neither

neither (conjunction)

neither ... nor ...

used when mentioning two things that are not true or possible:

• Neither Oleg's mother nor his father spoke English.
• The equipment is neither accurate nor safe.

! Do not say 'neither ...or ...'. Say not ...or ... or neither ...nor ...: We don't know or care where he is. | Neither he nor his wife eats meat.

be neither here nor there(spoken):  used to say that something is not important because it does not affect a fact or situation [= irrelevant]:

• The fact that she needed the money for her children is neither here nor there - it's still stealing.

be neither one thing nor the other(spoken): used to say that something or someone cannot be described as either one of two types of thing or person, but is somewhere in the middle of the two:

• The New York Times is neither one thing nor the other. It's not really a city newspaper and it's not really a national newspaper either.

(formal) used to add another negative statement about someone or something [= nor]:

• The authorities were not sympathetic to the students' demands, neither would they tolerate any disruption.

neither

neither (adverb)

used to show that a negative statement is also true about another person or thing [↪ either]

neither does/can/will etc somebody

• 'I don't have any money.' 'Neither do I.'
• Tom didn't believe a word she said, and neither did the police.
• 'I don't like horror movies.'Me neither'.

neither

neither (determiner, pronoun)

not one or the other of two people or things [↪ either]:

• 'Would you like tea or coffee?' 'Neither, thanks.'
• It was a game in which neither team deserved to win.

neither of

• Neither of them can cook.
• Thompson had two strategies, neither of which seems to have worked very well.
• We asked both John and Jerry, but neither one could offer a satisfactory explanation.

either

either (adverb)

used to show that a negative statement is also true about another thing or person, or to add a different negative statement about something or someone [↪ neither]:

• I haven't seen the movie and my brother hasn't either (=he also has not seen it).
• 'I can't swim.' 'I can't, either.'
• It's not an easy car to drive , and at $40,000 it's not cheap either.

me either (American English)spoken : used to say that a negative statement is also true about you:

• 'I don't have any money right now.' 'Me either.'

either

either (determiner, pronoun)

one or the other of two things or people [↪ any]:

• There's tea or coffee - you can have either.
• We can offer a comfortable home to a young person of either sex.

either of

• Could either of you lend me five pounds?

used to show that a negative statement is true about both of two things or people [↪ neither]:

• I've lived in New York and Chicago, but don't like either city very much.

either of

• There were two witnesses but I wouldn't trust either of them.

either side/end/hand etc: both sides, ends, hands etc [= each]

• He sat in the back of the car with a policeman on either side.
• There are shops at either end of the street.

either

either ... or (conjunction)

a) used to begin a list of two or more possibilities:

• You add either one or two cloves of garlic.
• She's the kind of person you either love or hate.

b) used to say that if one thing does not happen then something else will have to:

• It's your choice! Either she leaves or I will!
• £75 seems a lot to pay for a starter motor, but it's either that or a new car!

c) an either-or situation: a situation in which you cannot avoid having to make a decision or choice

third party

third party (n): someone who is not one of the two main people involved in an agreement or legal case, but who is affected by it or involved in it in some way

to put down

to put down: to suppress; to quell(S); to criticize unfairly(S)

• The police arrived just in time to put down the disturbance before it got very serious.
• Fred tries his best at playing tennis. You shouldn't put him down like that.

to get on one's nerves

to get on one's nerves: to annoy or disturb (also: to bug)

• Laura loves to talk to anyone. Sometimes her chatter really gets on my nerves.
• Jack asked his neighbor to turn down the stereo because it was bugging him and he couldn't concentrate.

close call

close call: a situation involving a narrow escape from danger (also: close shave)

• We had a close call when a small fire in our kitchen almost spread to the rest of the house.
• Bob, that car nearly hit us! What a close shave!