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

bargain on something
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sluggish but the car still has get up and go when you really
need it.
be a good hand • have good hands
be a good hand —
1
. be a diligent, industrious worker: He is
a good hand and enjoys his work which he does faithfully and
well. 2. possess the necessary skill to do smth. well: He is a
good hand at making bows and arrows, and a fine knife would
be just the thing for him.
have good hands —(Sport) have the ability to throw a ball
well: Chris has good hands, catches the ball well in traffic and
is quick enough.
be a good life • live a good life
be a good life —be likely to live long enough: I want to find
out if he is a good life to insure. Does he live temperately?
live a good life —lead a morally commendable life: I would
like to be remembered as someone who lived a good life.
be a know-all • know it all
be a know-all —said of smb. who thinks he knows every-
thing and annoys people by showing how clever he is: I don’t
see the point in arguing with someone who plays such a know-
all.
know it all —
1
. be extremely knowledgeable; be fully in-
formed: Did he choose the Pharisees and the Sadducees — the
scribes and men who did nothing all day but study the scrip-
ture — men who knew it all? 2. is often used with the impli-
cation of overconfidence: The older I get, the more I realize
that my dad really did know what he was talking about (but
I was a young punk who “knew it all”…).
be a law unto oneself • take the law into one’s own
hands
be a law unto oneself —do what one believes is right and ig-
nore established laws or custom: If the government becomes
a law breaker it invites every man to become a law unto him-
self.