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

in dock • in the dock
in dock —(also: in dry dock) 
1
. (of a ship) berthed in harbor
(waiting to be repaired, etc.): The Sally Brown is in dock to
discharge her cargo. 2. (coll., of a person) inactive (unemployed,
in the hospital, etc.): June found herself in dry dock when her
services were most in demand.
in the dock —
1
. on trial in a court of law: I can’t bear to see
a woman in the dock — butterfly on the wheel. 2. = in dock 
1
:
He supplied the staging necessary to enable the outside of the
vessel to be painted when in the dock.
in drink • in the drink
in drink —(coll.) said of smth. done or spoken when drunk:
It was spoken in drink, but it happened to be true.
Note: 
The expression is not equivalent in meaning to the phrase
on the drink
—(coll.) indulging in alcohol: Her brute of a hus-
band was always on the drink and gamble.
in the drink —(coll.) in the sea or river: “This means
absolutely everything to me,” said Hopp, all wet after his son
threw him in the drink.
in each other’s pockets • in someone’s pocket
in each other’s pockets —(coll.) associating closely to the
extent of losing privacy; being together too much: At our win-
ter camp we live in each other’s pockets for six months without
seeing anyone else at all.
in someone’s pocket—(coll.) under smb.’s control or influence
(because a person has been bribed, etc.): The scandals inves-
tigated included a building official who was in the pocket of
a local developer.
in employment • in the employment
in employment—
1
. not out of work; having a job: There
were almost five thousand more people in employment on the
first of this month than on the first of last. 2. employed by a
specific person or company: A person who was in employment
of the company cannot be appointed as auditor.
in the employment—(also: in the employ) = in employment 2:
Stiles was in the employment of a bookmaker…. That was to
say, he went about to find out what the betting was.