not give a hoot






not give a damn = not give a hoot

not care at all – informal

1998 - Penelope Lively - Spider web - The boys knew that the teachers didn't like them and they didn't give a damn.




RELATED IDIOMS :


give and take

mutual concessions and compromises

exchange of words and views




give as good as you get

respond with equal force or vehemence when attacked




give him the best = give it the best

admit the superiority of

give way to – British

1990 - Birds Magazine - He finally decided to give us best and took himself off.




give him furiously to think

give a person cause to think hard

This is a literal translation of the French phrase donner furieusement à penser.




give the game away = give the show away

inadvertently reveal something secret or concealed




give it to him

scold or punish someone – informal




give me it

I prefer or admire a specified thing

1998 - BBC - Vegetarian Good Food - Iceberg lettuce is a massive Eighties con - give me a round lettuce any day.




give or take it

to within it (used to express the degree or accuracy of a figure) – informal

1991 - Biyi Bandele -Thomas The Man who Came in from the Back of Beyond - Aged twenty-five give or take a few years, he spoke in a detached voice, like a judge passing the death sentence.




give up the ghost

(of a person) die

(of a machine) stop working

break down especially permanently

stop making an effort

give up hope

The old English meaning of ghost – the soul or spirit as the source of life – survives only in this




give someone what for

punish or scold someone severely - British informal




give yourself airs

Act pretentiously or snobbishly

1948 Christopher Bush : The Case of the Second Chance : It was said she gave herself airs and it was also hinted that she was no better - as they say - than she might be.

Air in the sense of an affected manner has been current since the mid 17th century

From the early 18th century the plural form has been more usual in this derogatory sense




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