out of thin air
Out of nothing or from nowhere.
The teacher scolded Dick because his story was made out of thin air.
On the way home from town, Tom saw a house standing on the lot that had been empty that morning; it seemed to have appeared out of thin air.
pair off
To make a pair of; put two together; associate; match.
Mrs. Smith paired off her guests by age and tastes.
To belong to a pair; become one of a pair.
Jane paired off with Alice in a tennis doubles match.
To divide or join into pairs.
Later in the day the picnic crowd paired off for walks and boat rides.
pair up
To make a pair of; match.
When she finished the mending, she paired up the socks.
To form a pair; to be or become one of a pair.
Not all the socks would pair up.
Joe paired up with Charlie to work on the lesson.
play fair
To do what is right to others; act in a fair and truthful way.
The boys like the principal because he always plays fair.
Mary would not date any other boys while Jim, her favorite boyfriend, was away; she said that would not be playing fair.
put on airs
To show conceit; act in a superior or condescending manner.
The fact that her parents own a villa in Capri is no reason for Amanda to keep putting on airs.
split hairs
To find and argue about small and unimportant differences as if the differences are important.
Вдаваться в незначительные подробности; придавать мелочам слишком большое значение.
John is always splitting hairs; he often starts an argument about something small and unimportant.
Don't split hairs about whose turn it is to wash the dishes and make the beds; let's work together and finish sooner.
She splits hairs about his life.
Она вдается в подробности его личной жизни.
take to one's heels
show a clean pair of heels
To begin to run or run away.
When he heard the police coming, the thief took to his heels.
tear one's hair
To show sorrow, anger, or defeat.
Ben tore his hair when he saw the wrecked car.
The teacher tore his hair at the boy's stupid answer.
It was time to go to class, but Mary had not finished the report she had to give, and she began tearing her hair.