to tide over
10
4.1
- phrasal verb
- /taɪd ˈoʊvər/
:
sacar adelante
- She gave him some money to tide him over until he could get paid.
- tide you over until dinner
- snack to tide you over
- money to tide you over
Examples
-
Good thing I packed my own food to tide me over.
Fiction book (1995) -
I took a job there in 1981, just to tide me over until the grad school semester started.
Fiction book (1994) -
Not much, just enough to tide me over to the end of the week.
-
All I need is 5 to tide me over.
-
This will tide you over for a day or so.
-
"Best I could do at short notice, but it should tide you over a while.
Fiction book (1995) -
I suggest starting a small fund to tide you over during important study periods and research paper due dates.
Blog text (22) -
We only need $5,000 to tide us over.
-
We were given money, groceries, and other odds and ends to tide us over.
Fiction book (1993) -
The good news is I called Dr. Perry's office, and she has some part-time work for me again, so that should tide us over for a little while, at least.
Synonyms
182
1.3
Give someone support with a task or problem when they need it
28
2.7
To give help to someone during a difficult time
15
5.3
To keep someone or something floating and give them hope
11
2.5
To have enough money or supplies to continue for a time
Provide money or help to cover a gap between two times
How Supported
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is metaphorically related to 'tide' (a flow that carries things) + 'over' (across/during), so there is a partial compositional cue that something is being carried through a period. However, the specific sense of supplying temporary help or resources until things improve is a conventionalized extension that a B1 learner who only knows the literal words may not fully predict without prior exposure.
Etymology
Tide over may come from old sailors: a rising tide lifts a boat so it can go over a shallow spot and keep moving. So the phrase now means 'to help someone get through' a short hard time until things get better.