be quits (with someone)
1. Of two or more people, to no longer owe any money to each other. I paid you back last week, so now we're finally quits. A: "All right, I'll write you a check and then we'll be quits." B: "Sounds good." Dude, we're not quits yet—you still owe me $20!
2. To be even (with someone), typically due to having retaliated for a previous misdeed, or having returned a favor. All right, he hit you, you hit him back—please tell me you two are quits now. I helped Sarah set up the community center for her casino night in return for her helping me move, so she and I are quits now. Aren't you guys quits with each other already? How long is this stupid feud going to last?
call it quits
1. To stop working. I've still got a few jobs to do around the ranch before I can call it quits for the day. This package is the last one. Once we get this shipped, we can finally call it quits. I'm too tired to keep looking at these numbers, so let's call it quits for now.
2. To end a partnership of some kind, often a romantic relationship. I'm so sad to hear that Mara and John called it quits—I thought those two would be together forever. The Beatles calling it quits is considered a pivotal moment in rock history. I do care about Bryan! I don't want to call it quits, but I just don't think our relationship is going anywhere.
3. To abandon a particular pursuit. Luke dreamed of playing pro basketball, but he had to call it quits after a serious knee injury. Plenty of other companies our size decided to call it quits when the economy started to dip, but we are bound and determined to survive this recession. A: "We're down by six points with only two minutes remaining. There's no way we can win now!" B: "Hey, we'll call it quits when the clock hits zero, OK?"
4. To acknowledge that a debt has been paid. Thank you for paying me back—now we can call it quits. I mailed you a check, so, in my mind, I was calling everything quits. Did it not get to you? I helped Sarah set up the community center for her casino night in return for her helping me move, so we're calling it quits now.
double or quits
A wager, undertaken after a previous wager, that stipulates two possible outcomes: if the winner of the previous wager wins again, they win twice the amount won in the previous wager; if they lose, they receive nothing. Primarily heard in UK. Come on, one more match, double or quits! If you win, you don't have to pay. I beat my brother at billiards for the second time in our double-or-quits game. Now he owes me 100 quid instead of 50! It was double or quits, that's why I walked away—I didn't want to risk losing the prize I'd already won!
quit (some place)
To depart from some place. If you think you can just quit this town and walk away from your debts, you've got another think coming. I've had enough of your sass—I'm quitting this place for good!
quit (something) cold turkey
To stop doing something abruptly. The phrase is most often used to describe the sudden cessation of a drug. After smoking for so long, I should have never tried to quit cold turkey—the withdrawal symptoms are unbearable. I'm so impressed that you quit gambling cold turkey!
quit on (one)
1. To stop functioning, either properly or at all, especially while one is in the middle of using it. I can't believe this crappy old computer quit on me when I was halfway through my term paper! I've been looking for a new lawnmower ever since our old one quit on us last week.
2. To stop helping, supporting, or assisting one in some endeavor. A lot of my friends quit on me after I had my baby because they couldn't appreciate how much my priorities had changed. Sam is a bright kid, but he needs a lot of encouragement. If you quit on him, he'll quit caring too.
3. To give up; to stop putting in the required effort. No, no, you can't stop moving now, we're nearly at the camp. Don't you quit on me now!
4. To quit or resign from one's job, especially very suddenly or unexpectedly. Nearly a third of my team has quit on me over the last six months—at this rate, we won't have enough staff to finish even one of our projects by Christmas! I don't want to just quit on them, but every day I stay in that job feels like torture.
quit over (someone or something)
To quit or resign from one's place of employment. Although he didn't say it, it's pretty clear that Tom quit over the lingering suspicions surrounding him. I can't believe you quit over some bozo who was being mean to you.
quit while (one) is ahead
To cease, end, or give up (doing) something in which one has found some amount of success, especially so as not to risk spoiling or reversing that success. Look, that's good enough for what we need, so let's just quit while we're ahead. If we monkey around with the settings too much, we could screw the whole thing up. As soon as I made a bit of a profit playing poker, I decided to quit while I was ahead—no sense ending the night worse off than I began. I appreciate your compliment, but you should quit while you're ahead, because you're starting to veer off into creepy territory.
quit while the going is good
To cease, end, or give up (doing) something before it becomes too difficult or the consequences become too severe. There are some reports that the market is about to take a dive, so I reckon we should quit while the going's good. Listen, kid, there's no way you can win this fight, so why don't you quit while the going is good?
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.