spin (redirected from span out)

*for a spin and *for a ride; *for a drive

to take a ride in a vehicle or on a bicycle. (*Typically: go ~; go out ~; take something ~.) Let's get out our bikes and go for a spin.

make someone's head swim and make someone's head spin 

1. Fig. to make someone dizzy or disoriented. Riding the merry-go-round makes my head spin. Breathing the gas made my head swim.

2. Fig. to confuse or overwhelm someone. All these numbers make my head swim. The physics lecture made my head spin.

See also: head, make, swim

put a spin on something

to twist a report or story to one's advantage; to interpret an event to make it seem favorable or beneficial to oneself or one's cause. The mayor tried to put a positive spin on the damaging polls. The pundit's spin on the new legislation was highly critical.

See also: put

spin something off 

1. Lit. [for something rotating] to release a part that flies away. The propeller spun one of its blades off and then fell apart all together. It spun off one of its blades.

2. Fig. [for a business] to divest itself of one of its subparts. The large company spun one of its smaller divisions off. It spun off a subsidiary and used the cash to pay down its debt.

3. Fig. [for an enterprise] to produce useful or profitable side effects or products. We will be able to spin off a number of additional products. The development of this product will allow us to spin off dozens of smaller, innovative products for years to come.

spin something out

to prolong something. Was there really any need to spin the whole process out so long? Why did they spin out the graduation ceremony for such a long time?

See also: out

spin something out of something and spin something out

to remove liquid from something by spinning. The washer spun the water out of the load of clothing. The washer spun out all the water in the clothes.

See also: out

spin a yarn

Fig. to tell a tale. Grandpa spun an unbelievable yarn for us. My uncle is always spinning yarns about his childhood.

spin around 

1. to turn around to face a different direction. Jill spun around to face her accuser. Todd spun around in his chair so he could see who was talking to him.

2. to rotate, possibly a number of times. The propellers spun around and soon the old plane began to taxi down the runway. The merry-go-round spun around at a moderate speed.

See also: around

spin doctor

someone who gives a twisted or deviously deceptive version of an event. (Usually in the context of manipulating the news for political reasons.) Things were going bad for the candidate, so he got himself a new spin doctor. A good spin doctor could have made the incident appear far less damaging.

See also: doctor

spin off

[for something] to part and fly away from something that is spinning; [for something] to detach or break loose from something. The blade of the lawn mower spun off, but fortunately no one was injured. The rusted-on nut spun off easily after I got it loosened.

spin one's wheels

to waste time; to remain in a neutral position, neither advancing nor falling back. (Fig. on a car that is running but is not moving because its wheels are spinning in mud, etc.) I'm just spinning my wheels in this job. I need more training to get ahead. The whole project was just spinning its wheels until spring.

See also: wheel

spin out

[for a vehicle] to go out of control, spinning. You nearly spun out on that last turn! Cars were spinning out all over the highway when the ice storm hit.

See also: out

turn (over) in one's grave and roll (over) in one's grave

Fig. to show enormous disfavor for something that has happened after one's death. If our late father heard you say that, he'd turn over in his grave. Please don't change the place around too much when I'm dead. I do not wish to be rolling in my grave all the time.

See also: grave, turn

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a spin doctor

someone whose job is to make sure that the information the public receives about a particular event makes them approve of the organization they work for, usually a political party In politics, this is the age of the spin doctor and image maker.

See also: doctor

be in a spin

to be very anxious and confused She's in a spin over the arrangements for the party.

spin somebody a line  (british)

to try to make someone believe that something is true, often so that they will do what you want or not be angry with you He spun her a line about having to work late at the office.

See also: line

spin your wheels  (American informal)

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

See also: wheel

turn in your grave  (British, American & Australian) also turn over/spin in your grave (American)

if you say that a dead person would turn in their grave, you mean that they would be very angry or upset about something if they knew She'd turn in her grave if she knew what he was spending his inheritance on.

See also: grave, turn

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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: wheel

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: wheel

spin in somebody's grave

to be shocked and upset by what someone has done Hoch said the place was like a cow pasture, which no doubt had his grandmother spinning in her grave.

Usage notes: also used in the forms turn over in someone's grave and roll over in someone's grave; used to show that if someone already dead were present, they would be upset

See also: grave

spin off something also spin something off

1. to form a separate company from parts of an existing company The company will consider spinning off its music recording and retail businesses early next year.

2. to produce something additional “Star Trek” seems capable of spinning movies and TV series off endlessly.

spin out something also spin something out

to give the details of a story or idea LaRouche liked to spin out crazy theories all the time. We were dazzled by his ability to take a simple idea and spin it out into something amazing.

See also: out