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shore
spend like a sailor (on (shore) leave)
To spend excessively, extravagantly, or wastefully. Now don't go spending like a sailor on shore leave just because you got a bit of a tax refund from the government. The local council has been spending like sailors on this new tram project, while other existing public transport goes into disrepair. Every time my husband's paycheck comes through, he goes out to the pubs and spends like a sailor on leave!
shore someone up
Fig. to (figuratively) prop up or support someone. Mary's solid character and personality helped shore her up during her recent problems with the law. Everyone co-operated to shore up John when his mother died.
shore something up
to prop up or support something. The fence fell over, so we shored it up with more posts. The storm weakened the foundation of our house, and we had to have workers shore up the house.
shore up something
also shore something up to make something stronger by supporting it Part of the roof collapsed, and emergency workers had to shore up walls to prevent further damage. Central banks try to shore the economy up by lowering interest rates.
shore up
Support, prop, as in The new law was designed to shore up banks in danger of failure. This expression derives from the noun shore, meaning "prop," a beam or timber propped against a structure to provide support. The verb shore dates from 1340 and was first recorded in a figurative context in 1581.
shore up
v. To support something with or as if with a prop: The carpenters shored up the sagging floors. The peace initiative was failing, so the leaders met to shore it up.