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

one way ride • one way street
one way ride —(Underworld) a murder carried out by crim-
inals who take their victim on a car journey: …Charlie
Luciano — now nicknamed Lucky on account of a one way
ride that he came back from.
– 255 –
one way ride

---

one way street—(also: one way ticket) a situation pointing or
developing in one direction only: This is a one-way street. If
someone plants something on you and you’re innocent, you
have no way in the world to prove it.
one will have it • one won’t have it
one will have it—one claims or asserts smth. strongly: He
will have it that our plan is impracticable.
Note: 
The expression does not correlate in meaning with the
phrase let someone have it—(coll.) 
1
. give smb. a beating: He
really let the other man have it when they got into a fight. 2.
scold or criticize a person: He was going to start yelling at her
right off ! Really let her have it this time.
one won’t have it—one will not allow it: We wanted to have
a party at our office but our boss won’t have it.
See also: have it / have it in one.
one wouldn’t say boo to a goose • one wouldn’t
shout if a shark bit him
one wouldn’t say boo to a goose —said of an extremely shy
person: Her taste in movies was pretty unusual for someone
who wouldn’t say boo to a goose.
one wouldn’t shout if a shark bit him —(Austral. sl.) said of
an extremely mean and miserly person: If you don’t shout the
next round of drinks, you will be one of those tight bastards
that “wouldn’t shout if a shark bit him.”
one’s better half • one’s better self
one’s better half —(also: one’s other half ) one’s spouse (usually
one’s wife): In our house, I do the cooking and my better half
does the clean-up.
one’s better self —the better part of one’s nature; the ideal
self: My Utopian self is, of course, my better self— according
to my best endeavors…