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

rub noses with someone • rub someone’s nose in
something
rub noses with someone —(coll.) associate or mix with people
(also: rub elbows with someone): I might actually learn some-
thing, here. After all, this was my chance to rub noses with
people who cared.
rub someone’s nose in something —(coll.) remind a person
humiliatingly of smth. such as an error, fault, oversight, etc.:
There’s no need to rub my nose in the fact that she’s so much
more attractive than I am.
rule something off • rule something out
rule something off —draw a straight line with a ruler after a
piece of work: Rule off each exercise as you finish it.
rule something out—
1
. cancel an item on a list, etc. by draw-
ing a line through it: Rule out that entry in the ledger, the
transaction was cancelled. 2. make smth. impossible; prevent
smth.: The conditions of the ground ruled out any chance of
hunting that day.
run after girls • run the girls
run after girls —continually approach girls in the hope of a
romantic relationship: “I don’t care about politics,” he said.
“I just listen to music and run after girls.”
run the girls —(sl., of a pimp) be in charge of prostitutes:
The police try to break up illegal brothels when they can,
using intelligence to track the pimps who run the girls.
– 285 –
run after girls

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run after two hares • run with the hare and hunt
with the hounds
run after two hares —(also: chase two rabbits) try to fulfill
two goals at the same time (with the implication that a person
will not succeed in either one): We are pursuing two qualita-
tive targets simultaneously, which might be thought of as run-
ning after two hares.