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English Idioms: B

Ho me

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Me mb e rs

> Id io ms & Slang

English Idio m s: 335 e nt rie s be ginning wit h 'B'

Bab e in arms

A b ab e in arms is a ve ry yo ung child , o r a p e rso n who is ve ry yo ung to b e ho ld ing a p o sitio n.

Bab e in the wo o d s

A b ab e in the wo o d s is a naive , d e fe nce le ss, yo ung p e rso n.

Bab y b o o me r

(USA) A b ab y b o o me r is so me o ne b o rn in the ye ars afte r the e nd o f the Se co nd Wo rld War, a p e rio d whe n the p o p ulatio n was
g ro wing ve ry fast.

Back b urne r

If an issue is o n the b ack b urne r, it is b e ing g ive n lo w p rio rity.

Back fo o t

(UK) If yo u are o n yo ur b ack fo o t, yo u are at a d isad vantag e and fo rce d to b e d e fe nsive o f yo ur p o sitio n.

Back numb e r

So me thing that's a b ack numb e r is d ate d o r o ut o f fashio n.

Back the wro ng ho rse

If yo u b ack the wro ng ho rse , yo u g ive yo ur sup p o rt to the lo sing sid e in so me thing .

Back to b ack

If thing s hap p e n b ack to b ack, the y are d ire ctly o ne afte r ano the r.

Back to sq uare o ne

If yo u are b ack to sq uare o ne , yo u have to start fro m the b e g inning ag ain.

Back to the d rawing b o ard

If yo u have to g o b ack to the d rawing b o ard , yo u have to g o b ack to the b e g inning and start so me thing ag ain.

Back to the salt mine s

If so me o ne says the y have to g o b ack to the salt mine s, the y have to re turn, p o ssib ly unwilling ly, to wo rk.

Back to the wall

If yo u have yo ur b ack to the wall, yo u are in a d ifficult situatio n with ve ry little ro o m fo r mano e uvre .

Back-o f-the -e nve lo p e calculatio n

A b ack o f the e nve lo p e calculatio n is a fig ure that was arrive d at q uickly o r b y using e stimatio n--as if so me o ne had g rab b e d the
first scrap o f p ap e r the y fo und and mad e a q uick g ue ss.

Backse at d rive r

A b ackse at d rive r is an anno ying p e rso n who is fo nd o f g iving ad vice to the p e rso n p e rfo rming a task o r d o ing so me thing ,
e sp e cially whe n the ad vice is e ithe r wro ng o r unwe lco me .

Bad Ap p le

A p e rso n who is b ad and make s o the r b ad is a b ad ap p le .

Bad b lo o d

If p e o p le fe e l hate b e cause o f thing s that hap p e ne d in the p ast, the re is b ad b lo o d b e twe e n the m.

Bad e g g

A p e rso n who canno t b e truste d is a b ad e g g . G o o d e g g is the o p p o site .

Bad hair d ay

If yo u're having a b ad hair d ay, thing s are no t g o ing the way yo u wo uld like o r had p lanne d .

Bad mo uth

(UK) Whe n yo u are b ad mo uthing ,yo u are saying ne g ative thing s ab o ut so me o ne o r so me thing . ('Bad -mo uth' and 'b ad mo uth' are
also use d .)

Bad shap e

If so me thing 's in b ad shap e , it's in b ad co nd itio n. If a p e rso n's in b ad shap e , the y are unfit o r unhe althy.

Bad taste in yo ur mo uth

If so me thing le ave s yo u with a b ad taste in yo ur mo uth, yo u fe e l the re is so me thing wro ng o r b ad ab o ut it.

Bad wo rke rs always b lame the ir to o ls

" A b ad wo rke r always b lame s the ir to o ls" - If so me b o d y d o e s a jo b b ad ly o r lo se s in a g ame and claims that the y we re le t d o wn
b y the ir e q uip me nt, yo u can use this to imp ly that this was no t the case .

Bag and b ag g ag e

Bag and b ag g ag e me ans all yo ur p o sse ssio ns, e sp e cially if yo u are mo ving the m o r le aving a p lace .

Bag o f b o ne s

If so me o ne is a b ag o f b o ne s, the y are ve ry und e rwe ig ht.

Bag o f ne rve s

If so me o ne is a b ag o f ne rve s, the y are ve ry wo rrie d o r ne rvo us.

Bake r's d o ze n

A Bake r's d o ze n is 13 rathe r than 12.

Bald as a co o t

A p e rso n who is co mp le te ly b ald is as b ald as a co o t.

Ball is in yo ur co urt

If the b all is in yo ur co urt, it is up to yo u to make the ne xt d e cisio n o r ste p .

Ballo o n g o e s up

Whe n the b allo o n g o e s up , a situatio n turns unp le asant o r se rio us.

Ballp ark fig ure

A b allp ark fig ure is a ro ug h o r ap p ro ximate numb e r (g ue sstimate ) to g ive a g e ne ral id e a o f so me thing , like a ro ug h e stimate fo r a
co st, e tc.

Balls to the walls

(USA) If yo u d o so me thing b alls to the wall, yo u ap p ly full acce le ratio n o r e xe rtio n.

Banana re p ub lic

Banana re p ub lic is a te rm use d fo r small co untrie s that are d e p e nd e nt o n a sing le cro p o r re so urce and g o ve rne d b ad ly b y a
co rrup t e lite .

Banana skin

(UK) A b anana skin is so me thing that is an e mb arrassme nt o r cause s p ro b le ms.

Band it te rrito ry

An are a o r an ind ustry, p ro fe ssio n, e tc, whe re rule s and laws are ig no re d o r flo ute d is b and it te rrito ry.

Bap tism o f fire

A b ap tism o f fire was a so ld ie r's first e xp e rie nce o f sho o ting . Any unp le asant e xp e rie nce und e rg o ne , usually whe re it is also a
le arning e xp e rie nce , is a b ap tism o f fire .

Bar fly

A b ar fly is a p e rso n who sp e nd s a lo t o f time d rinking in d iffe re nt b ars and p ub s.

Bare yo ur he art

If yo u b are yo ur he art to so me o ne , yo u te ll the m yo ur p e rso nal and p rivate fe e ling s. ('Bare yo ur so ul' is an alte rnative fo rm o f the
id io m.)

Bare face d liar

A b are face d liar is o ne who d isp lays no shame ab o ut lying e ve n if the y are e xp o se d .

Bark is wo rse than the ir b ite

So me o ne who 's b ark is wo rse than the ir b ite may we ll g e t ang ry and sho ut, b ut d o e sn't take actio n.

Barking up the wro ng tre e

If yo u are b arking up the wro ng tre e , it me ans that yo u have co mp le te ly misund e rsto o d so me thing o r are to tally wro ng .

Barkus is willing

This id io m me ans that so me o ne is willing to g e t marrie d .

Barrack-ro o m lawye r

(UK) A b arrack-ro o m lawye r is a p e rso n who g ive s o p inio ns o n thing s the y are no t q ualifie d to sp e ak ab o ut.

Barre l o f laug hs

If so me o ne 's a b arre l o f laug hs, the y are always jo king and yo u find the m funny.

Baske t case

If so me thing is a b aske t case , it is so b ad that it canno t b e he lp e d .

Bat an e ye lid

If so me o ne d o e sn't b at an e ye lid , the y d o n't re act o r sho w any e mo tio n whe n surp rise d , sho cke d , e tc.

Bate d b re ath

If so me o ne says the y're waiting with b ate d b re ath, the y're ve ry e xcite d and find it d ifficult to b e p atie nt. ('Baite d b re ath' is a
co mmo n mistake .)

Bats in the b e lfry

So me o ne with b ats in the b e lfry is crazy o r e cce ntric.

Batte n d o wn the hatche s

If yo u b atte n d o wn the hatche s, yo u p re p are fo r the wo rst that co uld hap p e n to yo u.

Batting a tho usand

(USA) (fro m b ase b all) It me ans to d o so me thing p e rfe ctly.

Battle o f ne rve s

A b attle o f ne rve s is a situatio n whe re ne ithe r sid e in a co nflict o r d isp ute is willing to b ack d o wn and is waiting fo r the o the r sid e
to we ake n. ('A war o f ne rve s' is an alte rnative fo rm.)

Sugge st an Idiom

Se arch

Ple ase No te

Ple ase no te that the se d atab ase s co ve r co llo q uial lang uag e and co ntain so me te rms that d e al with vulg ar and tab o o sub je cts. Yo u can
o p t to filte r-o ut e xp licit co nte nt o n yo ur

p re fe re nce s

p ag e .

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