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

contact someone direct • contact someone directly
contact someone direct—get in touch with a person without
an intermediary: My guess is that they would have contacted
him direct but his email address is not on his profile.
contact someone directly —make contact with a person at
once: If any problems were to arise before the date of this ap-
pointment you should contact the doctor directly.
contemptuous of something • in contempt of
something
contemptuous of something —showing contempt or scorn for
smth.: There is plenty of evidence that the current government
is completely contemptuous of public opinion.
in contempt of something —showing disregard or disrespect
for smth.: The way in which Mr. Abrahams made his donations
were in contempt of the rules covering political donations.
content of a book • contents of a book
content of a book —subject matter and the ideas of a book as
opposed to its style: Do you approve of the content of this
book?
contents of a book —that which is contained in a book; every-
thing that it says: He knew by heart the contents of the book.
convert something into something • convert
 something to something
convert something into something —transform smth. from one
form or state into another, so as to perform a different func-
tion: The trunk is often converted into canoes.
convert something to something —apply smth. to another use
without changing the thing: During the Civil War, the ship
was seized by Union forces, who converted it to a gunboat.
cook one’s goose • kill the goose that lays the
golden eggs
cook one’s goose —ruin one’s future chances or reputation:
Sarah cooked her goose when she caused the defeat of a safe
Re publican seat in New York, one we held for more than 150
years.