[clerk] See: ROOM CLERK or DESK CLERK.

[cliffdweller]{n.}, {slang}, {informal} A city person who lives on a very high floor in an apartment building. •/Joe and Nancy have become cliffdwellers — they moved up to the 30th floor./

[clifihanger]{n.}, {informal} A sports event or a movie in which the outcome is uncertain to the very end keeping the spectators in great suspense and excitement. •/Did you see "The Fugitive"? It’s a regular cliffhanger./

[climb] See: SOCIAL CLIMBER.

[climb on the bandwagon] See: ON THE BANDWAGON.

[climb the wall]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {informal} 1. To react to a challenging situation with too great an emotional response, frustration, tension, and anxiety. •/By the time I got the letter that I was hired, I was ready to climb the wall./ 2. To be so disinterested or bored as to be most anxious to get away at any cost. •/If the chairman doesn’t stop talking, I’ll climb the wall./

[clinging vine]{n.} A very dependent woman; a woman who needs much love and encouragement from a man. •/Mary is a clinging vine; she cannot do anything without her husband./

[cling to one’s mother’s apron strings] See: TIED TO ONE’S MOTHER’S APRON STRINGS.

[clip joint]{n.}, {slang} A low-class night club or other business where people are cheated. •/The man got drunk and lost all his money in a clip joint./ •/The angry woman said the store was a clip joint./

[clip one’s wings]{v. phr.} To limit or hold you back, bring you under control; prevent your success. •/When the new president tried to become dictator, the generals soon clipped his wings./ •/Jim was spending too much time on dates when he needed to study so his father stopped his allowance; that clipped his wings./

[cloak-and-dagger]{adj.} Of or about spies and secret agents. •/It was a cloak-and-dagger story about some spies who tried to steal atomic secrets./ •/The book was written by a retired colonel who used to take part in cloak-and-dagger plots./ (From the wearing of cloaks and daggers by people in old adventure stories.) Compare: BLOOD AND THUNDER.

[clock] See: AGAINST TIME or AGAINST THE CLOCK, AROUND THE CLOCK or THE CLOCK AROUND, PUT BACK THE CLOCK or TURN BACK THE CLOCK, GO LIKE CLOCKWORK or GO OFF LIKE CLOCKWORK, TURN THE CLOCK BACK.

[clock watcher]{n. phr.}, {informal} A worker who always quits at once when it is time; a man who is in a hurry to leave his job. •/When Ted got his first job, his father told him to work hard and not be a clock watcher./

[close at hand]{adj. phr.} Handy; close by; within one’s range. •/My calendar isn’t close at hand, so I can’t tell you whether we can come next week or not./ •/I always keep my pencils and erasers close at hand when I work on a draft proposal./

[close call] or [shave] {n. phr.} A narrow escape. •/That sure was a close call when that truck came near us from the right!/ •/When Tim fell off his bicycle in front of a bus, it was a very close shave./

[closed book]{n.} A secret; something not known or understood. •/The man’s early life is a closed book./ •/For Mary, science is a closed book./ •/The history of the town is a closed book./

[closed-door]{adj.} Away from the public; in private or in secret; limited to a few. •/The officers of the club held a closed-door meeting./ •/The committee decided on a closed-door rule for the investigation./ Compare: IN PRIVATE.

[close down] or [shut down] {v.} To stop all working, as in a factory; stop work entirely; also: to stop operations in. •/The factory closed down for Christmas./ •/The company shut down the condom plant for Easter./

[closed shop]{n. phr.} 1. A plant or factory that employs only union workers. •/Our firm has been fighting the closed shop policy for many years now./ 2. A profession or line of work dominated by followers of a certain mode of thinking and behaving that does not tolerate differing views or ideas. •/Certain groups of psychologists, historians, and linguists often behave with a closed-shop mentality./ Contrast: OPEN SHOP.

[close in]{v.} To come in nearer from all sides. •/We wanted the boat to reach shore before the fog closed in./ — Often used with "on". * /The troops were closing in on the enemy.

[close its doors]{v. phr.} 1. To keep someone or something from entering or joining; become closed. •/The club has closed its doors to new members./ 2. To fail as a business; go bankrupt. •/The fire was so damaging that the store had to close its doors./ •/Business was so poor that we had to close our doors after six months./ Compare: CLOSE THE DOOR. Contrast: OPEN ITS DOORS.

[close-knit]{adj.} Closely joined together by ties of love, friendship, or common interest; close. •/The Joneses are a close-knit family./ •/The three boys are always together. They form a very close-knit group./

[close one’s eyes] or [shut one’s eyes] {v. phr.} To refuse to see or think about. •/The park is beautiful if you shut your eyes to the litter./ •/The ice was very thin, but the boys shut their eyes to the danger and went skating./ Compare: OPEN ONE’S EYES.

[dose out]{v.} To sell the whole of; end (a business or a business operation) by selling all the goods; also, to sell your stock and stop doing business. •/The store closed out its stock of garden supplies./ •/Mr. Jones closed out his grocery./ •/Mr. Randall was losing money in his shoe store, so he decided to close out./

[close quarters]{n. phr.} Limited, cramped space. •/With seven boy scouts in a tent, they were living in very close quarters./

[close ranks]{v. phr.} 1. To come close together in a line especially for fighting. •/The soldiers closed ranks and kept the enemy away from the bridge./ 2. To stop quarreling and work together; unite and fight together. •/The Democrats and Republicans closed ranks to win the war./ •/The leader asked the people to close ranks and plan a new school./

[close shave] See: CLOSE CALL.

[closet] See: SKELETON IN THE CLOSET.

[close the books]{v. phr.} To stop taking orders; end a bookkeeping period. •/The tickets were all sold, so the manager said to close the books./ •/The department store closes its books on the 25th of each month./

[close the door] or [bar the door] or [shut the door] {v. phr.} To prevent any more action or talk about a subject. •/The President’s veto closed the door to any new attempt to pass the bill./ •/Joan was much hurt by what Mary said, and she closed the door on Mary’s attempt to apologize./ •/After John makes up his mind, he closes the door to any more arguments./ Contrast: OPEN THE DOOR.

[close to home]{adv. phr.} Too near to someone’s personal feelings, wishes, or interests. •/When John made fun of Bob’s way of walking, he struck close to home./ •/When the preacher spoke about prejudice, some people felt he had come too close to home./

[close-up]{n.} A photograph, motion picture, or video camera shot taken at very close range. •/Directors of movies frequently show close-ups of the main characters./

[close up shop]{v. phr.} 1. To shut a store at the end of a day’s business, also, to end a business. •/The grocer closes up shop at 5 o’clock./ •/After 15 years in business at the same spot, the garage closed up shop./ 2. {informal} To stop some activity; finish what you are doing. •/After camping out for two weeks, the scouts took down their tents and closed up shop./ •/The committee finished its business and closed up shop./ Compare: CALL IT A DAY.