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

one has no time for someone • one hasn’t got all
day for someone
one has no time for someone —(coll.) is used to say that one
strongly disapproves of the person mentioned: I have no time
for people who preach equality and then take their holidays
in the Bahamas.
one hasn’t got all day for someone —(coll.) is used to say that
one does not have any more time to spare on the person men-
tioned: Come on, Gage, we haven’t got all day for you to take
as coffee breaks!
one in a thousand • thousand to one, a
one in a thousand —said of a rare exception: He is a marvel
of good humor, consideration and dignity — one in a thou-
sand…
thousand to one, a —said of a very great possibility: Don’t
stray off the track!— if you do, it is a thousand to one you will
never find it again.
one of these days • one of those days
one of these days —
1
. (also: one of these fine days) at some time
in the future that may be very soon (used as a promise or
prophecy): One of these days he will find a farm to let, big
enough to bring up little children on it. 2. said of a day that
is full of mishaps; a day when everything seems to go wrong:
I had the feeling as soon as the Johnsons trooped in for coffee
that it was going to be one of these days.
Note:
a) The expression does not correlate in meaning with
the phrase these days—nowadays; at present: These days can-
didates send swarms of advance men into every city before
they arrive.
b) The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase
one day
—(also: one fine day)
1
. at some distant time in the future:
One day she will be married and we all will somehow have to
live without her. 2. on a certain day in the past: He came to me
quite unexpectedly one day and asked me to join his business.
one of those days — = one of these days 2: Oh, it’s one of those
days. I bet you anything the horse breaks its legs.