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

Gulf Country • Gulf State
Gulf Country —(Austral.) the back country of the gulf of
– 157 –
Gulf Country

---

Carpentaria in the northern part of Queensland and the
Northern Territory: It’s hard to travel in the remote Gulf
Country without hearing about Wollogorang Station.
Gulf State —
1
. an American state bordering the Gulf of Mex-
ico: The Gulf States or their representatives in Congress killed
the bill by voting against it. 2. a state bordering the Persian
Gulf: Qatar becomes the fifth Gulf State to agree to open its
territory to foreign troops.
gun chamber • gun room
gun chamber —
1
. the part of a gun that receives the loaded
charge: According to Massalamani his own gun chamber got
jammed, so he could not shoot. 2. an apartment on a warship
used by the midshipmen and junior officers: He lost the advan-
tage that the suddenness of his irruption into the gun chamber
had given him.
gun room — = gun chamber 2: John was popular but found
the discipline of a fighting ship difficult…. He was often called
up to join his senior officers in the gun-room.
gun for it • gun it
gun for it—(coll.) go after smth. in earnest; try hard to
obtain smth.: Learn where you want to be in life and then
gun for it with everything you’ve got … and never stop try-
ing.
gun it—(coll.) cause a vehicle to accelerate rapidly or sud-
denly: Trials include accelerating tests where you’ll need to
gun it … get as much speed up as possible before braking
hard.
gutter child • gutter man
gutter child —a neglected boy running at large; a child of
low birth or breeding: The gutter child and the infant prince
are alike open to the workings of the desire for esteem…
gutter man —a man who cleans out the gutters of buildings:
We await the gutter man. We have had to try to contact him
twice already to no avail.
H