[eat up]{v.} 1. To eat all of. •/After hiking all afternoon, they quickly ate up all of the dinner./ 2. To use all of. •/Idle talk had eaten up the hour before they knew it./ 3. {slang} To accept eagerly; welcome. •/The girls told John he was a hero because he made the winning touchdown, and he ate up their praise./ •/Jim told Martha that she was as smart as she was beautiful and Martha ate it up./

[edge] See: HAVE AN EDGE ON, ON EDGE, SET ONE’S TEETH ON EDGE, TAKE THE EDGE OFF, THE EDGE.

[edge away]{v. phr.} To withdraw or retreat gradually. •/Frightened by the growling tiger guarding its catch, the hunter carefully edged away./

[edge in]{v.} To move slowly; get in quietly, especially with some difficulty, by force or without a big enough opening. •/People had crowded around the senator, but Don succeeded in edging in./ •/Harry edged the book in on the shelf./

[edge in (on)]{v. phr.} 1. To gradually approach an individual or a group with the intent of taking over or wielding power. •/Jack was edging in on the firm of Smith and Brown and after half a year actually became its vice president./ 2. To approach for capture (said of a group). •/The hunters were edging in on the wounded leopard./

[edge on]{adv. phr.} Edgewise; with the narrow side forward. •/The board struck him edge on./

[edge out]{v.} To defeat in competition or rivalry; take the place of; force out. •/Harry edged out Tom for a place in Mary’s affections./ •/Signal lights on cars have gradually edged out hand signals./

[edgeways] See: GET A WORD IN or GET A WORD IN EDGEWISE, also GET A WORD IN EDGEWAYS.

[edgewise] See: GET A WORD IN or GET A WORD IN EDGEWAYS.

[education] See: HIGHER EDUCATION.

[effect] See: IN EFFECT, INTO EFFECT, SOUND EFFECTS, TAKE EFFECT, TO THAT EFFECT, TO THE EFFECT THAT,

[effigy] See: HANG IN EFFIGY or BURN IN EFFIGY.

[egg] See: BAD EGG, GOOD EGG, KILL THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGG, LAY AN EGG, PUT ALL ONE’S EGGS IN ONE BASKET, ROTTEN EGG.

[egg on]{v.} To urge on; excite; lead to action. •/Joe’s wife egged him on to spend money to show off./ •/The big boys egged on the two little boys to fight./ Compare: PUT UP(6).

[either a feast or a famine] See: FEAST OR A FAMINE.

[either hide or hair] See: HIDE OR HAIR.

[eke out]{v.} 1. To fill out or add a little to; increase a little. •/Mr. Jones eked out a country teacher’s small salary by hunting and trapping in the winter./ •/The modest meal was eked out with bread and milk./ 2. To get (little) by hard work; to earn with difficulty. •/Fred eked out a bare living by farming on a rocky hillside./

[elbow] See: AT ONE’S ELBOW, ELBOW ROOM, RUB ELBOWS, UP TO THE CHIN IN or UP TO THE ELBOWS IN.

[elbow grease]{n.} Exertion; effort; energy. •/"You’ll have to use a little more elbow grease to get these windows clean," Mother said to Ed./

[elbow one’s way into] or [out of] {v. phr.} To force entry into a place by using one’s elbows. •/The bus was so crowded that, in order to get off in time, we had to elbow our way to the exit door./

[elbow room]{n.} Adequate space to move around or to work in. •/He doesn’t require a huge office, but we must at least give him elbow room./

[element] See: IN ONE’S ELEMENT, OUT OF ONE’S ELEMENT.

[eleventh hour]{adj. phr.} Pertaining to the last minutes; the last opportunity to accomplish a task. •/The editors made several eleventh hour changes in the headlines of the morning paper./

[else] See: SOMETHING ELSE AGAIN.

[emcee] See: MASTER OF CEREMONIES.

[end] See: AT LOOSE ENDS, AT ONE’S WITS' END, BURN THE CANDLE AT BOTH ENDS, GO OFF THE DEEP END, HAIR STAND ON END, HOLD ONE’S END UP or HOLD UP ONE’S END or KEEP ONE’S END UP or KEEP UP ONE’S END, LIVING END, LOOSE ENDS, MAKE AN END OF, MAKE ENDS MEET, NO END, NO END TO or NO END OF, ON END, PUT AN END OF, REAR END, SHORT END, SPLIT END, TAG END or TAIL END, TIGHT END, TO THE BITTER END, WORLD WITHOUT END.

[end for end]{adv. phr.} In a reversed or opposite position (as upside down or backwards); the other way around; over. •/The box turned end for end as it fell, and everything spilled out./ •/The wind caught the canoe and turned it end for end./

[end in itself]{n. phr.} Something wanted for its own sake; a purpose, aim, or goal we want for itself alone and not as a way to something else. •/The miser never spent his gold because for him it was an end in itself./

[end of one’s rope] or [end of one’s tether] {n. phr.}, {informal} The end of your trying or imagining; the last of your ability, or ideas of how to do more. •/Frank was out of work and broke, and he was at the end of his rope./ •/The doctor saw that Mother had reached the end of her tether, and told us to send her away for a holiday./ Compare: AT ONE’S WIT’S END, FED UP, UP AGAINST IT, UP A TREE.

[end of the road] or [end of the line] {n. phr.} The final result or end (as of a way of action or behavior); the condition that comes when you can do no more. •/He had left a trail of forgery and dishonesty across seven states; he had got out of each trouble with a new trick. Now the police had caught up with him, and it was the end of the road./ •/"When I get to the end of the line," Jones thought, "I’d like my children to like and respect me still."/

[end run]{n.} A football play in which a back tries to run around one end of the opponent’s line. •/Smith’s end run scored the winning touchdown./

[end up]{v.} 1. To come to an end; be ended or finished; stop. •/How does the story end up?/ 2. To finally reach or arrive; land. •/I hope you don’t end up in jail./ 3. {informal} To die, be killed. •/The gangster ended up in the electric chair./ 4. or [finish up]. To put an end to; finish; stop. •/The politician finally ended up his speech./ Syn.: WIND UP.

[end zone]{n.} Either of the marked areas behind the goal line. •/He caught a pass in the end zone for a touchdown./

[engage in small talk]{v. phr.} To converse with a stranger or casual acquaintance about matters of no great importance in order to make the time go faster. •/The patients in the doctor’s waiting room engaged in small talk complaining about the hot weather./

[English] See: BODY ENGLISH.

[enjoy oneself]{v. phr.} To have a good time; be happy; feel pleasure. •/Mary enjoyed herself at the party./ •/"Enjoy yourselves, children," Mother urged the guests at our party./

[enlarge on] or [enlarge upon] or [expand on] or [expand upon] {v.} To talk or write more about; say or explain more completely or at greater length. •/The teacher enlarged on the uses of atomic power./

[en masse]{adv. phr.} As a group; in one big mass or group. — Used after the word it modifies. •/The school turned out en masse to cheer the returning astronaut./

[enough] See: GIVE ONE ENOUGH ROPE, AND HE WILL HANG HIMSELF, KNOW ENOUGH TO COME IN OUT OF THE RAIN, LET WELL ENOUGH ALONE, SURE ENOUGH.

[enough is enough] That’s enough, let’s not have any more; that will do, let’s cut it short; that’s the limit, let’s stop there. •/"I don’t mind good clean fun, but enough is enough," the principal said./