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

Note: 
The expression does not correlate in meaning with the
phrase get one’s hooks into someone—(coll.) 
1
. get control or
influence over a person: The rival VHS video format has really
got its hooks into the American consumer. 2. (of a woman)
try hard to gain the affections of a man (used showing disap-
proval): Ramona jealously guards her current boyfriend so
Vicki doesn’t get her hooks into him.
hook up with someone —(coll., also: get hooked up with some-
one) 
1
. meet smb. and spend time together: I was traveling
alone, but then I hooked up with another woman about my
age. 2. become romantically or sexually involved with a person:
I was a freshman in high school and hooked up with this guy
on the first day.
hop it • hop to it
hop it—(UK sl.) be off; move away quickly: “Are we going
to stick it here?” said one. “Didn’t the sergeant say something
about hopping it?”
hop to it—(U.S. coll.) start a job; do smth. immediately: If
you finish your homework quickly you can watch TV tonight,
so you’d better hop to it.
horse-play • play the horses
horse-play —rough or boisterous behavior, passing the
bounds of propriety: Dryden’s best comic attempts were but
heavy horse-play.
play the horses —bet on horserace results: No wonder his
wife is penniless; he is always playing the horses and losing
his money.
Note: 
The expression does not correlate in meaning with the
phrase horse around—(also: horse about) behave in a rough and
noisy manner: Shereth yelled at us to quit horsing around and
finish up the car washing.
horse tail • mare’s tail
horse tail —(also: pony tail) a type of women’s hair style with
hair drawn back, tied and hanging down: She wore jeans and
a cotton sweater, her hair was in a horse-tail.
mare’s tail —
1
. a tall slender marsh plant: This is an old pho-
tograph of the submerged aquatic plant called mare’s-tail, Hip-
puris vulgaris. 2. long straight streaks of cirrus cloud (known
as a sign of impending storm): Cirrus clouds are characterized
by thin, wisplike strands, often accompanied by tufts, leading
to their name of “mare’s tail.”