tracking
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fast-track
1. adjective Having or denoting the most expedited or direct course. The banks' fast-track mortgage schemes meant huge numbers of people could suddenly afford to buy houses, but the huge, unfixed interest rates ended up leading to record numbers of foreclosures and repossessions. The company's CEO has been criticized for giving fast-track promotions to friends and family members.
2. verb To expedite or speed up some process. The government announced plans to fast-track citizenship applications for illegal immigrants brought to the country as children.
mommy track
1. noun A career path for a woman who is or has recently become a mother that offers fewer hours, advancement opportunities, responsibilities, etc. I was afraid that the company would put me on the mommy track after I gave birth, but thankfully nothing seemed to change when I returned to work.
2. verb To put a mother on such a career path. The former executive is suing the financial firm for allegedly mommy tracking her, giving her half her hours and providing no prospects of climbing the corporate ranks.
track
informal To be in agreement or accordance (with something); to concur with or corroborate some piece of information. Usually used in negative constructions. Her testimony doesn't track with the defendant's alibi. The two sets of figures just don't track. I suspect they're trying to make their sales numbers look more impressive for their shareholders.
track (something) all over
To spread dirt, mud, or other such filth all over (something or some place) with one's feet. The dogs tracked mud all over my nice clean carpets. Hey, take your boots off—you're tracking dirt all over!
track (something) into (some place)
To bring dirt, mud, or other such filth into some place on one's feet. The dogs tracked mud into the house after I had just finished cleaning. Hey, take your boots off—you're tracking dirt into my room!
See also: track
track down
To search for or pursue someone or something until located or captured. A noun or pronoun can be used between "track" and "down." I've been trying to track down people from my graduating class for our high school reunion. The police tracked down the fugitive to an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. My son really wants this particular toy, so I was wondering if you could help me track it down.
track in
To bring dirt, mud, or other such filth into some place on one's feet. A noun or pronoun can be used between "track" and "in." The dogs tracked mud in the house after I had just finished cleaning. Hey, take your boots off—you're tracking in dirt!
See also: track
track up
To spread dirty tracks or footprints across the surface of something. A noun or pronoun can be used between "track" and "up." Why on earth did you think it was a good idea to ride your bike through the house? You've tracked up all the carpets from the front door all the way to the back yard. The dog bolted into the house and began tracking the floors up with muddy paw prints.
track with (something)
To be in agreement or accordance with something; to concur with or corroborate some piece of information. Her testimony doesn't track with the defendant's alibi. We want to make sure our sales track with our quarterly projections.
See also: track
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
track someone or something down
to search out where someone or something is. I don't know where Anne is. I'll try to track her down. I'll track down Anne for you.
track something up
to mess something up by spreading around something dirty or messy with one's shoes or feet. Please don't track the floor up! Claire tracked up the floor.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
track down
Follow successfully, locate, as in I've been trying to track down that book but haven't had any luck. This term alludes to the literal use of track, "follow the footsteps of." [Second half of 1800s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
track down
v.
To pursue someone or something until found or captured: I tracked down the book I was looking for. The fugitives were missing for a month before the police tracked them down.
track up
v.
1. To cover some surface or area with tracks: The kids tracked up the carpet with mud. In the morning, the newly fallen snow lay prettily, but by the afternoon, people had tracked it up.
2. To move north along some path or geographical feature. Used of storms: The storm tracked up the coast.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
track
1. in. [for a laser beam, a phonograph stylus, a tape head, etc.] to successfully transfer information to or from a recording medium. Something here won’t track. Must be the stylus.
2. in. [for a person] to make sense. (Usually in the negative.) She wasn’t tracking. There was no sense in trying to talk to her before she came out of it.
3. in. to coincide; to agree; to jibe. These two things don’t track. I don’t know what’s wrong.
4. n. a musical selection on a recording of some kind. The next track is my favorite.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
mommy track
A career path with work arrangements offering mothers certain benefits, such as flexible hours, but providing fewer opportunities for advancement. The term was coined in 1989 in a New York Times article and was picked up by syndicated columnist Ellen Goodman in a March 1989 column: “. . . the mommy track is either a dream job that allows women the flexibility to do work they enjoy while still having time for school plays . . . [or] a ghettoized second-class job that fits what the employment pages call ‘mother’s hours.’” Both the controversy and the term persist. In March 2010, a former Goldman Sachs executive sued the firm, claiming to have been “mommy tracked” and eventually fired after going part-time after the birth of her first child.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer