[tongue twister]{n.} A word or group of words difficult to pronounce whose meaning is irrelevant compared to the difficulty of enunciation. •/"She sells sea shells by the seashore" is a popular American tongue twister./

[to no avail] or [of no avail(1)] {adj. phr.}, {formal} Having no effect; useless, unsuccessful. •/Tom’s practicing was of no avail. He was sick on the day of the game./ •/Mary’s attempts to learn embroidering were to no avail./

[to no avail(2)]{adv. phr.}, {formal} Without result; unsuccessfully. •/John tried to pull the heavy cart, but to no avail./ •/Mary studied hard for the test but to no avail./ Compare: IN VAIN.

[too] See: EAT ONE’S CAKE AND HAVE IT TOO.

[too bad]{adj.} To be regretted; worthy of sorrow or regret; regrettable. — Used as a predicate. •/It is too bad that we are so often lazy./ •/It was too bad Bill had measles when the circus came to town./

[too big for one’s breeches] or [too big for one’s boots] {adj. phr.} Too sure of your own importance; feeling more important than you really are. •/That boy had grown too big for his breeches. I’ll have to put him back in his place./ •/When the teacher made Bob a monitor, he got too big for his boots and she had to warn him./

[too ---- by half]{adj.} ({princ. British}) Much too; excessively. •/The heroine of the story is too nice by half; she is not believable./

[too close for comfort]{adj. phr.} Perilously near (said of bad things). •/When the sniper’s bullet hit the road the journalist exclaimed, "Gosh, that was too close for comfort!"/ Compare: CLOSE CALL, CLOSE SHAVE.

[too many cooks spoil the broth] or [stew] A project is likely to go bad if managed by a multiplicity of primary movers. — A proverb. •/When several people acted all at once in trying to reshape the company’s investment policy, Tom spoke up and said, "Let me do this by myself! Don’t you know that too many cooks spoil the broth?"/

[too many irons in the fire] See: IRONS IN THE FIRE.

[to one] See: TEN TO ONE, TWO TO ONE.

[to oneself(1)]{adv. phr.} 1. Silently; in the thoughts; without making a sign that others can see; secretly. •/Tom thought to himself that he could win./ •/Mary said to herself that Joan was prettier than Ann./ •/Bill laughed to himself when John fell down./ 2. Without telling others; in private; as a secret. — Used after "keep". •/Mary keeps her affairs to herself./ •/John knew the answer to the problem, but he kept it to himself./

[to oneself(2)]{adj. phr.} 1. Without company; away from others; alone; deserted. •/The boys went home and John was left to himself./ •/When Mary first moved to her new neighborhood she was very shy and kept to herself./ 2. Following one’s own beliefs or wishes; not stopped by others. •/When John insisted on going, Fred left him to himself./ •/The teacher left Mary to herself to solve the problem./

[to one’s face]{adv. phr.} Directly to you; in your presence. •/I told him to his face that I didn’t like the idea./ •/I called him a coward to his face./ Compare: IN ONE’S FACE. Contrast: BEHIND ONE’S BACK.

[to one’s feet]{adv. phr.} To a standing position; up. •/After Henry had been tackled hard by four big players, he got to his feet slowly and painfully./ •/When Sally saw the bus coming, she jumped to her feet and ran out./ Compare: ON ONE’S FEET.

[to one’s guns] See: STICK TO ONE’S GUNS.

[to one’s heart’s content]{adv. phr.} To the extent of one’s wishes; one’s complete satisfaction. •/There is a wonderful small restaurant nearby where you can eat to your heart’s content./

[to one’s heels] See: TAKE TO ONE’S HEELS.

[to one’s name]{adv. phr.} In your ownership; of your own; as part of your belongings. •/David did not have a book to his name./ •/Ed had only one suit to his name./

[to one’s ribs] See: STICK TO ONE’S RIBS.

[to one’s senses] See: COME TO ONE’S SENSES.

[to order]{adv. phr.} According to directions given in an order in the way and size wanted. •/The manufacturer built the machine to order./ •/A very big man often has his suits made to order./ 2. See: CALL TO ORDER.

[tooth] See: BY THE SKIN OF ONE’S TEETH, CUT TEETH or CUT EYETEETH, EYE FOR AN EYE AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH, FED TO THE GILLS or FED TO THE TEETH, GET ONE’S TEETH INTO or SINK ONE’S TEETH INTO, KICK IN THE PANTS or KICK IN THE TEETH, PULL ONE’S TEETH, SET ONE’S TEETH ON EDGE, TAKE THE BIT IN ONE’S TEETH, THROW SOMETHING IN ONE’S FACE or THROW SOMETHING IN ONE’S TEETH.

[tooth and nail] See: HAMMER AND TONGS.

[tooth and nail]{adv. phr.} With all weapons or ways of fighting as hard as possible; fiercely. — Used after "fight" or a similar word. •/When the Indian girl was captured, she fought tooth and nail to get away./ •/The farmers fought tooth and nail to save their crops from the grasshoppers./ •/His friends fought tooth and nail to elect him to Congress./

[toot one’s own horn] See: BLOW ONE’S OWN HORN.

[top] See: AT THE TOP OF ONE’S VOICE, BIG TOP, BLOW A FUSE or BLOW ONE’S TOP, HARD-TOP, OFF THE TOP OF ONE’S HEAD, ON TOP, ON TOP OF, ON TOP OF THE WORLD, OVER THE TOP.

[top banana] or [top dog] {n.}, {slang}, {informal} The head of any business or organization; the most influential or most prestigious person in an establishment. •/Who’s the top banana in this outfit?/ See: MAIN SQUEEZE.

[to pass] See: COME TO PASS.

[top-drawer]{adj.}, {informal} Of the best; or most important kind. •/Mary’s art work was top-drawer material./ •/Mr. Rogers is a top-drawer executive and gets a very high salary./

[topflight] or [topnotch] See: TOP DRAWER.

[to pieces]{adv. phr.} 1. Into broken pieces or fragments; destroyed. •/The cannon shot the town to pieces./ •/The vase fell to pieces in Mary’s hand./ 2. {informal} So as not to work; into a state of not operating. •/After 100,000 miles the car went to pieces./ •/When Mary heard of her mother’s death, she went to pieces./ 3. {informal} Very much; greatly; exceedingly. •/Joan was thrilled to pieces to see Mary./ •/The noise scared Bob to pieces./ 4. See: PICK APART.

[top off]{v.} To come or bring to a special or unexpected ending; climax. •/John batted three runs and topped off the game with a home run./ •/Mary hadn’t finished her homework, she was late to school, and to top it all off she missed a surprise test./ •/George had steak for dinner and topped it off with a fudge sundae./

[to put It mildly] See: TO SAY THE LEAST.

[torch] See: CARRY A TORCH.

[to reason] See: STAND TO REASON.

[to rest] See: LAY TO REST.

[to rights] See: PUT TO RIGHTS or SET TO RIGHTS.

[to Rome] See: ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME.

[to say nothing of] See: NOT TO MENTION.

[to say the least]{v. phr.} To understate; express as mildly as possible. •/After all we did for him, his behavior toward us, to say the least, was a poor way to show his appreciation./

[to scale]{adv. phr.} In the same proportions as in the true size; in the same shape, but not the same size. •/The statue was made to scale, one inch to a foot./ •/He drew the map to scale, making one inch represent fifty miles./