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

dried bread • dry bread
dried bread —bread that has lost all the water in it : My
worldly goods are a knapsack with some dried bread in it, and
in my breast-pocket a Bible.
dry bread —bread which is plain and not covered with butter
or jam: He managed to swallow a little soup and dry bread.
drink hard • drink hard liquor
drink hard —(also: drink heavily) indulge in alcohol to ex-
cess: Jimmy Muir is a typical factory worker who drinks hard
and lacks any kind of respect for authority.
drink hard liquor —consume strong alcoholic beverages (in
preference over wine or beer): My boyfriend acts like an ass
regardless of what he drinks although he truly believes that he
only acts out when he drinks hard liquor.
drive someone to the wall • drive someone up the
wall
drive someone to the wall —push a person to the last extrem-
ity: He complained that the company was being driven to the
wall by the workers’ demands for higher wages.
drive someone up the wall —make smb. very angry or men-
tally confused: Someone is running a jackhammer outside of
my office and it’s driving me up the wall.
– 107 –
drive someone to the wall

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driver’s license • driver’s permit
driver’s license —(also: driving license) a document which
states that a person may operate a motorized vehicle: I was
forced to produce my driver’s license and all other identifica-
tion I had on me.
driver’s permit—(U.S.) provisional license for the learner
drivers (to drive they must be accompanied by smb. with a driver’s
license): I was up early so that Heidi could go on a field trip.
She still has a driver’s permit and so I needed to go with her
on the drive.