[corn belt]{n.} 1. The Midwest; the agricultural section of the United States where much corn is grown. •/Kansas is one of the slates that lies within the corn belt./

[corner] See: AROUND THE CORNER, CUT CORNERS, FOUR CORNERS, OUT OF THE CORNER OF ONE’S EYE.

[cost a bomb] or [an arm and a leg] {v. phr.} To be extremely expensive. •/My new house has cost us an arm and a leg and we’re almost broke./

[cotton] See: ON TOP OF THE WORLD also SITTING ON HIGH COTTON.

[cotton picking], [cotton-pickin']{adj.}, {slang}, {colloquial} Worthless, crude, common, messy. •/Keep your cotton picking hands off my flowers!/ •/You’ve got to clean up your room, son, this is a cotton-pickin' mess!/

[couch case]{n.}, {slang}, {informal} A person judged emotionally so disturbed that people think he ought to see a psychiatrist (who, habitually, make their patients lie down on a couch). •/Joe’s divorce messed him up so badly that he became a couch case./

[couch doctor]{n.}, {slang}, {colloquial} A psychoanalyst who puts his patients on a couch following the practice established by Sigmund Freud. •/I didn’t know your husband was a couch doctor, I thought he was a gynecologist!/

[couch potato]{n.} A person who is addicted to watching television all day. •/Poor Ted has become such a couch potato that we can’t persuade him to do anything./

[cough up]{v.}, {slang} 1. To give (money) unwillingly; pay with an effort. •/Her husband coughed up the money for the party with a good deal of grumbling./ 2. To tell what was secret; make known. •/He coughed up the whole story for the police./

[couldn’t care less]{v. phr.}, {informal} To be indifferent; not care at all. •/The students couldn’t care less about the band; they talk all through the concert./ Also heard increasingly as "could care less" (nonstandard in this form.)

[counsel] See: KEEP ONE’S OWN COUNSEL.

[count] See: STAND UP AND BE COUNTED.

[countdown]{n.}. {Space English}, {informal} 1. A step-by-step process which leads to the launching of a rocket. •/Countdown starts at 23:00 hours tomorrow night and continues for 24 hours./ 2. Process of counting inversely during the acts leading to a launch; liftoff occurs at zero. 3. The time immediately preceding an important undertaking, borrowed from Space English. •/We’re leaving for Hawaii tomorrow afternoon; this is countdown time for us./

[counter] See: UNDER THE COUNTER.

[count heads] or [count noses] {v. phr.}, {informal} To count the number of people in a group. •/On the class picnic, we counted heads before we left and when we arrived to be sure that no one got lost./ •/The usher was told to look out into the audience and count noses./

[count off]{v.} 1. To count aloud from one end of a line of men to the other, each man counting in turn. •/The soldiers counted off from right to left./ 2. To place into a separate group or groups by counting. •/The coach counted off three boys to carry in the equipment./ •/Tom counted off enough newspapers for his route./

[count on]{v.} 1. To depend on; rely on; trust. •/The team was counting on Joe to win the race./ •/I’ll do it; you know you can count on me./ •/The company was counting on Brown’s making the right decision./ Syn.: BANK ON. 2. See: FIGURE ON(2).

[count one’s chickens before they’re hatched]{v. phr.}, {informal} To depend on getting a profit or gain before you have it; make plans that suppose something will happen; be too sure that something will happen. Usually used in negative sentences. •/When Jim said that he would be made captain of the team, John told him not to count his chickens before they were hatched./ •/Maybe some of your customers won’t pay, and then where will you be? Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched./

[count out]{v.} 1. To leave (someone) out of a plan; not expect (someone) to share in an activity; exclude. •/"Will this party cost anything? If it does, count me out, because I’m broke."/ •/When the coach was planning who would play in the big game he counted Paul out, because Paul had a hurt leg./ 2. To count out loud to ten to show that (a boxer who has been knocked down in a fight) is beaten or knocked out if he does not get up before ten is counted. •/The champion was counted. out in the third round./ 3a. To add up; count again to be sure of the amount. •/Mary counted out the number of pennies she had./ 3b. To count out loud, (especially the beats in a measure of music). •/The music teacher counted out the beats "one-two-three-four," so the class would sing in time./

[count to ten]{v. phr.}, {informal} To count from one to ten so you will have time to calm down or get control of yourself; put off action when angry or excited so as not to do anything wrong. •/Father always told us to count to ten before doing anything when we got angry./ Compare: KEEP ONE’S HEAD. Contrast: BLOW A FUSE, FLY OFF THE HANDLE.

[county mounty]{n.}, {slang}, {citizen’s hand radio jargon} Sheriff’s deputy. •/The county mounties are parked under the bridge./

[courage] See: HAVE THE COURAGE OF ONE’S CONVICTIONS, SCREW UP ONE’S COURAGE.

[course] See: IN DUE COURSE, MATTER OF COURSE, OF COURSE, PAR FOR THE COURSE.

[court] See: DAY IN COURT, FRONT COURT, HOLD COURT, KANGAROO COURT.

[cousin] See: FIRST COUSIN, SECOND COUSIN.

[cover] See: FROM COVER TO COVER at FROM --- TO(3), UNDER COVER.

[cover a lot of ground]{v. phr.} To process a great deal of information and various facts. •/Professor Brown’s thorough lecture on asteroids covered a lot of ground today./

[covered-dish supper] or [potluck supper] A meal to which each guest brings a share of the food. •/Dolly made a chicken casserole for the covered-dish supper./

[cover girl]{n.} A pretty girl or woman whose picture is put on the cover of a magazine. •/Ann is not a cover girl, but she is pretty enough to be./

[cover ground] or [cover the ground] {v. phr.} 1. To go a distance; travel. •/Mr. Rogers likes to travel in planes, because they cover ground so quickly./ 2. {informal} To move over an area at a speed that is pleasing; move quickly over a lot of ground. •/The new infielder really covers the ground at second base./ •/Herby’s new car really covers ground!/ 3. To give or receive the important facts and details about a subject. •/If you’re thinking about a trip to Europe, the airline has a booklet that covers the ground pretty well./ •/The class spent two days studying the Revolutionary War, because they couldn’t cover that much ground in one day./

[cover one’s tracks] or [cover up one’s tracks] {v. phr.} 1. To hide and not leave anything, especially foot marks, to show where you have been, so that no one can follow you. •/The deer covered his tracks by running in a stream./ 2. {informal} To hide or not say where you have been or what you have done; not tell why you do something or what you plan to do. •/The boys covered their tracks when they went swimming by saying that they were going for a walk./ Compare: COVER UP(1).

[cover the waterfront]{v. phr.} To talk or write all about something; talk about something all possible ways. •/The principal pretty well covered the waterfront on student behavior./