bed (redirected from bedding)

be a bed of nails

if a situation, especially a job, is a bed of nails, it is difficult or unpleasant. He resigned last week, describing the post as a bed of nails.

See also: nail

be in bed with someone

to work with a person or organization, or to be involved with them, in a way which causes other people not to trust you. They were accused of being in bed with the communists.

be no bed of roses

if a situation is no bed of roses, it is difficult or unpleasant. It's no bed of roses, raising two kids on one salary, that's for sure. Life isn't a bed of roses, you know.

See also: rose

climb/get/hop into bed with someone

be in bed with someone - to work with a person or organization, or to be involved with them, in a way which causes other people not to trust you. Rather than hopping into bed with a leading merchant bank, it chose to remain an independent partnership.

See also: climb, hop

couldn't lie straight in bed (Australian, informal)

if you say someone couldn't lie straight in bed, you mean they are very dishonest. Nothing you could say about Pete would surprise me. The man couldn't even lie straight in bed.

See also: couldn't, lie, straight

get someone into bed

to persuade someone to have sex with you. It took 3 months before she finally got him into bed.

get out of bed on the wrong side (British, American & Australian, American)

if someone got out of bed on the wrong side, they are in a bad mood and are easily annoyed all day. What's the matter with you? Did you get out of bed on the wrong side or something?

See also: side, wrong

go to bed with someone

to have sex with someone. I can't believe she went to bed with him on their first date!

put something to bed

if you put something that is printed, for example a book or magazine, to bed, you finish writing it. We put the first edition to bed an hour before the deadline.

You've made your bed (and you'll have to lie in it).

something that you say in order to tell someone that they must accept that they will suffer as a result of something bad that they have done. Don't come crying to me if it all goes wrong. You've made your bed and you'll have to lie in it.

See also: made, you've

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get up on the wrong side of (the) bed

to begin the day feeling unhappy and uncomfortable. I got up on the wrong side of bed yesterday, and everything that could go wrong did!

out of sorts

See also: side, wrong

go to bed with someone

to have sex with someone. She invited him over for dinner and was hoping to go to bed with him.

in bed with someone

1. having sex with someone. She found her husband in bed with another woman.

2. secretly helping someone and receiving help from them in return. The senator isn't the only person in Washington who's in bed with military equipment manufacturers.

Usage notes: usually used negatively about a political relationship, as in the example

something is not a bed of roses

something is not easy and without troubles. He soon discovered that living in a foreign country is not always a bed of roses.

See also: rose

make (up) the bed

to smooth and arrange the covers on a bed so it is ready for someone to sleep in. It took me the whole morning to make the beds and do the wash.

put something to bed

1. to finish dealing with something. This is an opportunity for us to put some of these problems to bed.

2. to get a newspaper, magazine, or book ready to be printed. You put the paper to bed and you're proud of it, but the next morning you find the world has changed while it's been printed.

3. to clean a garden after the plants have died. It takes about two weeks to put the garden to bed.

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of put someone to bed (= to help someone get ready to lie down in bed and sleep)