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[not let any grass grow under one’s feet] See: LET GRASS GROW UNDER ONE’S FEET.

[not one’s cup of tea] See: CUP OF TEA.

[not one’s scene] See: CUP OF TEA.

[not on your life]{adv. phr.}, {informal} Certainly not; not ever; not for any reason. — Used for emphasis. •/I wouldn’t drive a car with brakes like that — not on your life./ •/Did he thank me for my advice? Not on your life./

[not see beyond one’s nose] See: SEE BEYOND ONE’S NOSE.

[not so bad] See: NOT BAD.

[not so hot] or [not too hot]{adj. phr.} Ineffective; not very good. •/His plans to rebuild the house in a hurry obviously weren’t so hot./

[not the only fish in the sea]{n. phr.} One of many; not the only one of the kind; not the only one available. •/He said he could find other girls — she was not the only fish in the sea./ Compare: NOT THE ONLY PEBBLE ON THE BEACH.

[not the only pebble on the beach]{n. phr.} Not the only person to be considered; one of many. •/George was acting pretty self-important and we finally had to tell him that he wasn’t the only pebble on the beach./ Compare: NOT THE ONLY FISH IN THE SEA.

[not the thing]{n. phr.} Not the accepted form of action; something socially improper. •/It is simply not the thing to wear blue jeans to the opera./

[not to get to first base]{v. phr.} To fail to make initial progress; have no success at all. •/I tried various ways to make Mary interested in me as a potential husband, but I couldn 't even get to first base./

[not to give one the time of day]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {informal} To dislike someone strongly enough so as to totally ignore him. •/Sue wouldn’t give Helen the time of day./

[not to give quarter]{v. phr.} 1. To be utterly unwilling to show mercy; not to allow a weaker or defeated party the chance to save themselves through escape. •/The occupying foreign army gave no quarter — they took no prisoners, shot everyone, and made escape impossible./ 2. To argue so forcefully during a negotiation or in a court of law as to make any counter-argument or counter-proposal impossible. •/The District Attorney hammered away at the witnesses and gave no quarter to the attorney for the defense./

[not to know one from Adam]{v. phr.} To not know a person; be unable to recognize someone. •/I have no idea who that guy is that Jane just walked in with; I don’t know him from Adam./

[not to know the first thing about]{v. phr.} To be totally ignorant about a certain issue. •/Al assured us that he didn’t know the first thing about Mary’s whereabouts./

[not to know what to make of]{v. phr.} To be unable to decipher; be unable to identify; not know how to decide what something really is. •/I got a mysterious letter asking me to meet Santa Claus at 6 P.M. at the supermarket. Is this a joke? I don’t know what to make of it./

[not to know whether one is coming or going]{v. phr.} To be completely confused. •/He was so perplexed he didn’t know whether he was coming or going./ Compare: AT SEA(2).

[not to lift a finger]{v. phr.} To not help in the slightest degree. •/"My husband won’t lift a finger to help me," she complained, "although we have 12 people coming for dinner."/

[not to mention] or [not to speak of] or [to say nothing of] Without ever needing to speak of; in addition to; besides. — Used to add something to what you have said or explained. •/Dave is handsome and smart not to mention being a good athlete./ •/They have three fine sons, not to speak of their two lovely daughters./ •/Sally takes singing and dancing lessons to say nothing of swimming and tennis lessons./ Compare: LET ALONE, TO SPEAK OF.

[not to speak of] See: NOT TO MENTION.

[not to touch (something) with a ten-foot pole]{v. phr.} To consider something completely undesirable or uninteresting. •/Some people won’t touch spinach with a ten-foot pole./ •/Kids who wouldn’t touch an encyclopedia with a ten-foot pole love to find information with this computer program./

[not worth a dime] See: NOT WORTH A TINKER’S DAMN.

[not worth a hill of beans] See: NOT WORTH A TINKER’S DAMN.

[not worth a red cent] See: NOT WORTH A TINKER’S DAMN.

[not worth a tinker’s damn] or not [worth a tinker’s dam]{adj. phr.}, {informal} Not worth anything; valueless. •/As a bricklayer he was not worth a tinker’s damn./ •/I am not familiar with the subject so my opinion would not be worth a tinker’s dam./

[no two ways about it]{n. phr.} No other choice; no alternative. •/The boss said there were no two ways about it; we would all have to work late to finish the job./

[no use]{n.} 1. No purpose; no object; no gain. •/There’s no use in crying about your broken bicycle./ •/Bob said, "Let’s try again." Dick answered, "It’s no use."/ 2. Bad opinion; no respect; no liking. — Usually used after "have". •/He had no use for dogs after a dog bit him./ •/Jimmy had no use for arithmetic because it was hard for him./