few

be few and far between

to be very few. There are plenty of houses for sale, but buyers are few and far between.

See also: between, far

catch some rays (informal, informal)

to lie or sit outside in the sun. I thought I'd take my lunch outside and catch a few rays.

See also: catch, ray, some

the chosen few

a small group of people who are treated differently or better than other people, often when they do not deserve it. There's a special entrance with revolving doors for the chosen few in the company.

have [a few/a lot etc.] irons in the fire

to have several jobs at the same time or to have several possibilities of work. If that job application doesn't work out I've got a couple more irons in the fire.

See also: fire, iron, lot

have [a lot of/a few/several etc.] strings to your bow (British & Australian)

another string to your bow - an extra skill or qualification which you can use if you cannot use your main one. She's a trained counsellor and she does pottery classes in the evenings - she has several strings to her bow.

See also: bow, lot, several, string

hoist a few (American, informal)

to drink several glasses of beer or other alcoholic drink. We stopped at Donovan's on the way home and hoisted a few.

See also: hoist

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catch some rays

to lie or sit outside in the sun. This summer, there are plenty of festivals and outdoor concerts where you can catch some rays while enjoying the music.

See also: catch, ray, some

few and far between

not very many or not appearing very frequently. He grew up at a time when jobs were few and far between.

See also: between, far

a few fries short of a Happy Meal

not very intelligent. I could tell he was a few fries short of a Happy Meal, but unfortunately you can't arrest someone for being stupid.

Usage notes: this idiom appears in many different forms, including a few cards short of a full deck, a few bricks short of a full load, a few clowns short of a circus, and a few Cokes short of a six-pack, all with the same meaning

See also: happy, meal, short

a man of few words

a man who speaks only when necessary. He was respected as a man of few words and significant actions.

See also: man, word

quite a few

a large number. We watched quite a few of the World Cup matches on TV.

See also: quite