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

have a head • have a head on one’s shoulders
have a head —(coll.) suffer from a hangover: Tom has a head
this morning and won’t be coming into work.
have a head on one’s shoulders —(coll.) be very smart and
intelligent: He has a head on his shoulders and can be trusted
to do any job well.
have a head for something • have a mind to do
something
have a head for something —have a special talent in a certain
area: A good editor has a head for business. It does no one
any good if the books an editor signs up lose money for a
publisher.
have a mind to do something —consider doing smth.: There
are a few articles that I have a mind to create, and a few exist-
ing articles that I have a mind to expand considerably.
have a heat on • heat is on, the
have a heat on —(U.S. sl.) be alcohol or drug intoxicated: A
few years ago this dump was full of dope. Every other man
you met had a heat on.
heat is on, the —
1
. said when strong pressure is brought to
bear: She says now that the heat is on, the people can depend
on the union to stand up strong at the negotiation table. 2.
(U.S. coll.) said when police activities or investigations are at
their peak: The heat is on in Baltimore. The drug war is being
lost … and a desperate mayor wants the crime rates down
before the election.
have a heavy hand • have a light hand
have a heavy hand— be harshly oppressive; inclined to pun-
ish severely: Sykes was known for having a heavy hand. Few
of his employees stayed more than a year or two.
have a light hand —get good results handling smth.: She is
very reliable and she has as light a hand with pastry as anyone
I ever knew.
See also: heavy in hand / heavy-handed.
have a large practice • have much practice
have a large practice —(of a doctor, lawyer, etc.) have many
regular patients or clients: This doctor has a large practice and
is regarded as an able practitioner.
have much practice —engage in frequent and systematic exer-
cise of an activity: I haven’t had much practice in speaking
French lately.