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

give the game away • have the game in one’s hands
give the game away —make known a secret plan, etc.: Turn
up at the airport to two privately chartered flights; not even
your tickets will give the game away!
have the game in one’s hands —be in a strategically advanta-
geous position: He was thinking that he had the game in his
hands only to find out that nobody else voted with him.
glass ceiling • stained-glass ceiling
glass ceiling —an invisible limit of movement to important
positions for women, minorities, etc.: This discrimination
results in a wage gap and renders women powerless in the face
of an impenetrable glass ceiling.
stained-glass ceiling —the difficulty for women to gain a cer-
tain level of authority within church hierarchies: The paper
ran a disturbing article about clergywomen and the “stained-
glass” ceiling they face.
glove box • glove compartment
glove box —
1
. a case in which there are two holes with gloves
fixed to them for handling dangerous materials: The glove box
is kept at a pressure slightly below atmospheric. 2. compart-
ment in a car in front of the driver’s seat for holding small
articles: I sat for a minute in the front seat. I looked in the
glove box.
glove compartment— = glove box 2: I went to the car and got
a pair of handcuffs out of the glove compartment.
go across to something • go over to something
go across to something —change one’s political beliefs and
join another group: I am disappointed Simpson has decided
to go across to the Democrats, especially after fighting them
so actively in the past.
go over to something —
1
. = go across to something: Stalin, on
the other hand, did not like to see such a figure go over to the
opposition. 2. give up one’s practice, interest, etc. and take
on another: I’ve tried to go over to another instrument before,
the banjo. Didn’t work out. 3. (Radio, TV) switch a broadcast
to another place: And now, we go over to Paris for up-to-the-
minute news about the President’s visit.