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

protective belt • safety belt
protective belt—
1
. a kind of supportive brace made of highly
elastic material: Ballesteros wore a protective belt to cushion
his aching back. 2. a long narrow strip of forest to protect
crops, etc.: A sinuous, chaotic river with a thick protective
belt of forests became a contained, channelized canal.
safety belt—a strap attached to a seat in a car or airplane to
hold the passenger in his seat in the event of an accident:
He would have been killed if he hadn’t been wearing a safety
belt.
Note: 
The expression is not equivalent in meaning to the com-
pound lifebelt— a large ring used to keep a person afloat and
prevent him from drowning: The lifelines — easier to use and
more accurate than lifebelts — were provided.
protest against something • protest something
protest against something —express one’s opposition to smth.:
In a recent number of the Guy’s Hospital Gazette the editor
protests against the too free use of students as blood donors.
protest something —affirm smth. strongly against opposition:
Rachel protested her innocence for those long twelve years,
claiming that it was Daniel who fired the fatal shot.
proud of someone • proud to someone
proud of someone —(also: proud for someone) having or show-
ing a proper pride in smb.: He’s my son, and he’s a chip off
the old block, and I’m proud of him.
proud to someone —thinking oneself superior to a person:
You must not be proud to those who are less fortunate than
yourself.
provide cover against something • provide cover
from something
provide cover against something —
1
. offer protection against
rain, snow, etc.: The patios could be surrounded by porches
that would provide cover against the rain. 2. insure a person
against loss, damage, etc.: This will cover all the risks that are
listed, but is extended to provide cover against accidents in
the home.
provide cover from something — = provide cover against some-
thing 
1
: John was soaked before he reached the first brick build-
ing that provided cover from the rain.