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

chick 
(feed the chicks)
chicken 
(count one’s chickens; feed the
chicken; not count one’s chickens
before they are hatched)
chief 
(doctor, lawyer, or indian chief;
there are too many chiefs; too many
chiefs and not enough indians)
child 
(god’s child; gutter child; man-
child; natural child; only child, an;
only child, the; sick child; sickly
child; with child; women and chil-
dren first)
chill 
(put the chill on someone)
chin 
(keep one’s chin up
china 
(from china to peru)
chip 
(call in one’s chips; cash in one’s
chips; when the chips are down)
choice 
(by choice; hobson’s choice; of
choice; sophie’s choice)
chop 
(pork chop)
christ 
(babe in christ; before christ)
christian 
(wise as a christian)
church 
(father-in-church; go into the
church; go to church)
cicero 
(british cicero, the; german cic-
ero, the)
cigar 
(close but no cigar)
circle 
(go full circle; go round in cir-
cles; run around in circles; run cir-
cles around someone; run someone
round in circles)
citizen 
(natural citizen; naturalized cit-
izen; senior citizen)
city 
(go into the city; gotham city)
claim 
(make a claim for something;
make a claim to something)
clap 
(at a clap; in a clap)
class 
(high class; third class; upper
class)
claw 
(draw in one’s claws; pull in one’s
claws)
clean 
(sweep something clean)
clear 
(be clear about something; be in
the clear over something; in clear; in
the clear; stand clear of something;
sweep clear for something; sweep
clear of something)