[live wire]{n. phr.} 1. An electrically charged wire, usually uninsulated. •/The electrician was severely burned by the live wire./ 2. An alert or energetic person. •/To sell the new merchandise, our company needs several salespeople who are live wires./

[living daylights] See: BEAT THE --- OUT OF, KNOCK THE --- OUT OF.

[living end]{adj.}, {slang} Great; fantastic; the ultimate. •/That show we saw last night was the living end./

[load] See: GET A LOAD OF.

[loaded for bear]{adj. phr.}, {slang} Ready for action; prepared and eager. •/Frank liked the new merchandise and as he set out on his rounds as a salesman, he felt really loaded for bear./ •/The football team arrived Friday noon, loaded for bear./

[load the bases] or [fill the bases] {v. phr.} To get men on all three bases in baseball. •/The Mets loaded the bases with two singles and a base on balls./ •/Don hit a home run with the bases loaded./

[loaf] See: HALF A LOAF IS BETTER THAN NONE or HALF A LOAF IS BETTER THAN NO BREAD.

[loan shark]{n. phr.} A money lender who charges excessive interest. •/Why go to a loan shark when you can borrow from the bank at the legal rate?/

[local yokel]{n.}, {slang}, {citizen’s hand radio jargon} City police officer, as opposed to state police or highway patrol. •/There’s a local yokel westbound on the move./

[lock] See: SCALP LOCK.

[lock, stock, and barrel]{n. phr.} Everything; completely. •/The robbers emptied the whole house — lock, stock, and barrel./ Compare: HOOK, LINE, AND SINKER.

[lock the barn door after the horse is stolen] To be careful or try to make something safe when it is too late. — A proverb. •/After Mary failed the examination, she said she would study hard after that. She wanted to lock the barn door after the horse was stolen./

[lock up]{v. phr.}, {slang} To be assured of success. •/How did your math test go? — I locked it up, I think./

[lodge a complaint]{v. phr.} To make a complaint; complain. •/If our neighbors don’t stop this constant noise, I will have to lodge a complaint with the management./

[loggerhead] See: AT LOGGERHEADS.

[loin] See: GIRD UP ONE’S LOINS.

[lone wolf]{n.} A man who likes to work or live alone. •/The man who paints a picture or establishes a business is often a lone wolf; so is the criminal outlaw./ •/Jones is a good pitcher, but he is a lone wolf./

[long] See: AT LAST or AT LONG LAST, BEFORE LONG, COME A LONG WAY, IN THE LONG RUN, NO LONGER, SO LONG, THE LONG AND THE SHORT.

[long and short of it]{n. phr.} The essence; the whole story in a nutshell. •/The long and short of it is that he is lazy and doesn’t really want to find a job./

[long ball]{n.} A baseball hit far enough to be a home run. •/The White Sox need a player who can hit the long ball./

[long face]{n.} A sad look; disappointed look. •/He told the story with a long face./ — Often used in the phrase "pull a long face". •/Don’t pull a long face when I tell you to go to bed./

[longhair(1)] 1. {n.}, {slang} A male hippie. •/Who’s that longhair? — It’s Joe./ 2. An intellectual who prefers classical music to jazz or acid rock. •/Catwallender is a regular longhair; he never listens to modern jazz./

[longhair(2)]{adj.}, {slang} Pertaining to classical art forms, primarily in dancing and music. •/Cut out that longhair Mozart Symphony and put on a decent pop record!/

[long haul] or [long pull] {n.}, {informal} 1. A long distance or trip. •/It is a long haul to drive across the country./ Contrast SHORT HAUL. 2. A long length of time during which work continues or something is done; a long time of trying. •/A boy crippled by polio may learn to walk again, but it may be a long haul./ — Often used in the phrase "over the long haul". •/Over the long haul, an expensive pair of shoes may save you money./ Contrast: SHORT HAUL.

[long pull] See: LONG HAUL. [long shot] {n.} 1. A bet or other risk taken though not likely to succeed. •/The horse was a long shot, but it came in and paid well./ •/Jones was a long shot for mayor./ •/The business long shot that succeeds often pays extremely well./ 2. See: BY A LONG SHOT.

[long-winded]{adj.} Tedious; overlong; given to too much talking. •/Everyone was bored by the old man’s long-winded stories./

[look] See: DIRTY LOOK.

[look after] also [see after] {v.} To watch over; attend to. •/John’s mother told him to look after his younger brother./ •/When he went to Europe, Mr. Jenkins left his son to see after the business./ Syn.: TAKE CARE OF(1). Compare: LOOK OUT(3).

[look a gift horse in the mouth] To complain if a gift is not perfect. — A proverb. Usually used with a negative. •/John gave Joe a baseball but Joe complained that the ball was old. His father told him not to look a gift horse in the mouth./

[look alive]{v.} Act lively; be quick; wake up and work; be busy; hurry. — Often used as a command. •/"Look alive there," the boss called./

[look as if butter wouldn’t melt in one’s mouth] See: BUTTER WOULDN’T MELT IN ONE’S MOUTH.

[look as if one has come out of a bandbox]{v. phr.}, {informal} To look very clean and fresh; look as if you had just had a bath and put on all-new clothing. •/In spite of the long, hot train ride, Jody arrived looking as if she had come out of a bandbox./ •/After a day at the rodeo we were all dusty and tired except for Hope, who looked as if she’d come out of a bandbox./

[look at]{v.} To have a way of thinking or feeling toward; think about something in a certain way. •/Is he a hero or a villain? That depends on how you look at it./ •/Depending on how you looked at it, the tea party could be called a pleasure or a bore./

[look at the world through rose-colored glasses] or [see with rose-colored glasses] {v. phr.} To see everything as good and pleasant; not see anything hard or bad. •/When Jean graduated from high school, she looked at the world through rose-colored glasses./ •/If you see everything through rose-colored glasses, you will often be disappointed./

[look back]{v.} To review the past; think of what has happened. •/As John looked back, his life seemed good to him./ •/Murphy looked back on his early struggles as having made him feel especially alive./ •/When Ed applied for a job and asked the school to recommend him, the principal looked back over his records./

[look bleak]{v.} To indicate misfortune; appear threatening or ruinous. •/As prices dropped lower and lower, things looked bleak for Henry’s company./ •/Many witnesses gave testimony against Jerry and his case looked bleak./ •/The future looked bleak when Father got hurt and could not work./

[look daggers]{v. phr.} To show anger with a look; express hate or enmity by a look or stare; look fiercely. •/The other driver looked daggers at Morris for turning in before him./ •/Mary did not dare talk back to her father, but she looked daggers./

[look down on] also [look down upon] {v.} To think of (a person or thing) as less good or important; feel that (someone) is not as good as you are, or that (something) is not worth having or doing; consider inferior. •/Mary looked down on her classmates because she was better dressed than they were./ •/Jack looked down on Al for his poor manners./ •/Miss Tracy likes tennis but she looks down on football as too rough./