qed
I
qed
QEDformal
something that you say in order to
emphasize that a fact proves what you
have just said is true
fb
QEDis a short
form of the latin phrase 'quod erat
demonstrandum' which means 'which
was to have been proven'.•
People are
getting taller all the time - apparently it's
progress and has to do with quality of life
(cavemen wereshort QED).
qt
on the
q.t,
old-fashioned
secretly,without anyoneknowing
fb
q.t.
is a short wayof writing 'quiet' .•
All this
time she'd been making plans on the q.t. to
change herjob.
quaking
be quaking in your boots
tobeveryfrightened or anxious>
Myfirst

totry to put toomuch of somethinginto a
small space
fb
A quart is a unit for
314
measuring liquids. It is equal to two
pints.•
I'm trying to get this huge pile of
clothes crammed into these two drawers.
Talk about trying toget a quart into apint
pot!
queer
a queer fish
British, old-fashioned
a strange person.
I knew his father and
he was a queerfish too.
be in Queer Street
British, old-fashioned,
humorous
to owe a lot of money to other people
• Now don't you go doing anything that'll
landyou in QueerStreet!
question
?
a question mark over sth
><:
1 if there is a question mark over
something, no one knows whether it will
continue to exist in the future or what

false •
We're assuming, are we, that
Anthony will still be in charge this time
next year? That rather begs the question,
doesn't it?
call sth into question
formal
to cause a feeling of doubt about
something •
The report's findings call
into question thesafety and effectivenessof
all such drugs.
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pop the question informal
to
ask
someone to
marry you
0
So we were
having dinner in this Italian restaurant
and that's when he popped the question.
o
Do you think he's going to pop the
question then, Kath?
the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question
informal
the million-dollar question informal
an important or difficult question which
people do not know the answer to

system of medicine that doesn't promote
the quick-fix approach to the treatment of
illness.
a qUick one informal )('
a quick, usually alcoholic drink
0
Have
you got timefor a quick one beforeyou go?
a quick study American, informal
someone who is able to learn things
quickly
0
He's a quick study and easily
grasps all the details of a discussion.
as quick as a flash/wink
as quick as lightning
if you do something as quick as a flash,
you do it very quickly
0
Quick as a
flash,
315
quote
he snatched the book and ran out of the
room.
cut sbto the quick old-fashioned
to upset someone by criticizing them
o
(usually passive)
I was cut to the quick

I wouldn't do
your jobfor quids.
quiet
be as quiet as a mouse
to be very quiet
0
She was as quiet as a
mouse. I didn't even know she'd comein.
on the quiet informal
secretly
0
His marriage broke up when his
wife found out he'd been seeing someone
elseon the quiet.
quits
call it quits
X
1
informal
to stop doing something
0
The
relationship had been going from bad to
worse and wejust decided it was time to
call it quits.
2
informal
to agree with someone that a
debt has been paid and that no one owes
money to anyone

magic tricks.•
He's one of those players
who,just when you think the game's over,
canpull a rabbit out of the hat.
rabbits
breed like rabbits informal
if peoplebreed like rabbits, they produce
too many babies very quickly.
It's like I
was saying to Derek, they all intermarry
and they breed like rabbits.
race
a race against timelthe clock
an attempt to do something very quickly
because there is only a short time in
which it can be done.
It's a race against
time toget the building finished beforethe
rainy season sets in.
race against timelthe clock • Rescuers
were racing against time last night to
reachthefour diuers, trapped200feetdown
on the seabed.
rack
on the
rack
anxious, often because you are waiting
for something or because people are
asking you difficult questions.
You're

be on the ragged edge American
to be so tired or upset that you feel you
cannot deal with a situation •
Top
professional coaches are on the ragged
edgeof exhaustion andfrustration.
run sbragged
to make someone very tired, usually by
making them work too hard.
What with
party preparations and having to look
after the kids all this week, I've been run
ragged.
rags
go from rags to riches
'>C
to start your life very poor and then later
in life become very rich.
People who go
from rags to riches are often afraid the
good life will besnatched awayfrom them.
rags-to-riches •
(always before noun)
Raised in poverty by an uncle in
Oklahoma, his was a real rags-to-riches
story.
rails
be back on the rails British
to be making progress once more •
The

something that you say when you cannot
accept someone's invitation to do
something but you would like to do it
another time. (often +
on)
I'll take a rain
check on that drink tonight,
if
that's all
right.• I won't play tennis this afternoon
but can I get a rain check?
ask
(sb)
for a rain check
American,
informal. I was supposed toseeMarge on
Saturday - I'll have to ask her for a rain
check.
rainbows
chaserainbows
to waste your time trying to get or
achieve something impossible. (usually
in continuous tenses) I don't think my
parents ever believed I'd make it as an
actor. I think they thought I was just
chasing rainbows.
raining
It's raining cats and dogs!
old-fashioned
something that you say when it is raining

raison
d'etreformal
the most important reason why something
exists, or the most important thing in
someone's life. She's nevergoing toretire-
work is her raison d'etre. • Serious,
experimental drama was once the raison
d'etre of the festival but it has now been
replacedby comedyand cabaretshows.
rake-off
a rake-off
informal
a share of the profits of something, often
taken in a way that is not honest
• Corrupt customs officers were taking a
rake-off from import taxes.
ramrod
be as stiff/straight as a ramrod
old-
fashioned
if someone is as stiff as a ramrod, they
stand or sit with their back very straight
and stiff • At eighty-three, he's still as
straight as a ramrod.
rank
the rank and file
the ordinary members of an
organization and not its leaders •
The
party leadership seems to be losing the

If
soldiers close ranks, they move closer
together so that it is more difficult to go
past them .•
In the past, the party would
have closed ranks around its leader and
defended him loyally against his critics.
join the ranks of
sth
to become part of a large group
• Thousands of young people join the
ranks of the unemployed each summer
when they leaveschool.
ransom
hold sbto ransom
/'<.
to force someone to do something by
putting them in a situation where
something bad will happen to them if
they do not •
Some people regarded the
miners' strike as the union holding the
nation to ransom.
rap
a rap across/on/overthe knuckles
a punishment which is not very severe
but which warns you not to behave that
way again •
The company received a rap
over the knuckles from the Food and Drug

going to take the rap for someone else's
mistakes.
raptures
go into raptures ~
to talk about something in a very pleased
and excited way. (often
+
about)
She went
into raptures about the chocolatecake.
raring
be raring to go
to be full of energy and ready to do
something •
At three in the morning he
was still wide awake and raring togo.
raspberry
blow a raspberry
British
&
Australian,
informal
give a raspberry
American, informal
to make a rude noise by putting your
tongue between your lips and blowing
• (often
+
at)
A boy of no more than six

rat-arsed
British, very informal
rat-assed
American, very informal
very drunk.
They came home completely
rat-arsed.
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rate
rate
at a rate of knots
British
&
Australian
if someone does something at a rate of
knots, they do it very quickly
fb
The
speeda boat travels is measured in knots.
• She did her homework at a rate of knots
so
that she could go out with herfriends.
raw
come the raw prawn
Australian,
informal
to pretend that youhaveno knowledgeof
what someoneis talking about. (usually
+
with)

rays.
razzle
be/go (out) on the razzle
British,
informal, old-fashioned
to enjoy yourself by doing things like
going to parties or dances.
We'regoing
out on the razzle on New Year's Eve - do
youfancy coming?
a night (out) on the razzle
informal,
old-fashioned • We've had a night on the
razzle, so I've got a bit of a hangover.
razzle-dazzle
razzle-dazzle
activity that is intended to attract
320
people's attention by being noisy or
exciting •
Amid all the razzle-dazzle of
the party convention, it is easy to forget
about the realpolitical issues.
razzle-dazzle •
(always before noun)
It
was their razzle-dazzle style that caught
people's eye.
reach
"

Blues creator;SteveBochco,is ready to roll.
2 American
to be goingto leavesoon'
Give
mea call whenyou're ready toroll, and I'll
meetyou outside.
real
the real McCoy
the real thing and not a copy or
something similar
fb
Kid McCoy,an
American boxer
(=
a man whofights as a
sport), was called 'the real McCoy' to
showthat he was not another boxer who
had the same name. •
Cheap sparkling
wines cannot be labelled 'champagne'. It
has to bethe real McCoy.
Get real!
informal
something that you say in order to tell
someone that they should try to
understand the true facts of a situation
instead of hoping for something
impossible •
Oh, get real! You're not tall
enough to bea model.

rearguard
fight a rearguard action
to try very hard to prevent something
from happening when it is probably too
late to prevent it • (often
+
against)
The
unions werefighting a rearguard action
against the government's attempt to strip
them of theirpowers.
rearranging
be like rearranging the deckchairson
the Titanic
British
&
Australian,
humorous
if an activity is like rearranging the
deckchairs on the Titanic, it it will have
no effect
Ib
The Titanic was a large ship
that sank suddenly in 1912with most of
its passengers. •
With unemployment at
record leveis,plans for better advertising
of job vacancies are a bit like rearranging
the deckchairs on the Titanic.
reason

end of verbal abusefrom customers.
recipe
be a recipe for [disaster/successetc.]
if something is a recipe for disaster,
success etc., it is very likely to cause this
• Living with your husband's family is a
recipefor disaster.
record
for the record
X
something that you say when you are
about to tell someone something
important that you want them to
remember.
Just for the record,I've never
been to his house and I've only met him a
few times, whatever the media is saying.
goon record
to publicly and officiallytell people your
opinion about something. (often
+
as
+
doing sth)
Are you prepared to go on
record as supporting the council on this
issue?
be on record.
(often
+