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

twist someone’s arm • twist someone’s tail
twist someone’s arm —
1
. persuade a person to do smth. by
pressure: Nobody forced him to go there and nobody twisted
his arm to make connections with dubious characters. 2. (joc.)
“persuade” a person to have a drink, when no persuasion at
all is needed: “That looks a nice pub over there.” “All right —
you’ve twisted my arm enough,” admitted Boote.
twist someone’s tail —(coll.) harass or maliciously annoy a
person: Revenge seems to me least likely. Grown men don’t
kill boys just because they’ve had their tails twisted by them.
two bits • two-bit
two bits —(U.S. coll.) twenty five cents; a quarter coin: Many
saloons served the “choicest goods” and steam beer at two bits
a glass.
two-bit—(U.S. coll., attrib.) 
1
. of smth. that costs a quarter
of a dollar: He smoked two-bit cigars and peered determinedly
through steel-rimmed glasses. 2. (derog.) cheap; worthless:
But people who took the time to vote have to feel like the
whole process was a two-bit hoax. Cf.: ten-cent man —(U.S.
derog.) a small, narrow-minded, trifling man: Do you want a
ten-cent man to fill a hundred-dollar job? How big a problem
is this that you have demonstrated right here to me tonight?
U
umbrella pine • umbrella tree
umbrella pine —
1
. (also: stone pine) a species of pine tree
(Pinus pinea) with branches at the top spreading like an
umbrella: The umbrella pine has been growing here for at
least two thousand years. 2. a tall Japanese evergreen conifer
tree (Sciadopitus verticillata) with an umbrella-like ring of
leaves: The English name “umbrella pine” refers to the whorls
of leaves resembling the spokes of an umbrella.
umbrella tree —
1
. a small magnolia (Magnolia tripetala) with
leaves in a spiral like an umbrella: The wood of the Umbrella
Tree is more spongy than any of the other species of Magnolia.
2. one of a variety of trees whose leaves resemble an umbrella:
Umbrella Tree: Schefflera actinophylla. This is a member of
the family Araliaceae, widely cultivated in tropical and sub-
tropical gardens.