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[acquire a taste for]{v. phr.} To become fond of something; get to like something. •/Jack acquired a taste for ripe cheeses when he went to France./

[across the board]{adv. phr.} 1. So that equal amounts of money are bet on the same horse to win a race, to place second, or third. •/I bet $6 on the white horse across the board./ — Often used with hyphens as an adjective. •/I made an across-the-board bet on the white horse./ 2. {informal} Including everyone or all, so that all are included. •/Thе President wanted taxes lowered across the board./ — Often used with hyphens as an adjective. •/Thе workers at the store got an across-the-board pay raise./

[across the tracks] See: THE TRACKS.

[act] See: READ THE RIOT ACT.

[act high and mighty]{v. phr.} To wield power; act overbearingly; order others around; look down on others. •/Paul is an inexperienced teacher and he acts high and mighty with his students./

[actions speak louder than words] What you do shows your character better and is more important than what you say. — A proverb. •/John promised to help me, but he didn’t. Actions speak louder than words./ •/Joe is very quiet, but actions speak louder than words. He is the best player on the team./

[act of faith]{n. phr.} An act or a deed that shows unquestioning belief in someone or something. •/It was a real act of faith on Mary’s part to entrust her jewelry to her younger sister’s care./

[act of God]{n.} An occurrence (usually some sort of catastrophe) for which the people affected are not responsible; said of earthquakes, floods, etc. •/Hurricane Andrew destroyed many houses in Florida, but some types of insurance did not compensate the victims, claiming that the hurricane was an act of God./ See: FICKLE FINGER OF FATE.

[act one’s age] or [be one’s age] {v. phr.} To do the things that people expect someone of your age to do, not act as if you were much younger than you are. •/Mr. O’Brien was playing tag with the children at the party. Then Mrs. O’Brien said, "Henry! Act your age!" and he stopped./

[actor] See: BAD ACTOR.

[act out]{v.} 1. To show an idea, story, or happening by your looks, talk, and movements. •/He tried to act out a story that he had read./ 2. To put into action. •/All his life he tried to act out his beliefs./

[act up]{v.}, {informal} 1. To behave badly; act rudely or impolitely. •/The dog acted up as the postman came to the door./ 2. To work or run poorly (as a after all machine); skip; miss. •/Thе car acted up because the spark plugs were dirty./

[add fuel to the flame]{v. phr.} To make a bad matter worse by adding to its cause; spread trouble, increase anger or other strong feelings by talk or action. •/By criticizing his son’s girl, the father added fuel to the flame of his son’s love./ •/Bob was angry with Ted and Ted added fuel to the flame by laughing at him./

[add insult to injury]{v. phr.} 1. To hurt someone’s feelings after doing him harm. •/He added insult to injury when he called the man a rat after he had already beaten him up./ 2. To make bad trouble worse. •/We started on a picnic, and first it rained, then to add insult to injury, the car broke down./