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

make free of something • make free with some-
thing
make free of something —be allowed or have the right to use
smth. that belongs to smb. else: In some cases a couple would
actually build for themselves a single cottage, but as a rule
they were content to make free of each other’s private homes.
make free with something —use smth. that belongs to smb.
else without permission or in a way that is considered unac-
ceptable: They walked home, along with their friends, and
made free with my house and kitchen whilst I was busy being
a dinner lady at school.
make free with someone • make someone free
make free with someone —be too familiar or impudent in
one’s behavior with a person: Having been with him and his
family in Loch Broom I had the misfortune to make too free
with a servant maid.
make a vow
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make someone free —(also: set someone free) release a person
from prison, slavery, etc.: Scott sued for his freedom in Mis-
souri in 
1
846, claiming his residence in a free state and a free
territory made him free.
make hay of something • make hay while the sun
shines
make hay of something —
1
. turn smth. to advantage: As long
as politicians can make hay of the supposed “harm” caused to
our citizens … they will be an annoyingly persistent part of
the political landscape. 2. scatter things around in disorder: I
recalled with poignant regret that Jack Winston and I had
once made hay of his room; but evidently he bore no malice.
3. render smth. ineffectual: The fact remains that “La Belle
Helene” has not survived Verdi’s “Requiem,” and this surely
makes hay of the argument.
make hay while the sun shines —(saying ) make the earliest
possible use of favorable circumstances: The old adage, “make
hay while the sun shines,” has never been more apt than it is
now in most sectors of commercial construction.