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

movie theater • moving theater
movie theater —a building where movies are shown to an
audience; a cinema: When we go to a movie theater today, we
experience a much different world than the theater-goer of
the early twentieth century.
moving theater —virtual reality simulator with seats moving
where you actually ride with the movie and experience every
bump, dip and turn: How am I to eat and drink in a moving
theater seat tossing me around for two hours.
Mr. Right • right Charlie
Mr. Right—(also: right guy, the) a perfect romantic or mar-
riage partner: When she found herself in a romantic rut last
winter, she began to despair of ever meeting Mr. Right. Cf.:
Mr. Right Now —(a jocular pun on the former) a man who is
not to be considered for a permanent relationship: One look at
a man’s face may give a woman important clues about whether
he’s “Mr. Right” or just “Mr. Right Now.”
right Charlie —(sl., also: right Charley) a fool; a simpleton:
You made me look a right Charlie when you told everyone
about me getting so drunk last night.
mutton dressed as lamb • wolf in sheep’s clothing
mutton dressed as lamb —said of a middle-aged woman
dressed in too youthful a style: You would never be able to
describe her as mutton dressed up as lamb because she obvi-
ously still feels young.
wolf in sheep’s clothing —said of a person or thing that
appears peaceful and harmless but is really harmful or hostile:
monkey jacket
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John Major’s grey image may disguise a wolf in sheep’s cloth-
ing.
N
name the day • name-day
name the day —fix the date for a wedding: Then he made
hot love to her, and pressed her hard to name the day.
name-day —(in Catholic or Orthodox tradition) the feast day
of the saint after whom one is named at baptism: There is no
St. Jennifer, so I celebrate my name day on the Feast of St.
Geneviève.