[wear thin]{v.} 1. To become thin from use, wearing, or the passing of time. •/My old pair of pants has worn thin at the knees./ •/This old dime has worn very thin./ 2. To grow less, or less interesting; decrease. •/The joke began to wear thin when you heard it too many times./ •/The teacher’s patience began to wear thin when he saw that no one knew the lesson./
[wear well]{v.} 1. To continue to be satisfactory, useful, or liked for a long time. •/My old overcoat has worn very well./ •/Their marriage has worn well./ •/That author wears well./ Compare: STAND UP(2). 2. To carry, accept, or treat properly or well. •/Grandfather wears his years well./ •/Tommy has won many honors but he wears them well./
[weasel out]{v. phr.} To renege on a previous promise; not keep an obligation for some not always straight reason. •/I’m so tired I think I am going to weasel my way out of going to that meeting this afternoon./
[weasel word]{n.}, {informal} A word which has more than one meaning and may be used to deceive others. •/When the thief was being questioned by the police, he tried to fool them with weasel words./
[weather] See: FAIR-WEATHER FRIEND.
[weather eye]{n.} 1. Eyes that can tell what the weather will be. •/Grandfather’s weather eye always tells him when it will rain./ 2. Eyes ready or quick to see; careful watch. — Usually used in phrases like "keep a weather eye on", "open", or "out for". •/Mrs. Brown kept a weather eye on the children so they wouldn’t hurt each other./ •/Keep a weather eye out for Uncle George at the store./ •/Keep a weather eye open for deer./ •/The police have a weather eye out for the robbers./ Compare: LOOK OUT.
[weather the storm]{v. phr.} To survive some disaster. •/When Peter and Sue started their business they had very little money, but in a year they weathered the storm./
[wedge] See: FLYING WEDGE.
[wedlock] See: BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK.
[wee hours] The crack of dawn, or just before it, usually between 1 A.M. and 4 A.M. or 2 A.M. and 5 A.M. •/He stayed up all night when they were expecting their first child; finally, a boy was born in the wee hours of the morning./ Compare: SMALL HOURS.
[weeper] See: FINDERS KEEPERS or FINDERS KEEPERS LOSERS WEEPERS.
[weed out]{v.} 1. To remove what is unwanted, harmful, or not good enough from. •/Mother weeded out the library because there were too many books./ •/Many colleges and universities weed out their freshman classes to make room for better students./ 2. To take (what is not wanted) from a collection or group; remove (a part) for the purpose of improving a collection or group; get rid of. •/The coach is weeding out the weak players this week./ •/The teacher told Elizabeth to read over her English composition and weed out every sentence that was not about the subject./
[wee folk] or [little folk] or [little people] {n. phr.} Fairy people; brownies; elves; fairies; or goblins. •/Mother read me a story about the wee folk who lived in the forest and came out at night./ •/There are many stories about little people dancing in the moonlight./
[week in, week out] See: DAY IN, AND DAY OUT.
[week of Sundays]{n. phr.} A long time; seven weeks. •/I haven’t seen them in a week of Sundays./
[weigh anchor]{v. phr.} To set sail; get going. •/After a week in Hawaii, we weighed anchor and sailed south toward Tahiti./
[weigh down] also [weight down] 1. To make heavy; cause to go down or bend with weight; overload. •/The evergreens are weighed down by the deep snow./ — Often used with "with" or "by". •/There are so many children in the back seat that they are weighing down the back of the car./ 2a. To overload with care or worry; make sad or low in spirits. — Usually used in the passive. •/The family is weighed down by sorrow./ •/The company is weighed down by debt./ 2b. To make heavy, hard, or slow; make dull or uninteresting. — Often in the passive used with "by" or "with". •/The book is weighted down with footnotes./ •/The TV program is weighed down by commercials./
[weigh in]{v.} 1a. To take the weight of; weigh. •/The man at the airport counter weighed in our bags and took our plane tickets./ •/A doctor weighed in the wrestlers./ 1b. To have yourself or something that you own weighed. — Often used with "at". •/I weighed in at 100 pounds on the scale today./ •/We took our bags to the airport counter to weigh in./ 1c. To have yourself weighed as a boxer or wrestler by a doctor before a match. — Often used with "at". •/The champion didn’t want to weigh in at more than 160 pounds./ 2. {slang} To join or interfere in a fight, argument, or discussion. •/We told Jack that if we wanted him to weigh in with his opinion we would ask him./ Compare: TAKE PART.
[weigh on] or [weigh upon] {v.} 1. To be a weight or pressure on; be heavy on. •/The pack weighed heavily on the soldier’s back./ 2. To make sad or worried; trouble; disturb; upset. •/Sadness weighed on Mary’s heart when her kitten died./ •/John’s wrongdoing weighed upon his conscience./ •/The teacher’s advice weighed upon Tom’s mind./ 3. To be a burden to. •/His guilt weighed heavily upon him./
[weigh on one’s mind] See: WEIGH ON(2).
[weigh one’s words]{v. phr.} To choose your words carefully; be careful to use the right words. •/When a teacher explains about religion, he must weigh his words because his pupils may be of several different faiths./ •/When old Mr. Jones talked to the students about becoming teachers, he spoke slowly, weighing his words./ •/In a debate, a political candidate has little time to weigh his words, and may say something foolish./
[weight] See: PULL ONE’S WEIGHT, SWING ONE’S WEIGHT, THROW ONE’S WEIGHT AROUND.
[weight down] See: WEIGH DOWN.
[weight of the world on one’s shoulders] or [world on one’s shoulders] or [world on one’s back] {n. phr.} A very heavy load of worry or responsibility; very tired or worried behavior, as if carrying the world; behavior as if you are very important. •/Don’t look as if you had the weight of the world on your shoulders, Henry, just because you have to mow the lawn./ •/John acts as if he were carrying the world on his back because he has a paper route./