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[common] See: IN COMMON.

[common as an old shoe] <adj. phr.>, <informal> Not showing off; not vain; modest; friendly to all. * /Although Mr. Jones ran a large business, he was common as an old shoe./ * /The most famous people are sometimes as common as an old shoe./

[common ground] <n.> Shared beliefs, interests, or ways of understanding; ways in which people are alike. * /Bob and Frank don't like each other because they have no common ground./ * /The only common ground between us is that we went to the same school./ Compare: IN COMMON.

[common touch] <n.> The ability to be a friend of the people; friendly manner with everyone. * /Voters like a candidate who has the common touch./

[company] See: KEEP COMPANY, PART COMPANY.

[company man] <n.>, <informal> A worker who always agrees with management rather than labor.
– Usually used to express dislike or disapproval. * /Joe was a company man and refused to take a part in the strike./ Compare: YES-MAN.

[compare notes] <v. phr.>, <informal> To exchange thoughts or ideas about something; discuss together. * /Mother and Mrs. Barker like to compare notes about cooking./

[compliment] See: RETURN THE COMPLIMENT.

[conclusion] See: JUMP TO A CONCLUSION.

[condition] See: IN SHAPE or IN CONDITION, IN THE PINK or IN THE PINK OF CONDITION, ON CONDITION THAT, OUT OF SHAPE or OUT OF CONDITION.

[conference] See: PRESS CONFERENCE.

[congregate housing] <n.>, <informal> A form of housing for elderly persons in which dining facilities and services are shared in multiple dwelling units. * /Jerry put Grandma in a place where they have congregate housing./

[conk out] <v. phr.>, <slang>, <informal> To fall asleep suddenly with great fatigue or after having drunk too much. * /We conked out right after the guests had left./

[consent] See: SILENCE GIVES CONSENT.

[consequence] See: IN CONSEQUENCE, IN CONSEQUENCE OF.

[consideration] See: IN CONSIDERATION OF.

[consumer goods] or [consumer items] <n.> Food and manufactured things that people buy for their own use. * /In time of war, the supply of consumer goods is greatly reduced./

[content] See: TO ONE'S HEART'S CONTENT.

[contention] See: BONE OF CONTENTION.

[contrary] See: ON THE CONTRARY, TO THE CONTRARY.

[control room] <n.> A room containing the panels and switches used to control something (like a TV broadcast). * /While a television program is on the air, engineers are at their places in the control room./

[control tower] <n.> A tower with large windows and a good view of an airport so that the traffic of airplanes can be seen and controlled, usually by radio. * /We could see the lights at the control tower as our plane landed during the night./

[conversation] See: MAKE CONVERSATION.

[conversation piece] <n.> Something that interests people and makes them talk about it; something that looks unusual, comical, or strange. * /Uncle Fred has a glass monkey on top of his piano that he keeps for a conversation piece./

[conviction] See: HAVE THE COURAGE OF ONE'S CONVICTIONS.

[cook] See: SHORT-ORDER COOK, WHAT'S UP or WHAT'S COOKING.

[cook one's goose] <v. phr.>, <slang> To ruin someone hopelessly; destroy one's future expectations or good name. * /The bank treasurer cooked his own goose when he stole the bank's funds./ * /She cooked John's goose by reporting what she knew to the police./ * /The dishonest official knew his goose was cooked when the newspapers printed the story about him./

[cook up] <v.>, <informal> To plan and put together; make up; invent. * /The boys cooked up an excuse to explain their absence from school./

[cool] See: PLOW ONE'S COOL.

[cool as a cucumber] <adj. phr.>, <informal> Very calm and brave; not nervous, worried, or anxious; not excited; composed. * /Bill is a good football quarterback, always cool as a cucumber./

[cool customer] <n.> Someone who is calm and in total control of himself; someone showing little emotion. * /Jim never gets too excited about anything; he is a cool customer./

[cool down] or [cool off] <v.> To lose or cause to lose the heat of any deep feeling (as love, enthusiasm, or anger); make or become calm, cooled or indifferent; lose interest. * /A heated argument can be settled better if both sides cool down first./ * /John was deeply in love with Sally before he left for college, but he cooled off before he got back./ * /Their friendship cooled off when Jack gave up football./ * /The neighbor's complaint about the noise cooled the argument down./

[cool one's heels] <v. phr.>, <slang> To be kept waiting by another's pride or rudeness; be forced to wait by someone in power or authority; wait. * /He cooled his heels for an hour in another room before the great man would see him./ * /I was left to cool my heels outside while the others went into the office./

[coon's age] See: DOG'S AGE.

[coop] See: FLY THE COOP.

[coop up] <v. phr.> To hedge in; confine; enclose in a small place. * /How can poor Jane work in that small office, cooped up all day long?/

[cop a feel] <v. phr.>, <vulgar>, <avoidable> To attempt to arouse sexually by manual contact, usually by surprise. * /John talks big for a 16 year old, but all he's ever done is cop a feel in a dark movie theater./ Compare: FEEL UP. Contrast: COP A PLEA.

[cop a plea] <v. phr.>, <slang>, <colloquial> To plead guilty during a trial in the hope of getting a lighter sentence as a result. * /The murderer of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., copped a plea of guilty, and got away with a life sentence instead of the death penalty./

[cop out] <v. phr.>, <slang>, <informal> To avoid committing oneself in a situation where doing so would result in difficulties. * /Nixon copped out on the American people with Watergate./

[cop-out] <n. phr.>, <slang>, <informal> An irresponsible excuse made to avoid something one has to do, a flimsy pretext. * /Cowe on, Jim, that's a cheap cop-out, and I don't believe a word of it!/

[copy cat] n. Someone who copies another person's work or manner. Usually used by children or when speaking to children. * /He called me a copy cat just because my new shoes look like his./