[tickle pink]{v. phr.}, {informal} To please very much; thrill; delight. Usually used in the passive participle. •/Nancy was tickled pink with her new dress./
[tickle to death] See: TO DEATH.
[tick off]{v.} 1. To mention one after the other; list. •/The teacher ticked off the assignments that Jane had to do./ 2. To scold; rebuke. •/The boss ticked off the waitress for dropping her tray./ 3. To anger or upset. — Usually used as ticked off. •/She was ticked off at him for breaking their dinner date again./
[tide] See: TURN THE TIDE.
[tide over]{v.} To carry past a difficulty or danger; help in bad times or in trouble. •/He was out of work last winter but he had saved enough money to tide him over until spring./ •/An ice cream cone in the afternoon tided her over until supper./ Compare: SEE THROUGH.
[tide turn] See: TURN THE TIDE.
[tidy sum]{n. phr.} A large amount of money. •/The Smith’s big new home cost them a tidy sum./ Compare: PRETTY PENNY.
[tie] See: FIT TO BE TIED.
[tie down]{v.} To keep (someone) from going somewhere or doing something; prevent from leaving; keep in. •/Mrs. Brown can’t come to the party. She’s tied down at home with the children sick./ •/The navy tied the enemy down with big gunfire while the marines landed on the beach./ •/I can’t help you with history now! I’m tied down with these algebra problems./
[tied to one’s mother’s apron strings] Not independent of your mother; not able to do anything without asking your mother. •/Even after he grew up he was still tied to his mother’s apron strings./
[tie in]{v.} To connect with something else; make a connection for. — Often used with "with". •/The teacher tied in what she said with last week’s lesson./ •/The English teacher sometimes gives compositions that tie in with things we are studying in other classes./ •/The detectives tied in the fingerprints on the man’s gun with those found on the safe, so they knew that he was the thief./
[tie-in]{n.} A connection; a point of meeting. •/John’s essay on World War II provides a perfect tie-in with his earlier work on World War I./
[tie in knots]{v. phr.} To make (someone) very nervous or worried. •/The thought of having her tooth pulled tied Joan in knots./ •/The little boy’s experience with the kidnapper tied him in knots and it was hard for him to sleep well for a long time./
[tie into] See: LACE INTO.
[tie one’s hands]{v. phr.} To make (a person) unable to do anything. — Usually used in the passive. •/Since Mary would not tell her mother what was bothering her, her mother’s hands were tied./ •/Charles wanted to help John get elected president of the class, but his promise to another boy tied his hands./ •/Father hoped Jim would not quit school, but his hands were tied; Jim was old enough to quit if he wanted to./
[tie the knot]{v. phr.}, {informal} To get married; also to perform a wedding ceremony. •/Diane and Bill tied the knot yesterday./ •/The minister tied the knot for Diane and Bill yesterday./
[tie up]{v. phr.} 1. To show or stop the movement or action of; hinder; tangle. •/The crash of the two trucks tied up all traffic in the center of town./ •/The strike tied up the factory./ 2. To take all the time of. •/The meeting will tie the President up until noon./ •/The Senate didn’t vote because a debate on a small point kept it tied up all week./ •/He can’t see you now. He’s tied up on the telephone./ 3. To limit or prevent the use of. •/His money is tied up in a trust fund and he can’t take it out./ •/Susan tied up the bathroom for an hour./ 4. To enter into an association or partnership; join. •/Our company has tied up with another firm to support the show./ 5. To dock. •/The ships tied up at New York./ 6. {slang} To finish; complete. •/We’ve talked long enough; let’s tie up these plans and start doing things./
[tie-up]{n.} A congestion; a stoppage of the normal flow of traffic, business or correspondence. •/There was a two-hour traffic tie-up on the highway./ •/No pay checks were delivered because of the mail service tie-up./
[tight] See: SIT TIGHT.
[tight end]{n.} An end in football who plays close to the tackle in the line. •/The tight end is used to catch passes but most often to block./ Contrast: SPLIT END.
[tighten one’s belt]{v. phr.} To live on less money than usual; use less food and other things. •/When father lost his job we had to tighten our belts./ Often used in the expression "tighten one’s belt another notch". •/When the husband lost his job, the Smiths had to do without many things, but when their savings were all spent, they had to tighten their belts another notch./
[tighten the screws]{v. phr.} To try to make someone do something by making it more and more difficult not to do it; apply pressure. •/When many students still missed class after he began giving daily quizzes, the teacher tightened the screws by failing anyone absent four times./
[tight-lipped]{adj.} A taciturn person; one who doesn’t say much. •/The witness was tight-lipped about what she saw for fear of physical retaliation by the mob./
[tight money]{n. phr.} The opposite of inflation, when money is hard to borrow from the banks. •/The government decided that tight money is the way to bring down inflation./
[tight squeeze]{n. phr.} A difficult situation; financial troubles. •/The Browns aren’t going out to dinner these days; they are in a tight squeeze./
[tightwad]{n. phr.} A stingy person. •/My father is such a tightwad that he won’t give me an allowance./
[Tijuana taxi]{slang}, {citizen’s band radio jargon} A police car. •/I’ve got a Tijuana taxi in sight./
[till] See: ROB THE TILL or HAVE ONE’S HAND IN THE TILL.
[till the cows come home]{adv. phr.} Until sunset; until the last. •/The women in the country used to sit in the spinning room making yarn out of skeins of wool, usually till the cows came home./