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

be down for something • be down to something
be down for something— said of a person or thing listed for
some activity: Mr. Stansfield’s bill was down for second read-
ing on Wednesday.
be down to something —have only a little money or goods
left: On the seventh day after the wreck, he was down to his
last pint of water.
See also: be up for something / be up to something.
be dressed in rags • have the rags on
be dressed in rags —be dressed in old torn clothes: The work
was carried out manually by wretched, scarecrow figures
dressed in rags.
have the rags on —(sl.) 
1
. wear a special kind of clothes: He
had the rags on, getting into character, and it just took me
aback for a minute. Cf.: have the glad rags on — wear one’s best
clothes or formal attire: Having arrived it was time to get the
glad rags on and go to dinner in the town. 2. (also: have the
rag on) have one’s menstrual period: Lana doesn’t feel like
going out tonight. She’s got the rags on.
be empty-handed • have one’s hands full
be empty-handed —
1
. having received or gained nothing:
Due to three successive droughts, most farmers are empty-
handed. 2. be unarmed: You will learn not only to use weap -
ons, but also to defend against someone who has one while
you are empty-handed.
have one’s hands full —have much work to do; be very busy:
The plumber had his hands full and could not take another
job for two weeks.
be evident • be in evidence
be evident—be obvious; be easy to see or understand: It was
evident to me that writing must be in God’s great plan for my
life.
be in evidence —
1
. be actually present: He was not about, so
I looked outside, but he was not in evidence. He had not yet
risen. 2. be prominent or conspicuous: He was not in evidence,
to any considerable extent, in the voluntary societies of the
college.