •/The boys were less than happy about having a party./ Contrast: MORE THAN.

[less than no time]{n. phr.}, {informal} Very quickly. •/We can be ready to go in less than no time./ •/It took Sally less than no time to get dinner ready./

[let] See: LIVE AND LET LIVE.

[let alone]{conj. phr.} 1. Even less; certainly not. — Used after a negative clause. •/I can’t add two and two, let alone do fractions./ •/Jim can’t drive a car, let alone a truck./ Compare: MUCH LESS, NOT TO MENTION. 2. [let alone] or [leave alone] {v.} To stay away from; keep hands off; avoid. •/When Joel gets mad, just let him alone./ •/Little Patsy was warned to leave the birthday cake alone./ Compare: LET BE.

[let be]{v.} To pay no attention to; disregard; forget. •/Let her be; she has a headache./ Compare: LET ALONE.

[let bygones be bygones]{v. phr.} To let the past be forgotten. •/After a long, angry quarrel the two boys agreed to let bygones be bygones and made friends again./ •/We should let bygones be bygones and try to get along with each other./ Syn.: FORGIVE AND FORGET. Compare: BURY THE HATCHET, LIVE AND LET LIVE.

[letdown]{n.} A disappointment; a heartbreak. •/It was a major letdown for John when Mary refused to marry him./

[let down]{v. phr.} 1. To allow to descend; lower. •/Harry let the chain saw down on a rope and then climbed down himself./ 2. To relax; stop trying so hard; take it easy. •/The horse let down near the end of the race and lost./ •/The team let down in the fourth quarter because they were far ahead./ Compare: LET GO. 3. To fail to do as well as (someone) expected; disappoint. •/The team felt they had let the coach down./

[let down easy]{v. phr.} To refuse or say no to (someone) in a pleasant manner; to tell bad news about a refusal or disappointment in a kindly way. •/The teacher had to tell George that he had failed his college examinations, but she tried to let him down easy./ •/The boss tried to let Jim down easy when he had to tell him he was too young for the job./

[let down one’s hair] See: LET ONE’S HAIR DOWN.

[let drop]{v. phr.} 1. To cease to talk about; set aside; forget. •/This is such an unpleasant subject that I suggest we let it drop for a few days./ 2. To disclose; hint. •/He unexpectedly let drop that he was resigning and joining another firm./

[let fall] See: LET DROP.

[let George do it]{v. phr.}, {informal} To expect someone else to do the work or take the responsibility. •/Many people expect to let George do it when they are on a committee./ Compare: PASS THE BUCK.

[let go]{v.} 1a. To stop holding something; loosen your hold; release. •/The boy grabbed Jack’s coat and would not let go./ — Often used with "of". •/When the child let go of her mother’s hand, she fell down./ Compare: GIVE UP(1a), LET LOOSE. 1b. To weaken and break under pressure. •/The old water pipe suddenly let go and water poured out of it./ Syn.: GIVE WAY. Contrast: HOLD ON TO. 2. To pay no attention to; neglect. •/Robert let his teeth go when he was young and now he has to go to the dentist often./ •/After she was married, Jane let herself go and was not pretty anymore. / 3. To allow something to pass; do nothing about. •/When Charles was tardy, the teacher scolded him and let it go at that./ •/The children teased Frank, but he smiled and let it go./ Compare: LET OFF(2), LET RIDE. 4. To discharge from a job; fire. •/Mr. Wilson got into a quarrel with his boss and was let go./ 5. To make (something) go out quickly; shoot; fire. •/The soldiers let go a number of shots./ •/Robin Hood let go an arrow at the deer./ •/Paul was so angry that he let go a blow at the boy./ •/The truck driver saw the flat tire and let go a loud curse./ •/The pitcher let go a fast ball and the batter swung and missed./ Compare: CUT LOOSE, LET OUT. 6. or [let oneself go] {informal} To be free in one’s actions or talk; relax. •/Judge Brown let go at the reunion of his old class and had a good time./ •/The cowboys worked hard all week, but on Saturday night they went to town and let themselves go./ Syn.: CUT LOOSE, LET LOOSE(3), LET OFF STEAM(2).

[let go hang] See: GO HANG.

[let go of]{v. phr.} To release one’s grasp. •/As soon as Sally let go of the leash, her dog ran away./

[let go of one’s mother’s apron strings] See: TIED TO ONE’S MOTHER’S APRON STRINGS.

[let grass grow under one’s feet]{v. phr.} To be idle; be lazy; waste time. — Used in negative, conditional, and interrogative sentences. •/The new boy joined the football team, made the honor roll, and found a girlfriend during the first month of school. He certainly did not let any grass grow under his feet./

[let it all hang out]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {informal} Not to disguise anything; to let the truth be known. •/Sue can’t deceive anyone; she just lets it all hang out./

[let it lay]{v. phr.}, {used imperatively}, {slang} Forget it; leave it alone; do not be concerned or involved. •/Don’t get involved with Max again — just let it lay./

[let it rip]{v. phr.}, {used imperatively}, {slang} Don’t be concerned; pay no attention to what happens. •/Why get involved? Forget about it and let it rip./ 2. (Imperatively) Do become involved and make the most of it; get in there and really try to win. •/Come on man, give it all you’ve got and let it rip!/

[let know]{v. phr.} To inform. •/Please let us know the time of your arrival./

[let loose]{v.} 1a. or [set loose] or [turn loose] To set free; loosen or give up your hold on. •/The farmer opened the gate and let the bull loose in the pasture./ •/They turned the balloon loose to let it rise in the air./ 1b. or [turn loose] To give freedom (to someone) to do something; to allow (someone) to do what he wants. •/Mother let Jim loose on the apple pie./ •/The children were turned loose in the toy store to pick the toys they wanted./ 1c. To stop holding something; loosen your hold. •/Jim caught Ruth’s arm and would not let loose./ Compare: LET GO, LET OUT. 2a. {informal} To let or make (something) move fast or hard; release. •/The fielder let loose a long throw to home plate after catching the ball./ 2b. {informal} To release something held. •/Those dark clouds are going to let loose any minute./ Syn.: CUT LOOSE, LET GO. 3. {informal} To speak or act freely; disregard ordinary limits. •/The teacher told Jim that some day she was going to let loose and tell him what she thought of him./ •/Mother let loose on her shopping trip today and bought things for all of us./ Syn.: CUT LOOSE, LET GO.