[what not] See: WHAT HAVE YOU.
[what's cooking] See: WHAT'S UP.
[what's doing] See: WHAT'S UP..
[what's sauce for the goose, is sauce for the gander] What goes for the one, also goes for the other. - A proverb. * /If Herb gets a speeding ticket, so should Erica, who was right behind him; after all, what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander./
[what's the big idea] or [what's the idea] <informal> What is the purpose; what do you have in mind; why did you do that; what are you doing; how dare you. - Often used to question someone or something that is not welcome. * /The Smith family painted their house red, white, and blue. What's the big idea?/ * /What's the idea of coming in here after I told you not to?/ * /I heard you are spreading false rumors about me, what's the big idea?/
[what's the idea] See: WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA.
[what's up] or [what's cooking] also [what's doing] <slang> What is happening or planned; what is wrong. - Often used as a greeting. * /"What's up?" asked Bob as he joined his friends. "Are you going to the movies?"/ * /What's cooking? Why is the crowd in the street?/ * /What's doing tonight at the club?/ * /Hello Bob, what's up?/ Compare: WHAT'S WITH.
[what's what] or [what is what] <n. phr.>, <informal> 1. What each thing is in a group; one thing from another. * /The weeds and the flowers are coming up together, and we can't tell what is what./ 2. All that needs to be known about something; the important facts or skills. * /Richard did the wrong thing, because he is new here and doesn't yet know what's what./ * /When Bob started his new job, it took him several weeks to learn what was what./ * /When it comes to cooking, Jenny knows what's what./ * /Harold began to tell the teacher how to teach the class, and the teacher told him what was what./ Compare: WHICH IS WHICH, WHO'S WHO.
[what's with] or [what's up with] also [what's by] <slang> What is happening to; what is wrong; how is everything; what can you tell me about. * /Mary looks worried. What's with her?/ * /What's with our old friends?/ * /I'm fine. What's with you?/
[what with] <prep.> Because; as a result of. * /I couldn't visit you, what with the snowstorm and the cold I had./ * /What with dishes to wash and children to put to bed, mother was late to the meeting./ Compare: ON ACCOUNT OF.
[wheel] See: BIG CHEESE or BIG WHEEL, GREASE THE WHEELS, PUT ONE'S SHOULDER TO THE WHEEL.
[wheel and deal] <v. phr.>, <slang> To make many big plans or schemes; especially with important people in government and business; in matters of money and influence; handle money or power for your own advantage; plan important matters in a smart or skillful way and sometimes in a tricky, or not strictly honest way. * /Mr. Smith made a fortune by wheeling and dealing on the stock market./ * /The senator got this law passed by wheeling and dealing in Congress./ [wheeler-dealer] <n. phr.>, <slang> A person with power and control. * /The biggest wheeler-dealer in the state has many friends in high places in business and government and is a rich man himself./
[wheelhorse] <n. phr.> A reliable and industrious worker on whom one may depend. * /Jake is such a good worker that he is the wheelhorse of our tiny firm./
[when hell freezes over] <adv. phr.>, <slang> Never. * /I'll believe you when hell freezes over./ Contrast: UNTIL HELL FREEZES OVER.
[when it comes to] See: COME TO(4).
[when one's ship comes in] See: SHIP COME IN.
[when push comes to shove] <adv. phr.> A time when a touchy situation becomes actively hostile or a quarrel turns into a fight. * /Can we count on the boss' goodwill, when push comes to shove?/
[when the chips are down] <adv. cl.>, <informal> When the winner and loser of a bet or a game are decided; at the most important or dangerous time. * /Tom hit a home run in the last inning of the game when the chips were down./ * /When the chips were down, the two countries decided not to have war./ (From the fact that in gambling games, a person puts chips or money down in front of him to show that he is willing to risk an amount in a bet.)
[where] See: TELL ONE WHERE TO GET OFF or TELL ONE WHERE TO HEAD IN.
[wherefore] See: WHY AND WHEREFORE.
[where it's at] <adv. phr.>, <informal> That which is important; that which is at the forefront of on-going social, personal, or scientific undertakings. * /Young, talented and black, that's where it's at./ * /We send sophisticated machines to Mars instead of people, that's where it's at./
[where the shoe pinches] <n. phr.>, <informal> Where or what the discomfort or trouble is. * /Johnny thinks the job is easy, but he will find out where the shoe pinches when he tries it./ * /The coach said he wasn't worried about any position except quarterback; that was where the shoe pinched./
[whether one is coming or going] See: KNOW IF ONE IS COMING OR GOING.
[whether --- or] or [whether --- or whether[] 1. <coord. conj.> Used to introduce an indirect question. * /You must decide whether you should go or stay./ * /I don't know whether Jack or Bill is a better player./ Compare: EITHER --- OR(2). Used to show a choice of things, or that different things are possible. * /Whether the bicycle was blue or red, it didn't matter to Frank./
[which] See: GAME AT WHICH TWO CAN PLAY.
[which is which] <n. phr.> Which is one person or thing and which is the other; one from another; what the difference is between different ones; what the name of each one is. * /Joe's coat and mine are so nearly alike that I can't tell which is which./ * /Mr. Hadley hadn't seen his friend's daughters in such a long time that he couldn't remember which was which./ Compare: WHAT'S WHAT, WHO'S WHO.
[which was which] See: WHICH is WHICH.
[while] See: AFTER A WHILE or IN A WHILE, ALL THE TIME(1), EVERY NOW AND THEN or EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, ONCE IN A WHILE.
[while ago] <adv.> At a time several minutes in the past; a few minutes ago; a short time ago. - Used with "a". * /I laid mv glasses on this table a while ago; and now they're gone./ * /A while ago, Mary was tired and wanted to go home; now she's dancing with Bob as if she could dance all night./ Compare: JUST NOW(2).
[while away] <v.> To make time go by pleasantly or without being bored; pass or spend. * /We whiled away the time that we were waiting by talking and playing cards./ * /We whiled away the summer swimming and fishing./
[while back] <adv.> At a time several weeks or months in the past. - Used with "a". * /We had a good rain a while back, but we need more now./ * /Grandfather is well now, but a while back he was in the hospital for three weeks./ See: CRACK THE WHIP.
[whip hand] See: UPPER HAND.
[whipping boy] <n. phr.> The person who gets punished for someone else's mistake. * /"I used to be the whipping boy during my early days at the company," he musingly remembered./
[whip up] <v.>, <informal> 1. To make or do quickly or easily. * /Mary whipped up a lunch for the picnic./ * /The reporter whipped up a story about the fire for his paper./ 2. To make active; stir to action; excite. * /The girls are trying to whip up interest for a dance Saturday night./ Compare: STIR UP, WHOOP IT UP(2).
[whispering campaign] <n.> The spreading of false rumors, or saying bad things, about a person or group, especially in politics or public life. * /A bad man has started a whispering campaign against the mayor, saying that he isn't honest./
[whistle] See: BLOW THE WHISTLE ON, WET ONE'S WHISTLE.
[whistle a different tune] See: SING A DIFFERENT TUNE.
[whistle for] <v.>, <informal> To try to get (something) but fail; look for (something) that will not come. * /Mary didn't even thank us for helping her, so the next time she needs help she can whistle for it./
[whistle in the dark] <v. phr.>, <informal> To try to stay brave and forget your fear. * /Tom said he could fight the bully with one hand, but we knew that he was just whistling in the dark./ (From the fact that people sometimes whistle when walking in a dark, scary place to keep up their courage.)
[whistle-stop] <n.> A small town where the trains only stop on a special signal. * /President Truman made excellent use of the whistle-stop during his 1948 campaign for the presidency./
[white] See: BLACK AND WHITE, IN BLACK AND WHITE.
[white around the gills] See: GREEN AROUND THE GILLS.
[white-collar workers] <n. phr.> Workers employed in offices and at desks as opposed to those who work as manual workers; the middle class. * /It is a well-known fact that white-collar workers are less well organized than unionized manual workers./ Contrast BLUE-COLLAR WORKERS.
[white elephant] <n. phr.> Unwanted property, such as real estate, that is hard to sell. * /That big house of theirs on the corner sure is a white elephant./
[white lie] <n. phr.> An innocent social excuse. * /I am too busy to go to their house for dinner tonight. I will call them and tell a little white lie about having the flu./
[white sale] <n.> The selling, especially at lower prices, of goods or clothing usually made of white cloth. * /Mother always buys many things at the January white sale to save money./
[whitewash] <n.>, <informal> A soothing official report that attempts to tranquilize the public. * /Some people believe that the Warren Commission's report on the Kennedy assassination was a whitewash./
[whitewash something] <v.>, <informal> To explain a major, national scandal in soothing official terms so as to assure the public that things are under control and there is no need to panic. * /Many people in the United States believe that President Kennedy's assassination was whitewashed by the Warren Commission./ See: WHITEWASH.
[whiz] See: GEE WHIZ.