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

disguise 
(in the disguise of someone;
under the disguise of someone)
dish 
(do the dishes; make the dishes)
disorder 
(in disorder)
distance 
(at a distance; go the full dis-
tance; in the distance)
ditch 
(die in a ditch; die in the last
ditch)
dive 
(do a deep dive; take a dive; take a
nose-dive)
do 
(be used to doing something; have
someone do something; have some-
one doing something; it doesn’t do;
it’s not done; make a do of it; make
do with something; need doing;
need to do; that will do; that will
never do; used to do something;
what else can i do; what else can i do
for you)
dock 
(in dock; in the dock)
doctor 
(family doctor; just what the
doctor ordered)
doe 
(john doe)
dog 
(be like a dog with two tails;
between dog and wolf; big dog; big
grey dog; dirty dog; done like a
dog’s dinner; done up like a dog’s
dinner; every dog has its day; gone
to the dogs; hot dog; if you lie down
with dogs, you will get up with fleas;
sausage dog; sea dog; short dog;
teach an old dog new tricks; wake
sleeping dogs; water dog; work like a
dog)
doghouse 
(in the doghouse)
dollar 
(bottom dollar; top dollar)
donkey 
(play donkey; play donkey-
drop)
door 
(bang on the door; bang the
door; close the barn door after the
horse gets out; close the door on
someone; close the door to someone;
roses round the door; show someone
the door; show someone to the door;
your barn door is open)
dot 
(off one’s dot; on the dot; to the
dot)
dove 
(peace dove; peaceful dove)
down 
(be down for something; be
down to something; have a down on
someone; up and down; ups and
downs; way down something)