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

clever at something • clever with something
clever at something —quick in learning and understanding
smth.: Some of you boys and girls are very clever at working
sums.
clean animals
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clever with something —skilful in using a tool, etc.: She was
a beader: she was that clever with her fingers she could do all
kinds of things.
climacteric period • climactic period
climacteric period —
1
. the period of menopause in women:
Psychological and social conditions influenced the presence of
depression during the climacteric period. 2. a period of deci-
sive importance: Barnes rendered specially valuable service in
behalf of the Union during the climacteric period of the Civil
War.
climactic period —a period of greatest intensity in a series of
events: The climactic period in the dinosaurs’ reign was
reached just before the ice age.
climb up the wall • go over the wall
climb up the wall—(coll.) become very angry or distraught:
Old Marks will climb up the wall if he hears I closed early.
go over the wall—
1
. leave a religious order: The world is al-
ways more interested in the one nun who goes over the wall
than the thousands who don’t. 2. escape from prison: Us guys
pull wires to get jobs as guards, and you convicts go over the
wall whenever you can. 3. defect to another country: The
bloody place [the Foreign Office] has never been the same
since Kim Philby went over the wall. 4. go to prison: He would
be observed “going over the wall” or “going to stir” (going to
detention prison).
clip one’s words • clip the King’s English
clip one’s words —speak with affected clarity or precise ar-
ticulation: Although he was usually fairly easy to understand,
he had a habit of clipping his words so that they sounded ex-
tremely precise.
clip the King’s English —(UK dated) pronounce words hur-
riedly and indistinctly when drunk (also: clip the Queen’s En-
glish): I only drink to get mauled but it’s rare to find me clip-
ping the King’s English in these places.