[get off easy]{v. phr.}, {informal} To have only a little trouble; escape something worse. •/The children who missed school to go to the fair got off easy./ •/John got off easy because it was the first time he had taken his father’s car without permission./

[get off it] See: COME OFF IT.

[get off one’s back]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {colloquial} To stop criticizing or nagging someone. •/"Get off my back! Can’t you see how busy I am?"/

[get off one’s case] or [back] or [tail] {v. phr.} To stop bothering and constantly checking up on someone; quit hounding one. •/"Get off my case!" he cried angrily. "You’re worse than the cops."/ Contrast: ON ONE’S CASE.

[get off one’s chest] See: OFF ONE’S CHEST.

[get off one’s tail]{v. phr.}, {slang} To get busy, to start working. •/OK you guys! Get off your tails and get cracking!/

[get off on the wrong foot]{v. phr.} To make a bad start; begin with a mistake. •/Peggy got off on the wrong foot with her new teacher; she chewed gum in class and the teacher didn’t like it./

[get off the ground]{v. phr.}, {informal} To make a successful beginning; get a good start; go ahead; make progress. •/Our plans for a party didn’t get off the ground because no one could come./

[get off the hook] See: OFF THE HOOK.

[get off to a flying] or [running start] {v. phr.} To have a promising or successful beginning. •/Ron got off to a flying start in business school when he got nothing but A’s./

[get on] or [get onto] {v.}, {informal} 1. To speak to (someone) roughly about something he did wrong; blame; scold. •/Mrs. Thompson got on the girls for not keeping their rooms clean./ •/The fans got on the new shortstop after he made several errors./ Syn.: JUMP ON. 2. See: GET ALONG. 3. To grow older. •/Work seems harder these days; I’m getting on, you know./

[get one’s] See: GET WHAT’S COMING TO ONE.

[get one’s back up]{v. phr.}, {informal} To become or make angry or stubborn. •/Fred got his back up when I said he was wrong./ •/Our criticisms of his actions just got his hack up./

[get one’s brains fried]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {also used colloquially} 1. To sit in the sun and sunbathe for an excessive length of time. •/Newcomers to Hawaii should be warned not to sit in the sun too long — they’ll get their brains fried./ 2. To get high on drugs. •/He can’t make a coherent sentence anymore — he’s got his brains fried./

[get one’s dander up] or [get one’s Irish up] {v. phr.} To become or make angry. •/The boy got his dander up because he couldn’t go to the store./ •/The children get the teacher’s dander up when they make a lot of noise./ Compare: BLOW A FUSE.

[get one’s ducks in a row]{v. phr.}, {informal} To get everything ready. •/The scoutmaster told the boys to get their ducks in a row before they went to camp./ •/Mr. Brown got his ducks in a row for his trip./ Compare: LINE UP.

[get one’s feet on the ground] See: FEET ON THE GROUND.

[get one’s feet wet]{v. phr.}, {informal} To begin; do something for the first time. •/The party was at Bill’s house and when Ruth and I got there the party had already started. "Jump right in and don’t be afraid to get your feet wet," said Bill./ •/"It’s not hard to dance once you get your feet wet," said the teacher./

[get one’s fingers burned] See: BURN ONE’S FINGERS.

[get one’s foot in the door] See: FOOT IN THE DOOR.

[get one’s goat]{v. phr.}, {informal} To make a person disgusted or angry. •/The boy’s laziness all summer got his father’s goat./ •/The slow service at the cafe got Mr. Robinson’s goat./

[get one’s hands on] See: LAY ONE’S HANDS ON.

[get one’s number] or [have one’s number] {v. phr.}, {informal} To find out or know what kind of person somebody is. •/The boys soon had the new student’s number./ •/The girls got their new roommate’s number the first week of school./

[get one’s rear in gear]{v. phr.}, {slang} To hurry up, to get going. •/I’m gonna have to get my rear in gear./

[get one’s second wind] See: SECOND WIND.

[get one’s teeth into] or [sink one’s teeth into] {v. phr.}, {informal} To have something real or solid to think about; go to work on seriously; struggle with. •/After dinner, John got his teeth into the algebra lesson./ •/Frank chose a subject for his report that he could sink his teeth into./

[get one’s tongue] See: CAT GET ONE’S TONGUE.

[get on in years] See: ALONG IN YEARS.

[get on one’s good side]{v. phr.} To gain the favor of someone; flatter or please another. •/A clever lobbyist knows how to get on the good side of both the House of Representatives and the Senate./

[get on one’s nerves]{v. phr.} To make you nervous. •/John’s noisy eating habits get on your nerves./ •/Children get on their parents' nerves by asking so many questions./

[get on the ball] See: ON THE BALL.

[get on the bandwagon] See: JUMP ON THE BANDWAGON.

[get on the good side of] See: ON THE GOOD SIDE OF.

[get on the stick]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {informal} To get moving; to stop being idle and to start working vigorously. •/All right, man, let’s get on the stick!/ Compare: ON THE BALL, GET OFF ONE’S TAIL.

[get on to one]{v. phr.} To figure someone out; understand what someone else is up to. •/The FBI is on to Jim’s secret trading with the enemy./

[get one wrong]{v. phr.} To misinterpret; misunderstand another. •/Don’t get me wrong; I didn 't mean to criticize you./

[get] or [have one’s say] See: DAY IN COURT.

[get out]{v. phr.} 1. Leave or depart. •/"Get out of here!" the teacher shouted angrily to the misbehaving student./ •/"Driver, I want to get out by the opera."/ 2. To publish; produce. •/Our press is getting out two new books on ecology./ 3. To escape; leak out. •/We must not let the news about this secret invention get out./

[get out in the open] See: OUT IN THE OPEN.

[get out of]{v. phr.} 1. To be excused from; avoid. •/He got out of jury duty because of his illness./ 2. To gain from; extract from. •/Tom complained that he didn’t get anything out of the course on grammar./

[get out of the way] See: OUT OF THE WAY.

[get out of hand] See: OUT OF HAND, OUT OF CONTROL.

[get over]{v.} 1. To finish. •/Tom worked fast to get his lesson over./ 2. To pass over. •/It was hard to get over the muddy road./ 3. To get well from; recover from. •/The man returned to work after he got over his illness./ 4. To accept or forget (a sorrow or suprise.) •/It is hard to get over the death of a member of your family./ •/We could not get over the speed of Mary’s recovery from pneumonia./

[get rattled]{v. phr.} To become confused, overexcited, or nervous. •/The thief got so rattled when he saw the police following him that he drove his car into a ditch./

[get rid of] See: RID OF.

[get set]{v. phr.} To get ready to start. •/The runners got set./ •/The seniors are getting set for the commencement./