- Home
- Idioms
- print
print
a licence to print money
An activity, business model, or company that yields very high profits but requires little or no effort to do so. Primarily heard in UK, Australia. All these hefty parking fees and fines are just a licence to print money for the city. These trashy gossip magazines are of such low quality, yet they always fly off the shelves. They're all licences to print money.
be a license to print money
Of an activity, business model, or company, to yield very high profits but require little or no effort to do so. Primarily heard in US. All these hefty parking fees and fines are just a license to print money for the city. These trashy gossip magazines are of such low quality, yet they always fly off the shelves. The whole racket is a license to print money.
read the small print
To make oneself aware of the specific terms, conditions, restrictions, limitations, etc., of an agreement, contract, or other document (often printed in very small type and thus easy to go unnoticed). The terms of the loan look pretty good at face value, but be sure to read the small print, or you could find yourself in a heap of trouble down the line. I know reading the small print can be tedious, but it's always important to know what you're getting yourself into!
fine print
The details of a contract or other document that are important but easily overlooked (often due to very small size of the text.) If you had read the fine print, we wouldn't be going to court over this, now would we? Be sure to read the fine print before you sign any contracts!
go out
1. to leave one's house. Call me later. I'm going out now. Sally told her father that she was going out.
2. to become extinguished. The fire finally went out. The lights went out and left us in the dark.
3. Go to go out of fashion.
go out
(for something) 1. Lit. to go outside to get something or to do something. Jill just went out for a breath of fresh air. He just went out, and should be back any minute.
2. Fig. to try out for something. (Usually refers to a sport.) Mary went out for the soccer team. Tom went out for baseball.
go out
(of something) to leave something or some place. I went out of there feeling sorry for myself. I went out with a smile on my face.
go out
(with someone) 1. Lit. to go out with someone for entertainment. The Smiths went out with the Franklins to a movie. Those guys don't have much time to go out.
2. Fig. to go on a date with someone; to date someone regularly. Is Bob still going out with Sally? No, they've stopped going out.
in print
[of a book, magazine, newspaper, or other written material] to be available from the publisher. Ten thousand copies of the first edition remain in print. The publisher listed all of its books in print.
not worth the paper it's written on
and not worth the paper it's printed onFig. [of a document] meaningless or without authority; of no value. That contract isn't worth the paper it's written on. All the signatures are forged. Don't take a check from that guy. It's not worth the paper it's written on.
out of print
[for a book] to be no longer available from the publisher. The book you want just went out of print, but perhaps I can find a used copy for you. It was published nearly ten years ago, so it's probably out of print.
print something in something
1. to make block letters in a specific location on a paper. Please print your name in the box. Would you please print the information in the space provided?
2. to publish something in a publication. They printed my letter in today's paper. Her stories have been printed in several magazines.
print something out
1. to write something out by using block letters. Please print it out. I can't read your handwriting. Print out your name, please.
2. to use a computer printer to print something. I will print a copy out and send it to you. Please print out another copy.
print something up
to set something in type and print it; to print something by any process. This looks okay to me. Let's print it up now. Print up the final version.
put something in (to) print
to publish something; to record something spoken in printed letters. The article looks good. We will put it into print as soon as possible. We'll put it in print as soon as we can.
rush something into print
to print up something hastily. The story was so timely that the newspaper editor rushed it into print without checking all the details. We will rush the book into print as soon as the author finishes.
small print
and fine printan important part of a document that is not easily noticed because of the smallness of the printing. You should have read the small print before signing the contract. You should always read the fine print of an insurance policy.
read the fine print
to know all the information contained in a document read the small print This new law will disappoint a lot of voters once they have had a chance to read the fine print. You should always read the fine print before signing a contract.
Etymology: based on the idea that often what is printed in very small type in a document is the most important information
go out (with somebody)
to have a romantic relationship with someone How long have you been going out with him? My husband and I worry about what we are going to do when our daughter starts going out.
not worth the paper something is printed on
also not worth the paper something is written on to have no value or importance He's got a degree from an online university that's not worth the paper it's printed on. The landlord's promises were not worth the paper they were written on.
in print
in a published form This is the first time that I've seen his speeches in print. The biography generated a lot of interest and now all her novels are back in print.
Opposite of: out of printout of print
no longer available in published form I'm afraid you can't order that book - it's out of print.
Opposite of: in printread the small print
See: read the fine printbe a licence to print money
(British & Australian) also be a license to print money (American) if a company or activity is a licence to print money, it causes people to become very rich without having to make any effort These shopping channels are just a licence to print money.
not be worth the paper it's/they're printed/written on
if an agreement or decision is not worth the paper it is written on, it has no value or importance A qualification like that isn't worth the paper it's written on.
the fine/small print
the part of a printed agreement that is printed smaller than the rest but which contains very important information Never sign a contract until you have read the small print.
go out
1. Be extinguished, as in All the lights went out. [c. 1400]
2. Die; also, faint. For example,
I want to go out before I become senile, or
At the sight of blood he went out like a light. The first usage dates from about 1700 and was at first put
go out of the world. For the variant, see under
out cold.
3. Take part in social life outside the home, as in We go out a lot during the holiday season. This usage dates from the second half of the 1700s and gave rise to go out with someone, meaning "to date someone."
4. Stop working, as in To show their support of the auto workers, the steel workers went out too. This expression is short for go out on strike. [Late 1800s]
5. Become unfashionable, as in Bell-bottom pants went out in the 1970s but made a comeback in the 1990s. This usage is sometimes amplified to go out of fashion or go out of style, as in This kind of film has gone out of fashion, or These boots are going out of style. [Late 1400s]
6. Cease to function as before. This sense appears in go out of print, said of a book that will no longer be printed. Also see the subsequent idioms beginning with go out.
in print
1. In printed or published form, as in You can find this information in print. This usage dates from the late 1400s, almost from the time of the first printing press.
2. Offered for sale by a publisher, as in The library has a list of all the books in print. The antonym for this usage is out of print, describing material no longer offered for sale by a publisher, as in Most of his books are out of print. [Late 1800s]
out of print
print out
1. Write by drawing letters as opposed to cursive writing, as in Please print out your name above your signature.
2. Use a computer printer, as in This manuscript is too long to print out, so let's continue using floppy disks. [Second half of 1900s]
small print
Also, fine print. The details in a contract or other document, often indicating restrictions or other disadvantages. For example, Be sure you read the small print before you sign your name to it, or They had the warranty terms in fine print, so you'd overlook the fact that it was only good for a month . This idiom alludes to the fact that such material is often printed in smaller type than the rest of the document. [Mid-1900s]
go out
v.1. To leave a building, region, or other place: Let's go out and look at the stars. I went out for a cigarette. The children went out to play in the snow. We went out on the porch. Instead of cooking, let's go out for dinner tonight. We ran out of rice, so I went out for some more. The seas are too rough for the ships to go out today.
2. To exit through something: Go out the back door so that no one sees you.
3. To recede from the land. Used of tides: When the tide goes out, we collect shells along the shore.
4. To leave the boundary of a game: If you kick the ball and it goes out, the other team gets control.
5. To take an active role in accomplishing something. Used with and: You should go out and get a lawyer if you want to win this case.
6. To make a trip, especially to some distant or remote location: We went out to the country to visit the dairy farm. This ferry goes out to the islands.
7. To be sent, broadcast, or disseminated: The package went out last week. The invitations went out two weeks before the party. The word went out that the couple was getting a divorce.
8. To have something, such as one's thoughts, heart, or sympathy, preoccupied with or affected by someone's suffering: Our hearts go out to the victims of the fire.
9. To take part in social life outside the home: I go out every Friday night. Let's go out tonight and see a movie. On our last date, we went out for ice cream. I'm going out to meet some friends at the mall. I went out to dinner with my parents.
10. To collapse structurally: The bridge went out after the heavy rains.
11. To become extinguished: The children were frightened when the lights went out. The power went out during the storm. We stayed up and talked until the fire went out.
12. To become unfashionable: Big collars are going out of fashion. High boots went out last year.
13. To be in a steady romantic relationship with someone: They started going out a couple of months ago, and now they are inseparable. She had been going out with him for three years before they got married.
14. go out for To undergo a competitive qualifying test for some athletic team: If you plan to go out for the basketball team this year, you had better start practicing. I've gone out for the swim team every year, but I've never made it.
print out
v.1. To produce something by printing or with a printer: The student printed out two copies of the document by hand. This printer prints out ten pages a minute.
2. To reproduce some image or document stored on a computer by printing it on paper or displaying it on a screen: She printed my files out for me. He printed out some pictures. You can set up this program so that it prints everything out in a single window.
3. To be reproduced with a printer or by display on a computer screen: After these documents print out, put them in an envelope and leave it on my desk. My documents have been printing out crooked—is something wrong with the printer?
print up
v. To produce something by printing or with a printer: He printed up two copies of the document. She printed some flyers up and distributed them at the meeting.
roll (a set)
and roll a set of prints tv. to take a set of fingerprints (from someone). Danny asked Muggerman to roll a set of prints from the bum and then throw him in the jug. Take him downstairs and roll a set, Sergeant Tartaglia.
roll a set of prints
verb in print
1. In printed or published form: denials that were to be found in print.
2. Offered for sale by a publisher: books that are still in print.
out of print
No longer offered for sale by a publisher: books that are out of print.