[at this rate] or [at that rate] At a speed like this or that; with progress like this or that. * /John's father said that if John kept going at that rate he would never finish cutting the grass./ * /So Johnny has a whole dollar! At this rate he'll be a millionaire./ * /"Three 100's in the last four tests! At this rate you'll soon be teaching the subject," Tom said to Mary./
[at times] Not often; not regularly; not every day; not every week; occasionally; sometimes. * /At times Tom's mother lets him hold the baby./ * /You can certainly be exasperating, at times!/ * /We have pie for dinner at times./ Syn.: FROM TIME TO TIME, NOW AND THEN, ONCE IN A WHILE.
[at will] As you like; as you please or choose freely. * /Little Bobby is allowed to wander at will in the neighborhood./ * /With an air conditioner you can enjoy comfortable temperatures at will./
[at wits end] See: AT ONE'S WIT'S END.
[at work] Busy at a job; doing work. * /The teacher was soon hard at work correcting that day's test./ * /Jim is at work on his car./
[at worst] or [at the worst] 1. Under the worst conditions; as the worst possibility. * /When Don was caught cheating in the examination he thought that at worst he would get a scolding./ Compare: AT MOST. Contrast AT BEST. 2. In the least favorable view, to say the worst about a thing. * /The treasurer had certainly not stolen any of the club's money; at worst, he had forgotten to write down some of the things he had spent money for./
[aught] See: FOR AUGHT at FOR ALL(2), FOR ALL ONE KNOWS.
[Aunt Tom] , , A successful professional or business woman who, due to her success in a masculine profession, doesn't care about the women's liberation movement or the passing of the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. * /Hermione is a regular Aunt Tom, she'll never vote for the ERA./
[avail] See: TO NO AVAIL or OF NO AVAIL.
[average] See: ON AN AVERAGE or ON THE AVERAGE, LAW OF AVERAGES.
[awe] See: STAND IN AWE OF.
[awkward age] Adolescence; awkwardness during adolescence. * /Sue used to be an "ugly duckling" when she was at the awkward age, but today she is a glamorous fashion model./
[AWOL] See: ABSENT WITHOUT LEAVE.
[ax to grind] , Something to gain for yourself: a selfish reason. * /In praising movies for classroom use he has an ax to grind; he sells motion picture equipment./ * /When Charles told the teacher he saw Arthur copying his homework from Jim, he had an ax to grind; Arthur would not let Charles copy from him./
