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

John Doe • Richard Roe
John Doe —
1
. the name given to an ordinary or typical cit-
izen: The only information that any John Doe leaves behind
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John Doe

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is what they choose to leave behind. 2. (legal) used as a name
to designate an unknown or unidentified man: According to
the report, the corpse, a John Doe, was found with no clear
cause of death.
Richard Roe —(legal) used as a name to designate an uniden-
tified man, especially the second of two such persons: It was
a matter material to said trial to determine whether or not
John Doe had ever made a loan of money to Richard Roe.
join forces • join the forces
join forces —unite in order to use combined strength to
achieve a common aim: There was a proposal to join forces,
and have a double wedding … the two school fellows and two
young friends.
join the forces —join the army: This year, the number seek-
ing to join the forces has almost doubled and applications for
cadetships have risen by over 40 percent.
join in something • join something
join in something —associate with other people in an activity,
especially when they are already engaged in it: As I stood with
people talking about insignificant things, my small daughter
joined in the conversation.
join something —
1
. become a member of a party, club, organ-
ization, etc.: Many well-known figures joined the party at this
time, including Pablo Picasso. 2. = join in something: Suddenly
the mood changed completely and a third person joined the
conversation, interested in where we were going.
join in with someone • join up with someone
join in with someone —
1
. meet a person to do smth. together:
My aunt and uncle have asked me to join in with them on
their holiday abroad. 2. share a cost with another person: We
joined in with another family to buy the boat and share it for
our holidays.
join up with someone —meet and form a group with a person:
We plan to join up with the other party of climbers on the
other side of the mountain.