spell (redirected from spells)

*under a spell

Fig. enchanted; under the control of magic. (*Typically: be ~; have someone ~; put someone ~.) Her soft voice and faint perfume put Buxton under a spell. Then enchantment was broken when he found his wallet missing.

break the spell 

1. to put an end to a magic spell. The wizard looked in his magic book to find out how to break the spell.

2. to do something that ends a desirable period of figurative enchantment. At the end of the second movement, some idiot broke the spell by applauding.

See also: break

cast a spell (on someone)

1. Lit. to enchant someone with a magic spell. The wizard cast a spell on the frog, turning it into a prince with bad skin.

2. Fig. to intrigue and delight someone. She is a real beauty. She cast a spell on every man she met.

See also: cast

Come in and sit a spell, and Come in and set a spell.; Come in and sit down.; Come in and take a load off your feet.

Rur. Please come in and have a seat and a visit. (The variant with set informal or folksy.) "Hi, Fred," smiled Tom, "Come in and sit a spell." Tom: I hope I'm not intruding. Bill: Not at all. Come in and set a spell.

See also: and, come, sit

Do I have to spell it out (for you)? and Do I have to paint (you) a picture?; Do I need to paint you a picture?

Fig. What do I have to do to make this clear enough for you to understand? (Shows impatience.) Mary: I don't think I understand what you're trying to tell me, Fred. Fred: Do I have to spell it out for you? Mary: I guess so. Fred: We're through, Mary. Sally: Would you please go over the part about the square root again? Mary: Do I have to paint you a picture? Pay attention!

See also: have

dry spell

Rur. a period with no rain. The dry spell killed the crops. We ain't had such a long dry spell since 1988.

See also: dry

fall under someone's spell 

1. Lit. to come under the magical control of a magician or similar person. The damsel fell under the wizard's spell and sat there speechless. As the children fell under the witch's spell, they went to sleep.

2. Fig. to be fascinated by someone; to be enchanted by someone. She was so beautiful. I fell under her spell at once. Wally fell under Donna's spell and became helpless in her presence.

See also: fall

have someone in one's spell and have someone under one's spell

Fig. to have enchanted or captivated the attention of someone. She has him in her spell with her grace and beauty. Ken has Karen under his spell.

See also: have

spell someone (at something)

to take a turn at doing something while the person who was doing it can take a rest. I will spell you at selling tickets while you go and grab a bite to eat.

spell someone down

to win over someone in a spelling match. Frank spelled everyone else down and won the spelling bee. He spelled down almost everyone.

spell something for someone

to spell a word or name for someone's benefit. I don't recognize that word. Would you please spell it for me? It is a difficult name. I will have to spell it for you.

spell something out 

1. Lit. to spell something (with letters). I can't understand your name. Can you spell it out? Please spell out all the strange words so I can write them down correctly.

2. Fig. to give all the details of something. I want you to understand this completely, so I'm going to spell it out very carefully. The instruction book for my computer spells out everything very carefully.

See also: out

spell disaster Fig.

to indicate or predict disaster. What a horrible plan! It would spell disaster for all of us!

See also: disaster, fig

spell trouble

to signify future trouble; to mean trouble. This letter that came today spells trouble. The sky looks angry and dark. That spells trouble.

See also: trouble

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spell trouble

to be the cause of possible problems in the future (often + for ) The continuing dry weather could spell trouble for farmers.

See also: trouble

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spell out something also spell something out

to explain something in detail Students have been given a fact sheet that spells out how AIDS is transferred. The company has a very strict dress code, and they spell it out for you when you start working there.

See also: out