[clerk] See: ROOM CLERK or DESK CLERK.

[cliffdweller]{n.}, {slang}, {informal} A city person wholives on a very high floor in an apartment building. •/Joe and Nancy havebecome cliffdwellers — they moved up to the 30th floor./

[clifihanger]{n.}, {informal} A sports event or a movie in whichthe outcome is uncertain to the very end keeping the spectators in greatsuspense and excitement. •/Did you see "The Fugitive"? It’s a regularcliffhanger./

[climb] See: SOCIAL CLIMBER.

[climb on the bandwagon] See: ON THE BANDWAGON.

[climb the wall]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {informal} 1. To react toa challenging situation with too great an emotional response, frustration,tension, and anxiety. •/By the time I got the letter that I was hired, I wasready to climb the wall./ 2. To be so disinterested or bored as to be mostanxious to get away at any cost. •/If the chairman doesn’t stop talking, I’llclimb the wall./

[clinging vine]{n.} A very dependent woman; a woman who needs muchlove and encouragement from a man. •/Mary is a clinging vine; she cannot doanything without her husband./

[cling to one’s mother’s apron strings] See: TIED TO ONE’S MOTHER’S APRONSTRINGS.

[clip joint]{n.}, {slang} A low-class night club or other businesswhere people are cheated. •/The man got drunk and lost all his money in aclip joint./ •/The angry woman said the store was a clip joint./

[clip one’s wings]{v. phr.} To limit or hold you back, bring you undercontrol; prevent your success. •/When the new president tried to becomedictator, the generals soon clipped his wings./ •/Jim was spending too muchtime on dates when he needed to study so his father stopped his allowance; thatclipped his wings./

[cloak-and-dagger]{adj.} Of or about spies and secret agents. •/Itwas a cloak-and-dagger story about some spies who tried to steal atomicsecrets./ •/The book was written by a retired colonel who used to take partin cloak-and-dagger plots./ (From the wearing of cloaks and daggers by peoplein old adventure stories.) Compare: BLOOD AND THUNDER.

[clock] See: AGAINST TIME or AGAINST THE CLOCK, AROUND THE CLOCK or THECLOCK AROUND, PUT BACK THE CLOCK or TURN BACK THE CLOCK, GO LIKE CLOCKWORK orGO OFF LIKE CLOCKWORK, TURN THE CLOCK BACK.

[clock watcher]{n. phr.}, {informal} A worker who always quits atonce when it is time; a man who is in a hurry to leave his job. •/When Tedgot his first job, his father told him to work hard and not be a clockwatcher./

[close at hand]{adj. phr.} Handy; close by; within one’s range. •/Mycalendar isn’t close at hand, so I can’t tell you whether we can come next weekor not./ •/I always keep my pencils and erasers close at hand when I workon a draft proposal./

[close call] or [shave] {n. phr.} A narrow escape. •/That surewas a close call when that truck came near us from the right!/ •/When Timfell off his bicycle in front of a bus, it was a very close shave./

[closed book]{n.} A secret; something not known or understood. •/Theman’s early life is a closed book./ •/For Mary, science is a closedbook./ •/The history of the town is a closed book./

[closed-door]{adj.} Away from the public; in private or in secret;limited to a few. •/The officers of the club held a closed-door meeting./•/The committee decided on a closed-door rule for the investigation./Compare: IN PRIVATE.

[close down] or [shut down] {v.} To stop all working, as in afactory; stop work entirely; also: to stop operations in. •/The factoryclosed down for Christmas./ •/The company shut down the condom plant forEaster./

[closed shop]{n. phr.} 1. A plant or factory that employs only unionworkers. •/Our firm has been fighting the closed shop policy for many yearsnow./ 2. A profession or line of work dominated by followers of a certainmode of thinking and behaving that does not tolerate differing views or ideas.•/Certain groups of psychologists, historians, and linguists often behavewith a closed-shop mentality./ Contrast: OPEN SHOP.

[close in]{v.} To come in nearer from all sides. •/We wanted theboat to reach shore before the fog closed in./ — Often used with "on". */The troops were closing in on the enemy.

[close its doors]{v. phr.} 1. To keep someone or something fromentering or joining; become closed. •/The club has closed its doors to newmembers./ 2. To fail as a business; go bankrupt. •/The fire was so damagingthat the store had to close its doors./ •/Business was so poor that we hadto close our doors after six months./ Compare: CLOSE THE DOOR. Contrast: OPENITS DOORS.

[close-knit]{adj.} Closely joined together by ties of love,friendship, or common interest; close. •/The Joneses are a close-knitfamily./ •/The three boys are always together. They form a very close-knitgroup./

[close one’s eyes] or [shut one’s eyes] {v. phr.} To refuse to seeor think about. •/The park is beautiful if you shut your eyes to thelitter./ •/The ice was very thin, but the boys shut their eyes to thedanger and went skating./ Compare: OPEN ONE’S EYES.

[dose out]{v.} To sell the whole of; end (a business or a businessoperation) by selling all the goods; also, to sell your stock and stop doingbusiness. •/The store closed out its stock of garden supplies./ •/Mr.Jones closed out his grocery./ •/Mr. Randall was losing money in his shoestore, so he decided to close out./

[close quarters]{n. phr.} Limited, cramped space. •/With seven boyscouts in a tent, they were living in very close quarters./

[close ranks]{v. phr.} 1. To come close together in a line especiallyfor fighting. •/The soldiers closed ranks and kept the enemy away from thebridge./ 2. To stop quarreling and work together; unite and fight together.•/The Democrats and Republicans closed ranks to win the war./ •/Theleader asked the people to close ranks and plan a new school./

[close shave] See: CLOSE CALL.

[closet] See: SKELETON IN THE CLOSET.

[close the books]{v. phr.} To stop taking orders; end a bookkeepingperiod. •/The tickets were all sold, so the manager said to close thebooks./ •/The department store closes its books on the 25th of eachmonth./

[close the door] or [bar the door] or [shut the door] {v. phr.}To prevent any more action or talk about a subject. •/The President’s vetoclosed the door to any new attempt to pass the bill./ •/Joan was much hurtby what Mary said, and she closed the door on Mary’s attempt to apologize./•/After John makes up his mind, he closes the door to any more arguments./Contrast: OPEN THE DOOR.

[close to home]{adv. phr.} Too near to someone’s personal feelings,wishes, or interests. •/When John made fun of Bob’s way of walking, he struckclose to home./ •/When the preacher spoke about prejudice, some people felthe had come too close to home./

[close-up]{n.} A photograph, motion picture, or video camera shottaken at very close range. •/Directors of movies frequently show close-ups ofthe main characters./

[close up shop]{v. phr.} 1. To shut a store at the end of a day’sbusiness, also, to end a business. •/The grocer closes up shop at 5o’clock./ •/After 15 years in business at the same spot, the garage closedup shop./ 2. {informal} To stop some activity; finish what you are doing.•/After camping out for two weeks, the scouts took down their tents andclosed up shop./ •/The committee finished its business and closed upshop./ Compare: CALL IT A DAY.