have one’s wits about one, to

To be wide awake and alert. Wits in the plural has long meant keen mental faculties. Ben Jonson so used it in The Alchemist (1612): “They live by their wits.” About the same time, the expression of having one’s wits about one—in effect, ready to serve one— came into use. It appeared in James Mabbe’s 1622 translation of Guzman de Alfarache (“I had my wits about me”) and has been used ever since. To live by one’s wits, on the other hand, also implies managing by means of clever expediency rather than honest work.

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have one’s say

See under SPEAK  ONE’S  MIND.

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have one’s hands full, to

To be completely occupied or very busy, to have more than enough to do. This expression dates from the fifteenth century or earlier. It appears in Thomas Malory’s Morte d’Arthur: “Ye shalle have bothe your handes ful of me.” See also PLATE, TO HAVE A LOT/ENOUGH ON ONE’S.

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have one’s ear to the ground

See EAR TO THE  GROUND.

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give one’s eyeteeth for, to

To yearn for; to go to any lengths to obtain. The eyeteeth, the upper canines, have been so called since the sixteenth century, presumably because their nerves are quite close to the eyes and a toothache in those teeth is felt as pain in that area. Since they are extremely useful for biting and chewing, giving up one’s eyeteeth entails a consider- able sacrifice. However, this hyperbole most likely began life as to give one’s eyes, a greater sacrifice still. Anthony Trollope used it in Barchester Towers (1857): “Bertie would give his eyes to go with you.” Substituting eyeteeth, it is a safe guess, simply made the expression more colorful rather than affecting the underlying meaning in any way. It appeared in W. Somerset Maugham’s Cakes and Ale (1930): “He’d give his eyeteeth to have written a book half as good.” See also CUT ONE’S TEETH ON; GIVE ONE’S RIGHT ARM.

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give no quarter

See GRANT  NO  QUARTER.

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give me a break

That’s preposterous, you can’t expect me to believe that. This exasperated reply to a statement, usually made half-jokingly, dates from the second half of the 1900s. For example, “She’s planning a luncheon at the Ritz? Give me a break!” This expression is not the same as to give some- one a break, meaning to give someone an opportunity or special considera- tion, which dates from about 1900.

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