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

cupboard 
(skeleton in the cupboard, a)
currency 
(hard currency; soft currency)
current 
(go current; go with the cur-
rent)
curtain 
(bring down the curtain on
something; draw the curtain on
something; draw the curtain over
something; raise the curtain; ring
down the curtain on something)
customer 
(rough customer; slippery
customer; smooth customer; tough
customer)
cut 
(be cut out for the work; take a
short cut)
daddy 
(sugar daddy)
daisy (
come up daisies; fresh as a daisy;
push up daisies; under the daisies)
dame 
(grande dame)
dan 
(fancy dan)
dance 
(lead someone a dance; lead the
dance)
danger 
(at danger; in danger; on the
danger list)
dark 
(be dark on someone; in the dark;
keep oneself dark; keep someone in
the dark; keep something dark; leap
in the dark; shot in the dark)
dash 
(have a dash at something; make
a dash at something; make a dash for
it)
date 
(to date; up to date)
day 
(all day and every day; all the days
of one’s life; any day; at the end of
the day; at this time of day; be a
long day coming; big day; box day;
boxing day; by day; by the day; call
it a day; dog days, the; dog days of
summer, the; every day; far-off day;
good day; happy day; happy days;
have a big day; have a hard day; have
one’s day off; have one’s off day; have
seen its day; heavenly days; if a day;
in olden days; in one’s day; in the
cold light of day; in the old days; in
these days; in those days; it’s going
to be a long day; king for a day; king
of day, the; labor day; last day, the;
last days, the; late in the day; law
day; lawful day; long day; make
someone’s day; man of the day;
mother’s day; name the day; name-
Key Word Index
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380 –

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day; not a day over; off day; on one’s
day; one day; one fine day; one
hasn’t got all day for someone; one of
these days; one of these fine days;
one of those days; order of the day;
rain day; rainy day; some day; that
will be the day; these days; those
were the days; time of day; to the
day; to this day; well day; work day;
zero day)
dead 
(be dead in the water; be dead on
arrival; be dead set on something;
catch someone dead; charlie’s dead;
cut someone dead; drop dead; half
dead; knock oneself dead; knock
someone dead; living dead; look half
dead; more dead than alive; queen
ann’s dead; you are a dead man; you
are a long time dead)