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[lose one’s grip]{v. phr.} To fail in control or command; lose your strength, force, or ability to lead. •/Mr. Jones began to lose his grip: he no longer wanted the hard jobs, and he left decisions to others./ •/When a locomotive engineer loses his grip, he is no longer trusted with express runs./

[lose one’s head (over)]{v. phr.} 1. To panic. •/"Let’s not lose our heads," the captain cried. "We have good lifeboats on this vessel."/ 2. To become deeply infatuated with someone. •/Don’t lose your head over Jane; she is already married./ Contrast: KEEP ONE’S HEAD.

[lose one’s heart]{v. phr.} To fall in love; begin to love. •/She lost her heart to the soldier with the broad shoulders and the deep voice./ •/Bill lost his heart to the puppy the first time he saw it./

[lose one’s marbles]{v. phr.} To go mad; become crazed. •/Stan must have lost his marbles; he is hopelessly pursuing a happily married woman./

[lose one’s shirt]{v. phr.}, {slang} To lose all or most of your money. •/Uncle Joe spent his life savings to buy a store, but it failed, and he lost his shirt./ •/Mr. Matthews lost his shirt betting on the horses./

[lose one’s temper]{v. phr.} To lose control over one’s anger; to get angry. •/He lost his temper when he broke the key in the lock./ Compare: BLOW A FUSE, FLY OFF THE HANDLE. Contrast: HOLD ONE’S TEMPER.

[lose one’s tongue]{v. phr.}, informal To be so embarrassed or surprised that you cannot talk. •/The man would always lose his tongue when he was introduced to new people./ Compare: CAT GET ONE’S TONGUE.

[lose out]{v.} To fail to win; miss first place in a contest; lose to a rival. •/John lost out in the rivalry for Mary’s hand in marriage./ •/Fred didn’t want to lose out to the other salesman./ Compare: MISS OUT. Contrast: WIN OUT.

[loser] See: FINDERS KEEPERS or FINDERS KEEPERS LOSERS WEEPERS.

[lose sight of]{v. phr.} 1. Not to be able to see any longer. •/I lost sight of Mary in the crowd./ •/I watched the plane go higher and higher until I lost sight of it./ Contrast: CATCH SIGHT OF. 2. To forget; overlook. •/Johnny was so interested in the game he lost sight of the time./ •/No matter how rich and famous he became, he never lost sight of the fact that he had been born in the slums./

[lose touch]{v. phr.}, {informal} To fail to keep in contact or communication. — Usually used with "with". •/After she moved to another town, she lost touch with her childhood friends./ Compare: OUT OF TOUCH.

[lose track]{v. phr.} To forget about something; not stay informed; fail to keep a count or record. •/What’s the score now? I’ve lost track./ — Usually used with "of". •/Mary lost track of her friends at camp after summer was over./ •/John lost track of the money he spent at the circus./ Compare: OUT OF TOUCH. Contrast: KEEP TRACK.

[loss] See: AT A LOSS, THROW FOR A LOSS.

[lost] See: GET LOST, NO LOVE LOST.

[lost cause]{n. phr.} A movement that has failed and has no chance to be revived. •/Communism in Eastern Europe has become a lost cause./

[lost upon] adj. Wasted. •/Tim’s generosity is completely lost upon Sue; he can’t expect any gratitude from her./

[lot] See: A LOT, CAST ONE’S LOT WITH, SAND LOT, THINK A GREAT DEAL OF or THINK A LOT OF, THROW IN ONE’S LOT WITH or CAST IN ONE’S LOT WITH.

[loud] See: ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, OUT LOUD, THINK ALOUD or THINK OUT LOUD.

[loud mouth] or [big mouth] {n.}, {slang} A noisy, boastful, or foolish talker. •/Fritz is a loud mouth who cannot be trusted with secrets./ •/When he has had a few drinks, Joe will make empty boasts like any other big mouth./

[loud-mouthed] or [big-mouthed] {adj.}, {slang} Talking noisily, boastfully, or foolishly. •/Fred was a loud-mouthed fellow, whose talk no one listened to./ •/If I were you, I would not listen to that loud-mouthed boy./

[lounge lizard]{n. phr.} A well-dressed male fortune hunter who sits around in bars and other public places, and attends many social events to try to pick up wealthy women through smart conversation. •/Harry has the reputation of being a lounge lizard; he is looking for a rich wife./

[louse up]{v.}, {slang} To throw into confusion; make a mess of; spoil; ruin. •/When the man who was considering John’s house heard that the basement was wet, that was enough to louse up the sale./ •/Fred’s failure in business not only lost him his business but loused him up with his wife./ •/The rain loused up the picnic./ See: MESS UP(2), FUCK UP.

[love] See: FOR LOVE OR MONEY, IN LOVE, LABOR OF LOVE, MAKE LOVE, NO LOVE LOST, PUPPY LOVE also CALF LOVE.

[love affair]{n.} A friendship between lovers; a romance or courtship. •/The love affair of Bob and Jane went on for months./ •/Harry had many love affairs, but he never married./

[love game]{n.} A game of tennis which is won without the opponent scoring. •/Britain took a love game on Songster’s service./

[love-in]{n.}, {slang}, {informal} A festival or occasion to celebrate life, human sensuality, the beauty of nature, human sexuality, and universal love; affairs so conceived by some frequently deteriorate into obscenity and drug using sessions in parody of their stated purpose. •/The hippies gathered for a big love-in in the Halght-Ashbury district of San Francisco./

[lovers' lane]{n.} A hidden road or walk where lovers walk or park in the evening. •/A parked car in a lonely lovers' lane often is a chance for holdup men./

[low] See: LAY LOW, LIE LOW.

[lowbrow]{n.} A person of limited culture; a nonintellectual. •/Some people claim that only lowbrows read the comics./ Contrast: HIGH BROW.

[lowdown]{n.}, {slang}, {informal} The inside facts of a matter; the total truth. •/Nixon never gave the American people the lowdown on Watergate./

[lower the boom]{v. phr.}, {informal} To punish strictly; check or stop fully. •/The mayor lowered the boom on outside jobs for city firemen./ •/Father lowered the boom on the girls for staying out after midnight./ Syn.: CRACK DOWN. •/The police lowered the boom on open gambling./

[low-key]{adj.} Relaxed and easygoing. •/Surprisingly, dinner with the governor was a low-key affair./

[low season] Contrast: HIGH SEASON.

[luck] See: DOWN ON ONE’S LUCK, LUCK OUT, PRESS ONE’S LUCK or PUSH ONE’S LUCK, IN LUCK, OUT OF LUCK.

[luck out]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {informal} 1. Suddenly to get lucky when in fact the odds are against one’s succeeding. •/I was sure I was going to miss the train as I was three minutes late, but I lucked out, the train was five minutes late./ 2. To be extraordinarily fortunate. •/Catwallender really lucked out at Las Vegas last month; he came home with $10,000 in cash./ 3. (By sarcastic opposition) to be extremely unfortunate; to be killed. •/Those poor marines sure lucked out in Saigon, didn’t they?/

[lucky] See: THANK ONE’S LUCKY STARS.

[lucky star]{n.} A certain star or planet which, by itself or with others, is seriously or jokingly thought to bring a person good luck and success in life. •/John was born under a lucky star./ •/Ted was unhurt in the car accident, for which he thanked his lucky stars./

[lump in one’s throat]{n. phr.} A feeling (as of grief or pride) so strong that you almost sob. •/John’s mother had a lump in her throat at his college graduation./ •/All during her husband’s funeral, Aunt May had a lump in her throat./ •/The bride’s mother had a lump in her throat./

[lump sum]{n.} The complete amount; a total agreed upon and to be paid at one time. •/The case was settled out of court with the plaintiff receiving a lump sum of half a million dollars for damages./

[lunar module (L.M.)] or [Lem] {n.}, {Space English} That portion of the rocket assemblage on a flight to the Moon in which the astronauts descend to the Moon’s surface. •/Building the L.M. was one of the most expensive parts of the American space program./

[lung] See: AT THE TOP OF ONE’S VOICE or AT THE TOP OP ONE’S LUNGS.

[lurch] See: LEAVE IN THE LURCH.

[lust for]{v. phr.} To physically yearn for; hanker after; want something very strongly. •/Ed has been lusting after Meg for a very long time./

[luxury] See: IN THE LAP OF LUXURY.

[mackerel] See: HOLY CATS or HOLY MACKEREL.

[mad about]{adj. phr.} 1. Angry about. •/What is Harriet so mad about?/ 2. Enthusiastic about. •/Dan is mad about pop music./

[mad as a hatter] or [mad as a March hare] {adj. phr.} Not able to think right; crazy. •/Anyone who thinks the moon is made of green cheese is mad as a hatter./

[mad as a hornet] or [mad as hops] or [mad as a wet hen] {adj. phr.}, {informal} In a fighting mood; very angry. •/When my father sees the dent in his fender, he’ll be mad as a hornet./ •/Bill was mad as hops when the fellows went on without him./ •/Mrs. Harris was mad as a wet hen when the rabbits ate her tulips./

[mad as a March hare] See: MAD AS A HATTER.

[mad as hops] See: MAD AS A HORNET.

[made of money]{adj. phr.} Very rich; wealthy. •/Mr. Jones buys his children everything they want. He must be made of money./ Compare: MONEY TO BURN.

[made-to-measure] or [tailor-made] {adj.} Made to fit a special set of measurements or needs. •/John has a new made-to-measure suit./ •/The club is tailor-made for Jane./ Syn.: MADE TO ORDER.

[made to order]{adj. phr.} 1. Made specially in the way the buyer wants instead of all the same in large amounts; made especially for the buyer. •/Mr. Black’s clothes were all made to order./ Compare: MADE-TO-MEASURE. 2. Just right. •/The weather was made to order for the hike./

[made up out of whole cloth] See: OUT OF WHOLE CLOTH.

[magic carpet]{n.} 1. A rug said to be able to transport a person through the air to any place he wishes. •/The caliph of Baghdad flew on his magic carpet to Arabia./ 2. Any form of transportation that is comfortable and easy enough to seem magical. •/Flying the Concord from Dallas to London seemed like boarding the magic carpet./ •/Mr. Smith’s new car drove so smoothly it seemed like a magic carpet./

[maiden speech]{n. phr.} One’s first public speech, usually before some legislative body. •/It was the new congressman’s maiden speech and everyone was listening very keenly./

[maiden voyage]{n. phr.} The first voyage of a boat. •/The Titanic sank on her maiden voyage to America from England./

[mail order]{n. phr.} A purchase made by mail. •/If you don’t have a chance to go to a store, you can sometimes make a purchase by mail order./

[main] See: IN THE MAIN, WITH MIGHT AND MAIN.

[main drag]{n.}, {colloquial} 1. The most important street or thoroughfare in a town. •/Lincoln Avenue is the main drag of our town./ 2. The street where the dope pushers and the prostitutes are. •/Wells Street is the main drag of Chicago, actionwise./

[main squeeze]{n.}, {slang} 1. The top ranking person in an organization or in a neighborhood; an important person, such as one’s boss. •/Mr. Bronchard is the main squeeze in this office./ 2. The top person in charge of an illegal operation, such as drug sales, etc. •/Before we can clean up this part of town, we must arrest the main squeeze./ 3. One’s principal romantic or sexual partner. •/The singer’s main squeeze is a member of the band./