Adam Makkai - Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц

[bump off] {v.} , {slang} To kill in a violent way; murder in gangster fashion. •/ Hoodlums in a speeding car bumped him off with Tommy guns. /

[bum’s rush] {n. phr.} , {slang} Throwing or pushing someone out from where he is not wanted. •/ When John tried to go to the party where he was not invited, Bill and Fred gave him the bum’s rush. / •/ Tom became too noisy, and he got the bum’s rush. / 2. To hurry or rush (someone). •/ The salesman tried to give me the bum’s rush. /

[bum steer] {n.} Wrong or misleading directions given naively or on purpose. •/ Man, you sure gave me a bum steer when you told me to go north on the highway; you should have sent me south! /

[bundle of laughs] {n. phr.} A very amusing person, thing, or event. •/ Uncle Lester tells so many jokes that he is a bundle of laughs. /

[bundle up]See: WRAP UP(1).

[burn]See: EARS BURN, KEEP THE HOME FIRES BURNING, MONEY TO BURN.

[burn a hole in one’s pocket] {v. phr.} To make you want to buy something; be likely to be quickly spent. •/ Money burns a hole in Linda’s pocket. / •/ The silver dollar that Don got for his birthday was burning a hole in his pocket, and Don hurried to a dime store. /

[burn down] {v. phr.} To burn to the ground; be totally gutted by fire. •/ The old frame house burned down before the firefighters could get to it. /

[burn in effigy]See: HANG IN EFFIGY.

[burn one’s bridges]also [burn one’s boats] {v. phr.} To make a decision that you cannot change; remove or destroy all the ways you can get back out of a place you have got into on purpose; leave yourself no way to escape a position. •/ Bob was a good wrestler but a poor boxer. He burned his boats by letting Mickey choose how they would fight. / •/ When Dorothy became a nun, she burned her bridges behind her. /

[burn one’s fingers] {v. phr.} , {informal} To get in trouble doing something and fear to do it again; learn caution through an unpleasant experience. •/ He had burned his fingers in the stock market once, and didn’t want to try again. / •/ Some people can’t be told; they have to burn their fingers to learn. /

[burn out] {v. phr.} 1. To destroy by fire or by overheating. •/ Mr. Jones burned out the clutch on his car. / 2. To destroy someone’s house or business by fire so that they have to move out. •/ Three racists burned out the Black family’s home. / 3a. To go out of order; cease to function because of long use or overheating. •/ The light bulb in the bathroom burned out, and Father put in a new one. / •/ The electric motor was too powerful, and it burned out a fuse. / 3b. To break, tire, or wear out by using up all the power, energy, or strength of. •/ Bill burned himself out in the first part of the race and could not finish. / •/ The farmer burned out his field by planting the same crop every year for many years. /

[burn-out] {n.} A point of physical or emotional exhaustion. •/ There are so many refugees all over the world that charitable organizations as well as individuals are suffering from donor burn-out. /

[burn rubber] {v. phr.} , {slang} 1. To start up a car or a motorcycle from dead stop so fast that the tires leave a mark on the road. •/ The neighborhood drag racers burned a lot of rubber — look at the marks on the road! / 2. To leave in a hurry. •/ I guess I am going to have to burn rubber. /

[burnt child dreads the fire]or [once bitten, twice shy]A person who has suffered from doing something has learned to avoid doing it again. — A proverb. •/ Once Mary had got lost when her mother took her downtown. But a burnt child dreads the fire, so now Mary stays close to her mother when they are downtown. /

[burn the candle at both ends] {v. phr.} To work or play too hard without enough rest; get too tired. •/ He worked hard every day as a lawyer and went to parties and dances every night; he was burning the candle at both ends. /

[burn the midnight oil] {v. phr.} To study late at night. •/ Exam time was near, and more and more pupils were burning the midnight oil. /

[bum to a crisp] {v. phr.} To burn black; burn past saving or using especially as food. •/ While getting breakfast, Mother was called to the telephone, and when she got back, the bacon had been burned to a crisp. /

[burn up] {v.} 1. To burn completely; destroy or be destroyed by fire. •/ Mr. Scott was burning up old letters. / •/ The house burned up before the firemen got there. / 2. {informal} To irritate, anger, annoy. •/ The boy’s laziness and rudeness burned up his teacher. / •/ The breakdown of his new car burned Mr. Jones up. /

[burn up the road] {v. phr.} , {informal} To drive a car very fast. •/ In his eagerness to see his girl again, he burned up the road on his way to see her. / •/ Speed demons burning up the road often cause accidents. /

[burst at the seams] {v. phr.} , {informal} To be too full or too crowded. •/ John ate so much he was bursting at the seams. / •/ Mary’s album was so full of pictures it was bursting at the seams. /

[burst into] {v. phr.} 1. To enter suddenly. •/ Stuart burst into the room, screaming angrily. / 2. To break out. •/ The crowd burst out cheering when the astronauts paraded along Fifth Avenue. /

[burst into flames] {v. phr.} To begin to burn suddenly. •/ The children threw away some burning matches and the barn burst into flames. /

[burst into tears] {v. phr.} To suddenly start crying. •/ Mary burst into tears when she heard that her brother was killed in a car accident. /

[burst with joy]or [pride] {v. phr.} To be so full of the feeling of joy or pride that one cannot refrain from showing one’s exuberant feelings. •/ Armstrong and Aldrin burst with pride when they stepped out on the moon in July, 1969. /

[bury one’s head in the sand]See: HIDE ONE’S HEAD IN THE SAND.

[bury the hatchet] {v. phr.} , {informal} To settle a quarrel or end a war; make peace. •/ The two men had been enemies a long time, but after the flood they buried the hatchet. / Compare: MAKE UP(5).

[bus]See: MISS THE BOAT or MISS THE BUS.

[bush]See: BEAT ABOUT THE BUSH, BIRD IN THE HAND IS WORTH TWO IN THE BUSH.

[bushel]See: HIDE ONE’S LIGHT UNDER A BUSHEL.

[bushes]See: BEAT THE BUSHES.

[business]See: DO THE BUSINESS, HAVE NO BUSINESS, LAND-OFFICE BUSINESS, MEAN BUSINESS, MONKEY BUSINESS, THE BUSINESS.

[bust up] {v. phr.} , {slang} To terminate a partnership, a relationship, a friendship, or a marriage. •/ If Jack keeps drinking the way he does, it will bust up his marriage to Sue. /

[busy work] {n.} Work that is done not to do or finish anything important, but just to keep busy. •/ When the teacher finished all she had to say it was still a half hour before school was over. So she gave the class a test for busy work. /

[but for]See: EXCEPT FOR.

[but good] {adv. phr.} , {informal} Very much so; thoroughly completely; forcefully. — Used for emphasis. •/ Jack called Charles a bad name, and Charles hit him, but good. / •/ Tom fell and broke his leg. That taught him but good not to fool around in high trees. / Compare: AND HOW.

[but not least]See: LAST BUT NOT LEAST.

[butter]See: BREAD AND BUTTER.

[butterflies in one’s stomach] {n. phr.} A queer feeling in the stomach caused by nervous fear or uncertainty; a feeling of fear or anxiety in the stomach. •/ When Bob walked into the factory office to ask for a job, he had butterflies in his stomach. /

[butter up] {v.} , {informal} To try to get the favor or friendship of (a person) by flattery or pleasantness. •/ He began to butter up the boss in hope of being given a better job. / Compare: POLISH THE APPLE.

[butter wouldn’t melt in one’s mouth] {informal} You act very polite and friendly but do not really care, you are very nice to people but are not sincere. •/ The new secretary was rude to the other workers, but when she talked to the boss, butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. /

[butt in] {v.} , {slang} To join in with what other people are doing without asking or being asked; interfere in other people’s business; meddle. •/ Mary was explaining to Jane how to knit a sweater when Barbara butted in. / Often used with "on". •/ John butted in on Bill and Tom’s fight, and got hurt. / Compare: HORN IN.

[button]See: HAVE ALL ONE’S BUTTONS, ON THE BUTTON, PUSH THE PANIC BUTTON.

[button down] {v.} , {slang} (stress on "down") To state precisely, to ascertain, to pin down, to peg down. •/ First let’s get the facts buttoned down, then we can plan ahead. /

[button-down] {attrib. adj.} , {slang} (stress on "button") Well-groomed, conservatively dressed. •/ Joe is a regular button-down type. /

[buttonhole] {v.} To approach a person in order to speak with him or her in private. •/ After waiting for several hours, Sam managed to buttonhole his boss just as she was about to leave the building. /

[button one’s lip]also [zip one’s lip] {v. phr.} , {slang} To stop talking; keep a secret; shut your mouth; be quiet. •/ The man was getting loud and insulting and the cop told him to button his lip. / •/ John wanted to talk, but Dan told him to keep his lip buttoned. / Syn.: KEEP ONE’S MOUTH SHUT, SHUT UP.

[buy for a song] {v. phr.} To buy something very cheaply. •/ Since the building on the corner was old and neglected, I was able to buy it for a song. /

[buy off] {v.} To turn from duty or purpose by a gift. •/ When the police threatened to stop the gambling business, the owner bought them off. / •/ The Indians were going to burn the cabins, but the men bought them off with gifts. / Compare: PAY OFF.

[buy out] {v.} 1. To buy the ownership or a share of; purchase the stock of. •/ He bought out several small stockholders. 2. To buy all the goods of; purchase the merchandise of. / •/ Mr. Harper bought out a nearby hardware store. / Contrast: SELL OUT.