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Adam Makkai

[conviction] See: HAVE THE COURAGE OF ONE’S CONVICTIONS.

[cook] See: SHORT-ORDER COOK, WHAT’S UP or WHAT’S COOKING.

[cook one’s goose]{v. phr.}, {slang} To ruin someone hopelessly; destroy one’s future expectations or good name. •/The bank treasurer cooked his own goose when he stole the bank’s funds./ •/She cooked John’s goose by reporting what she knew to the police./ •/The dishonest official knew his goose was cooked when the newspapers printed the story about him./

[cook up]{v.}, {informal} To plan and put together; make up; invent. •/The boys cooked up an excuse to explain their absence from school./

[cool] See: PLOW ONE’S COOL.

[cool as a cucumber]{adj. phr.}, {informal} Very calm and brave; not nervous, worried, or anxious; not excited; composed. •/Bill is a good football quarterback, always cool as a cucumber./

[cool customer]{n.} Someone who is calm and in total control of himself; someone showing little emotion. •/Jim never gets too excited about anything; he is a cool customer./

[cool down] or [cool off] {v.} To lose or cause to lose the heat of any deep feeling (as love, enthusiasm, or anger); make or become calm, cooled or indifferent; lose interest. •/A heated argument can be settled better if both sides cool down first./ •/John was deeply in love with Sally before he left for college, but he cooled off before he got back./ •/Their friendship cooled off when Jack gave up football./ •/The neighbor’s complaint about the noise cooled the argument down./

[cool one’s heels]{v. phr.}, {slang} To be kept waiting by another’s pride or rudeness; be forced to wait by someone in power or authority; wait. •/He cooled his heels for an hour in another room before the great man would see him./ •/I was left to cool my heels outside while the others went into the office./

[coon’s age] See: DOG’S AGE.

[coop] See: FLY THE COOP.

[coop up]{v. phr.} To hedge in; confine; enclose in a small place. •/How can poor Jane work in that small office, cooped up all day long?/

[cop a feel]{v. phr.}, {vulgar}, {avoidable} To attempt to arouse sexually by manual contact, usually by surprise. •/John talks big for a 16 year old, but all he’s ever done is cop a feel in a dark movie theater./ Compare: FEEL UP. Contrast: COP A PLEA.

[cop a plea]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {colloquial} To plead guilty during a trial in the hope of getting a lighter sentence as a result. •/The murderer of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., copped a plea of guilty, and got away with a life sentence instead of the death penalty./

[cop out]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {informal} To avoid committing oneself in a situation where doing so would result in difficulties. •/Nixon copped out on the American people with Watergate./

[cop-out]{n. phr.}, {slang}, {informal} An irresponsible excuse made to avoid something one has to do, a flimsy pretext. •/Cowe on, Jim, that’s a cheap cop-out, and I don’t believe a word of it!/

[copy cat] n. Someone who copies another person’s work or manner. — Usually used by children or when speaking to children. •/He called me a copy cat just because my new shoes look like his./