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

be crashed out of something • be crushed out of
something
be crashed out of something —fail to perform well enough to
stay in a competition: India’s hopes of getting a further gold
went up in smoke when Gopichand was crashed out of the
men’s quarter-finals.
be crushed out of something —be ousted of a business, etc.:
Rockefeller would approach oil companies with two choices:
either sell their company to him, or be crushed out of pro-
duction.
be crowded out of something • crowd out of
something
be crowded out of something —
1
. be forced out of premises
for lack of room: They were crowded out of the room, but sat
in the next peering in at the door eagerly. 2. be ousted from
an office, market, etc.: Low-skilled adults are often crowded
out of their jobs as better-educated teenagers are drawn into
the work force.
crowd out of something —go out of a place in a crowd: The
crowd — mostly younger people — complained about the
movie fiercely as they crowded out of the theater.
be cut out for the work • one’s work is cut out for
one
be cut out for the work —be entirely suited for some work or
activity: There’s no better way to tell if you’re cut out for the
work than hands-on experience.
one’s work is cut out for one —(also: have one’s work cut out
for one) have a lot of work to do; have a hard task ahead: If
you want to shatter the lake trout record, your work is cut out
for you.
be dead in the water • sleep with the fishes
be dead in the water —(of a task, project, etc.) be unable to
make progress; be a failure: Without an effective leader, our
plans for expansion are dead in the water.
sleep with the fishes —(Underworld) be murdered and have
the body disposed of (also: swim with the fishes): I think I could
persuade you to cooperate. That is, unless you’d like to sleep
with the fishes.