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

be one too many • have one too many
be one too many —(coll.) be more than a match for a person:
I venture to prophesy that, between us, we shall be one too
many for the Colonel.
have one too many —(coll.) take more alcohol than one can
drink: The man was a little tipsy; it looked like he had had
one too many for complete control of his faculties.
be oneself • be oneself again
be oneself —behave in a way that is natural, especially in
contrast to the affected manner: I wish you wouldn’t act the
sophisticated lady. You’re far nicer when you are just being
yourself.
be oneself again —be in one’s normal condition of mind and
body after an illness, emotional stress, etc.: After such a long
illness, it’s good to be myself again.
Note:
Neither expression correlates in meaning with the phrase
be full of oneself
— be impressed with one’s own work; be too
proud of oneself: Karl is so full of himself. He is a good designer,
but I’m so sick of his personality.
be out of one’s brain • have brains
be out of one’s brain —(sl.) be very drunk (also: be out of one’s
scull): By the time I arrived at the party he was out of his
brain.
have brains —(coll.) be very smart and intelligent: Don’t be
fooled by her pretty appearance alone, this girl has brains to
match!
be out of spirits • lose all spirit
be out of spirits —be dejected or depressed: I was out of spir-
its at the thought of leaving all my family and friends for so
long a time.
lose all spirit—lose courage or confidence: The lad had been
so badly treated, that he had lost all spirit.
be out of the ball park • knock it out of the ball
park
be out of the ball park —(coll.)
1
. be not close to the correct
amount or number: Their budget “estimates” are out of the
ballpark and too high in my opinion. 2. be beyond the bound-
aries of what is acceptable or possible: The project makes sense
only with those recommendations, otherwise, it is out of the
ball park.
knock it out of the ball park —(coll.) do smth. exceptionally
well (also: hit it out of the ball park): The film stars Uma Thur-
man who can take a strong female role and knock it out of the
ball park.