aid

aid (someone) in (something)

To assist someone in completing an action or activity. It was nice of Julie to aid me in cleaning my house before the party. Jim aided his son in changing the flat tire on the car.
See also: aid

aid and abet

To assist someone, usually in a mischievous or illegal activity. Gary was arrested and charged with aiding and abetting the jewelry thief. I know other kids aided and abetted Paul in egging our house—he's just the only one who got caught.
See also: abet, aid, and

all in the Kool-Aid and don't know the flavor

slang Involving oneself in something one knows little or nothing about. You weren't there, so would you quit commenting on my fight with Sue? You're all in the Kool-Aid and don't know the flavor!
See also: all, and, flavor, know

all in the Kool-Aid but don't know the flavor

slang Involving oneself in something one knows little or nothing about. You weren't there, so would you quit commenting on my fight with Sue? You're all in the Kool-Aid but don't know the flavor!
See also: all, but, flavor, know

an aide-mémoire

Notes or pictures that one uses to remember something. When I was studying for the test, I made an aide-mémoire of all the steps in photosynthesis.

band-aid

A quick and usually ineffective solution to a problem that only addresses the symptom and not the root cause. A reference to the Band-Aid brand of adhesive bandages. Sometimes capitalized. Primarily heard in US. Lowering educational standards in schools may increase graduation rates, but it does little more than slap a band-aid on a much deeper problem.

band-aid solution

A quick, superficial, or temporary solution to a problem that does not address or resolve the underlying cause of said problem. A reference to the Band-Aid brand of adhesive bandages. Sometimes capitalized. While offering free pizza to customers affected by the oil spill is a cute band-aid solution, the company has no plan in place to deal with the actual damage that it caused.
See also: solution

band-aid treatment

A method of covering up a problem superficially or temporarily, rather than resolving it completely. A reference to the Band-Aid brand of adhesive bandages. Sometimes capitalized. Honestly, I think this is just a Band-Aid treatment—we need to work harder and find a real solution.
See also: treatment

be in aid of

To support or help (someone or something). The fundraiser is in aid of the local family whose house just burned down.
See also: aid, of

bring (something) to (one's) aid

To provide something to someone in need of help or assistance. The kind woman at the information desk brought a wheelchair to my grandmother's aid.
See also: aid, bring

come to (someone's) aid

To provide assistance, support, or rescue to someone. Thank goodness the Coast Guard came to my aid, or I might have drowned out there. We were in serious financial trouble until Susan's mother came to our aid and helped us with some of our debt.
See also: aid, come

in aid of

Support or helping (someone or something). The fundraiser is in aid of the local family whose house just burned down.
See also: aid, of

thirst-aid station

slang A place where alcoholic beverages are available to be purchased or consumed. For the party, we set up an awesome makeshift bar in the living room and called it the thirst-aid station. We all headed to the thirst-aid station after work to relax with a few cold ones.
See also: station

What's (something) in aid of?

What is the reason for or purpose of something? Someone told me they just called an all-hands meeting for this afternoon. What is that in aid of?
See also: aid
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

aid and abet someone

Cliché to help someone; to incite someone to do something, possibly something that is wrong. (Originally a legal phrase.) He was scolded for aiding and abetting the boys who were fighting.
See also: abet, aid, and

aid someone in doing something

to help someone do something. He aided her in fixing up the back bedroom.
See also: aid

aid someone in something

to help someone in some kind of trouble. Will you aid me in this difficulty?
See also: aid

be in aid of

to be intended to help, cure, or resolve. What is all this in aid of? I don't understand what your comments are in aid of.
See also: aid, of

bring something to someone's aid

to bring something with which to help someone. The officer brought medical supplies to our aid. An ambulance was brought to the injured man's aid.
See also: aid, bring
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

aid and abet

FORMAL
If someone aids and abets another person, they help or encourage them to do something criminal or wrong. His wife was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for aiding and abetting him. Note: This expression is often used in legal contexts.
See also: abet, aid, and
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

aid and abet

help and encourage someone to do something wrong, especially to commit a crime.
Abet comes from an Old French term meaning ‘to encourage a hound to bite’.
1986 Frank Peretti This Present Darkness She strained to think of…any friend who would still aid and abet a fugitive from the law, without questions.
See also: abet, aid, and

in aid of

in support of; for the purpose of raising money for. chiefly British
1999 Teesdale Mercury A wine and savoury evening in aid of cancer research will be held…on Friday.
See also: aid, of

what's all this in aid of?

what is the purpose of this? British informal
See also: aid, all, this
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

in aid of somebody/something

(British English) in order to help somebody/something: The children spent the day collecting money in aid of charity.
See also: aid, of, somebody, something

what’s (all) ˈthis, etc. in aid of?

(British English, spoken) what is the purpose or cause of something?: What’s all this crying in aid of?
See also: aid
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

thirst-aid station

n. a place to purchase liquor. (Punning on first-aid station.) Let’s stop at the next thirst-aid station and get a snort.
See also: station
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

aid and abet, to

To assist and promote or encourage something or someone. The pairing of these nearly synonymous verbs, always in this order, comes from criminal law, where it denotes helping, facilitating and promoting the commission of a crime. The verbs themselves are quite old, aid dating from about 1400 and abet from about 1300. Although the term still is principally used in relation to criminal actions, it gradually crept into more general speech, as in “The influx of Canada geese on the golf course, aided and abetted by people feeding them . . .”
See also: aid, and

band-aid approach/solution

A stopgap measure, a temporary expedient. This term applies the trade name for a small bandage, the Band-Aid, patented in 1924, to approaching or solving an issue in a makeshift way. It dates from the late 1960s and is approaching cliché status.
See also: approach, solution
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • aid (someone) in (something)
  • aid in
  • aid in doing
  • aide
  • avail
  • avail (oneself) of
  • avail of
  • avail oneself of
  • take action on
  • take action on (someone or something)
References in periodicals archive
Colleges that pursue strategies for tuition increases, discount rates, financial aid budgets, academic quality, diversity, and size separately often embark on journeys that may work in the short run but have serious long-term consequences for their financial and institutional health--and their academic reputation.
The net or the noose: develop sustainable financial aid strategies to prevent budgetary troubles
The gain is subject to a 50% financial aid assessment (after deductions and allowances) and a 5% marginal income tax rate.
The expanded "kiddie tax" and the financial aid trap
That man and entity are leading the international push to increase foreign aid for a variety of "worthwhile" causes, loosely lumped together under the name Millennium Development Goals.
X-RAY analysis foreign aid: foreign aid is usually given only a skin-deep examination by the citizens who pay for it. Now peer into the guts of the system to see what you're paying for
In his closing address, United Nations special envoy on HIV/AIDS for Africa Stephen Lewis blasted governments and institutions like the UN for the continued "diminution of the fights of women," and said that as long as men "control the bastions of power" AIDS will not be broken.
AIDS activists urge protection of women; religion's role in epidemic debated
Sixty-four percent of the respondents said it was foreign aid, which in fact constitutes less than one half of one percent of the federal budget.
Food sovereignty: ending world hunger in our time
The CBA has called for improvements to legal aid for the past decade, specifically for a federal transfer earmarked for civil legal aid and linked to the amount actually spent by a province or territory, and minimum national standards for services.
CBA launches suit in BC to establish right to legal aid in civil cases
This isn't the case at South African-based insurer Momentum, which provides medical aid to those with the disease.
Insuring hope: insurance for individuals with AIDS in Africa is hard to come by, but carriers are making changes to help the millions infected with the disease
Crimes such as these have resulted in Secretary of Education Roderick Paige, Inspector General John Higgins, and Federal Student Aid Chief Operating Officer Theresa Shaw launching an identity theft prevention initiative to alert students who are particularly vulnerable to this type of financial crime.
Identity theft within federal student aid programs
During the 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, the United States still dominated the foreign aid business, contributing about two-thirds of all such money given in order to win hearts, minds, and basing rights in the developing world.
Hard currency: unilateralism doesn't work for foreign aid, either
He hopes to start a nonprofit organization to address not just HIV and AIDS but also racism, education, self-esteem, and religious oppression.
More than a white male disease: in 2006 when the world marked the 25th anniversary of AIDS, it also saw the rise of a new generation of AIDS heroes who are taking the fight to their communities
We believe that Connotea will be important for sharing news, resources, and other information on AIDS research, medicine, services, and activism.
AIDS information overload: what you can do now
It would be easy to assume that the AIDS epidemic, so often associated with loss, generates nothing but sorrow in those it touches, that the personal adjustments we make are all negative.
Weeds
Most infected women are young and black: AIDS is the leading cause of death for African-American women ages 25 to 34 in the U.S.
Women & HIV
After all, World AIDS Day has rolled around 10 times since Rent debuted.
Measuring a year in the life: what else can I do to get Black folks to care about the AIDS epidemic?
I hope they provide inspiration and rededication to continue the fight to end AIDS, whether by donating time, skills, or money to the cause.
Letter from the editor