A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

chance on something • chance something
chance on something —find smth. by chance: I chanced on
the transaction in the realty column of the paper.
chance something —risk doing smth.: I don’t usually ride
horses, but this time I will chance it.
chance one’s arm • one would give his right arm
chance one’s arm —do smth. in the face of probable failure;
take one’s chance of doing smth. successfully: He chanced his
arm in pursuit of a world record and for a while looked like
he might just pull it off.
one would give his right arm —(hyperbolic) one is ready to
give up his most valuable possession (to achieve smth.): I’m
sure Leon would give his right arm for a fraction of John’s
success.
change hands • pass from hand to hand
change hands —(of money, property, etc.) pass from one per-
son’s possession to another’s: Scanlons used to be a really good
pub but it has just changed hands, so I am not sure any more.
pass from hand to hand —(of leaflets, etc.) continuously pass
from one person to a series of other persons: She watched the
note as it passed from hand to hand down the rows until it
finally reached her desk.
change of life • changes of life
change of life —(euph.) menopause: The period occupied by
this “change of life” ranges from two to four years, if not
longer.
changes of life —altered conditions in a person’s life: I have
learned, through all the changes of life, the important lesson
that it is not necessary to go through any stressful change
alone.
change something for something • change
 something to something
change something for something —take or give smth. in ex-
change for smth. else: On second thoughts I don’t care for
this red tie. Could you change it for a green one?
change something to something —change smth. so as to make
it smth. else: When she marries, a woman usually changes her
surname to that of her husband.