[put (it) in black and white] See: BLACK AND WHITE.

[put (it) in writing] See: BLACK AND WHITE.

[put it on thick] See: LAY IT ON.

[put off]{v.} 1. {informal} To cause confusion in; embarrass; displease. •/I was rather put off by the shamelessness of his proposal./ •/The man’s slovenliness put me off./ 2. To wait and have (something) at a later time; postpone. •/They put off the picnic because of the rain./ 3. To make (someone) wait; turn aside. •/When he asked her to name a day for their wedding, she put him off./ •/When the bill collector called, Mrs. Smith managed to put him off./ 4. To draw away the attention; turn aside; distract. •/Little Jeannie began to tell the guests some family secrets, but Father was able to put her off./ 5. To move out to sea; leave shore. •/They put off in small boats to meet the coming ship./ Syn.: PUT OUT.

[put on]{v. phr.} 1. To dress in. •/The boy took off his clothes and put on his pajamas./ •/Mother put a coat on the baby./ 2a. To pretend; assume; show. •/Mary isn’t really sick; she’s only putting on./ •/He put on a smile./ •/The child was putting on airs./ 2b. To exaggerate; make too much of. •/That’s rather putting it on./ Compare: LAY IT ON. 3. To begin to have more (body weight); gain (weight). •/Mary was thin from sickness, and the doctor said she must put on ten pounds./ •/Too many sweets and not enough exercise will make you put on weight./ 4a. To plan and prepare; produce; arrange; give; stage. •/The senior class put on a dance./ •/The actor put on a fine performance./ 4b. To make (an effort). •/The runner put on an extra burst of speed and won the race./ 5. To choose to send; employ on a job. •/The school put on extra men to get the new building ready./

[put-on]{n.} An act of teasing; the playing of a practical joke on someone. •/Eric didn’t realize that it was a put-on when his friends phoned him that he won the lottery./

[put on airs]{v. phr.} To show conceit; act in a superior or condescending manner. •/The fact that her parents own a villa in Capri is no reason for Amanda to keep putting on airs./

[put on an act]{v. phr.} 1. To perform a play. •/The seventh grade put on a lovely act for Christmas for the parents./ 2. To pretend. •/"If you always put on an act," her father said, "people will never know who you really are."/

[put on ice] See: ON ICE(2).

[put one in one’s place] See: CUT DOWN TO SIZE.

[put one in the picture]{v. phr.} To inform someone of all the facts about a given situation. •/Once you’re back from your overseas trip, we’ll put you in the picture about recent developments at home./

[put one on a pedestal]{v. phr.} To exaggeratedly worship or admire a person. •/Daniel puts Elaine on a pedestal and caters to her every whim./

[put one on one’s feet] See: ON ONE’S FEET(2).

[put one out of the way] See: OUT OF THE WAY(3).

[put one through one’s paces]{v. phr.} To train and discipline someone; test one’s abilities. •/The new recruits were certainly put through their paces by the drill sergeant./

[put one wise]{v. phr.} To bring one up-to-date; inform someone; explain. •/Our old friend David put us wise as to where the best used cars could be found in Chicago./

[put one’s back to it]{v. phr.} To make a real effort; to try. •/You can finish the job by noon if you put your back to it./ •/I’m sure you can make the football team if you put your back to it./

[put one’s best foot forward]{v. phr.}, {informal} To try to make a good impression; try to make a good appearance; do one’s best. •/During courtship, it is natural to put your best foot forward./ •/When Ted applied for the job he put his best foot forward./

[put one’s cards on the table] See: LAY ONE’S CARDS ON THE TABLE.

[put oneself in another’s place] or [put oneself in another’s shoes] {v. phr.} To understand another person’s feeling imaginatively; try to know his feelings and reasons with understanding; enter into his trouble. •/It seemed like a dreadful thing for Bob to do, but I tried to put myself in his place./ •/If you will put yourself in the customer’s shoes you may realize why the thing isn’t selling./

[put one’s finger on] also [lay one’s finger on] {v. phr.} To find exactly. •/The engineers couldn’t put their fingers on the reason for the rocket’s failure to orbit./ •/We called in an electrician hoping he could put a finger on the cause of the short circuit./

[put one’s foot down]{v. phr.}, {informal} To take a decided stand; be stubborn in decision. •/John didn’t want to practice his piano lesson, but his teacher put his foot down./ •/When it came to smoking pot at parties, our parents put their foot down./

[put one’s foot in it] or [put one’s foot in one’s mouth] {v. phr.}, {informal} To speak carelessly and rudely; hurt another’s feelings without intending to; make a rude mistake. •/He put his foot in it with his remark about self-made men because Jones was one of them./ •/She put her foot in her mouth with her joke about that church, not knowing that one of the guests belonged to it./

[put one’s hand on] See: LAY ONE’S HANDS ON(3).

[put one’s hand to] or [set one’s hand to] or [turn one’s hand to] {v. phr.} To start working at; try to do. •/Hal does a good job at everything mat he turns his hand to./ •/After Mr. Sullivan found farming unprofitable, he moved to town and turned his hand to carpentry./

[put one’s hand to the plow] or [set one’s hand to the plow] {v. phr.} To start doing something of importance; give yourself to a big job. •/We felt that he had put his hand to the plow, and we didn’t like it when he quit./

[put one’s head in the sand] See: HIDE ONE’S HEAD IN THE SAND.

[put one’s heart on one’s sleeve] See: HEART ON ONE’S SLEEVE.

[put one’s money on a scratched horse]{v. phr.}, {informal} To bet on a certain failure; to gamble without a chance of winning. •/You bet on the New York Mets to win the World Series? Why put your money on a scratched horse?/ Compare: STACK THE CARDS.

[put one’s nose out of joint]{v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To make you jealous; leave you out of favor. •/When Jane accepted Tom’s invitation it put Jack’s nose out of joint./ 2. To ruin your plans; cause you disappointment. •/Joe’s mother put his nose out of joint by not letting him go to the movie./

[put one’s house in order] or [set one’s house in order] {v. phr.} To arrange your affairs in good order. •/Grandfather knew he would not live long and set his house in order./ •/When Mr. Black died, his lawyer helped the widow put her house in order./

[put one’s shoulder to the wheel]{v. phr.} To make a great effort yourself or with others; try hard; cooperate. •/The effort to get a new high school succeeded because everyone put his shoulder to the wheel./ •/The company was failing in business until a new manager put his shoulder to the wheel./

[put on one’s thinking cap]{v. phr.} To think hard and long about some problem or question. •/Miss Stone told her pupils to put on their thinking caps before answering the question./

[put on paper] See: BLACK AND WHITE.