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

close the door on someone
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coffin nail • nail in the coffin
coffin nail —
1
. smth. (in a sequence of events) that tends to
do serious harm: Every time they buy products made in other
countries they are driving another coffin nail into America’s
economy. 2. (sl.) a cigarette: Our joking doesn’t seem very
funny any more, because for many thousands, cigarettes really
do become coffin nails.
nail in the coffin — = coffin nail 
1
: The vote is another nail
in the coffin of the one-party system which the country has
now largely renounced.
coin box • money box
coin box —(UK) a public telephone: Annie called him from
a coin box using a two-pence piece that had been given her.
money box —
1
. a small box with an opening into which coins
are dropped as a way of saving money: A shilling went into
the child’s money-box that she had chosen as a safe deposit.
2. a strongbox for holding cash: Count the money in the
money box, write the amount down and compare with the
expected amount.
coin laundry • money laundry
coin laundry —(U.S.) a self-service laundry with coin-op-
erated washing machines: If you need to use a coin laundry,
be sure to sort everything at home before you go.
money laundry —a facility (such as a bank, etc.) engaged in
transactions aimed at concealing the identity of illegally ob-
tained money: I figured it was a money laundry, probably for
drug money, but I was mistaken.
cold as hell • cold winter in hell
cold as hell —(coll.) said of an extremely low ambient tem-
perature: Where’s my jacket? It’s cold as hell outside.
cold winter in hell —said of smth. not likely to happen or
happening on a very rare occasion: It’ll be a cold winter in
hell before I ever go back there again.