[haste] See: MAKE HASTE.
[hat] See: AT THE DROP OF A HAT, BRASS HAT, HANG ON TO YOUR HAT or HOLD ON TO YOUR HAT or HOLD YOUR HAT, HIGH-HAT, KEEP UNDER ONE'S HAT, OLD HAT, PULL OUT OF A HAT, TAKE OFF ONE'S HAT TO, TALK THROUGH ONE'S HAT, TEN-GALLON HAT, THROW ONE'S HAT IN THE RING.
[hat in hand] <adv. phr.>, <informal> In a humble and respectful manner. * /They went hat in hand to the old woman to ask for her secret recipe./
[hatch] See: COUNT ONE'S CHICKENS BEFORE THEY ARE HATCHED.
[hatchet] See: BURY THE HATCHET.
[hatchet face] <n.> A long narrow face with sharp parts; also, a person with such a face. * /Johnny was sent to the principal's office because he called his teacher old hatchet face./ * /He was hatchet-faced and not at all handsome./
[hatchet job] <n. phr.>, <slang> 1. The act of saying or writing terrible things about someone or something, usually on behalf of one's boss or organization. * /When Phil makes speeches against the competition exaggerating their weaknesses, he is doing the hatchet job on behalf of our president./ 2. A ruthless, wholesale job of editing a script whereby entire paragraphs or pages are omitted. * /Don, my editor, did a hatchet job on my new novel./
[hatchet man] <n.>, <colloquial> 1. A politician or newspaper columnist whose job is to write and say unfavorable things about the opposition. * /Bill Lerner is the hatchet man for the Mayor's Party; he smears all the other candidates regularly./ 2. An executive officer in a firm whose job it is to fire superfluous personnel, cut back on the budget, etc., in short, to do the necessary but unpleasant things. * /The firm hired Cranhart to be hatchet man; his title is that of Executive Vice President./
[hate one's guts] <v. phr.>, <slang> To feel a very strong dislike for someone. * /Dick said that he hated Fred's guts because Fred had been very mean to him./
[hats off to] or [one's hat is off to] <truncated phr.>, <informal> Used to recognize and praise a job well-done. * /Hats off to anyone who runs the twenty-six mile race./ * /My hat is off to the chef who created this delicious meal./ Compare: TAKE OFF ONE'S HAT TO.
[hatter] See: MAD AS A HATTER.
[haul] See: LONG HAUL.
[haul down] <v.>, <informal> 1. To catch (as a ball) usually after a long run. * /Willie hauled down a long fly to center field for the third out./ * /The star halfback hauled down the pass for a touchdown./ 2. To tackle in football. * /Ted was hauled down from behind when he tried to run with the ball./
[haul down one's colors] or [strike one's colors] <v. phr.> 1. To pull down a flag, showing you are beaten and want to stop fighting. * /After a long battle, the pirate captain hauled down his colors./ 2. To admit you are beaten; say you want to quit. * /After losing two sets of tennis, Tom hauled down his color./
[haul in] or [haul up] or [pull in] <v.>, <slang> To bring before someone in charge for punishment or questioning; arrest. * /John was hauled in to court for speeding./ * /The tramp was hauled up for sleeping on the sidewalk./ Compare: CALL ON THE CARPET.
[haul in one's horns] See: PULL IN ONE'S HORNS.
[haul off] <v.> To move suddenly. - Used with "and" usually before a verb like "hit" or "kick". * /Ed hauled off and hit the other boy in the nose./ * /Lee hauled off and threw a touchdown pass./
[haul over the coals] or [rake over the coals] <v. phr.> To criticize sharply; rebuke; scold. * /The sergeant raked the soldier over the coals for being late for roll call./ Syn.: DRESS DOWN.
[have] See: CAT HAS NINE LIVES, ONE'S CAKE AND HAVE IT TOO, EVERY CLOUD HAS A SILVER LINING, EVERY DOG HAS HIS DAY, HAVE NOTHING ON or HAVE ANYTHING ON, LITTLE PITCHERS HAVE BIG EARS, or an important word after this in the sentence.
[have] or [get] or [develop a crush on] <v. phr.> To be infatuated with someone. * /Walter has a terrible crush on his English teacher, but she is a lot older and doesn't take it seriously./
[have a ball] <v. phr.>, <slang> Enjoy yourself very much; have a wonderful time. * /Johnny had a ball at camp./ * /Mary and Tim have a ball exploring the town./ * /After their parents left, the children had a ball./ Syn.: HAVE A TIME(2).
[have a bone to pick] See: BONE TO PICK.
[have a care] <v. phr.>, <formal> To be careful what you do. * /Jane, have a care what you're doing with that valuable glass./ * /The judge told him to have a care what he said in court./
[have a field day] <v. phr.> To enjoy great success or unlimited opportunity. * /The visiting basketball team was so weak that our school had a field day scoring one point after another./
[have a finger in the pie] See: FINGER IN THE PIE.
[have a fit] or [have fits] or [throw a fit] <v. phr.> 1. To have a sudden illness with stiffness or jerking of the body. * /Our dog had a fit yesterday./ 2. <informal> To become angry or upset. * /Father will throw a fit when he sees the dent in the car./ * /Howard will have a fit when he learns that he lost the election./ * /When John decided to drop out of college, his parents had fits./
[have a go at] <v. phr.>, <informal> To try, especially after others have tried. * /Bob asked Dick to let him have a go at shooting at the target with Dick's rifle./ * /She had a go at archery, but did not do very well./
[have a good head on one's shoulders] <v. phr.> To be smart; intelligent; well educated. * /Rob is not the handsomest guy in the world but the girls appreciate him because he has a good head on his shoulders./
[have a (good) head for] <v. phr.> To have a special talent in a certain area. * /Joan has quite a good head for business administration./
[have a (good) mind to] <v. phr.> To consider doing; intend to with a high degree of probability. * /I have a good mind to tell my boss that he doesn't know how to run our enterprise./
[have a hand in] <v. phr.> To have a part in or influence over; to be partly responsible for. * /Sue's schoolmates respect her and she has a hand in every important decision made by the Student Council./ * /Ben had a hand in getting ready the Senior play./ Compare: FINGER IN THE PIE.
[have a heart] <v. phr.>, <informal> To stop being mean; be kind, generous, or sympathetic. * /Have a heart, Bob, and lend me two dollars./ * /Have a heart, Mary, and help me with this lesson./ * /He didn't know if the teacher would have a heart and pass him./
[have a heart-to-heart talk] <v. phr.> To confide in someone with great intimacy. * /Jill and her mother had a heart-to-heart talk before she decided to move in with Andrew./
[have all one's buttons] or [have all one's marbles] <v. phr.>, <slang> To have all your understanding; be reasonable. - Usually used in the negative or conditionally. * /Mike acts sometimes as if he didn't have all his buttons./ * /He would not go to town barefooted if he had all his marbles./
[have a mind of one's own] <v. phr.> To be independent in one's thinking and judgment. * /Tow has always had a mind of his own so there is no use trying to convince him how to vote./
[have an affair with] <v. phr.> To have a sexual relationship with someone, either before marriage or outside of one's marriage. * /Tow and Jane had a long and complex affair but they never got married./
[have an ear for] <v. phr.> To have a keen perception; have a taste or a talent for; be sensitive to something. * /I have no ear whatsoever for foreign languages or music./
[have an ear to the ground] See: EAR TO THE GROUND.
[have an edge on] <v. phr.>, <informal> 1. To have an advantage over someone or something else in the course of an evaluative comparison. * /I can't beat you at tennis, but I have an edge on you in ping-pong./ 2. To be mildly intoxicated; to have had a few drinks. * /Joe sure had an edge on when I saw him last night./ Compare: EDGE ON.
[have an eye for] <v. phr.> To be able to judge correctly of; have good taste in. * /She has an eye for color and style in clothes./ * /He has an eye for good English usage./
[have an eye on] or [have one's eye on] <v. phr.>, <informal> 1. To look at or think about (something wanted); have a wish for; have as an aim. * /I bought ice cream, but Jimmy had his eye on some candy./ * /John has his eye on a scholarship so he can go to college./ Compare: IN MIND. 2. See: KEEP AN EYE ON(1).
[have an eye out] See: EYE OUT.
[have an eye] to See: EYE TO.
[have an itch for] or [to do] See: BE ITCHING TO.
[have a nodding acquaintance with] See: NODDING ACQUAINTANCE.
[have a price on one's head] See: PRICE ON ONE'S HEAD.
[have a rough idea about] See: ROUGH IDEA.
[have a say in] or [a voice in] <v. phr.> To have the right to express one's opinion or cast a vote in a pending matter. * /Our boss is friendly and democratic; he always encourages us to have a say in what we will do next./
[have a screw loose] <v. phr,>, <slang> To act in a strange way; to be foolish. * /Now I know he has a screw loose - he stole a police car this time./ * /He was a smart man but had a screw loose and people thought him odd./