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

take a shine to someone • take the shine out of
someone
take a shine to someone —(coll.) take a fancy to a person;
develop a liking for smb.: I suppose I oughtn’t to blame you
if Marion’s taken a shine to you. You must have a way with
women.
take the shine out of someone —(coll.) deprive smb. of his
supremacy; surpass a person (also: take the shine off someone):
That girl’s got it in her, I can tell you. She’ll take the shine
out of some of our West-Enders.
take a sleigh ride • take someone for a sleigh ride
take a sleigh ride —(Drug users) take cocaine (also: go for a
sleigh ride): Ernie left the room briefly to take a sleigh ride.
take someone for a sleigh ride —(coll.) mislead smb. deliber-
ately; deceive or swindle a person (also: take someone for a ride):
Purchasing from a familiar retailer can reduce the risk of being
taken for a sleigh ride.
Note:
The expression is not antonymous in meaning to the
phrase give someone a rough ride—(coll.) treat a person harshly;
make smb.’s life difficult (also: give someone a rough passage):
It seems to me that he is being given an unnecessarily rough
ride.
take a stand on something • take the stand on
something
take a stand on something —(also: take one’s stand on some-
thing ) adopt a firm position concerning smth.: He sent a selec-
tion of newspaper pieces to the authorities with the request
that they take a stand on the matter.
take the stand on something —vouch for smth.; stand surety
for smth.: She is generally believed to be Sneyd’s wife, though
I could not take the stand on that myself.
take a toll of • take a toll on
take a toll of —cause a high number of casualties: The land-
mines took a toll of several thousand civilian lives.
take a toll on —have a very serious effect on a person: The
walking was beginning to take a toll on all of us.