Idioms and phrasal verbs with account and arm

Here is a list of idomatic expressions with arm.

Cost an arm and a leg

If something costs an arm and a leg, it is very expensive.

• That laptop costs an arm and a leg.

Keep someone or something at arm’s length

To keep someone at arm’s length is to avoid close contacts with them.

• He always keeps his neighbors at arm’s length.

With open arms

To receive someone with open arms is to receive them with great enthusiasm.

• The parents received their estranged son with open arms.

Account for

To account for something is to give a satisfactory explanation.

• Can you account for your absence from school?

Call someone to account

To call someone to account is to ask them to explain their poor performance.

• Rahul had been missing his deadlines so his boss called him to account.

On account of

On account of means ‘because of’

• They sacked him on account of his poor performance.
• There will be no edition of this newspaper on Monday on account of Holi.

On no account (= under no circumstances)

You must on no account post too much personal information on social media.

• You must not on any account reveal your real name.

Take account of

To take account of something is to take that into consideration.

• We must take account of his political affiliations before offering him this job.