Adam Makkai - Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц

[buy up] {v. phr.} To purchase the entire stock of something. •/ The company is trying to buy up all the available shares. /

[buzz]See: GIVE A RING also GIVE A BUZZ.

[buzz word] {n.} A word that sounds big and important in a sentence but, on closer inspection, means little except the speaker’s indication to belong to a certain group. •/ The politician’s speech was nothing but a lot of misleading statements and phony promises hidden in a bunch of buzz words. /

[by]See: TOO --- BY HALF.

[by a hair]See: HANG BY A THREAD or HANG BY A HAIR

[by]or [in my book] {adv. phr.} In my opinion; as far as I am concerned; in my judgment. •/ By my book, Mr. Murgatroyd is not a very good department head. /

[by all means]also [by all manner of means] {adv. phr.} Certainly, without fail. •/ He felt that he should by all means warn Jones. / Contrast: BY NO MEANS.

[by all odds] {adv. phr.} Without question; certainly. •/ He was by all odds the strongest candidate. / •/ By all odds we should win the game, because the other team is so weak. / Compare: FAR AND AWAY.

[by a long shot] {adv. phr.} , {informal} By a big difference; by far. — Used to add emphasis. •/ Bert was the best swimmer in the race, by a long shot. / Often used with a negative. •/ Tom isn’t the kind who would be fresh to a teacher, by a long shot. / •/ Our team didn’t win — not by a long shot. / Compare: MISS BY A MILE.

[by a mile]See: MISS BY A MILE.

[by and by] {adv.} After a while; at some time in the future; later. •/ Roger said he would do his homework by and by. / •/ The mother knew her baby would be a man by and by and do a man’s work. / Syn.: AFTER A WHILE.

[by and large] {adv. phr.} As it most often happens; more often than not; usually; mostly. •/ There were bad days, but it was a pleasant summer, by and large. / •/ By and large, women can bear pain better than men. / Syn.: FOR THE MOST PART, ON THE WHOLE(2).

[by any means]See: BY NO MEANS.

[by a thread]See: HANG BY A THREAD.

[by chance] {adv. phr.} Without any cause or reason; by accident; accidentally. •/ Tom met Bill by chance. / •/ The apple fell by chance on Bobby’s head. /

[by choice] {adv. phr.} As a result of choosing because of wanting to; freely. •/ John helped his father by choice. / •/ Mary ate a plum, but not by choice. Her mother told her she must eat it. /

[by dint of] {prep.} By the exertion of; by the use of; through. •/ By dint of sheer toughness and real courage, he lived through the jungle difficulties and dangers. / •/ His success in college was largely by dint of hard study. /

[bye]See: BY THE WAY also BY THE BYE.

[by ear] {adv. phr.} 1. By sound, without ever reading the printed music of the piece being played. •/ The church choir sang the hymns by ear. / 2. Waiting to see what will happen. •/ I don’t want to plan now; let’s just play it by ear. /

[by far] {adv. phr.} By a large difference; much. •/ His work was better by far than that of any other printer in the city. / •/ The old road is prettier, but it is by far the longer way. / Compare: FAR AND AWAY.

[by fits and starts]or [jerks] {adv. phr.} With many stops and starts, a little now and a little more later; not all the time; irregularly. •/ He had worked on the invention by fits and starts for several years. / •/ You will never get anywhere if you study just by fits and starts. / Compare: FROM TIME TO TIME, OFF AND ON.

[bygone]See: LET BYGONES BE BYGONES.

[by heart] {adv. phr.} By exact memorizing; so well that you remember it; by memory. •/ The pupils learned many poems by heart. / •/ He knew the records of the major league teams by heart. /

[by hook or by crook] {adv. phr.} By honest ways or dishonest in any way necessary. •/ The wolf tried to get the little pigs by hook or by crook. / •/ The team was determined to win that last game by hook or by crook, and three players were put out of the game for fouling. /

[by inches] {adv. phr.} By small or slow degrees; little by little; gradually. •/ The river was rising by inches. / •/ They got a heavy wooden beam under the barn for a lever, and managed to move it by inches. / •/ He was dying by inches. /

[by leaps and bounds] {adv. phr.} With long steps; very rapidly. •/ Production in the factory was increasing by leaps and bounds. / •/ The school enrollment was going up by leaps and bounds. /

[by means of] {prep.} By the use of; with the help of. •/ The fisherman saved himself by means of a floating log. / •/ By means of monthly payments, people can buy more than in the past. /

[by mistake] {adv. phr.} As the result of a mistake; through error. •/ He picked up the wrong hat by mistake. /

[by no means]or [not by any means]also [by no manner of means]or [not by any manner of means] {adv. phr.} Not even a little; certainly not. •/ He is by no means bright. / •/ "May I stay home from school?" "By no means." / •/ Dick worked on his project Saturday, but he is not finished yet, by any means. / Contrast: BY ALL MEANS.

[B.Y.O.](Abbreviation) {informal} Bring Your Own. Said of a kind of party where the host or hostess does not provide the drinks or food but people ring their own.

[B.Y.O.B.](Abbreviation) {informal} Bring Your Own Bottle. Frequently written on invitations for the kind of party where people bring their own liquor.

[by oneself] {adv. phr.} 1. Without any others around; separate from others; alone. •/ The house stood by itself on a hill. / •/ Tom liked to go walking by himself. / •/ Betty felt very sad and lonely by herself. / 2. Without the help of anyone else; by your own work only. •/ John built a flying model airplane by himself. / •/ Lois cleaned the house all by herself. /

[by one’s own bootstraps]See: PULL ONE SELF UP BY THE BOOTSTRAPS.

[by storm]See: TAKE BY STORM.

[by surprise]See: TAKE BY SURPRISE.

[by the board]See: GO BY THE BOARD also PASS BY THE BOARD.

[by the bootstraps]See: PULL ONESELF UP BY THE BOOTSTRAPS.

[by the bye]See: BY THE WAY.

[by the dozen]or [by the hundred]or [by the thousand] {adv. phr.} Very many at one time; in great numbers. •/ Tommy ate cookies by the down. / Often used in the plural, meaning even larger numbers. •/ The ants arrived at the picnic by the hundreds. / •/ The enemy attacked the fort by the thousands. /

[by the horns]See: TAKE THE BULL BY THE HORNS.

[by the hundred]See: BY THE DOZEN.

[by the nose]See: LEAD BY THE NOSE.

[by the piece] {adv. phr.} Counted one piece at a time, separately for each single piece. •/ John bought boxes full of bags of potato chips and sold them by the piece. / •/ Mary made potholders and got paid by the piece. /

[by the seat of one’s pants]See: FLY BY THE SEAT OF ONE’S PANTS.

[by the skin of one’s teeth] {adv. phr.} By a narrow margin; with no room to spare; barely. •/ The drowning man struggled, and I got him to land by the skin of my teeth. / •/ She passed English by the skin of her teeth. / Compare: SQUEAK THROUGH, WITHIN AN ACE OF or WITHIN AN INCH OF.

[by the sweat of one’s brow] {adv. phr.} By hard work; by tiring effort; laboriously. •/ Even with modern labor-saving machinery, the farmer makes his living by the sweat of his brow. /

[by the thousand]See: BY THE DOZEN.

[by the way]also [by the bye] {adv. phr.} Just as some added fact or news; as something else that I think of. — Used to introduce something related to the general subject, or brought to mind by it. •/ We shall expect you; by the way, dinner will be at eight. / •/ I was reading when the earthquake occurred, and, by the way, it was The Last Days of Pompeii that I was reading. /

[by the wayside]See: FALL BY THE WAYSIDE.

[by turns] {adv. phr.} First one and then another in a regular way; one substituting for or following another according to a repeated plan. •/ On the drive to Chicago, the three men took the wheel by turns. / •/ The teachers were on duty by turns. / •/ When John had a fever, he felt cold and hot by turns. / Syn.: IN TURN. Compare: TAKE TURNS.

[by virtue of]also [in virtue of] {prep.} On the strength of; because of; by reason of. •/ By virtue of his high rank and position, the President takes social leadership over almost everyone else. / •/ Plastic bags are useful for holding many kinds of food, by virtue of their clearness, toughness, and low cost. / Compare: BY DINT OF.

[by way of] {prep.} 1. For the sake or purpose of; as. •/ By way of example, he described his own experience. / 2. Through; by a route including; via. •/ He went from New York to San Francisco by way of Chicago. /

[by word of mouth] {adv. phr.} From person to person by the spoken word; orally. •/ The news got around by word of mouth. / •/ The message reached him quietly by word of mouth. /

[cahoots]See: IN LEAGUE WITH or IN CAHOOTS WITH.

[Cain]See: RAISE CAIN.

[cake]See: EAT-ONE’S CAKE AND HAVE IT TOO, PAT-A-CAKE, TAKE THE CAKE.

[calculated risk] {n.} An action that may fail but is judged more likely to succeed. •/ The sending of troops to the rebellious island was a calculated risk. /

[calf love]See: PUPPY LOVE.

[call]See: AT CALL, AT ONE’S BECK AND CALL, CLOSE CALL, ON CALL, PORT OF CALL, POT CALLS THE KETTLE BLACK, WITHIN CALL.

[call a halt] {v. phr.} To give a command to stop. •/ The scouts were tired during the hike, and the scoutmaster called a halt. / •/ When the children’s play, got too noisy, their mother called a halt. /

[call a spade a spade] {v. phr.} To call a person or thing a name that is true but not polite; speak bluntly; use the plainest language. •/ A boy took some money from Dick’s desk and said he borrowed it, but I told him he stole it; I believe in calling a spade a spade. /