burn one’s bridges (behind one) 1. to make
decisions that cannot be changed in the
future. If you drop out of school now,
you’ll be burning your bridges behind you.
You’re too young to burn your bridges
that way. 2. to be unpleasant in a situa-
tion that you are leaving, ensuring that
you’ll never be welcome to return. If
you get mad and quit your job, you’ll be
burning your bridges behind you. No
sense burning your bridges. Be polite and
leave quietly. 3. to cut off the way back to
where you came from, making it impos-
sible to retreat. The army, which had
burned its bridges behind it, couldn’t go
back. By blowing up the road, the spies
had burned their bridges behind them.
burn one’s bridges in front of one to cre-
ate future problems for oneself. (A play
on burn one’s bridges (behind one).) I
made a mistake again. I always seem to
burn my bridges in front of me. I acci-
dentally insulted a math teacher whom I
will have to take a course from next se-
mester. I am burning my bridges in front
of me.
burn (oneself) out to do something so long
and so intensely that one gets sick and
tired of doing it and can no longer do it
well. I burned myself out as an opera
singer. I just cannot do it anymore. Tom
burned himself out playing golf. He can’t
stand it anymore. Tom burned out too
young.
burn out [for electrical or mechanical de-
vices] to break down and become useless.
I hope the light bulb in the ceiling does-
n’t burn out. I can’t reach it. T The mo-
tor burned out.
burn someone at the stake 1. to set fire to
a person tied to a post (as a form of ex-
ecution). They used to burn witches at
the stake. Look, officer, I only ran a stop
sign. What are you going to do, burn me at
the stake? 2. to chastise or denounce
someone severely, but without violence.
Stop yelling. I made a simple mistake,
and you’re burning me at the stake for it.
Sally only spilled her milk. There is no
need to shout. Don’t burn her at the stake
for it.
burn someone in effigy to burn a dummy
or other figure that represents a hated
person. (See also hang someone in effigy.)
For the third day in a row, they burned
the king in effigy. Until they have
burned you in effigy, you can’t really be
considered a famous leader.
burn someone or something to a crisp to burn
someone or something totally or very
badly. The flames burned him to a crisp.
The cook burned the meat to a crisp.
burn someone up to make someone very an-
gry. (Informal.) People like that just
burn me up! It burns me up to hear you
talk that way. T His answers really burned
up the committee members.
burn the candle at both ends to work
very hard and stay up very late at night.
No wonder Mary is ill. She has been
burning the candle at both ends for a long
time. You can’t keep on burning the can-
dle at both ends.
burn the midnight oil to stay up working,
especially studying, late at night. (Refers
to working by the light of an oil lamp.)
I have to go home and burn the mid-
night oil tonight. If you burn the mid-
night oil night after night, you’ll probably
become ill.
burn with a low blue flame to be very an-
gry. (Refers to the imaginary heat caused
by extreme anger. A blue flame is a hot
flame.) By the time she showed up three
hours late, I was burning with a low blue
flame. Whenever Ann gets mad, she just
presses her lips together and burns with a
low blue f lame.
burned to a cinder burned very badly.
(Not necessarily literal.) I stayed out
in the sun too long, and I am burned to a
cinder. This toast is burnt to a cinder.
burst at the seams [for someone] to “ex-
plode” (figuratively) with pride or laugh-
ter. (Also literal with things.) Tom
nearly burst at the seams with pride. We
laughed so hard we just about burst at the
seams.
burst in on someone or something [for some-
one] to enter a room, interrupting some-
one or some activity. (Often without
knocking or seeking permission to en-
ter.) Tom burst in on his sister and her
boyfriend while they were kissing. I
must ask you not to burst in on a board
meeting again. Whatever it is can wait.
burst into flames to catch fire suddenly;
to ignite all at once. Suddenly, the car
burst into f lames. It was so hot in the
forest fire that a few trees literally burst
into f lames.
burst into tears and burst out crying to
begin to cry suddenly. (See also break
(out) in(to) tears.) After the last notes
of her song, the audience burst into tears,
such was its beauty and tenderness. The
brother and sister burst into tears on hear-
ing of the death of their dog. Some peo-
ple find themselves bursting out crying for
no reason at all.
burst onto the scene to appear suddenly
in a location. When Charles burst onto
the scene, no one was prepared for the news
he brought. The police suddenly burst
onto the scene and arrested everyone
present.
burst out crying Go to burst into tears.
burst out laughing to begin to laugh sud-
The entire audience burst out
laughing at exactly the wrong time, and so
did the actors. Every time I think of you
sitting there with a lap full of noodle soup,
I burst out laughing.
burst someone’s bubble to destroy some-
one’s illusion or delusion; to destroy
someone’s fantasy. I hate to burst your
bubble, but Columbus did not discover
Canada. Even if I am completely wrong,
please don’t burst my bubble.
burst with pride to be full to the bursting
point with pride. (See also burst at the
seams.) My parents were bursting with
pride when I graduated from college. I
almost burst with pride when I was chosen
to go up in the space shuttle.
bury one’s head in the sand and hide one’s
head in the sand to ignore or hide from
obvious signs of danger. (Refers to an os-
trich, which we picture with its head
stuck into the sand or the ground.)
Stop burying your head in the sand. Look
at the statistics on smoking and cancer.
And stop hiding your head in the sand. All
of us will die somehow, whether we smoke
or not.
bury the hatchet to stop fighting or argu-
ing; to end old resentments. All right,
you two. Calm down and bury the hatchet.
I wish Mr. and Mrs. Franklin would
bury the hatchet. They argue all the time.
business as usual having things go along
as usual. Right after the f lood, it was
business as usual in all the stores. Please,
everyone, business as usual. Let’s get back
to work.
the business end of something the part or
end of something that actually does the
work or carries out the procedure.
Keep away from the business end of the
electric drill to avoid getting hurt. Don’t
point the business end of that gun at any-
one. It might go off.
a busman’s holiday leisure time spent do-
ing something similar to what one does
at work. Tutoring students in the eve-
ning is too much of a busman’s holiday for
our English teacher. It’s a bit of a bus-
man’s holiday to ask her to be wardrobe
mistress for our amateur production in the
summer. She’s a professional dressmaker.
bust a gut (to do something) to work very
hard; to strain oneself to do something.
(Slang. Gut is considered impolite in
some circumstances. Bust is an informal
form of burst.) I don’t intend to bust a
gut to get there on time. I busted a gut
to get there the last time, and I was the first
one there.
busy as a beaver Go to (as) busy as a
beaver.
busy as a beaver (building a new dam)
Go to (as) busy as a beaver (building a
new dam).
busy as a bee Go to (as) busy as a beaver.
busy as a cat on a hot tin roof Go to (as)
busy as a cat on a hot tin roof.
busy as a hibernating bear Go to (as)
busy as a hibernating bear.
busy as a one-armed paperhanger Go to
(as) busy as a one-armed paperhanger.
busy as Grand Central Station Go to (as)
busy as Grand Central Station.
busy as popcorn on a skillet Go to (as)
busy as popcorn on a skillet.
but for someone or something if it were not for
someone or something. But for the rail-
ing, I’d have fallen down the stairs. But
for the children, Mrs. Smith would have
left her husband years ago.
butter someone up to praise and flatter
someone, usually with the intention of
requesting a favor. I believe my land-
lady prefers for me to butter her up rather
than getting the rent on time. T If I but-
ter up the teacher, will he give me a good
grade?
button one’s lip to get quiet and stay quiet.
(Often used with children.) All right
now, let’s button our lips and listen to the
story. Button your lip, Tom! I’ll tell you
when you can talk.
buy a pig in a poke to purchase or accept
something without having seen or ex-
amined it. (Poke means “bag.” Compare
this with buy something sight unseen.)
Buying a car without test-driving it is like
buying a pig in a poke. He bought a pig
in a poke when he ordered a diamond ring
by mail.
buy someone off to bribe someone; to win
someone over by gifts or favors. It’s not
hard to buy politicians off. T They bought
off the whole city council with campaign
contributions.
buy something to believe someone; to accept
something to be a fact. (Also literal. In-
formal.) It may be true, but I don’t buy
it. I just don’t buy the idea that you can
swim that far.
buy something for a song to buy something
cheaply. No one else wanted it, so I
bought it for a song. I could buy this
house for a song, because it’s so ugly.
buy something on credit to purchase some-
thing now and pay for it later (plus in-
terest). (See also sell something on credit.)
Almost everyone who buys a house buys
it on credit. I didn’t have any cash with
me, so I used my credit card and bought a
new coat on credit.
buy something to go and get something to go;
have something to go; order something to
go to purchase food to take out; to make
a purchase of cooked food to be taken
elsewhere to be eaten. Let’s stop here
and buy six hamburgers to go. I didn’t
thaw anything for dinner. Let’s stop off on
the way home and get something to go.
No, I don’t want to sit at a table. I’ll just
have a cup of coffee to go.
by a hair(‘s breadth) and by a whisker
just barely; by a very small distance. (The
whisker phrase is folksy.) I just missed
getting on the plane by a hair’s breadth.
I made it by a hair! The arrow missed
the deer by a whisker.
by all accounts Go to according to all
accounts.
by all means certainly; yes; absolutely.
(Compare this with by any means.) I
will attempt to get there by all means.
BOB: Can you come to dinner tomorrow?
JANE: By all means. I’d love to.
by all means of something using every pos-
sible manner of something to do some-
thing. People will be arriving by all
means of transportation. The surgeon
performed the operation by all means of
instruments.
by a mile by a great distance. (Also literal.
An exaggeration in this case.) You
missed the target by a mile. Your esti-
mate of the budget deficit was off by a
mile.
by and by after a period of time has passed.
(Most often seen in children’s stories.)
By and by the bears returned home, and
can you guess what they found? And by
and by the little boy became a tall and
handsome prince.
by and large generally; usually. (Originally
a nautical expression.) I find that, by
and large, people tend to do what they are
told to do. By and large, rosebushes need
lots of care.
by any means by any way possible. I
need to get there soon by any means. I
must win this contest by any means, fair or
unfair. It cannot be done by any means.
by a whisker Go to by a hair(‘s breadth).
by chance accidentally; randomly; without
planning. I found this book by chance
at a book sale. We met by chance in a
class in college.
by choice due to conscious choice; on pur-
pose. I do this kind of thing by choice.
No one makes me do it. I didn’t go to
this college by choice. It was the closest one
to home.
by coincidence by an accidental and
strange similarity; by an unplanned pair
of similar events or occurrences. We
just happened to be in the same place at the
same time by coincidence. By coinci-
dence, the circus was in town when I was
there. I’m glad because I love circuses.
by day and by night during the day; dur-
ing the night. By day, Mary worked in
an office; by night, she took classes. Dave
slept by day and worked by night.
by dint of something because of something;
due to the efforts of something. (Dint is
an old word meaning “force,” and it is
never used except in this phrase.) They
got the building finished on time by dint of
hard work and good organization. By
dint of much studying, John got through
college.
by fits and starts irregularly; unevenly;
with much stopping and starting.
Somehow, they got the job done by fits and
starts. By fits and starts, the old car fi-
nally got us to town.
by guess and by golly by luck; with the
help of God. (Folksy. Golly is a disguise
of God.) They managed to get the shed
built by guess and by golly. I lost my
ruler and had to install the new f loor tile
by guess and by golly.
by hook or (by) crook by any means, le-
gal or illegal. (Folksy.) I’ll get the job
done by hook or by crook. I must have
that house. I intend to get it by hook or
crook.
by itself with the help of nothing else;
without the addition of anything else.
Will this be enough by itself ? Can the
dog get out of the house by itself ?
by leaps and bounds rapidly; by large
movements forward. Our garden is
growing by leaps and bounds. The prof-
its of my company are increasing by leaps
and bounds.
by means of something using something;
with the use of something. I opened the
bottle by means of a bottle opener. I was
able to afford a car by means of a loan.
by mistake in error; accidentally. I’m
sorry. I came into the wrong room by mis-
take. I chose the wrong road by mistake.
Now we are lost.
by myself 1. with no one else present;
alone. I sat at the table by myself. I
will not be at the party. I will be at home
by myself tonight. 2. without the help of
anyone else. I did it all by myself. Do
you think I can eat this whole pie by
myself ?
by night Go to by day.
by no means absolutely not; certainly not.
I’m by no means angry with you.
BOB: Did you put this box here? TOM: By
no means. I didn’t do it, I’m sure.
by oneself 1. with no one else present; alone.
Must one sit by oneself or may one join
another group? One just hates eating by
oneself, doesn’t one? 2. with the help of no
one else. One is expected to do it by one-
self. Can one do this by oneself ?
by ourselves 1. with no one else present;
alone. Do we have to sit here by our-
selves? Can’t we sit with Mary and Max?
We like to eat by ourselves, so we can
talk about private matters. 2. with the
help of no one else. We can do it by
ourselves. Can we lift this by ourselves,
or do we need some help?
by return mail by a subsequent mailing
(back to the sender). (A phrase indicat-
ing that an answer is expected soon, by
mail.) Since this bill is overdue, would
you kindly send us your check by return
mail? I answered your request by return
mail over a year ago. Please check your
records.
by shank’s mare by foot. (Shank refers to
the shank of the leg. Folksy. See also go
(somewhere) by shank’s mare.) My car is-
n’t working, so I’ll have to travel by shank’s
mare. I’m sore because I’ve been getting
around by shank’s mare.
by the each; per. (Used to show a unit of
measure, but not the rate of a measure.)
Lettuce is sold by the head. Gas is sold
by the gallon.
by the book Go to by the numbers.
by the day one day at a time. I don’t
know when I’ll have to leave town, so I rent
this room by the day. Sally is in such dis-
tress. She manages to live only by the day.
by the dozen twelve at a time; in a group
of twelve. (Almost the same as the fol-
lowing entry.) I purchase socks by the
dozen. Eggs are usually sold by the
dozen. Around here we have problems
by the dozen.
by the dozens many; by some large, in-
definite number. (Similar to but less than
hundreds. Almost the same as the previ-
ous entry.) Just then people began show-
ing up by the dozens. I baked cakes and
pies by the dozens.
by the handful in measurements equal to
a handful; lots. Billy is eating candy by
the handful. People began leaving by the
handful at midnight.
by the hour at each hour; after each hour.
It kept growing darker by the hour. I
have to take this medicine by the hour.
The illness is getting worse by the hour.
by the month one month at a time. Not
many apartments are rented by the month.
I needed a car for a short while, so I
rented one by the month.
by the nape of the neck by the back of
the neck. (Mostly found in real or mock
threats.) He grabbed me by the nape of
the neck and told me not to turn around
if I valued my life. I stood very still. If
you do that again, I’ll pick you up by the
nape of the neck and throw you out the
door.
by the same token in the same way; recip-
rocally. Tom must be good when he
comes here, and, by the same token, I ex-
pect you to behave properly when you go
to his house. The mayor votes for his
friend’s causes. By the same token, the
friend votes for the mayor’s causes.
by the seat of one’s pants by sheer luck
and very little skill. (Informal. Especially
with to f ly.) I got through school by the
seat of my pants. The jungle pilot spent
most of his days f lying by the seat of his
pants.
by the skin of one’s teeth just barely; by an
amount equal to the thickness of the
(imaginary) skin on one’s teeth. (Infor-
mal or slang.) I got through that class
by the skin of my teeth. I got to the air-
port late and missed the plane by the skin
of my teeth.
by the way incidentally; in addition; while
I think of it. By the way, I’m not going
to the bank today. Oh, by the way, your
shoes need polishing.
by the week one week at a time. I plan
my schedules by the week. Where can I
rent a room by the week?
by the year one year at a time. Most
apartments are available by the year.
We budget by the year.
by virtue of something because of some-
thing; due to something. She’s permit-
ted to vote by virtue of her age. They are
members of the club by virtue of their great
wealth.
by word of mouth by speaking rather than
writing. I learned about it by word of
mouth. I need it in writing. I don’t trust
things I hear about by word of mouth.
by yourself 1. with no one else present;
alone. Do you want to sit here by your-
self, or can I sit here too? Don’t sit at
home by yourself. Come to the movie with
me. 2. with the help of no one else.
Can you really do this by yourself ? Bill,
can you lift this by yourself ?
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