1
general::
1. Maintain, conduct, as in The villagers carried on a thriving trade, or They carried on a torrid love affair. [c. 1600] 2. Continue or progress, persevere, as in I'm sure you can carry on without me. [Mid1600s] 3. Behave in an excited, improper, or silly manner, as in They laughed and sang and carried on rather noisily. [Early 1800s] 4. Flirt, engage in an illicit love affair, as in She accused her friend of carrying on with her husband. [Early 1900s]
American Heritage Idioms
2
general::
Phrase(s): carry on (about someone or something)
to make a great fuss over someone or something; to cry (especially for a long time or uncontrollably) about someone or something. (Note the variation in the examples.) • Billy, stop carrying on about your tummy ache like that. • The child carried on endlessly when his mother scolded him. • When the soldier finally came home, his wife cried and carried on for hours. • Calm down. There’s no need to carry on so., Phrase(s): carry on
to behave badly or mischievously. • The children always carry on when the teacher’s out of the room. • Stop carrying on and go to sleep!, Phrase(s): carry on (to something)
to continue on to some place or some time. • Please keep reading. Carry on to the next page. • Please carry on with your report., Phrase(s): carry on (with something)
to continue doing something. (Compare this with carry something on.) • Please carry on with your singing. • Tom carried on with his boring speech for twenty minutes., Phrase(s): carry on (with someone)
to flirt with someone; to have a love affair with someone. • It looks like Linda is carrying on with James., Phrase(s): carry something on
1. to do something over a period of time. (Compare this with carry on (with something.) • Do you think you can carry this on for a year? • I will carry on this activity for three years if you want. 2. to continue to do something as a tradition. • We intend to carry this celebration on as long as the family can gather for the holidays. • We will carry on this tradition for decades, in fact. 3. Go to carry something onto something.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs