Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 29 B back Idioms back and forth - backwards and forwards, first one way and then the other way The argument went back and forth before the judge made a decision. back down (from someone or something) - to fail to carry through on a threat to do something The government backed down from their plan to sell the national airline. back in circulation - to be available to the public again (a library book) The books were back in circulation after we returned them to the library. back in circulation - to be socially active again (after the breakup of a relationship between two people) My friend stopped seeing his girlfriend and he is now back in circulation. back of beyond - somewhere very remote Every summer we go to the back of beyond for a camping trip. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 30 back off - to retreat or move away (from a fight or argument or an object) The man wanted to start an argument but finally he backed off. back on one`s feet - to return to good financial or physical health My friend is back on his feet after his company went out of business. back out (of something) - to withdraw from an agreement or promise The company backed out of the agreement with the foreign firm. back the wrong horse - to support someone or something that cannot win or succeed We backed the wrong horse in the election and our candidate lost badly. back-to-back - something follows immediately after something else, two people touching backs There were two back-to-back games today because of the rain last week. back to square one - to go back to the beginning of something The city was back to square one in their effort to build a new bridge. back to the drawing board - to go back and start a project or idea from the beginning The boss does not like our idea so we must go back to the drawing board. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 31 back to the salt mines - to return to work or return to something else that you do not want to do We finished our lunch and went back to the salt mines. back up (someone or something) - to support someone or something The doctor made a mistake and the hospital refused to back him up. . bad blood (between people) - unpleasant feelings between people There was much bad blood between the three brothers. bad-mouth (someone or something) - to say bad things about someone or something The supervisor has the habit of bad-mouthing her boss. bag of tricks - a collection of special techniques or methods The teacher has a bag of tricks to keep her students occupied. bail out (of something) - to abandon a situation, to jump out of an airplane The plan to buy a summer home with our friends was becoming too expensive so we decided to bail out. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 32 bail (someone) out - to pay a sum of money that allows someone to get out of jail while waiting for a trial The singer had to pay much money to bail himself out of prison. bail (someone or something) out - to help or rescue someone or something The government decided to bail out the troubled bank. balance the books - to check that all the money in a business is accounted for The accountant spent several days trying to balance the books of his company. ball of fire - an active and energetic person The woman is a ball of fire and is always busy doing something. bang/beat one's head against the wall - to try to do something that is hopeless I am banging my head against the wall when I try to ask my boss for something. bank on (someone or something) - to be sure of someone or something, to count on someone or something You can bank on my sister to help you. baptism of fire - a first experience of something (often difficult or unpleasant) We went through a baptism of fire when we had to learn how to operate the small business. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 33 bargain for (something) - to anticipate something, to take something into account The difficulty of the job was more than I had bargained for. bargain on (something) - to plan or expect something We did not bargain on having heavy rain during our summer birthday party. barge in on (someone or something) - to interrupt someone or something, to intrude on someone or something My sister often barges in on me when I am with my friends. bark is worse than one`s bite - someone is not as bad as they sound "Don`t worry if the boss gets angry - his bark is worse than his bite." bark up the wrong tree - to make a wrong assumption about something The police are barking up the wrong tree in their investigation of the criminal. base one's opinion on (something) - to form an opinion from something I based my opinion on the man's previous work and decided not to give him a job. batten down the hatches - to prepare for difficult times, to close the hatches in a boat before a storm A big storm was coming so we decided to batten down the hatches and stay home. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 34 bawl out (someone) - to scold someone loudly The woman bawled out her child in the supermarket. be Idioms be a new one on (someone) - to be something one has not heard before and something that is difficult to believe It was a new one on me when my friend said that he was studying Russian. be all ears - to listen eagerly and carefully The boy was all ears when the teacher described the circus. be all things to all people - to be everything that is wanted by all people The politician tries to be all things to all people and it is difficult to know what she really believes. be curtains for (someone or something) - to be the end or death for someone or something It was curtains for my old car when it finally broke down last week. be game - to be ready for action or agreeable to participate in something All of the students were game to go to the science exhibition. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 35 be into (something) - to be interested or involved in something My friend is very much into music and writing songs. be of the persuasion that (something) is so - to believe that something is true or exists My grandfather is of the persuasion that it is more important to work than to go to school. be off - to leave or depart I plan to be off very early tomorrow morning to go to the airport. be off to a bad start - to start something under bad circumstances The production of the play was off to a bad start when the lights did not work. be off on the wrong foot - to start something under bad circumstances I tried to talk to my new neighbor but it seems that we are off on the wrong foot already. be that as it may - even if what you say is true "Be that as it may, we are not going to permit the school dance to take place." be the case - to be true, to be an actual situation "I do not care if it was the case last year, this year we will do things differently." Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 36 be the death of (someone) - to be the ruin/downfall/death of someone (often used for some kind of problem) The woman said that her young son's bad behavior would be the death of her. be to blame - to be responsible for something bad or unfortunate He is not to blame for breaking the computer. . bear/hold a grudge (against someone) - to continue to be angry at someone, to resent someone The woman continued to bear a grudge against her friend for many years. bear fruit - to yield or give results The girl's hard work began to bear fruit when she won the dance contest. bear in mind - to consider that something is so We have to bear in mind that the child is only three years old when he does something bad. bear one's cross - to carry or bear a burden Raising three children on her own was the way that the woman had to bear her cross. bear (someone or something) in mind - to remember and think about someone or something We had to bear in mind that the child was only three years old. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 37 bear (something) out - to prove that something is right The man's constant lateness bore out the fact that he could never continue with one job for a long time. bear the brunt of (something) - to withstand the worst part or the strongest part of something The small island bore the brunt of the tropical storm. bear with (someone or something) - to be patient with someone or something, to endure someone or something We had to bear with our teacher as she explained the material to the new students. beat Idioms beat a hasty retreat - to retreat or withdraw very quickly The soldiers beat a hasty retreat when the guerrillas attacked them. beat a path to (someone's) door - to come to someone in great numbers The customers beat a path to the door of the computer game store. beat around the bush - to speak indirectly or evasively "Stop beating around the bush and give us your final decision." beat one's brains out - to work very hard (to do something) We beat our brains out in order to think of a name for the new magazine. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 38 beat one's head against the wall - to waste one's time trying to do something that is hopeless I was beating my head against the wall to try and convince my friend to come to the restaurant. beat (someone) to the punch/draw - to do something before others My friend beat me to the punch and arrived at the interview first. beat (something) into (someone's) head - to force someone to learn something The teacher thinks that she must beat the material into the heads of the students. beat the clock - to finish something before the time is up The basketball team worked hard to beat the clock and win the game. beat the living daylights out of (someone) - to beat someone severely The two men beat the living daylights out of the man at the gas station. beat the rap - to escape conviction and punishment (for a crime) The man beat the rap and did not have to go to jail. beat the tar out of (someone) - to beat someone severely The older boy beat the tar out of the young boy in the schoolyard [...]... last - to die The woman breathed her last several days after she became ill 58 Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com brew a plot - to make a plot The generals in the small country were brewing a plot to take control of the government bright and early - very early The woman likes to get up bright and early every morning bright-eyed and bushy-tailed - to be eager and cheerful Everybody was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed... bow out 53 Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com bowl (someone) over - to surprise or overwhelm someone The salesman bowled me over with his energetic sales talk brand-new - absolutely new I was finally able to buy a brand-new car break Idioms break a habit - to end a habit My sister worked very hard to break her habit of eating too much chocolate break a law - to fail to obey a law The young man broke the law when... bite the hand that feeds you - to harm or turn against someone who does good things for you He is biting the hand that feeds him when he criticizes and fights against his boss bitter pill to swallow - an unpleasant fact that one must accept Losing the election was a bitter pill to swallow for the candidate black out - to faint or pass out Suddenly the young woman blacked out while she was standing in... summer bound for somewhere - to be on the way or planning to go somewhere My friend was bound for college when I last met him bound to (do something) - to be certain to do something "If you ask your father he is bound to try and help you with your problem." bow and scrape - to be very humble and subservient I was forced to bow and scrape to get some money from my parents bow out - to quit, to resign from... the movie better off - to be in a better situation than before He would be better off if he sold his old car and bought a new one between a rock and a hard place - to be in a very difficult position We were between a rock and a hard place in our effort to solve the problem between the devil and the deep blue sea - to be in a very difficult position The mayor was between the devil and the deep blue sea... neighbor rather than wait to get a higher price birds and the bees - human sex and reproduction The father tried to tell his son about the birds and the bees birds-eye view - a view from high above, a brief look at something We had a birds-eye view of the playing field from our seats high up in the stadium 45 Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com birthday suit - a completely naked body The little boy was running down... quietly passed away blind leading the blind - someone who does not understand something but tries to explain it to others It is like the blind leading the blind to watch the man try to explain how to operate the new computer blood, sweat and tears - signs of great personal effort We put much blood, sweat and tears into building the small cabin blow Idioms blow a fuse - to burn out a fuse, to become angry... she moved to the small town big of (someone) - to be generous of someone It was very big of the man to share his house with the other people big shot - an important and powerful person The man is a big shot in the oil and gas industry bird in hand is worth two in the bush - something that you already have is better than something that you might get A bird in hand is worth two in the bush so we decided... own horn - to praise oneself My friend is always blowing his own horn and is very annoying at times 48 Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com blow one's top/stack - to become very angry The customer blew his stack when they refused to exchange his purchase at the store blow over - to die down, to calm down The problem with the lost invoices has blown over and everybody is happy again blow (someone) away - to overcome... early in the morning behind (someone`s) back - without someone`s knowledge, secretly The man is very angry because his friend borrowed his car behind his back behind the scenes - privately, out of public view The diplomats worked behind the scenes to try and solve the crisis behind the times - to be old-fashioned My aunt is behind the times belabor the point - to spend too much time on a point of discussion . horse in the election and our candidate lost badly. back-to-back - something follows immediately after something else, two people touching backs There were two back-to-back games today because. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 29 B back Idioms back and forth - backwards and forwards, first one way and then the other way The argument went back and forth before the judge made a decision to get a higher price. birds and the bees - human sex and reproduction The father tried to tell his son about the birds and the bees. birds-eye view - a view from high above, a brief