to head north

to go off one's head — (colloq) perdre la boule (colloq)

are you off your head? — tu as perdu la boule? (colloq)

to be soft ou weak in the head — (colloq) être faible d'esprit

he's not right in the head — (colloq) il a un grain (colloq)

to laugh one's head off — (colloq) rire aux éclats

to shout one's head off — (colloq) crier à tue-tête

to talk one's head off — (colloq) ne pas arrêter de parler

off the top of one's head — [say, answer] sans réfléchir

to be able to do something standing on one's head — faire quelque chose les doigts dans le nez (colloq)

two heads are better than one — Prov deux avis valent mieux qu'un

he put his head round the door — sporse la testa o fece capolino dalla porta

to keep one's head down tenere la testa bassa, stare a capo chino; fig. (be inconspicuous) non dare nell'occhio; (work hard) lavorare a testa bassa; from head to foot o toe dalla testa ai piedi; the decision was made over their heads la decisione fu presa senza consultarli; heads turned at the sight of... tutti si voltarono alla vista di...; to be a head taller than sb. o to be taller than sb. by a head — essere più alto di qcn. di tutta una testa

head of department — amm. caporeparto; scol. direttore di dipartimento

to come to a head — [ spot] maturare; fig. [ crisis] precipitare

to bring [sth.] to a head — med. fare maturare [ abscess]; fig. fare precipitare [ crisis]; fare giungere alla fase cruciale [ situation]

to go to sb.'s head — [alcohol, success] dare alla testa a qcn.

to be soft o weak in the head colloq. essere rincretinito; he's not right in the head colloq. non ci sta (tanto) con la testa; to laugh one's head off colloq. sganasciarsi dalle risate; to shout one's head off colloq. gridare a squarciagola; she talked my head off colloq. mi ha fatto una testa (grande) così; off the top of one's head [say, answer] su due piedi, senza pensarci; to give a horse its head allentare le briglie al cavallo; to be able to do sth. standing on one's head riuscire a fare qcs. anche a occhi bendati; I can't make head (n)or tail of it non riesco a venirne a capo, non ci capisco niente; the leaders put their heads together i dirigenti si sono consultati; two heads are better than one — prov. quattro occhi vedono meglio di due

where was the train headed o heading? dove era diretto il treno? to head south, north mar. dirigersi verso sud, nord; it's time to head home è ora di tornare a casa; look out! he's heading this way! — attento! viene da questa parte!

he put his head round the door — sporse la testa o fece capolino dalla porta

to keep one's head down tenere la testa bassa, stare a capo chino; fig. (be inconspicuous) non dare nell'occhio; (work hard) lavorare a testa bassa; from head to foot o toe dalla testa ai piedi; the decision was made over their heads la decisione fu presa senza consultarli; heads turned at the sight of... tutti si voltarono alla vista di...; to be a head taller than sb. o to be taller than sb. by a head — essere più alto di qcn. di tutta una testa

head of department — amm. caporeparto; scol. direttore di dipartimento

to come to a head — [ spot] maturare; fig. [ crisis] precipitare

to bring [sth.] to a head — med. fare maturare [ abscess]; fig. fare precipitare [ crisis]; fare giungere alla fase cruciale [ situation]

to go to sb.'s head — [alcohol, success] dare alla testa a qcn.

to be soft o weak in the head colloq. essere rincretinito; he's not right in the head colloq. non ci sta (tanto) con la testa; to laugh one's head off colloq. sganasciarsi dalle risate; to shout one's head off colloq. gridare a squarciagola; she talked my head off colloq. mi ha fatto una testa (grande) così; off the top of one's head [say, answer] su due piedi, senza pensarci; to give a horse its head allentare le briglie al cavallo; to be able to do sth. standing on one's head riuscire a fare qcs. anche a occhi bendati; I can't make head (n)or tail of it non riesco a venirne a capo, non ci capisco niente; the leaders put their heads together i dirigenti si sono consultati; two heads are better than one — prov. quattro occhi vedono meglio di due

where was the train headed o heading? dove era diretto il treno? to head south, north mar. dirigersi verso sud, nord; it's time to head home è ora di tornare a casa; look out! he's heading this way! — attento! viene da questa parte!

puntare i piedi fig — to dig one's heels in

puntare a qc/a fare qc — (mirare) to aim for sth/to do sth

puntare i gomiti sul tavolo — to lean o rest one's elbows on the table

puntare i piedi — to brace one's feet against the ground; fig. to dig in one's heels

puntare il dito contro qcn. — fig. to point the finger at sb.

jdm etw halten — to hold sth for sb

den Arm in die Höhe halten — to hold one's arm up

einen Fuß/einen Zeh ins Wasser halten — to put a foot/a toe in the water

meinst du, der kleine Nagel hält das schwere Ölbild? — do you think this small nail will take the weight of the heavy oil painting?

nur zwei morsche Bretter hielten den Balkon noch — there were only two rotten boards holding the balcony up

zwei Schlaufen halten den Vorhang an der Seite — two loops hold back the curtain

das ist ein toller Torwart, der hält jeden Ball! — he's a great goalkeeper, he makes great saves!

ich konnte ihn/es gerade noch halten — I just managed to grab hold of him/it

haltet den Dieb! — stop thief!

sie ist nicht zu halten (fig) — there's no holding her back

es hält mich hier nichts mehr — there's nothing to keep me here any more

es hält dich niemand — nobody's stopping you

den Schnabel or Mund halten (inf) — to keep one's mouth shut (inf)

(sich dat) eine Zeitung/Zeitschrift halten — to get a paper/magazine

der Film hält nicht, was er/der Titel verspricht — the film doesn't live up to expectations/its title

die These lässt sich nicht länger halten or ist nicht länger zu halten — this hypothesis is no longer tenable

(mit jdm) Verbindung halten — to keep in touch( with sb)

viel Sport hält jung/schlank — doing a lot of sport keeps you young/slim

er hält sein Haus immer tadellos — he keeps his house immaculate

halten Sie die Erklärungen einfach — keep the explanations simple

wenn es neblig ist, sollten Sie den Abstand immer so groß wie möglich halten — if it's foggy you should always stay as far as possible from the car in front

die Gefangenen werden in diesen Gefängnissen wie Tiere gehalten — the prisoners are treated like animals in these prisons

er hält seine Kinder sehr streng — he's very strict with his children

wie halten Sie es mit Ihrer Steuererklärung? — how do you deal with your tax return?

er hält es nicht so sehr mit der Sauberkeit — he's not over-concerned about cleanliness

das Kleid ist in dunklen Tönen gehalten — it is a dark-coloured (Brit) or dark-colored (US) dress

das Mobiliar ist in einem hellen Holz gehalten — the furniture is made of a light wood

Selbstgespräche halten — to talk to oneself

Mittagsschlaf halten — to have an afternoon nap

jdn für ehrlich halten — to think or consider sb honest

ich habe ihn ( irrtümlich) für seinen Bruder gehalten — I (mis)took him for his brother

ich halte es für Unsinn, alles noch einmal abzuschreiben — I think it's silly to copy everything out againdiams; etw von jdm/etw halten to think sth of sb/sth

nicht viel vom Beten/Sparen halten — not to be a great one for praying/saving (inf)

ich halte nichts davon, das zu tun — I'm not in favour (Brit) or favor (US) of (doing) thatdiams; etwas/viel auf etw (acc) halten to consider sth important/very important

er hält etwas auf gute Manieren — he considers good manners important

der Chef hält viel auf Pünktlichkeit — the boss attaches a lot of importance to punctuality

kann der denn ( gut) halten? — is he a good goalkeeper?

der Waffenstillstand hält nun schon drei Wochen — the truce has now held for three weeks

Rosen halten länger, wenn man ein Aspirin ins Wasser tut — roses last longer if you put an aspirin in the water

dieser Stoff hält lange — this material is hard-wearing

halten lassen (Mil) — to call a halt

halt mal, stop! (hum) — hang on (inf) or hold on a minute!

er konnte sich auf dem wilden Mustang nur drei Sekunden halten — he could only stay on the wild mustang three seconds

er hält sich sehr aufrecht — he holds or carries himself very erect

sich ( im Gleichgewicht) halten — to keep one's balance

sich ( nach) links halten — to keep (to the) left

der Geruch von Knoblauch hält sich ewig — the smell of garlic lingers for ages (inf)

das Geschäft kann sich in dieser Straße nicht halten — the shop can't continue to stay open in this streetdiams; sich gut halten (in Prüfung, Spiel etc) to do well

er hat sich ziemlich gut gehalten (körperlich) — he is quite well-preserved

er hält sich für einen Spezialisten/für besonders klug — he thinks he's a specialist/very clever

sich (Dat.) den Kopf/den Bauch halten — hold one's head/stomach

jemanden an od. bei der Hand halten — hold somebody's hand; hold somebody by the hand

die Hand vor den Mund halten — put one's hand in front of one's mouth

einen Ton halten — stay in tune; (lange anhalten) sustain a note

jemanden für reich/ehrlich halten — think somebody is or consider somebody to be rich/honest

seinen Mittagsschlaf halten — have one's or an afternoon nap

es hält dich niemand — nobody's stopping you

ein Geschäft usw. halten — keep a business etc. going

es mehr od. lieber mit jemandem/etwas halten — prefer somebody/something

es mit einer Sache so/anders halten — deal with or handle something like this/differently

diese Freundschaft hält nicht [lange] — (fig.) this friendship won't last [long]

zu jemandem halten — stand or stick by somebody

auf etwas (Akk.) halten — head for or towards something

an sich (Akk.) halten — control oneself

wir werden uns nicht länger halten können — we won't be able to hold out much longer

sich schlecht/gerade/aufrecht halten — hold or carry oneself badly/straight/erect

sich an jemandes Seite (Dat.) /hinter jemandem halten — stay or keep next to/behind somebody

sich an etwas (Akk.) halten — keep to or follow something

sie hat sich gut gehalten — she is well preserved for her age (coll.)