[outside of]{prep.} 1. Not in; outside. •/I would not want to meet a lion outside of a zoo./ Contrast: INSIDE OF. 2. Except for; not including. •/Outside of Johnny, all the boys on the basketball team are over six feet tall./ •/Mrs. Cox had no jewelry outside of her wedding ring./ Syn.: APART FROM.

[out to lunch]{adj.}, {slang}, {informal} 1. Gone for the midday meal. 2. Inattentive; daydreaming; inefficient; stupid. •/Neil Bender is just out to lunch today./

[overall]{adj.} All inclusive; comprehensive. •/What our department needs is an overall revamping of our undergraduate curriculum./

[over a barrel] also [over the barrel] {adv. phr.}, {informal} In the power of your enemies; not able to do anything about what happens to you; in a helpless condition; trapped. •/Bill had Tom over a barrel because Tom owed him money./ •/Ralph has me over a barrel; I need five dollars, and he won’t lend it to me unless I let him use my bicycle./ Compare: ON THE ROPES.

[over age]{adj. phr.} Too old; not young enough; above the legal age. •/Grandfather wanted to fight in World War II, but he could not because he was over age./ Contrast: UNDER AGE.

[over and done with]{adj. phr.} Finished; completed; forgotten. •/Norm and Meg’s affair has been over and done with for a long time./

[overboard] See: GO OFF THE DEEP END or GO OVERBOARD.

[overhead]{n.} Expenses incurred in the upkeep of one’s plant and premises, employees' salaries, etc., which are not due to the cost of individual items or products. •/"Our overhead is killing us!" the used car lot owner complained. "We have to move to a cheaper place."/

[overnight]{adj.} 1. From one evening until the next morning. •/We could drive from Chicago to Detroit in one day, but it would be more comfortable if we stayed overnight in a motel./ 2. Rapidly. •/When Tom won the lottery he became a rich man overnight./

[over one’s dead body]{adv. phr.}, {informal} Not having the ability to stop something undesirable from taking place. •/"You will get married at age sixteen over my dead body!" Jane’s father cried./

[over one’s head]{adv.} or {adj. phr.} 1. Not understandable; beyond your ability to understand; too hard or strange for you to understand. •/Mary laughed just to be polite, but the joke was really over her head./ •/The lesson today was hard; it went over my head./ Compare: BEYOND ONE’S DEPTH. 2. To a more important person in charge; to a higher official. •/When Mary’s supervisor said no, Mary went over her head to the person in charge of the whole department./ •/If Johnny can’t get what he wants from his big sister, he goes over her head and asks his mother./ 3. See: HANG OVER ONE’S HEAD.

[over spilled milk] See: CRY OVER SPILLED MILK.

[over the coals] See: HAUL OVER THE COALS or RAKE OVER THE COALS.

[over the hill]{adj.}, {informal} Past one’s prime; unable to function as one used to; senile. •/Poor Mr. Jones is sure not like he used to be; well, he’s over the hill./

[over the hump]{adj. phr.}, {informal} Past the most difficult part; past the crisis; out of danger. •/Mary was failing math, but she is over the hump now./ •/John was very sick after his accident, hut he’s over the hump./ •/When Mr. Smith was out of work it looked as if his family would have to go on relief, but they got over the hump./

[over the long haul] See: IN THE LONG RUN. Contrast: OVER THE SHORT HAUL.

[over the short haul] See: IN THE SHORT RUN. Contrast: OVER THE LONG HAUL.

[over the top]{adv. phr.} 1. Out of the trenches and against the enemy. •/The plan was to spend the night in the trenches and go over the top at dawn./ •/Johnny found that he was braver than he thought he would be when his company went over the top./ 2. Over the goal. •/Our goal was to collect a half million dollars for the new school building, but we went over the top./ •/Mary was asked to sell twenty tickets, and she went over the top./

[over the traces] See: KICK OVER THE TRACES.

[over with(1)]{prep.} At the end of; finished with; through with. •/They were over with the meeting by ten o’clock./ •/By Saturday Mary will be over with the measles./

[over with(2)]{adj.}, {informal} At an end; finished. •/John knew his mother would scold him for losing the money, and he wanted to get it over with./ •/After the hard test, Jerry said, "I’m glad that’s over with!"/

[own] See: COME INTO ONE’S OWN, DOSE OF ONE’S OWN MEDICINE, HOLD ONE’S OWN, IN A WORLD OF ONE’S OWN, KEEP ONE’S OWN COUNSEL, OF ONE’S OWN ACCORD or OF ONE’S OWN FREE WILL, ON ONE’S OWN ACCOUNT or ON ONE’S OWN HOOK, ON ONE’S OWN TIME, SIGN ONE’S OWN DEATH WARRANT, TAKE THE LAW INTO ONE’S OWN HANDS, UNDER ONE’S OWN STEAM.

[own up]{v.}, {informal} To take the blame; admit your guilt; confess. •/When Mr. Jones asked who broke the window, Johnny owned up./ •/Mary owned up to having borrowed her sister’s sweater./ •/When Mother saw that someone had broken the vase, Billy owned up to it./ See: COME CLEAN.

[oyster] See: WORLD IS ONE’S OYSTER.

[p] See: MIND ONE’S P’S AND Q’S.

[pace] See: CHANGE OF PACE, KEEP PACE, PUT THROUGH ONE’S PACES, SNAIL’S PACE.

[pace off] See: STEP OFF(2).

[pace-setter], [pace-setting] See: SET THE PACE.

[pack a punch] or [pack a wallop] {v. phr.}, {slang} 1. To be able to give a powerful blow; have a dangerous fist. •/He packed a mean punch./ 2. To have a violent effect; be powerful. •/It was vodka, and it packed quite a wallop./

[pack off]{v.}, {informal} To send away; dismiss abruptly. •/When an Englishman got in trouble long ago, his family would pack him off to Australia or some other distant land./ •/Jane couldn’t really get started on her homework until she had packed the children off to school./

[pack rat]{n.}, {informal} A person who cannot part with old, useless objects; an avid collector of useless things; a junk hoarder. •/"Why are there so many things in this room?" John asked. "It is my brother’s room, and he is a pack rat; he is unable to throw stuff away."/

[packed (in) like sardines]{adj. phr.} So tightly crowded that there is hardly room to turn. •/The trains are so full during rush hour that we must go to work packed in like sardines./

[pack of lies]{n. phr.} An unbelievable story; unprovable allegations. •/What Al told us about his new girlfriend was nothing but a pack of lies./

[pack one’s bag]{v. phr.} To leave a place out of anger, annoyance, or disagreement. •/"This place is beginning to irritate me," she said to her friend. "I want to pack my bags and get out of here."/

[pack up]{v. phr.} To pack one’s suitcase for traveling; prepare a package. •/Without saying a single word, the unhappy husband packed up and left./

[paddle] See: UP THE CREEK or UP THE CREEK WITHOUT A PADDLE.

[paddle one’s own canoe]{v. phr.}, {informal} To work without help; earn your own living; support yourself. •/After his father died, John had to paddle his own canoe./ Syn.: HOE ONE’S OWN ROW. Compare: MAKE ONE’S WAY.