from top to bottom—in every part (of a house): The police searched the house from top to bottom. Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase from the zenith to the nadir—(liter.) from the highest to the lowest possible point in one’s fortunes, etc.: The film flopped, and all Chu’s contracts were […]
Category: Confusing Phrases
Difference between From time to time and Time after time
from time to time—occasionally; now and again: He left here five or six years ago, but I still see him from time to time. time after time—repeatedly; over and over again: I have warned him time after time, but he takes no notice.
Difference between From the wood and Out of the wood
from the wood —(usually of beer) from the cask or barrel: “Beer from the wood,” or the dispensing of ales from wooden casks, is a phenomenon at which American brewers must simply stand in awe. Cf.: in the wood —(also: in wood) said of wine or beer kept in barrels: Wines have been kept in […]
Difference between From the floor and From the top
from the floor—(of questions, remarks, etc.) delivered by rank and file members, as opposed to a governing body: The amendments from the floor were sufficiently substantial to make the final version a fair representation of majority opinion. from the top —(of a piece of music) played from the earliest part or from the beginning: By […]
Difference between From the bottom up and From the ground up
from the bottom up—from the very beginning; from start to finish: I started out sweeping the floors and learned everything from the bottom up. from the ground up—completely; entirely: Let me tell you right here that whatever I may or may not be, I am an American from the ground up.
Difference between From out to out and From space to space
from out to out—in total external length or breadth: The extreme length of the building, from out to out, is 96 feet, and the extreme width 51 feet. from space to space—at (regular) intervals: A heavy balustrade is ornamented from space to space with huge grotesque figures of animals.
Difference between From nose to tail and Nose to tail
from nose to tail —(usually of animals) as measured from one extremity to the other: A full grown mule deer measures about sixty five inches from nose to tail. Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase from head to foot—(also: from top to toe) 1. all over a person’s body: Women […]
Difference between From hand to mouth and From mouth to mouth
from hand to mouth—(in the phrase “live from hand to mouth”) have just enough money to live on: With farmers living from hand to mouth, it is difficult to expect them to take to organic cultivation. from mouth to mouth—(of a tale, rumor, etc.) pass from one person to a series of other persons: Xavier’s […]
Difference between From hand to hand and Hand-to-hand
from hand to hand—pass from one person to a series of other persons: The book traveled from hand to hand until it got back to its owner. hand-to-hand—(of fighting ) at close quarters; man to man: This excellent manual on combat hand-to-hand fighting still holds up today.
Difference between From Dan to Beersheba and From Land’s End to John o’ Groat’s
from Dan to Beersheba—from one end of the land to the other (originally of biblical Palestine): Having visited the most remarkable places from Dan to Beersheba, he finally returned home after some eleven months. from Land’s End to John o’ Groats—(UK) from one end of Great Britain to the other: Every well-known branded article (as […]
Difference between From A to B and From A to Z
from A to B—from one point or position to another: In traffic-choked cities the slender bike is the fastest means of getting from A to B. from A to Z—(also: from A to Izzard) from beginning to end; completely: Every program-builder should know the symphonic repertoire from A to Z.
Friendly Society vs Society of Friends
Friendly Society, the—(hist.) mutual-aid organization formed to protect members against debts incurred through illness, etc.: The growth of the Friendly Society is impressive. At the beginning during the 1814–1816 period, there were roughly twenty members. Society of Friends, the —(also: Religious Society of Friends, the) the Quakers (a Christian sect, founded in the mid–17th century […]