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

ask someone to leave • ask someone’s leave
ask someone to leave —
1
. ask a person to depart from a place:
She said that what she had heard was self-explanatory and
asked him to leave. 2. dismiss smb. from employment: The
company thought it did not look good, so they asked him to
leave. They are very concerned about integrity…
ask someone’s leave —(formal) ask smb.’s permission: When
he offered her freedom to do as she wished, she asked his leave
to join the Order.
ask the question • put the question
ask the question —
1
. call to a person for an answer to or about
smth.: I heard your voice tremble as you asked me the ques-
tion. 2. (Horse races) call upon the horse for a special effort: I
asked King Lud the question. He answered in the most gen-
erous manner possible and won.
Note: 
The expression does not correlate in meaning with the
phrase beg the question—
1
. take for granted the very point that
needs to be proved: You’re simply begging the question in as-
suming that O’Neill wasn’t a racist. 2. used to indicate that the
question really ought to be addressed: This year’s budget deficit
is half a trillion dollars. This begs the question: how are we
going to balance the budget?
put the question —ask those present at a meeting, etc. to
record their votes for or against the proposal: I must put the
question to the House, and the House must say “Aye” or “No.”
assimilate something into something • assimilate
something to something
assimilate something into something —adapt smth. making it
part of a larger group: The costs of assimilating a traffic artery
into an existing urban area are a massive community burden.
assimilate something to something —make smth. like smth.
else: The laws of the defeated country were assimilated to
those of the stronger country.