Idioms: Action - a piece/slice of the a.

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Idiom(s) of the day: A piece/slice of the action

My category (Russian-to-English translation): Участие и заинтересованность (Involvement and interest). Успех и неудача (Success and failure).

Explanation(s):

Collins Cobuild Dictionary of Idioms, 2004 (CCDI):

If someone wants a piece of the action or a slice of the action, they want to get involved in an activity which seems exciting and likely to be very successful or profitable. ‘A slice of the action’ is used mainly in British English.

Lingvo (www.lingvo.com):

a share in an exciting or profitable enterprise

a share in the excitement of something

a share or role in an interesting or exciting activity, especially in order to make money

Babylon (www.babylon.com):

a share in activity or profit

Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary v4.7:

a share of the proceeds or profits

Translation(s):

CCDI:

Свой вклад в дело (, обещающее быть прибыльным).

Lingvo (www.lingvo.com):

участие в чём-л.

доля в деятельности

Babylon (www.babylon.com):

Multitran (www.multitran.ru):

Доля в афере; плата за соучастие; часть, доля в деле; участие в деятельности

Examples:

CCDI:

Essentially, the information industry wants a piece of the action, the right to distribute parts of the Library’s collection itself.

Within five years, every car manufacturer was at it. The hatchback explosion has begun and everyone wanted a piece of the action.

As the British rap scene grows in strength, the Americans are becoming keener to grab a slice of the action.

Lingvo (www.lingvo.com):

He sold his piece of the action before blowing town — Прежде чем уехать из города, он продал свою долю в преступном бизнесе

Deal him in. He wants a piece of the action — Давай включим и его. Он тоже хочет участвовать в этом деле

He'll naturally ask for a piece of the action — Он, естественно, потребует своей доли в этом бизнесе

Foreign firms will all want a piece of the action if the new airport goes ahead.

a share in the profits accruing from something

Don't be selfish. Give me a slice of the action — Не будь эгоистом. Выдели мне долю.

If you want a slice of the action, tickets may still be available.

Babylon (www.babylon.com):

Oxford English Dictionary (OED) v4.0:

Activity considered noteworthy or important; freq. with the. spec. in gambling or betting, esp. in phr. where the action is (freq. transf., i.e. the centre of some activity); also in drug-trafficking, etc. a piece (share, etc.) of the action, involvement in this. slang (orig. U.S.).

1966 Maclean's Mag. 4 June 1 And last year mink breeders from Scandinavia to California were falling over themselves to buy a piece of the action. 1982 Times Lit. Suppl. 2 Apr. 373/2 Not that the activity should be suppressed, but that the aggrieved party should get a share in the action.

Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary v4.7:

Cut me in for a piece of the action.

Multilex (www.multilex.ru):

...a coalition of organizations formed to fight addiction in the Negro communities asked the officials to give them "a piece of the action". (‘The New York Times’, DNW) — ...объединение организаций, созданное для борьбы с наркоманией в негритянских районах, обратилось к властям за содействием.

British National Corpus (BNC), Mark Davies (http://corpus.byu.edu/bnc/):

Piece of the action (total 15):

Nation shall speak peace unto nation, and I shall grab a piece of the action.

A knee injury denied Pears apiece of the action as Boro celebrated promotion at Wolves, but that could not detract from the elation he and his teammates experienced in reaching the Premier League.

Come with us into the Kasbah, and get your piece of the action.

If you want to be one of the crowd, there's no time like now to book a piece of the action.

Slice of the action (total 11):

Telephone, television and computer technology are converging and high tech companies are scrambling for a slice of the action.

"I'll never believe he done it," said Mrs Flaherty, when she came round for a cup of tea and a slice of the action …

And some scientists are angry that ISPRA seems certain to grab a large slice of the action, at the expense of the other laboratories.

The promotional activities of dealers and certain critics became more brazen as the decade proceeded. Perhaps that is to be expected in a market in which "art" largely collapsed into "investment", and in which artists were happy to take a slice of the action.

My companion project: An Idiom a Day (www.twitter.com/AVDemid): The Twitter explosion has begun and everybody wants a piece of the action.