stack

To make surreptitious arrangements that result in an unfair advantage over someone or something else. (Likened to fixing a deck of playing cards in one's favor during a card game.) Of course, simply by virtue of his being the boss's son, Jeremy has stacked the cards against the rest of us for an early promotion. The mega corporation has been accused of trying to stack the cards with billions of dollars spent putting political pressure on members of congress.

To get some sleep. We've got a pretty long layover before our next flight, so I'm going to try to stack some Z's at the gate. A: "Where's Jeff?" B: "Upstairs stacking Z's. It's been a hard week for him."

To become very angry, often quickly. Oh man, dad is going to blow his stack when he sees that I wrecked his car!

completely dark or black. (*Also: as ~.) I don't want to go down to the cellar. It's as black as a skillet down there. Her hair was black as a stack of black cats. After playing in the mud all morning, the children were as black as night. The stranger's clothes were all black as pitch.

[informal] luck is against one. I have the worst luck. The cards are stacked against me all the time. How can I accomplish anything when the cards are stacked against me?

to make a pile of something that leans against someone or something. (See also stack the deck (against someone or something).) Watch what you are doing! Why are you stacking the books against me? They will fall when I move. stack the books against the wall.

to make a stack of things. (Also without the up.) Where should I stack them up? Please stack up these boxes.

to arrange things against someone or something. (Originally from card playing; stacking the deck is to cheat by arranging the cards to be dealt out to one's advantage.) I can't get ahead at my office. Someone has stacked the cards against me. Do you really think that someone has stacked the deck? Isn't it just fate?

[for something] to accumulate, as in stacks. Your work is stacking up. You will have to work late to finish it. I hate to let my work stack up. I have to do it sooner or later.

[for someone or something] to measure up favorably when compared to someone or something. How do you think I stack up to Liz? My car stacks up pretty well to yours.

to state something very earnestly, pledging to tell the truth. (~ a Stack of Bibles refers in an exaggerated way to swearing to tell the truth in court by placing one's hand on a Bible.) I swear on a stack of Bibles that I am telling the truth. Of course, I'm telling the truth. I swear on my mother's grave!

to arrange something so that it is unfair to someone We wanted to make sure no one was stacking the deck in their favor. The deck truly is stacked against the poor.

to compare with something else We wondered how London restaurants stacked up against Atlanta's.

to become very angry and shout or behave in a violent way Jim'll blow a fuse if he finds you here. When her husband realised how much she'd spent he blew a gasket.

to suddenly become very angry My mother blew her top when she saw the mess we'd made in the kitchen.

to arrange something in a way that is not fair in order to achieve what you want The manager stacked the deck in Joe's favor so he got the promotion.

Also, blow a gasket. Lose one's temper, express furious anger. For example, When his paycheck bounced, John blew a fuse, or Tell Mom what really happened before she blows a gasket. An electric fuse is said to "blow" (melt) when the circuit is overloaded, whereas a gasket, used to seal a piston, "blows" (breaks) when the pressure is too high. The first of these slangy terms dates from the 1930s, the second from the 1940s. Also see blow one's top; keep one's cool.

Many difficulties face someone or something, as in The cards are stacked against the new highway project. This term originated in gambling, where to stack the cards or stack the deck means to arrange cards secretly and dishonestly in one's own favor or against one's opponent. [Mid-1800s]

Promise solemnly that what one is about to say is true, as in I swear on a stack of Bibles that I had nothing to do with his dropping out. This term alludes to the practice of placing one's hand on a sacred object while taking an oath, which dates from the mid-10th century. It is still followed in courts of law where a witness being sworn to tell the truth places a hand on the Bible. [Mid-1800s]

To explode with anger.

Lose your temper. Back in the days before circuit breakers, a house's electrical system was regulated by a fuse box. Individual fuses connected to separate lines throughout the house were inserted into the box. When a circuit became overloaded, a thin metal strip in the fuse melted, breaking the circuit to prevent an overload and a possible fire. You'd then replace the fuse after disconnecting whatever appliance might have caused the overload. Someone who because very angry was said to blow a fuse, which doesn't make sense because a fuse was meant to defuse, so to speak, the situation. But no one ever said that idioms must be rational. Similar expressions that make more sense are “blow your stack,” which came from the era of steam engines that would explode if the steam wasn't allowed to explode, and “have a meltdown,” as in a nuclear reactor gone wild.