Usually take-off.) The comedian did
a take-off on the wealthy senator. The
take-off on the dean didn’t go over well.- n. a robbery. (Underworld. Usually
take-off.) That was some take-off Lefty
pulled, huh? Yeah, Lefty sure knows
take-offs.
take-off artistn. a thief. (Underworld.)
A take-off artist known as the Cat is clean-
ing out closets and jewelry boxes all over
town. He’s not a sales agent. He’s a take-
off artist, pure and simple.
take one’s belt in (a notch) and pull
one’s belt in (a notch)tv. to prepare for
lean times. (See also tighten one’s belt.)
It was clear that we would have to bite
the bullet and take our belt in a notch.
We were able to take our belt in a notch,
unlike other people who were already
strained to the maximum.
take one’s lumpstv. to accept the result or
punishment one deserves. (See also get
one’s lumps.) You’ve got to learn to
take your lumps if you’re going to be in pol-
itics. I hate taking my lumps. I’d rather
pretend nothing had happened.
take on fueltv. to drink alcohol to excess.
They stopped at the tavern to take on
fuel. TThey went inside to take fuel on
and then came back out to watch the
horses.
take picturestv. for a highway patrol of-
ficer to use radar. (Citizens band radio.)
There’s a smokey under the bridge tak-
ing pictures. I didn’t see the creep was
taking pictures. I got nabbed.
takern. one who accepts an offer; a buyer.
Are there any takers for this fine, almost
new caddy? Here’s a taker. You’ll not be
sorry.
take some doingtv. to require added ef-
fort and planning. It’ll take some doing,
but it’ll get done. It’s not impossible. It’ll
just take some doing.
take some heatGo to take the heat.
take someone in 1. and rope someone
intv. to cheat or deceive someone. He
might try to take you in. Keep an eye on
him and count your change. The con
artists tried to rope in the old lady, but she
was too clever. 2. tv. to give shelter to
someone. We took her in and gave her
some soup and a place to stay. Mrs. Wil-
son takes in almost every young person
who needs her help.take someone offtv. to kill someone.
(Underworld.) The mob took the wit-
ness off a week before the trial. TBarlowe
didn’t want to have to take off Lefty—like
hell, he didn’t.take someone or something apart 1. tv.
to criticize or defame someone or some-
thing. They really took me apart, but
what the hell? The editorial took the
whole board apart. 2. tv. to beat or dam-
age someone or something. The mug-
ger really took the old lady apart. The
wreck took both cars apart.take someone or something offtv. to rob
someone or something. (Underworld.)
Weren’t you in that bunch that took the
bank off in Philly? No, we never took off
no bank, did we, Lefty?take someone or something ontv. to ac-
cept the task of handling a difficult per-
son or thing. I’ll take it on if nobody else
will do it. TNobody wanted to take on
Mrs. Franklin, but it had to be done.take someone out 1. tv. to block some-
one, as in a football game. I was sup-
posed to take the left end out, but I was
trapped under the center. TOkay, Andy,
you take out the center this time. 2. tv. to
kill someone. (Underworld.) The boss
told Rocko to take out Barlowe. Barlowe
was sure he could keep Rocko from taking
him out. 3. tv. to date someone. I hope
he’ll take me out soon. She wanted to
take him out for an evening.take someone to the cleaners 1. tv. to
take all of someone’s money. The law-
yers took the insurance company to the
cleaners, but I still didn’t get enough to pay
for my losses. The con artists took the
old man to the cleaners. 2. tv. to defeat or
best someone. We took the other team
to the cleaners. Look at the height
they’ve got! They’ll take us to the cleaners!take someone to the cleaners