Hyphenated Words (page 3)

hang-up

Look! Don't lay your hang-ups on me, just cause you lost your mojo.

dialogue from movie Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

hang-up = an emotional preoccupation.

all-out

a all-out baby-making night!

all-out = using all available resources.

point-blank

he was executed point-blank

point-blank = The white spot on a target, at which a arrow or other missile is aimed; close enough to go straight to the target. Point-blank range

scot-free

Vandals got away scot-free

scot-free = 1. Without having to pay; Without incurring any penalty or punishment. (AHD)

lock-step

soldiers march in lock-step

lock-step = a manner of marching in file in which each person's leg moves with and behind the corresponding leg of the person ahead.

hocus-pocus

hocus-pocus over my dead corpse!

Online forum post by Xah Lee (newsgroup comp.lang.lisp)

hocus-pocus = A term used by magicians or conjurers in pretended incantations; Obfuscating talk or elaborate but meaningless activity intended to hide a deception or to obscure what is actually happening.

pent-up

Vacuous opinion touched up with dumb presentation jacked up with a pent-up wrangled anal-ogy in the fashion of wishful thinkers.

Retort to a paragraph of newsgroup posting by Xah Lee (com.lang.lisp, 2000-07)

wrangle = To dispute angrily; to quarrel peevishly and noisily.

pent-up = characterized by or showing the suppression of impulses or emotions; repressed.

silver-tongued

You've charmed us all, you silver-tongued devil.

Newsgroup post (rec.music.classical) by Kip Williams, 2000-06

silver-tongued = expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively.

tug-of-war

Don't wear rollerskates to a tug-of-war.

Attributed to computer programer Larry Wall.

See also: Word of mouth

lock horns

... of course, if you stubbornly disagree, then we can proceed to lock horns.

lock horns = Become embroiled in conflict. This expression alludes to how stags and bulls use their horns to fight one another. (AHD)

out of the woodwork

I'm so ... intrigued by the evolutionary refuse that keeps crawling out of the woodwork to share their putrid mind with the world.

Sneering by Erik Naggum in “comp.lang.lisp” newsgroup, 2000-03-06. Source

out of the woodwork = Emerging from obscurity or a place of seclusion. It often is put as come (or crawl) out of the woodwork, as in The candidates for this job were coming out of the woodwork. The expression alludes to insects crawling out of the interior wooden fittings of a house, such as baseboards and moldings. (AHD)

bait and switch

car dealor advertise incredibly low priced cars, to get consumer to come in to eventually buy mor expensive ones that has more margin; this is bait and switch.

bait and switch = a deceptive way of selling that involves advertising a product at a very low price in order to attract customers who are then persuaded to switch to a more expensive product.

hand over fist

All that was validated when my e-mail from Red Hat arrived, promising me tangible financial rewards for my efforts on behalf of the community. Sure, I deserved it. How many millions of people use the Linux operating system? Hadn't I written part of the code each one of them uses every single day? And how many hundreds or thousands of students used my compiler tools each semester? The time I spent was worth something, and Red Hat recognized it! Of course, I had no idea how my name ended up on their list. We hackers keep so many lists of who contributed what to which project that it's impossible to know for sure how Red Hat came up with their own selection. But in any case, all of us who had received the invitation now had a shot at real cash money. It's patently obvious to the Linux faithful that Red Hat is poised to make moolah hand-over-fist. The company's public offering was bound to soar to record levels: And I was being offered stock at the initial price!

“A Linux lament: As Red Hat prepares to go public, one Linux hacker's dreams of IPO glory are crushed by The Man.” (1999-07-30) By C Scott Ananian Source

moolah = money.

hand over fist = At a tremendous rate. (probably originated from sailers pulling over rope fast.)

head off

Yahoo reports that PayPal is taking an aggressive stance against gambling, adult, and non-prescription drug sites: anyone caught using PayPal for these purposes will be charged $500. Eric Jackson, a former PayPal executive and author of the new book 'The PayPal Wars,' calls the new policy 'draconian' and says it is likely a two-fold strategy to discourage certain behavior while heading off regulators.

“PayPal to Fine Gambling, Porn Sites” (2004-09-11) “Slashdot.org” Source

head off = prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening.