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

go home

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go in at the deep end • go off at the deep end
go in at the deep end —do smth. difficult without preparation
or with no experience of it: You will not be expected to go in
at the deep end and you will get support from staff members.
go off at the deep end —(also: go off the deep end) lose one’s
temper; act recklessly or hysterically: I saw what he had done,
and I just went off at the deep end.
go into business • go to business
go into business —engage in production or commerce: …it
was better to sell sock-suspenders in Honolulu than to play
small parts in Cleveland, Ohio. He left the stage and went
into the business.
go to business —
1
. go to one’s office: “When I go to business
tomorrow, I will just have a look at Mr. Fitz’s account,” Mr.
Rowdy thought. 2. (also: come to business) discuss the basic
and most important facts or realities of smth.: Finns are not
very talkative and they like to go straight to business, when it
comes to negotiations.
go into retreat • go on retreat
go into retreat—retire temporarily to a place of seclusion (to
concentrate on a task, etc.): Narcissus goes into retreat to med-
itate, and Goldmund, not understanding Narcissus and his
fear of loving, feels alone.
go on retreat—go to a specific place for the purpose of relax-
ation or recreation: She regains her sense of peace by going
on a religious retreat with her church group.
Note: 
Neither expression correlates in meaning with the phrase
beat the retreat
—
1
. give the signal to retreat: Even when Hitler
was forced to beat a retreat on the Russian front … Spanish
support did not waver. 2. withdraw from an undertaking, etc.:
She beat the retreat when she realized that she was going to
get nothing further out of him. 3. (U.S. Army) perform the
routine consisting of marching and military music, usually at
dusk: At 6 
P
.
M
. the Marines will beat the retreat with the town
mayor taking the salute.