burn

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 ?

breath

breath of fresh air 1. air that is not stale

or smelly. (This is the literal sense.) I

feel faint. I think I need a breath of fresh

air. You look ill, John. What you need

is a breath of fresh air. 2. air that is not

(figuratively) contaminated with un-

pleasant people or situations. (This is a

sarcastic version of sense 1.) You peo-

ple are disgusting. I have to get out of here

and get a breath of fresh air. I believe I’ll

go get a breath of fresh air. The intellectual

atmosphere in here is stif ling. 3. a new,

fresh, and imaginative approach (to

something). (Usually with like.) Sally,

with all her wonderful ideas, is a breath

of fresh air. New furniture in this room

is like a breath of fresh air.

breathe down someone’s neck 1. to keep

close watch on someone; to watch some-

one’s activities. (Also literal. Refers to

standing very close behind a person.)

I can’t work with you breathing down my

neck all the time. Go away. I will get

through my life without your help. Stop

breathing down my neck. 2. to try to

hurry someone along; to make someone

get something done on time. (The sub-

ject does not have to be a person. See the

second example.) I have to finish my

taxes today. The tax collector is breathing

down my neck. I have a deadline breath-

ing down my neck.

breathe easy to assume a relaxed state af-

ter a stressful period. (Also literal.) Af-

ter all this is over, I’ll be able to breathe

easy again. He won’t be able to breathe

easy until he pays off his debts.

breathe one’s last to die; to breathe one’s

last breath in the process of dying.

Mrs. Smith breathed her last this morning.

I’ll keep running every day until I

breathe my last.

brew a plot to plot something; to make a

plot. The children brewed an evil plot to

get revenge on their teacher. We brewed

a plot so that we would not have to help

with dinner.

bricks and mortar buildings. (The build-

ings referred to can be constructed out of

anything.) The new president of the col-

lege preferred to invest in new faculty

members rather than bricks and mortar.

Sometimes people are happy to donate mil-

lions of dollars for bricks and mortar, but

they never think of the additional cost of

annual maintenance.

bright and early very early. Yes, I’ll be

there bright and early. I want to see you

here on time tomorrow, bright and early,

or you’re fired!

bright as a button Go to (as) bright as a

button.

bright as a new pin Go to (as) bright as

a new pin.

bright-eyed and bushy-tailed very cheer-

ful and eager. (Refers to the twinkling

eyes and quick, energetic movements of

a squirrel.) She appeared at the top of

the stairs, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed,

ready to start the day. I am awake, but

I am hardly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

brimming with something 1. full of some

kind of happy behavior. The volunteer

worker was brimming with goodwill.

The giggling children were brimming with

joy. 2. full to the point of overflowing.

Tom’s glass was brimming with milk.

The pool was brimming with water.

bring down the curtain (on something) Go

to ring down the curtain (on something).

bring down the house to excite a theatri-

cal audience to laughter or applause or

both. Her performance didn’t bring

down the house—it emptied it. T This is

a great joke. The last time I told it, it

brought the house down.

bring home the bacon to earn a salary.

(Folksy.) I’ve got to get to work if I’m

going to bring home the bacon. Go out

and get a job so you can bring home the

bacon.

bring people or other creatures out in droves

to lure or draw out someone or some

creature in great number. The avail-

ability of free drinks brought people out in

droves. The fresh grass sprouts brought

the deer out in droves.

bring someone around 1. to bring someone

for a visit; to bring someone for someone

(else) to meet. Please bring your wife

around sometime. I’d love to meet her.

You’ve just got to bring the doctor around

for dinner. 2. to bring someone to con-

sciousness. The doctor brought Tom

around with smelling salts. The boxer

was knocked out, but the doctor brought

him around. 3. to persuade someone (to

accept something); to manage to get

someone to agree (to something). The

last debate brought a lot of voters around

to our candidate. I knew I could bring

her around if I just had enough time to

talk to her.

bring someone or something up 1. to mention

a person or a thing. I’m sorry. I won’t

bring him up again. T Please don’t bring

up that matter again. T Please don’t bring

up John Jones’s name again. 2. to raise a

child or an animal. Her uncle brought

her up. T It’s difficult to bring up a pet

monkey.

bring someone or something up-to-date to

make someone or something more mod-

ern. (See also bring someone up-to-date

(on someone or something).) Let’s buy some

new furniture and bring this room up-to-

date. John tried to bring himself up-to-

date by changing his hairstyle, but he still

looked like the same old John.

bring someone to to bring someone to con-

sciousness; to wake someone up. (See

also bring someone around; come to.)

The nurse brought the patient to. She’s

hurt! Come on, help me bring her to.

bring someone up-to-date (on someone or

something) to tell someone the news about

something. Please bring me up-to-date

on the Middle East situation.

bring me up-to-date on John. I want to

hear all the news. And bring me up-to-

date, too.

bring something about to make something

happen. Is she clever enough to bring it

about? T Oh, yes, she can bring about any-

thing she wants.

bring something crashing down (around

one) to destroy something that one has

built; to destroy something that one has

a special interest in. She brought her

whole life crashing down around her.

Bob’s low grade in English brought every-

thing crashing down when his parents

grounded him.

bring something home to someone to cause

someone to realize the truth of some-

thing. Seeing the starving refugees on

television really brings home the tragedy of

their situation. It wasn’t until she failed

her test that the importance of studying

was brought home to her.

bring something into question to question

something; to raise a question about

something. It was necessary to bring

your part in this matter into question.

The city council brought the building pro-

ject into question.

bring something off to make something hap-

pen; to produce a great event. She

managed to bring the party off with no dif-

ficulty. T She brought off a similar party

last season.

bring something to a head to cause some-

thing to come to the point when a deci-

sion has to be made or an action taken.

The latest disagreement between man-

agement and the union has brought mat-

ters to a head. There will be an all-out

strike now. It’s a relief that things have

been brought to a head. The disputes have

been going on for months.

bring something to light to make something

known; to discover something.

scientists brought their findings to light.

We must bring this new evidence to light.

bring something to someone’s attention to

make someone aware of something; to

mention or show something to someone.

I would like to bring this problem to

your attention. If there is something I

should know about, please bring it to my

attention.

bring up the rear to move along behind

everyone else; to be at the end of the line.

(Originally referred to marching sol-

diers.) Here comes John, bringing up the

rear. Hurry up, Tom! Why are you al-

ways bringing up the rear?

broad as a barn door Go to (as) broad as

a barn door.

broad in the beam with wide hips or large

buttocks. (From a nautical expression for

a wide ship.) I am getting a little broad

in the beam. It’s time to go on a diet.

John is just naturally broad in the beam.

[brother ’s keeper] Go to one’s brother’s

keeper.

brush up (on something) to review some-

thing, especially a school subject. I

think I should brush up on my Spanish be-

fore I go to Mexico. I’ve heard you speak

Spanish. You need to do more than brush

buck for something to aim, try, or strike for

a goal. (Originally referred to trying to

get a higher military rank.) Bill acts

that way because he’s bucking for corporal.

Tom is bucking for a larger office.

buck up cheer up. Buck up, old friend!

Things can’t be all that bad. I know I

have to buck up. Life must go on.

buckle down (to something) to settle down

to something; to begin to work seriously

at something. If you don’t buckle down

to your job, you’ll be fired. You had bet-

ter buckle down and get busy.

bug out to leave; to pack up and get out.

(Slang.) It’s time to bug out. Let’s get out

of here. I just got a call from headquar-

ters. They say to bug out immediately.

bug someone to irritate someone; to bother

someone. (Slang.) Go away! Stop bug-

ging me! Leave me alone. Go bug some-

one else.

build a case (against someone) and as-

semble a case (against someone);

gather a case (against someone) to put

together the evidence needed to make a

legal or disciplinary case against some-

one. The police easily built a case

against the drunken driver. As soon as

we gather the case against her, we will ar-

rest her.

build a fire under someone to do something

to make someone else start doing some-

thing. (Informal.) The teacher built a

fire under the students, and they really

started working. Somebody built a fire

under Bill, so he finally went out and got

a job.

build castles in Spain Go to build castles

in the air.

build castles in the air and build castles

in Spain to daydream; to make plans that

can never come true. Ann spends most

of her time building castles in Spain. I

really like to sit on the porch in the evening,

just building castles in the air.

build (someone or something) up 1. to make

someone or something stronger or big-

ger. Tom is eating lots of fresh fruits and

vegetables to build himself up for basket-

ball.  Tom needs to build up.  Tom

needs to build himself up. T The farmer

built up his stone fences where they had

weakened. 2. to advertise, praise, or pro-

mote someone or something. T Theatri-

cal agents work very hard to build up their

clients. T An advertising agency can build

up a product so much that everyone will

want it.

build something to order to build something

especially for the customer who ordered

it. (See also make something to order.)

Our new car was built to order just for us.

My company builds computers to order.

No two are alike.

build up to something to lead up to some-

thing; to work up to something. You

could tell by the way she was talking that

she was building up to something. The

sky was building up to a storm.

a bull in a china shop a very clumsy or

wild person around breakable things; a

thoughtless or tactless person. (China is

fine crockery.) Look at Bill, as awkward

as a bull in a china shop. Get that big

dog out of my garden. It’s like a bull in a

china shop. Bob is so rude, a regular bull

in a china shop.

bump into someone and run into someone

to chance on someone; to meet someone

by chance. (Also literal.) Guess who I

bumped into downtown today?

into Bob Jones yesterday.

bump someone off and knock someone off

to kill someone. (Slang, especially crim-

inal slang.) They tried to bump her off,

bundle of nerves someone who is very

nervous and anxious. Mary was a bun-

dle of nerves until she heard that she

passed the test. You always seem to be

such a bundle of nerves.

blue

blue around the gills Go to pale around

the gills.

bog down to slow down; to become stuck.

The project bogged down because of so

much red tape. We bog down every year

at this time because many of our workers

go on vacation.

boggle someone’s mind to confuse someone;

to overwhelm someone; to blow someone’s

The size of the house boggles my

mind. She said that his arrogance bog-

gled her mind.

boil down to something to reduce to some-

thing; to come down to something; to be

essentially something. (Also literal.) It

all boils down to whether you wish to buy

a car. It boils down to a question of good

health.

boil something down to summarize some-

thing; to make information more concise.

(Also literal in reference to liquids.) I

don’t have time to listen to the whole story.

Please boil it down for me. T Please boil

down the report so I can read it on the

plane.

bold as brass Go to (as) bold as brass.

boot someone out Go to kick someone out.

bore someone stiff and bore someone to

death to bore someone very much. (Stiff

is an old slang word meaning “dead.”)

The play bored me stiff.  The lecture

bored everyone to death.

bore someone to death Go to bore someone

stiff.

bored silly and bored stiff; bored to dis-

traction; bored to tears very bored;

completely bored. (Usually an exaggera-

tion.) I was bored silly at the lecture.

The dull speaker left me bored to distrac-

tion. I am bored to tears. Let’s go home.

bored stiff Go to bored silly.

bored to death very bored. The children

were bored to death. I’ve never been so

bored to death in my life.

bored to distraction Go to bored silly.

bored to tears Go to bored silly.

born and bred Go to born and raised.

born and raised and born and bred born

and nurtured through childhood, usually

in a specific place. She was born and

raised in a small town in western Mon-

tana. Freddy was born and bred on a

farm and had no love for city life.

born out of wedlock born to an unmar-

ried mother. The child was born out of

wedlock. In the city many children are

born out of wedlock.

bottle something up 1. to constrict some-

thing as if it were put in a bottle. The

patrol boats bottled the other boats up at

the locks on the river. T The police bot-

tled up the traffic while they searched the

cars for the thieves. 2. to hold one’s feel-

ings within; to keep from saying some-

thing that one feels strongly about.

Let’s talk about it, John. You shouldn’t bot-

tle it up. T Don’t bottle up your problems.

It’s better to talk them out.

the bottom line 1. the last figure on a fi-

nancial balance sheet representing net

profit or loss. What’s the bottom line?

How much do I owe you? Don’t tell me

all those figures! Just tell me the bottom

line. 2. the result; the final outcome. I

know about all the problems, but what is

the bottom line? What will happen? The

bottom line is that you have to go to the

meeting because no one else can.

bottom out to reach the lowest point.

The price of wheat bottomed out last week.

Now it’s rising again.  My interest in

school bottomed out in my junior year, so

I quit and got a job.

Bottoms up! Everyone should drink now!

(Said at the end of a drinking toast.)

Here’s to the bride and groom. Bottoms up!

Bottoms up! Drink hearty!

bound and determined determined.

We were bound and determined to get

there on time. I’m bound and deter-

mined that this won’t happen again.

bound to (do something) to be certain to do

something. They are bound to come

home soon. They always come home early.

Oh, yes. They are bound to.

bow and scrape to be very humble and

subservient. Please don’t bow and

scrape. We are all equal here. The sales-

clerk came in, bowing and scraping, and

asked if he could help us.



break a code to figure out a code; to de-

cipher a code. The intelligence agents

finally broke the enemy’s code. When

they broke the code, they were able to

decipher messages.

break a habit and break the habit;

break one’s habit to end a habit. I was

not able to break the habit of snoring.

It’s hard to break a habit that you have had

for a long time.



a leg! Good luck! (Also literal. The-

atrical slang. This is said to actors before

a performance instead of Good luck.)

Before the play, John said to Mary, “Break

a leg!” Saying “Break a leg!” before a

performance is an old theatrical tradition.

break a record to surpass a previously set

high record of achievement by setting a

new one. The athlete broke all the school

records in swimming. The record was

broken after thirty years.

break camp to close down a campsite; to

pack up and move on. Early this morn-

ing we broke camp and moved on north-

ward. Okay, everyone. It’s time to break

camp. Take those tents down and fold them

neatly.

break down 1. [for something] to fall

apart; [for something] to stop operating.

(See also break someone or something down.)

The air-conditioning broke down, and

we got very warm. The car broke down

in the parking lot. 2. [for one] to lose con-

trol of one’s emotions; [for one] to have

a nervous collapse. He couldn’t keep go-

ing. He finally broke down and wept. I

was afraid I’d break down.

break even for income to equal expenses.

(This implies that money was not earned

or lost.) Unfortunately my business just

managed to break even last year. I made

a bad investment, but I broke even.

break ground (for something) to start dig-

ging the foundation for a building.

president of the company came to break

ground for the new building. This was

the third building this year for which this

company has broken ground. When will

they break ground?

Break it up! Stop fighting!; Stop it! (Said

to two or more people causing a distur-

bance.) All right! Break it up, you guys!

Stop your talking! Break it up and get

back to work.

break loose (from someone or something) to

get away from a person or a thing that is

holding one. (Compare this with cut

loose (from someone or something).) The

criminal broke loose from the police offi-

cer. It’s hard to break loose from home.

I was twenty years old before I could

break loose.

break new ground to begin to do some-

thing that no one else has done; to pio-

neer (in an enterprise). (See also break

ground (for something).) Dr. Anderson

was breaking new ground in cancer re-

search. They were breaking new ground

in consumer electronics.

break off (with someone) to end a friend-

ship with someone, especially a boy-

friend or a girlfriend. Tom has finally

broken off with Mary. I knew it could-

n’t last. He was bound to break off.

break one’s back (to do something) Go to

break one’s neck (to do something).

break one’s habit Go to break a habit.

break one’s neck (to do something) and

break one’s back (to do something) to work

very hard to do something. I broke my

neck to get here on time. That’s the last

time I’ll break my neck to help you.

There is no point in breaking your back.

Take your time.

break one’s word not to do what one said

one would do; not to keep one’s promise.

(The opposite of keep one’s word.)

Don’t say you’ll visit your grandmother if

you can’t go. She hates people who break

their word. If you break your word, she

won’t trust you again.

break out 1. to burst forth suddenly, as

with a fire, a riot, giggling, shouting, etc.

A fire broke out in the belfry. A round

of giggling broke out when the teacher

tripped. A riot almost broke out when

the police came. 2. [for one’s face] to

erupt in pimples. Bob’s face has started

breaking out badly. My face breaks out

when I eat a lot of chocolate.

break out in a cold sweat to perspire

from fever, fear, or anxiety; to begin to

sweat profusely or suddenly. I was so

frightened I broke out in a cold sweat.

The patient broke out in a cold sweat.

break out (in something) to erupt with

something such as a rash, a cold sweat, or

pimples. After being in the woods, I

broke out in a rash. I think it’s poison ivy.

I hate to break out like that. When I

eat chocolate, I break out in pimples. I

was so frightened I broke out in a cold

sweat. The patient broke out in a cold

sweat.

break (out) in(to) tears to start crying

suddenly. I was so sad that I broke out

into tears. I always break into tears at

a funeral. It’s hard not to break out in

tears under those circumstances.

break out (of something) to escape from

something, often by destructive means.

(Especially from prison, but also in fig-

urative senses.) The convicts plotted to

break out of prison. You don’t have the

guts to break out of jail! Don finally

broke out of the depression that had held

him captive for so long. The lion broke

out of its cage.

break someone or something down 1. [with

someone] to force someone to give up and

tell secrets or agree to do something.

After threats of torture, they broke the spy

down. T They broke down the agent by

threatening violence. 2. [with something]

to tear something down; to destroy

something. They used an ax to break

the door down. T We broke down the wall

with big hammers.

break someone or something in 1. [with some-

one] to train someone to do a job; to su-

pervise a new person learning a new job.

It takes time to break a new worker in.

T Are they hard to break in? T I have to

break in a new worker. 2. [with some-

thing] to make something fit by wearing

or using it. T I’ll be glad when I’ve fin-

ished breaking in these shoes.  Yes, it

takes time to break them in. T They are

easy to break in, though. The car will

run better after I break it in.

break someone’s fall to cushion a falling per-

son; to lessen the impact of a falling per-

son. When the little boy fell out of the

window, the bushes broke his fall. The

old lady slipped on the ice, but a snowbank

broke her fall.

break someone’s heart to cause someone

emotional pain. It just broke my heart

when Tom ran away from home. Sally

broke John’s heart when she refused to

marry him.

break something down (for someone) to ex-

plain something to someone in simple

terms or in an orderly fashion. She

doesn’t understand. You will have to break

it down for her. I can help. This is a con-

fusing question. Let me break it down for

you.

break something down (into something) to di-

vide something into smaller parts; to di-

vide something into its component parts.

Please break this paragraph down into

sentences. T The chemist broke down the

compound into a number of elements.

Walter broke the project down into five

tasks and assigned them to various people.

break something to someone to tell bad news

to someone. I hated to break the news

to Dad about his car. Bill broke it to his

employees gently.

break the bank to use up all one’s money.

(As in casino gambling where a gambler

wins more money than the house has on

hand.) It will hardly break the bank if

we go out to dinner just once. Buying a

new dress at that price won’t break the

bank.

break the habit Go to break a habit.

break the ice to initiate social interchanges

and conversation; to get something

started. (Also literal.) Tom is so outgo-

ing. He’s always the first one to break the

ice at parties. It’s hard to break the ice

at formal events. Sally broke the ice by

bidding $20,000 for the painting.

break the law Go to break a law.

break the news (to someone) to tell some-

one some important news, usually bad

news. The doctor had to break the news

to Jane about her husband’s cancer. I

hope that the doctor broke the news gently.

break through (something) to overcome

something nonphysical, such as a barrier

caused by law, regulation, prejudice, at-

titude, etc. (Also literal.) Tom was able

to break through racial barriers. The

scientists broke through the mystery sur-

rounding the disease and found the cause.

break up (with someone) to end a love af-

fair or a romance. Tom finally broke up

with Mary. I thought they would break

up. He has been so moody lately.

blow

between a rock and a hard place and

between the devil and the deep blue

sea in a very difficult position; facing a

hard decision. (Informal.) I couldn’t

make up my mind. I was caught between

a rock and a hard place.  He had a

dilemma on his hands. He was clearly be-

tween the devil and the deep blue sea.

between life and death in a position

where living or dying is an even possi-

bility. (Especially with caught or hover-

ing.) And there I was on the operating

table, hovering between life and death.

The mountain climber hung by his rope,

caught between life and death.

between the devil and the deep blue

sea Go to between a rock and a hard

place.

between you, me, and the lamppost

confidentially, just between you and me.

Just between you, me, and the lamppost,

Fred is leaving school. Now don’t tell

anyone else. This is just between you, me,

and the lamppost.

beyond a reasonable doubt almost with-

out any doubt. (A legal phrase.) The

jury decided beyond a reasonable doubt

that she had committed the crime. She

was also found guilty beyond a reasonable

doubt.

beyond measure more than can be mea-

sured; in a very large amount.

brought in hams, turkeys, and roasts, and

then they brought vegetables and salads

beyond measure. They thanked all of us

beyond measure.

beyond one’s depth 1. in water that is too

deep. (See also in over one’s head.)

Sally swam out beyond her depth. Jane

swam out to get her even though it was be-

yond her depth, too. 2. beyond one’s un-

derstanding or capabilities. I’m work-

ing beyond my depth in algebra class.

Poor John was involved in a problem that

seemed really beyond his depth.

beyond one’s means more than one can af-

ford. (See also live beyond one’s means.)

I’m sorry, but this house is beyond our

means. Please show us a cheaper one.

They felt that a Caribbean cruise is beyond

their means.

beyond the call of duty Go to (above

and) beyond the call of duty.

beyond the pale unacceptable; outlawed;

over the top. Your behavior is simply be-

yond the pale. Because of Tom’s rude-

ness, he’s considered beyond the pale and

is never asked to parties anymore.

beyond the shadow of a doubt com-

pletely without doubt. (Said of a fact, not

a person. See also beyond a reasonable

doubt.) We accepted her story as true

beyond the shadow of a doubt. Please

assure us that you are certain of the facts

beyond the shadow of a doubt.

bid adieu to someone or something and bid

someone or something adieu to say good-bye

to someone or something. (This adieu is

French for good-bye and should not be

confused with ado.) Now it’s time to

bid adieu to all of you gathered here. He

silently bid adieu to his favorite hat as the

wind carried it down the street.

bid someone or something adieu Go to bid

adieu to someone or something.

bide one’s time to wait patiently.

been biding my time for years, just wait-

ing for a chance like this. He’s not the

type just to sit there and bide his time. He

wants some action.

big and bold [of things] large and capa-

ble of getting attention. The lettering

on the book’s cover was big and bold, and

it got lots of attention, but the price was

too high. She wore a brightly colored

dress. The pattern was big and bold and

the skirt was very full.

big as all outdoors Go to (as) big as all

outdoors.

big as life Go to (as) big as life.

big as life and twice as ugly Go to (as)

big as life.

a big frog in a small pond an important

person in the midst of a less important

setting. (Preceded by be, become, seem

like, or act like.) I’d rather be a big frog

in a small pond than the opposite. The

trouble with Tom is that he’s a big frog in

a small pond. He needs more competition.

the big moment and the moment every-

one has been waiting for the special

time that everyone has been waiting for.

The big moment has come. I will now

announce the winner. This is the big

moment that you all have been waiting for!

big of someone generous of someone; kind

or forgiving of someone. (Sometimes sar-

castic.) He gave me some of his apple.

That was very big of him. It was big of

Sally to come over and apologize like that.

binge and purge to overeat and then

vomit, over and over. (A symptom of the

condition called bulimia.) She had

binged and purged a number of times be-

fore she finally sought help from a doctor.

Terry had been bingeing and purging for

a number of years and was very, very thin.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the

bush. Something you already have is bet-

ter than something you might get. Bill

has offered to buy my car for $4,000.

Someone else might pay more, but a bird

the birds and the bees human reproduc-

tion. (A euphemistic way of referring to

human sex and reproduction.) My fa-

ther tried to teach me about the birds and

the bees. He’s twenty years old and does-

n’t understand about the birds and the

bees.

a bird’s-eye view 1. a view seen from high

above. (Refers to the height of a flying

bird.) We got a bird’s-eye view of Cleve-

land as the plane began its descent.

From the top of the tower you get a splen-

did bird’s-eye view of the village. 2. a brief

survey of something; a hasty look at

something. (Refers to the smallness of a

bird’s eye.) The course provides a bird’s-

eye view of the works of Mozart, but it

doesn’t deal with them in enough detail for

your purpose. All you need is a bird’s-

eye view of the events of World War II to

pass the test.

Birds of a feather flock together. Peo-

ple of the same type seem to gather to-

gether. (Proverb.) Bob and Tom are just

alike. They like each other’s company be-

cause birds of a feather f lock together.

When Mary joined a club for redheaded

people, she said, “Birds of a feather f lock

together.”

bite off more than one can chew to take

(on) more than one can deal with; to be

overconfident. (This is used literally for

food and figuratively for other things, es-

pecially difficult projects.) Billy, stop

biting off more than you can chew. You’re

going to choke on your food someday.

Ann is exhausted again. She’s always bit-

ing off more than she can chew.

bite one’s nails to be nervous or anxious; to

bite one’s nails from nervousness or anx-

iety. (Used both literally and figuratively.)

I spent all afternoon biting my nails,

worrying about you. We’ve all been bit-

ing our nails from worry.

bite one’s tongue to struggle not to say

something that you really want to say.

(Used literally only to refer to an acci-

dental biting of one’s tongue.) I had to

bite my tongue to keep from telling her

what I really thought. I sat through that

whole conversation biting my tongue.

bite someone’s head off to speak sharply

and angrily to someone. There was no

need to bite Mary’s head off just because

she was five minutes late. The boss has

been biting everybody’s head off since his

accident.

bite the bullet to put up with or endure

(something). (Informal or slang.) I

didn’t want to go to the doctor, but I bit the

bullet and went. John, you just have to

bite the bullet and do what you’re told.

bite the dust to fall to defeat; to die. (Typ-

ically heard in movies about the old west-

ern frontier.) A bullet hit the sheriff in

the chest, and he bit the dust. Poor old

Bill bit the dust while mowing the lawn.

They buried him yesterday.

bite the hand that feeds one to harm

someone who does good things for you.

(Literal in reference to a dog, cat, or other

animal.) I’m your mother! How can you

bite the hand that feeds you? She can

hardly expect much when she bites the

hand that feeds her.

a bitter pill to swallow an unpleasant fact

that has to be accepted. It was a bitter

pill for her brother to swallow when she

married his enemy. We found his de-

ception a bitter pill to swallow.

black-and-blue bruised; showing signs of

having been physically harmed. (Also lit-

eral.) The child was black-and-blue af-

ter having been struck. She was black-

and-blue all over after falling out of the

black as one is painted Go to (as) black

as one is painted.

black as pitch Go to (as) black as pitch.

black as the ace of spades Go to (as)

black as the ace of spades.

black out to faint or pass out. Sally

blacked out just before the crash. I was

so frightened that I blacked out for a

minute.

the black sheep of the family the worst

member of the family. Mary is the

black sheep of the family. She’s always in

trouble with the police. He keeps mak-

ing a nuisance of himself. What do you ex-

pect from the black sheep of the family?

blast off [for a rocket] to shoot into the

sky. What time does the rocket blast off ?

It won’t blast off today. It has been

canceled.

blaze a trail (in something) to create and de-

velop a new area of study or develop-

ment. (Literal in reference to creating and

marking a trail.) In the area of conser-

vation, Wright and Walters blazed a trail

in the use of technology to preserve topsoil.

Professor Williams blazed a trail in the

study of physics.

bleep something out to replace a word or

phrase in a radio or television broadcast

with some sort of musical tone. (This is

sometimes done to prevent a bad word or

other information from being broadcast.)

He tried to say the word on television,

but they bleeped it out. T They tried to

bleep out the whole sentence.

a blessing in disguise something that

turns out to be fortunate and advanta-

geous after seeming to be the opposite at

first. Our missing the train was a bless-

ing in disguise. It was involved in a crash.

It was a blessing in disguise that I did-

n’t get the job. I was offered a better one

the next day.

blind as a bat Go to (as) blind as a bat.

the blind leading the blind having to do

with a situation where people who don’t

know how to do something try to explain

it to other people. Tom doesn’t know

anything about cars, but he’s trying to

teach Sally how to change the oil. It’s a case

of the blind leading the blind. When I

tried to show Mary how to use a computer,

it was the blind leading the blind.

Blood is thicker than water. Go to Blood

runs thicker than water.

Blood runs thicker than water. and

Blood is thicker than water. People

who are related have stronger obligations

to each other than to people outside the

family and are expected to endure fam-

ily problems. (Proverb.) My friends in-

vited me to go camping on Saturday, but

I have to go to my cousin’s wedding instead.

Blood is thicker than water, after all. If

you ever need help, don’t ask your friends.

Come home and ask us, your family. Blood

is thicker than water.

blow a fuse 1. to burn out a fuse.

microwave oven blew a fuse, so we had no

power. You’ll blow a fuse if you use too

many appliances at once. 2. Go to blow a

gasket.

blow a gasket and blow a fuse; blow

one’s cork; blow one’s top; blow one’s

stack to become very angry; to lose one’s

temper. (Slang.) I was so mad I almost

blew a gasket. I’ve never heard such a

thing. I’m going to blow a fuse. I blew

my cork when he hit me. I was so mad

I could have blown my top. I makes me

so mad I could blow my stack.

blow-by-blow account and blow-by-

blow description a detailed description

(of an event) given as the event takes

place. (This referred originally to boxing

or other combat.) I want to listen to a

blow-by-blow account of the prizefight.

The lawyer got the witness to give a blow-

by-blow description of the argument.

blow-by-blow description Go to blow-by-

blow account.

blow hot and cold to be changeable or un-

certain (about something). He keeps

blowing hot and cold on the question of

moving to the country. He blows hot and

cold about this. I wish he’d make up his

mind.

blow off steam Go to let off steam.

blow one’s cookies Go to blow one’s lunch.

blow one’s cool Go to lose one’s cool.

blow one’s cork Go to blow a gasket.

blow one’s lines Go to fluff one’s lines.

blow one’s own horn Go to toot one’s own

horn.

blow one’s stack Go to blow a gasket.

blow one’s top Go to blow a gasket.

blow over to go away without causing

harm. If we are lucky, the storm will

blow over. Given time, all this contro-

versy will blow over.

blow someone or something away 1. to kill or

destroy someone or something. (Also lit-

eral. Slang.) He drew his gun and blew

the thief away. T His bad attitude blew

away the whole deal. 2. [with someone] to

overcome someone emotionally. The

bad news really blew me away.

news just blew me away! How exciting!

blow someone or something off 1. [with some-

thing] to neglect or bumble something.

(Slang.) He would do better in school

if he didn’t blow his math class off. T He

blew off his homework. 2. [with someone]

to deceive or cheat someone. (Slang.)

She really blew me off on the question of

grades. She was really failing all the time.

T She blew off the teacher by cheating on

the test.

blow someone or something to smithereens

to explode someone or something into

tiny pieces. The bomb blew the ancient

church to smithereens. The mortar blew

the entire squad to smithereens.

blow someone’s cover to reveal someone’s

true identity or purpose. The spy was

very careful not to blow her cover. I tried

to disguise myself, but my dog recognized

me and blew my cover.

blow something to ruin or waste something.

I had a chance to do it, but I blew it.

He blew the whole five dollars on candy.

blow something out of all proportion to

cause something to be unrealistically

proportioned relative to something else.

(The all can be left out.) The press has

blown this issue out of all proportion.

Let’s be reasonable. Don’t blow this thing

out of proportion.

blow the lid off (something) to reveal some-

thing, especially wrongdoing; to make

wrongdoing public. The police blew the

lid off the smuggling ring. The govern-

ment is glad that they blew the lid off.

blow the whistle (on someone) to report

someone’s wrongdoing to someone (such

as the police) who can stop the wrong-

doing. The citizens’ group blew the

whistle on the street gangs by calling the

police. The gangs were getting very bad.

It was definitely time to blow the whistle.

blow up to fall apart or get ruined.

whole project blew up. It will have to be

canceled. All my planning was blown up

this afternoon.

blow up in someone’s face 1. to blow up or

explode suddenly. (Also literal.) The

bomb blew up in the terrorist’s face. The

firecracker blew up in his face and injured

him. 2. [for something] to get ruined

while someone is working on it. (Also lit-

eral.) All my plans blew up in my face.

It is terrible for your life to get ruined

and blow up in your face.

Be

[be] <For phrases that can begin with be,

become, or seem like, consult some other

word in the phrase in the Phrase-Finder

Index.>

be about something to be busy doing some-

thing, especially doing one’s business.

It’s eight o’clock, and it’s time I was about

my homework. Good-bye, Jane. I must

be about my business.

be a heartbeat away from something [for

someone] to be the next ruler upon the

final heartbeat of the current ruler. (Es-

pecially in reference to U.S. presidential

succession.) The vice president is just

a heartbeat away from being president.

The prince was only a heartbeat away from

being king.

be-all and (the) end-all Go to the be-all

and (the) end-all.

be all things to all men and be all things

to all people [for someone or some-

thing] to be liked or used by all people;

[for someone or something] to be every-

thing that is wanted by all people. You

simply can’t be all things to all people.

The candidate set out to be all things to

all men and came off looking very wishy-

washy.

be all things to all people Go to be all

things to all men.

be a million miles away to be distracted

and daydreaming; not to be paying at-

tention. (Also literal.) You were a mil-

lion miles away while I was talking to you.

Most of the class was a million miles

away in the hot spring afternoon.

be a new one on someone to be something

one has not heard before and that one is

not ready to believe. (Informal. The

someone is often me.) Jack’s poverty is

a new one on me. He always seems to have

plenty of money. The city’s difficulties

are a new one on me.

be curtains for someone or something to be

the death, end, or ruin of someone or

something. (Informal. From the lowering

or closing of the curtains at the end of a

stage performance.) If the car hadn’t

swerved, it would have been curtains for

the pedestrians. If they can’t get into the

export market, it’s curtains for the whole

company.



(be) easier said than done said of a task

that is easier to talk about than to do.

Yes, we must find a cure for cancer, but it’s

easier said than done. Finding a good

job is easier said than done.

be friends with someone to be a friend of

someone. Sally is friends with Bill.

Mary and Bill are friends with one

another.

be from Missouri to require proof; to have

to be shown [something]. (Also literal.

From the nickname for the state of Mis-

souri, the “Show Me” State.) You’ll

have to prove it to me. I’m from Missouri.

She’s from Missouri and has to be

shown.

be game to be ready for action; to be agree-

able to participating in something.

“I’m game,” David replied when I sug-

gested we go bowling. We’re going to the

park to play football. Are you game?

be into something to be interested in some-

thing; to be involved in something.

(Slang.) Did you hear? Tom is into sky-

diving! Too many people are into drugs.

be off 1. to be spoiled; to be running in-

correctly, as with a mechanical device.

Oh! I’m afraid that this meat is off. Don’t

eat it. I don’t have the exact time. My

watch is off. 2. to leave; to depart. Well,

I must be off. Good-bye. The train leaves

in an hour, so I must be off.



be of the persuasion that something is so

to hold a belief that something is true or

is in existence. Anne is of the persua-

sion that supports that candidate for

mayor. The paranoid was of the per-

suasion that aliens lived among us.

be reluctant to do something to be unwilling

to do something. David was reluctant

to admit his mistakes. The witness was

reluctant to testify and was ordered to do

so by the judge.

be sick to vomit. (Euphemistic. Also with

get, as in the examples. Also literal, mean-

ing “to suffer from an illness.”)

Mommy, Billy just got sick on the f loor.

Oh, excuse me! I think I’m going to be sick.

Bob was sick all over the carpet.

be so Go to be too.

be swimming in something to be engulfed

by an excess of something, as if it were a

flood. (Also literal.) The war-torn city

was swimming in blood. I am just swim-

ming in paperwork.

be that as it may even if what you say is

true. I am sorry to hear that, but, be

that as it may, you still must carry out your

responsibilities. Be that as it may, I still

cannot help you.

be the case to be true; to be an actual sit-

uation. I think Bill is a vegetarian, and

if that is the case, we should not serve him

meat. Susie believes trees can talk, but

that is not the case.

be the death of me (yet) [these kinds of

problems will] be my ruin, death, or

downfall. This cold will be the death of

me. All these problems will be the death

of me yet.



be the spit and image of someone and be

the spitting image of someone to look

very much like someone; to resemble

someone very closely. (Folksy. The sec-

ond version is a frequent error.) John

is the spit and image of his father. I’m

not the spit and image of anyone. At

first, I thought you were saying spitting

image.

be the spitting image of someone Go to be

the spit and image of someone.

be the straw that broke the camel’s

back Go to be the last straw.

be to do something to be obliged to do some-

thing; to be expected or directed to do

something. Am I to clean up the entire

kitchen by myself ? John is to take the

money to the bank.

be too and be so to be something (despite

anything to the contrary). (An emphatic

form of is, am, are, was, were. See also

do too, have too.) MOTHER: Billy, you

aren’t old enough to be up this late. BILLY:

I am too! I was so! I was there exactly

when I said I would be!

be used to doing something Go to be used to

something.

bear fruit to yield results; to give results.

(Also literal for fruit-bearing plants and

trees.) I hope your new plan bears fruit.

We’ve had many good ideas, but none

of them has borne fruit.

bear in mind that something is so to re-

member that something is so; to consider

that something is so. (See also keep some-

one or something in mind.) Bear in mind

that the trip will be expensive. I asked

the teacher to bear in mind that I am just

a beginner.

bear one’s cross and carry one’s cross to

carry or bear one’s burden; to endure

one’s difficulties. (This is a Christian bib-

lical theme. It is always used figuratively

except in the biblical context.) It’s a

very bad disease, but I’ll bear my cross.

I can’t help you with it. You’ll just have to

carry your cross.

bear someone or something in mind Go to

keep someone or something in mind.

bear something out to demonstrate or prove

that something is right. I hope that the

facts will bear your story out. T I’m sure

that the facts will bear out my story.

bear the brunt (of something) to withstand

the worst part or the strongest part of

something, such as an attack. I had to

bear the brunt of her screaming and

yelling. Why don’t you talk with her the

next time? I’m tired of bearing the brunt.

very serious disease, and it will bear watch-

ing for further developments.

bear with someone or something to be patient

with someone or something; to endure

someone or something. Please bear

with me while I fill out this form. Please

bear with my old car. It’ll get us there

sooner or later.

beard the lion in his den to face an ad-

versary on the adversary’s home ground.

I went to the tax collector’s office to

beard the lion in his den. He said he

hadn’t wanted to come to my home, but it

was better to beard the lion in his den.

beat about the bush Go to beat around

the bush.

beat a (hasty) retreat to retreat or with-

draw very quickly. We went out into the

cold weather, but beat a retreat to the

warmth of our fire. The dog beat a hasty

retreat to its own yard.

beat a path to someone’s door [for people]

to come to someone in great numbers.

(So many people will wish to come and

see you that they will wear down a path-

way to your door.) I have a product so

good that everyone is beating a path to my

door. If you really become famous, peo-

ple will beat a path to your door.

beat around the bush and beat about

the bush to avoid answering a question;

to stall; to waste time. Stop beating

around the bush and answer my question.

Let’s stop beating about the bush and

discuss this matter.

beat one’s brains out (to do something) to

work very hard (to do something). (In-

formal or slang.) I beat my brains out

to solve the problem. That’s the last time

I’ll beat my brains out trying to cook a nice

dinner for you.

beat one’s head against the wall and

bang one’s head against a brick wall

to waste one’s time trying to accomplish

something that is completely hopeless.

You’re wasting your time trying to fix up

this house. You’re just beating your head

against the wall. You’re banging your

head against a brick wall trying to get that

dog to behave properly.

beat someone down (to size) and knock

someone down (to size) to make a person

more humble, possibly by beating. (See

also cut someone down (to size).) If you

keep acting so arrogant, someone is going

to beat you down to size. It’s time some-

one knocked you down to size. I’ll try

to be more thoughtful. I don’t want any-

one to beat me down.

beat someone to the draw Go to beat some-

one to the punch.

beat someone up to harm or subdue a per-

son by beating and striking. The rob-

ber beat me up and took my money. T I

really want to beat up that robber.

beat something into someone’s head to force

someone to learn something, possibly

through violence. (This can be a threat of

violence and should not be used casu-

ally.) I studied for hours. I have never

beat so much stuff into my head in such a

short time. You’re going to learn this

math if I have to beat it into your head.

[beat the band] Go to to beat the band.

beat the clock to do something before a

deadline; to finish before the time is up.

Sam beat the clock, arriving a few min-

utes before the doors were locked. They

were afraid they would be late and hurried

in order to beat the clock.

beat the pants off someone 1. to beat

someone severely. (Informal. Refers to

physical violence, not the removal of

someone’s pants.) The thugs beat the

pants off their victim. If you do that

again, I’ll beat the pants off you. 2. to win

out over someone. (Informal. This has

nothing to do with violence or removing

pants.) In the footrace, Sally beat the

pants off Jane. Tom beats the pants off

Bob when it comes to writing poetry.

beat the rap to escape conviction and pun-

ishment (for a crime). (Slang, especially

criminal slang.) He was charged with

drunk driving, but he beat the rap. The

police hauled Tom in and charged him

with a crime. His lawyer helped him beat

the rap.

beat the stuffing out of someone Go to

beat the living daylights out of someone.

beat the tar out of someone Go to beat the

living daylights out of someone.

Beauty is only skin-deep. Looks are only

superficial. (Proverb.) BOB: Isn’t Jane

lovely? TOM: Yes, but beauty is only skin-

deep. I know that she looks like a mil-

lion dollars, but beauty is only skin-deep.