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

good-time Charley • good-time man
good-time Charley —(coll.) an affable, fun-loving person:
Wally is such a good-time Charley. Who would believe the
trouble he’s had?
good-time man —
1
. = good-time Charley: Instead of tending
to his business, Ilya was too busy chasing women, throwing
parties and just being a good-time man. 2. (U.S. Drug users)
a man who sells drugs: Max is the main good-time man in
this neighborhood.
Note: 
The expression does not correlate in meaning with the
phrase good-time girl— a girl with loose morals; a call girl: John
Profumo, a government minister, was caught having an affair
with Christine Keeler, a good-time girl.
graduate student • post-graduate student
graduate student—(U.S.) one who has completed a bache-
lor’s degree and is working on a master’s degree: He earned a
fellowship to go to Japan, where he stayed for six years, first
as a graduate student.
post-graduate student—(UK) = graduate student: He spent
two years as a post-graduate student at the International Law
Department and then was employed as assistant professor.
grammar school (UK) • grammar school (U.S.)
grammar school (UK)—fee-charging or state funded selective
– 155 –
grammar school

---

secondary school with an academically oriented program: I
hate the thought that friends will get split up because some
will go to a grammar school and others won’t.
grammar school (U.S.)—(now rare) elementary school: Ele-
mentary school, also known as grammar school, is a school of
kindergarten through fifth grade (sometimes the first eight
grades), where basic subjects are taught.
grandame • grande dame
grandame —(dated) a grandmother or a woman who is no
longer young (also: grandam): The sergeant, handing his mus-
ket to a comrade, rushed in and attempted to seize the rebel-
lious grandame by the waist.
grande dame —a socially important, usually elderly, woman
who is well known or highly esteemed: To her customers and
culinary followers Madame Kuony was the grande dame of
classic French cooking.