To polish off

To polish off
Polish Pol"ish, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Polished}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Polishing}.] [F. polir, L. polire. Cf. {Polite}, {-ish}] 1. To make smooth and glossy, usually by friction; to burnish; to overspread with luster; as, to polish glass, marble, metals, etc. [1913 Webster]

2. Hence, to refine; to wear off the rudeness, coarseness, or rusticity of; to make elegant and polite; as, to polish life or manners. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

{To polish off}, to finish completely, as an adversary. [Slang] --W. H. Russell. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • polish off something — polish off (something) to finish something quickly and easily. He polished off two burgers and a mountain of French fries. He was nearly finished with the report, and said he could polish it off in another hour or two. Usage notes: most often… …   New idioms dictionary

  • polish off — (something) to finish something quickly and easily. He polished off two burgers and a mountain of French fries. He was nearly finished with the report, and said he could polish it off in another hour or two. Usage notes: most often used about… …   New idioms dictionary

  • polish off — [v] finish using consume, devour, dispatch, dispose of, do away with*, down*, eat, eat up, eliminate, get rid of*, liquidate, put away*, swill*, use up, wolf*; concepts 169,225 Ant. hoard, save …   New thesaurus

  • polish off — verb 1. finish a task completely (Freq. 1) I finally got through this homework assignment • Syn: ↑get through, ↑wrap up, ↑finish off, ↑mop up, ↑clear up, ↑finish up …   Useful english dictionary

  • polish off — phrasal verb [transitive] Word forms polish off : present tense I/you/we/they polish off he/she/it polishes off present participle polishing off past tense polished off past participle polished off informal 1) to eat or drink something until it… …   English dictionary

  • polish off — 1) PHRASAL VERB If you polish off food or drink, you eat or drink all of it, or finish it. [INFORMAL] [V n P] No matter what he is offered to eat he polishes it off in an instant... [V P n (not pron)] He polished off his scotch and slammed the… …   English dictionary

  • polish off — informal 1) he polished off an apple pie Syn: eat, finish, consume, devour, guzzle, wolf down, down, bolt; drink up, drain, quaff, gulp (down), binge on, gorge on; informal stuff oneself with, put away, scoff, shovel …   Thesaurus of popular words

  • polish off — verb a) To finish completely, especially a food (polish the plate with ones tongue) or liquor. They polished off the last of the cake. b) To remove by polishing (rubbing with a fine abrasive). White rice is rice that has had the brownish hull… …   Wiktionary

  • polish off —    If you polish something off, you finish it quickly or easily.     Susan thought there was too much food but the boys polished it off in no time …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • polish off/polish it off — eat all of it, drink it all    Somebody polished off the last few cookies. Who ate them? …   English idioms

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