spin (redirected from spins)

be in a spin

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

send/throw someone into a spin

be in a spin - to be very anxious and confused. News of the director's resignation had sent management into a spin.

See also: send, throw

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

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: wheel

turn in your grave (British, American & Australian, 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 in someone'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

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

2. 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.

spin out something

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.

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