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

be on the mend • mend one’s ways
be on the mend —
1
. be getting better after illness: He has
been on the mend under the excellent care by his wife Phyllis.
2. (of things) improve: The economy has been on the mend
since the data in the report was gathered.
mend one’s ways —improve one’s behavior, work, etc.: He is
unlikely to mend his ways unless he is forced to do so.
be on the sick • be sick
be on the sick —(coll.) be on sick list; receive sickness benefit:
Dad used to be on the sick for a long time and couldn’t work.
be sick —
1
. be unwell; be affected by illness: When she was
sick he wanted her to get the best doctor. 2. (have an inclina-
tion to) vomit: “Ouch!” said Joss and looked as if she would
be sick again.
be on the side of the angels • join the angels
be on the side of the angels —be on the side that is morally
right: His motivation to stop whaling is on the side of the an-
gels and I share it.
join the angels —(euph.) die: They were all children once.
One day, sooner or later they will all join the angels beyond
the garden of death.
be on the top line • sweat on the top line
be on the top line —(coll.) be in the highest state of perfec-
tion, readiness, etc.: It cannot be but harmful to the patient
to be attended by a doctor who through sheer exhaustion is
not on the top line.
sweat on the top-line —(sl.) be close to attaining or obtaining
smth.: Here was I sort of sweating on the top line, and I finally
got the offer about two days before my time at British Steel
expired.
be on the verge of something • verge on something
be on the verge of something —be on the point beyond which
smth. bad happens: The country was on the verge of ruin; the
revolution was a matter of months.
verge on something —
1
. border on a particular area: The rear
of the park verges on the river. You can see the railroad bridge
downstream…. 2. resemble smth.; be similar to smth.: To
cling to this idea when it has been shown a thousand times to
be erroneous verges on stupidity.