Adam Makkai - Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц

[birthday suit] {n.} The skin with no clothes on; complete nakedness. •/ The little boys were swimming in their birthday suits. /

[bit]See: A BIT, CHAMP AT THE BIT, FOUR BITS, QUITE A LITTLE or QUITE A BIT, SIX BITS, TAKE THE BIT IN ONE’S MOUTH, TWO BITS.

[bitch]See: SON OF A BITCH.

[bite]See: BARK WORSE THAN ONE’S BITE, PUT THE BITE ON, ONCE BITTEN, TWICE SHY at BURNT CHILD DREADS THE FIRE.

[bite off more than one can chew] {v. phr.} , {informal} To try to do more than you can; be too confident of your ability. •/ He bit off more than he could chew when he agreed to edit the paper alone. / •/ He started to repair his car himself, but realized that he had bitten off more than he could chew. /

[bite one’s head off] {v. phr.} To answer someone in great anger; answer furiously. •/ I’m sorry to tell you that I lost my job, but that’s no reason to bite my head off! /

[bite one’s lips] {v. phr.} To force oneself to remain silent and not to reveal one’s feelings. •/ I had to bite my lips when I heard my boss give the wrong orders. /

[bite the dust] {v. phr.} , {informal} 1. To be killed in battle. •/ Captain Jones discharged his gun and another guerrilla bit the dust. / 2. To fall in defeat; go down before enemies; be overthrown; lose. •/ Our team bit the dust today. /

[bite the hand that feeds one] {v. phr.} To turn against or hurt a helper or supporter; repay kindness with wrong. •/ He bit the hand that fed him when he complained against his employer. /

[bitter]See: TO THE BITTER END.

[bitter pill] {n.} Something hard to accept; disappointment. •/ Jack was not invited to the party and it was a bitter pill for him. /

[black]See: BLACK AND WHITE, IN THE BLACK, LOOK BLACK, POT CALLS THE KETTLE BLACK.

[black and blue] {adj.} Badly bruised. •/ Poor Jim was black and blue after he fell off the apple tree. /

[black and white] {n. phr.} 1. Print or writing; words on paper, not spoken; exact written or printed form. •/ He insisted on having the agreement down in black and white. / •/ Mrs. Jones would not believe the news, so Mr. Jones showed her the article in the newspaper and said, "There it is in black and white." / 2. The different shades of black and white of a simple picture, rather than other colors. •/ He showed us snapshots in black and white. /

[black-and-white] {adj.} Divided into only two sides that are either right or wrong or good or bad, with nothing in between; thinking or judging everything as either good or bad. •/ Everything is black-and-white to Bill; if you’re not his friend, you are his enemy. / •/ The old man’s religion shows his black-and-white thinking; everything is either completely good or completely bad. /

[black day] {n.} A day of great unhappiness; a disaster. •/ It was a black day when our business venture collapsed. /

[black eye] {n.} 1. A dark area around one’s eye due to a hard blow during a fight, such as boxing. •/ Mike Tyson sported a black eye after the big fight. / 2. Discredit. •/ Bob’s illegal actions will give a black eye to the popular movement he started. /

[blackout] {n.} 1. The darkening of a city curing an air raid by pulling down all curtains and putting out all street lights. •/ The city of London went through numerous blackouts during World War II. / 2. A cessation of news by the mass media. •/ There was a total news blackout about the kidnapping of the prime minister. /

[black out] {v.} 1. To darken by putting out or dimming lights, •/ In some plays the stage is blacked out for a short time and the actors speak in darkness. / •/ In wartime, cities are blacked out to protect against bombing from planes. / 2. To prevent or silence information or communication; refuse to give out truthful news. •/ In wartime, governments often black out all news or give out false news. / •/ Dictators usually black out all criticism of the government. / •/ Some big games are blacked out on television to people who live nearby. / 3. {informal} To lose consciousness; faint. •/ It had been a hard and tiring day, and she suddenly blacked out. /

[black sheep] {n.} A person in a family or a community considered unsatisfactory or disgraceful. •/ My brother Ted is a high school dropout who joined a circus; he is the black sheep in our family. /

[blame]See: TO BLAME.

[blank check] {n.} 1. A bank check written to a person who can then write in how much money he wants. •/ John’s father sent him a blank check to pay his school bills. / 2. {informal} Permission to another person to do anything he decides to do. •/ The teacher gave the pupils a blank check to plan the picnic. /

[blanket]See: WET BLANKET.

[blast off] {v.} 1. To begin a rocket flight. •/ The astronaut will blast off into orbit at six o’clock. / 2. Also [blast away] {informal} To scold or protest violently. •/ The coach blasted off at the team for poor playing. /

[blaze a trail] {v. phr.} 1. To cut marks in trees in order to guide other people along a path or trail, especially through a wilderness. •/ Daniel Boone blazed a trail for other hunters to follow in Kentucky. / 2. To lead the way; make a discovery; start something new. •/ Henry Ford blazed a trail in manufacturing automobiles. / •/ The building of rockets blazed a trail to outer space. / See: TRAILBLAZER.

[bleep out]See: BLIP OUT.

[bless one’s heart] {v. phr.} To thank someone; consider one the cause of something good that has happened. •/ Aunt Jane, bless her heart, left me half a million dollars! /

[blessing]See: MIXED BLESSING.

[blind]See: FLY BLIND.

[blind alley] {n.} 1. A narrow street that has only one entrance and no exit. •/ The blind alley ended in a brick wall. / 2. A way of acting that leads to no good results. •/ John did not take the job because it was a blind alley. / •/ Tom thought of a way to do the algebra problem, but he found it was a blind alley. /

[blind as a bat/beetle/mole/owl] {adj. phr.} Anyone who is blind or has difficulty in seeing; a person with very thick glasses. •/ Without my glasses I am blind as a bat. /

[blind date] {n.} An engagement or date arranged by friends for people who have not previously known one another. •/ A blind date can be a huge success, or a big disappointment. /

[blind leading the blind]One or more people who do not know or understand something trying to explain it to others who do not know or understand. •/ Jimmy is trying to show Bill how to skate. The blind are leading the blind. /

[blind spot] {n.} 1. A place on the road that a driver cannot see in the rearview mirror. •/ I couldn’t see that truck behind me, Officer, because it was in my blind spot. / 2. A matter or topic a person refuses to discuss or accept. •/ My uncle Ted has a real blind spot about religion. /

[blink]See: ON THE BLINK.

[blip out]or [bleep out] {v. phr.} , {informal} To delete electronically a word on television or on radio either because it mentions the name of an established firm in a commercial or because it is a censored word not allowed for television audiences, resulting in a sound resembling the word "bleep." •/ What was the old product they compared Spic-n-Span to? — I don’t know; they’ve bleeped it out. /

[blitz]See: SAFETY BLITZ.

[block]See: CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK, KNOCK ONE’S BLOCK OFF, ON THE BLOCK.

[blockhead] {n.} , {informal} An unusually dense, or stupid person whose head is therefore exaggeratedly compared to a solid block of wood. •/ Joe is such a blockhead that he flunked every course as a freshman. /

[blood]See: DRAW BLOOD, FLESH AND BLOOD, IN COLD BLOOD, IN ONE’S BLOOD or INTO ONE’S BLOOD, MAKE ONE’S BLOOD BOIL or MAKE THE BLOOD BOIL, NEW BLOOD, OUT OF ONE’S BLOOD, RUN IN THE BLOOD or RUN IN THE FAMILY, SPORTING BLOOD, SWEAT BLOOD, WARM ONE’S BLOOD.

[blood and thunder] {n. phr.} The violence and bloodshed of stories that present fast action rather than understanding of character. •/ Crime movies and westerns usually have lots of blood and thunder. / — Often used like an adjective. •/ John likes to watch blood-and-thunder stories on television. /

[blood freezes]See: BLOOD RUNS COLD.

[blood is thicker than water]Persons of the same family are closer to one another than to others; relatives are favored or chosen over outsiders. •/ Mr. Jones hires his relatives to work in his store. Blood is thicker than water. /

[blood runs cold]also [blood freezes]or [blood turns to ice]You are chilled or shivering from great fright or horror; you are terrified or horrified. — Usually used with a possessive. •/ The horror movie made the children’s blood run cold. / •/ Mary’s blood froze when she had to walk through the cemetery at night. / •/ Oscar’s blood turned to ice when he saw the shadow pass by outside the window. / Compare: HAIR STAND ON END, THE CREEPS.

[blood turns to ice]See: BLOOD RUNS COLD.

[bloody]See: SCREAM BLOODY MURDER.

[blot out] {v. phr.} 1. To obstruct; cover; obscure. •/ The high-rise building in front of our apartment house blots out the view of the ocean. / 2. To wipe out of one’s memory. •/ Jane can’t remember the details when she was attacked in the streets; she blotted it out of her memory. /

[blow]See: AT A BLOW, BODY BLOW, COME TO BLOWS, IT’S AN ILL WIND THAT BLOWS NOBODY GOOD, WAY THE WIND BLOWS or HOW THE WIND BLOWS.

[blow a fuse]or [blow a gasket]or [blow one’s top]or [blow one’s stack] {v. phr.} , {slang} To become extremely angry; express rage in hot words. •/ When Mr. McCarthy’s son got married against his wishes, he blew a fuse. / •/ When the umpire called Joe out at first, Joe blew his top and was sent to the showers. / Syn.: BLOW UP(1b), FLIP ONE’S LID, LOSE ONE’S TEMPER. Compare: BLOW OFF STEAM(2).

[blow great guns]See: GREAT GUNS.

[blow hot and cold] {v. phr.} To change your ways or likes often; be fickle or changeable. •/ Tom blows hot and cold about coming out for the baseball team; he cannot decide. / •/ Mary blew hot and cold about going to college; every day she changed her mind. / •/ The boys will get tired of Ann’s blowing hot and cold. /