[give her the gun] See: GIVE IT THE GUN.

[give in]{v.} To stop fighting or arguing and do as the other person wants; give someone his own way; stop opposing someone. •/Mother kept inviting Mrs. Smith to stay for lunch, and finally she gave in./ •/After Billy proved that he could ride a bicycle safely, his father gave in to him and bought him one./ Compare: GIVE UP, SAY UNCLE.

[give it some thought]{v. phr.} To wait and see; consider something after some time has elapsed. •/"Will you buy my car?" Fred asked. "Let me give it some thought," Jim answered./ Contrast: SLEEP ON.

[give it the gun] or [give her the gun] {v. phr.}, {slang} To gun or speed up a motor; make a car, airplane, or something driven by a motor go faster. •/The race driver gave it the gun./ •/The speedboat pilot gave her the gun./ Compare: STEP ON IT.

[give it to]{v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To give punishment to; beat. •/The crowd yelled for the wrestler to give it to his opponent./ Syn.: LET HAVE IT. 2. To scold. •/Jerry’s mother gave it to him for coming home late./ Compare: GIVE A PIECE OF ONE’S MIND, LACE INTO. Contrast: CATCH IT.

[give it to one straight]{v. phr.} To be direct; be frank. •/I asked the doctor to give it to me straight how long I have to live./

[give no quarter]{v. phr.} To be ruthless and show no mercy. •/The enemy soldiers gave no quarter and shot all the prisoners./

[give notice]{v. phr.} To inform an employer, an employee, a landlord, or a tenant of the termination of a contractual agreement of service or tenancy. •/Max gave notice at the bank where he was working./ •/Sally was given notice by her landlord./

[given to]{adj. phr.} Having a tendency to; addicted to. •/Phil is given to telling fantastic tales about his chateau in France./

[give off]{v.} To send out; let out; put forth. •/Rotten eggs give off a bad smell./ •/Burning leaves give off thick smoke./ Syn.: GIVE OUT(2).

[give of oneself]{v. phr.}, {literary} To give your time and effort to help others. •/You should give of yourself sometimes./ •/During World War II, Governor Baldwin gave of himself by sweeping the halls of a hospital every afternoon./

[give one a dressing down] See: DRESSING DOWN.

[give one a free hand] See: FREE HAND.

[give one a (good) going-over] See: GO OVER(1).

[give one a lift]{v. phr.} 1. To give someone a ride. •/Jack gave me a lift in his new car./ 2. To comfort someone. •/Talking to my doctor yesterday gave me a lift./

[give one an inch, and he will take a mile] If you give some people a little or yield anything, they will want more and more; some people are never satisfied. •/I gave Billy a bite of candy and he wanted more and more. If you give him an inch, he’ll take a mile./ •/The counselor said to Jack, "No, I can’t let you get a haircut until Saturday. It’s against the rules, and if I give an inch, someone will take a mile."/

[give one a piece of one’s mind]{v. phr.}, {informal} To scold angrily; say what you really think to (someone). •/Mr. Allen gave the other driver a piece of his mind./ •/The sergeant gave the soldier a piece of his mind for not cleaning his boots./ Syn.: TELL OFF. Compare: BAWL OUT, DRESS DOWN, GIVE IT TO, TONGUE LASHING.

[give one a ring] also {informal} [give a buzz] To call on the telephone. •/Mrs. Jacobs promised to give her husband a ring in the afternoon./ •/Alice will give her friend a buzz tonight./

[give one enough rope and he will hang himself]{informal} Give a bad person enough time and freedom to do as he pleases, and he may make a bad mistake or get into trouble and be caught. — A proverb. •/Johnny is always stealing and hasn’t been caught. But give him enough rope and he’ll hang himself./ — Often used in a short form, "give one enough rope". •/Mother didn’t know who robbed the cookie jar, but she thought she could catch him if she gave him enough rope./

[give one pause]{v. phr.} To astonish someone; cause one to stop and think. •/"Your remark gives me pause," Tom said, when Jane called him an incurable gambler./

[give one short shrift] See: SHORT SHRIFT.

[give oneself airs]{v. phr.} To act proud; act vain. •/Mary gave herself airs when she wore her new dress./ •/John gave himself airs when he won first prize./

[give oneself away]{v. phr.} To show guilt; show you have done wrong. •/The thief gave himself away by spending so much money./ •/Carl played a joke on Bob and gave himself away by laughing./ Compare: GIVE AWAY.

[give oneself up]{v.} To stop hiding or running away; surrender. •/The thief gave himself up to the police./ •/Mr. Thompson hit another car, and his wife told him to give himself up./ Compare: TURN IN.

[give oneself up to]{v. phr.} Not to hold yourself back from; let yourself enjoy. •/Uncle Willie gave himself up to a life of wandering./ •/John came inside from the cold and gave himself up to the pleasure of being in a warm room./ Compare: ENJOY ONESELF, LET ONESELF GO.

[give one some of his] or [her own medicine] {v. phr.} To treat someone the way he or she treats others (used in the negative). •/The gangster beat up an innocent old man, so when he resisted arrest, a policeman gave him a little of his own medicine./

[give one’s due]{v. phr.} To be fair to (a person), give credit that (a person) deserves. •/The boxer who lost gave the new champion his due./ •/We should give a good worker his due./ Compare: GIVE THE DEVIL HIS DUE.

[give one’s right arm for]{v. phr.} To give something of great value; sacrifice. •/During our long hike in the desert, I would have given my right arm for an ice cold drink./

[give one’s word]{v. phr.} To seriously promise. •/"You gave me your word you would marry me," Mary bitterly complained, "but you broke your word."/

[give one the eye]{v. phr.}, {slang} 1. To look at, especially with interest and liking. •/A pretty girl went by and all the boys gave her the eye./ 2. To look or stare at, especially in a cold or unfriendly way. •/Mrs. Jones didn’t like Mary and didn’t speak. She just gave her the eye when they met on the street./

[give one the works] See: THE WORKS.

[give or take]{v. phr.} To add or subtract. Used with a round number or date to show how approximate it is. •/The house was built in 1900, give or take five years./

[give out]{v.} 1. To make known; let it be known; publish. •/Mary gave out that she and Bob were going to be married./ 2. To let escape; give. •/The cowboy gave out a yell./ Syn.: GIVE OFF, LET GO. 3. to give to people; distribute. •/The barber gives out free lollipops to all the children./ Compare: HAND OUT, PASS OUT. 4. To fail; collapse. •/Tom’s legs gave out and he couldn’t run any farther./ •/The chair gave out under the fat man./ Compare: WEAR OUT. 5. To be finished or gone. •/When the food at the party gave out, they bought more./ •/The teacher’s patience gave out./ Syn.: RUN OUT, RUN SHORT. Compare: USE UP, WEAR OUT. 6. {slang} Not to hold back; act freely; let yourself go. — Often used in the imperative. •/You’re not working hard, Charley. Give out!/ 7. {informal} To show how you feel. •/When Jane saw the mouse, she gave out with a scream./ •/Give out with a little smile./ Compare: LET GO.