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

autograph book • autographed book
autograph book —a book in which signatures of famous peo-
ple are collected: As I turn the pages of my autograph book
now, each name encapsulates its own little bit of history.
autographed book —a book bearing the author’s own signa-
ture: In this first edition autographed book, Eugene Cernan
describes his personal involvement in mankind’s reach for the
moon.
autographed copy • autographic copy
autographed copy —a copy of a book, etc. signed by the au-
thor: On the day of its publication, Hank had gone jubilantly
to Isobel’s back door, armed with an autographed copy for
her and her husband.
autographic copy —the original copy written by the author:
The Library of Congress houses the autographic copy of the
Declaration of Independence with corrections by Thomas Jef-
ferson himself.
avenge oneself on someone • avenge someone
avenge oneself on someone —(also: revenge oneself on someone)
get even with a person in return for an offence or injury in-
flicted on oneself: He has avenged himself on those who be-
trayed him.
avenge someone —(also: revenge someone) get satisfaction for
an offence or injury done to another person: If Hamlet wants
to avenge his father, what stands in his way?
avoid arrest • evade arrest
avoid arrest—escape being arrested: The government failed
to prove that he left Montana with the intent to avoid arrest
or prosecution.
evade arrest—escape being arrested, especially for a pro-
longed period, by cleverness, deceit, etc.: The two men have
managed to evade arrest but they have done so in different
ways.
B
babe in Christ • child of God
babe in Christ—a newly-made convert to Christianity: Sup-
pose a new Christian man comes from a not so ideal back-
ground, and there are elders that are not willing to deal with
this babe in Christ.
child of God —
1
. (also: God’s child) a human being born of
God, that is by God’s creation: The meanest peasant felt him-
self ennobled as a child of God. 2. a member of the untouch-
able class in Hindu society: She decided he was a Harijan, a
child of God, an untouchable.