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

hold on to something • hold to something
hold on to something —
1
. keep one’s grip on smth.; not let
go of smth.: The boy held on to the bush until someone
climbed down the cliff to rescue him. 2. not give up the own-
ership of smth.: Letting your property enables you to hold on
to your property and gain an additional income from rent. 3.
(coll.) look after smth. which belongs to another person for a
period of time: Will you hold on to this for me for a couple
of days. 4. remain loyal or committed to ideas, principles, etc.:
They hold on to these virtues with a rare tenacity.
hold to something —
1
. = hold on to something 4: He could
not switch beliefs just for the sake of a paycheck. His integrity
demanded he hold to his convictions. 2. continue traveling in
a certain direction: For half an hour the ship held to its course;
then its bow swung in my direction. I had been sighted.
hold one’s breath • save one’s breath
hold one’s breath —
1
. be affected by a sudden emotion, such
as amazement, delight, etc.: The sky broke like an egg into
full sunset and the water caught fire. He held his breath. 2.
(coll., often negat.) be waiting impatiently in expectation of
smth.: I expect the mail to be delivered soon, but I am not
holding my breath.
save one’s breath —keep one’s advice, opinion, etc. for oneself
for it is unlikely to be heeded: Anyways, I saved my breath
from an argument and decided to rent from another company.
Cf.: waste one’s breath — talk to a person without him paying any
attention, or acting on the speaker’s advice: Every time I talk to
Catherine about emigrating, I feel as if I’m wasting my breath.
hold one’s hand • hold someone’s hand
hold one’s hand —keep back; refrain from action: She knew
when to hold her hand and when to pile on all her strength.
hold someone’s hand —give guidance or moral support to a
person in a difficult situation: I “held his hand” to the best of
my ability with school-girl French and passable Italian.