Idioms – H

A hair’s breadth

A hair’s breadth is a very small margin.

Let your hair down

To let your hair down is to behave in a very relaxed way or wildly.

Split hairs

To split hairs is to make trivial distinctions.

Not do things by halves

Do things thoroughly.

Hammer something in / into

To hammer something in is to make it sit in someone’s mind by repeating it constantly.

Hammer something out

To hammer something out is to work out the details of an agreement.

Hand in glove

In close association

Hand to mouth

When you live hand to mouth, you meet only your immediate needs and you have no money in reserve.

Hands-on

When you are hands-on you directly participate in something.

    He is a hands-on dad.

In hand

The job in hand is the job in progress.

On hand

If something is on hand, it is present and available.

Out of hand

If something goes out of hand, it becomes unavailable. To reject something out of hand is to reject it without taking time to think.

    They rejected the proposal out of hand.

Get the hang of

To get the hang of something is to learn how to do something.

Hang around

To hang around is to wait around.

Hang on

To hang on to something is to hold it tightly. Hang on can also mean ‘wait for a short time’.

Hang out

To hang out is to spend time relaxing.

Hang up

To hang up is to end a telephone conversation abruptly by cutting the connection.