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

cotton on to something • cotton to something
cotton on to something —understand or realize smth.: Re-
member this fact, you will probably cotton on to how impor-
tant it is very quickly.
cotton to something —
1
. be attracted to smth.; accept smth.:
In just the last few years, several major retailers have cottoned
to this strategy. 2. = cotton on to something: Jane quickly cottons
to the fact that something paranormally wrong is going on.
count one’s chickens • count sheep
count one’s chickens —anticipate some benefit, with the im-
plication that it may not materialize (in allusion to the proverb
“don’t count your chickens before they are hatched”): He had been
counting his chickens and borrowing money on the strength
of his expectations as his uncle’s sole heir.
count sheep —try to fall asleep by counting imaginary sheep
– 87 –
count one’s chickens

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jumping over a stile one by one: Did you know that if you
count sheep, it is watching the sheep jump that sends you off?
count someone off • count someone out
count someone off —count or enumerate people: At the be-
ginning of each class, I count off the students to see if the
number present agrees with the attendance lists.
count someone out—
1
. count people as they leave: The sec-
retary counted the members out as they passed his desk. 2.
not to include a person: If you are going for a walk in the
rain, you can count me out. Cf.: count someone in — add or in-
clude a person into one’s plans, etc.: Count me in for the party,
and my husband will be coming along! 3. prevent smb. from
being elected by counting the votes incorrectly: He wasn’t
voted out, he was counted out.