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

doublespeak • speak with a double tongue
doublespeak —(also: doubletalk) use deliberately imprecise,
ambiguous language to disguise the actual meaning: Charac-
terizing Godsey as a “word craftsman” in his responses to the
committee’s probes, the report said, “…he has masterfully
doublespoken in many instances.”
speak with a double tongue —said of a speech characterized
by duplicity, hypocrisy, and double standard: Sandra really
bungled it when she spoke with a double tongue on the subject
of affirmative action, or racial preferences.
down and out • up and out
down and out—
1
. said of a person without means of liveli-
hood: “You’ve never been down and out, I imagine, Mr.
Forsyte?” “No,” answered Soames. 2. (of business, etc.) lacking
resources or prospects: The local housing industry is down
and out. Cf.: down but not out— said of smb. who is down on
his luck or suffered a serious setback but feels hopeful: Though
analysts feel that Khin Nyunt is down but not out, as of now
the chances of his return to power are not bright.
up and out—(UK) convalescent; no longer in bed: There
was Phyllis to help me recoup and now I am up and out again
getting into trouble just like before.
down below • down under
down below —
1
. in a lower part of a building, ship, etc.:
Someone was with me and we proceeded to open the hatch to
the flooded compartment down below. 2. under the ocean or
sea: Wherever there’s a lot of seaweed at the surface, you will
probably find some sort of big fish down below.
down under —(coll.) said of Australia or New Zealand: The
last time I was Down Under was ten years ago. It was my sec-
ond visit to Australia.
See also: down here / here below.
down for the count • out for the count
down for the count—
1
. (of a boxer) knocked down and unable
to get back up for the count of ten: West went down for the
count, lying motionless on the floor. 2. soundly defeated: The
conservatives appeared to be down for the count. Yesterday
they failed to win a vote of no confidence.
out for the count—
1
. = down for the count 
1
: Now that Nu-
ruddin is within punching distance, he’ll put him out for the
count. 2. = down for the count 2: Diversity and multi-cultur-
alism are by no means out for the count in the School of Public
Health. 3. unconscious: I was out for the count. Before I lost
complete state of consciousness, I felt my cell phone slipping
out of my hand. 4. very fast asleep: I knew the children were
tired. Look at them. They are both out for the count.