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

hardly work • work hard
hardly work —do very little work: She is a decent kid with
bad luck … she hardly works now, and I doubt she will be
with us for much longer.
work hard —work with all one’s energy: You will be in the
limelight for the first three months — time during which you
should work hard to create a positive impression.
hardware store • software store
hardware store —(U.S.) a store that sells tools and imple-
ments, usually made of metal (such as hinges, screws, ham-
mers, etc.): We use chains that can be purchased at a hardware
store.
Note: 
The expression does not correlate in meaning with the
phrase computer hardware store— a store handling computer-
related equipment: I just want to work in a computer hardware
store putting people’s computers together.
software store —a store marketing computer-related prod-
ucts: Today, software comes loaded on the hard drive of your
computer or in a box from a software store.
has your cat died • her rabbit died
has your cat died —(UK) said to a person whose trousers are
too short or are pulled up: Now my Mum would say, “Has
your cat died dear? Your trousers are at half mast.”
her rabbit died —(dated euph.) said of a woman who was
found to be pregnant: I just recently found out that her rabbit
died. I’m finally going to be an aunt!
have a ball • have balls
have a ball —(coll.) have a good time; enjoy oneself: They
had tea in the Japanese Garden, and then drove out to the
beach. She was having a ball.
have balls —(coarse sl.) have great courage or audacity: It’s
for sure that Martin has balls to cut class again, after we were
caught yesterday.
have a big time • make the big time
have a big time —(coll.) enjoy oneself (also: have a great time):
Christ, doesn’t time flit by when you’re having a big time and
all?