wheel (redirected from -wheeled)

be at/behind the wheel

if you are at the wheel of a vehicle, you are driving it. I always feel perfectly safe when Richard's at the wheel.

See also: behind

be hell on wheels (American, informal)

to behave in an angry or difficult way. When he was drinking, Ken was hell on wheels.

See also: hell

a big shot/wheel (American & Australian, informal)

an important or powerful person in a group or organization. Mr Madison is a big shot in the world of finance.

See also: big, shot

a cog in the machine/wheel

one part of a large system or organization. He was just a small cog in the large wheel of organised crime. This warehouse is an important cog in our distribution machine.

a fifth/third wheel (American)

someone who is in a situation where they are not really needed or are ignored by other people. I don't have a role in the office any more - I feel like a fifth wheel.

See also: fifth, third

get behind the wheel

be at/behind the wheel - if you are at the wheel of a vehicle, you are driving it. When Anna gets behind the wheel of a fast car, she's a danger to the public.

See also: behind

oil the wheels

to make it easier for something to happen. An aid programme was established to oil the wheels of economic reform in the region. (usually + of)

See also: oil

put a spoke in someone's wheel (British & Australian)

to spoil someone else's plans and stop them from doing something. Tell him you're using the car that weekend - that should put a spoke in his wheel.

put your shoulder to the wheel

to work hard and make an effort. If everyone puts their shoulder to the wheel, the job will be finished in no time.

See also: shoulder

reinvent the wheel

to waste time trying to develop products or systems that you think are original when in fact they have already been done before. Why reinvent the wheel when there are drugs already on the market that are effective?

set the wheels in motion

to cause a series of actions to start that will help you achieve what you want. A phone call to the right person should set the wheels in motion.

See also: motion, set

spin your wheels (American, informal)

to waste time doing things that achieve nothing. If we're just spinning our wheels, let us know and we'll quit. (often in continuous tenses)

See also: spin

wheel and deal

wheeling and dealing - complicated and sometimes dishonest agreements in business or politics that people try to achieve in order to make profits or get advantages. He's the sort of guy that likes to drive fast cars and wheel and deal on the stock exchange.

See also: deal

The wheel has come/turned full circle.

something that you say which means a situation is the same now as it was before things started to change. The wheel had finally come full circle; we were together as a family again.

See also: circle, come, full, has, turn

the wheels are turning

something that you say which means a process is starting to happen. By the late 1940s the wheels were turning that would make a manned space flight possible by the end of the next decade.

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asleep at the wheel

not paying attention. Why was our government asleep at the wheel when the crisis began?

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of asleep at the wheel (= sleeping while driving a vehicle)

See also: asleep

behind the wheel

driving a vehicle. Mia was behind the wheel, and Kim was studying the map.

See also: behind

hell on wheels

extremely difficult. He's going to be hell on wheels to deal with.

See also: hell

put your shoulder to the wheel

to work hard at something. You'd be surprised what you can get done when you really put your shoulder to the wheel.

See also: shoulder

reinvent the wheel

to discover how to do something that has already been discovered. We've had a lot of experience with disasters, and don't have to reinvent the wheel every time something happens.

spin (your) wheels

to use a lot of effort but not get anything done. For almost an hour now he had been spinning his wheels, accomplishing nothing. Seattle was spinning wheels while Texas beat New York to take a two-game lead in the division.

See also: spin

spin your wheels

to waste time doing something that is not effective. For almost an hour he had been spinning his wheels on the telephone when he could have fixed the problem himself in less than hour.

See also: spin

wheel and deal

wheeling and dealing

See also: deal

the wheels are turning

something is happening. By the late 1940s the wheels were turning that would make space flight possible by the end of the 1950s.