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[belly up]{adj.}, {informal} Dead, bankrupt, or financially ruined. •/Tom and Dick struggled on for months with their tiny computer shop, but last year they went belly up./
[belly up]{v.}, {informal} To go bankrupt, become afunctional; to die. •/Uncompetitive small businesses must eventually all belly up./
[below par]{adj.} or {adv.} Below standard. •/Bob was fired because his work has been below par for several months now./ Contrast: UP TO PAR or UP TO SNUFF.
[below the belt]{adv. phr.} 1. In the stomach; lower than is legal in boxing. •/He struck the other boy below the belt./ 2. {informal} In an unfair or cowardly way; against the rules of sportsmanship or justice; unsportingly; wrongly. •/It was hitting below the belt for Mr. Jones’s rival to tell people about a crime that Mr. Jones committed when he was a young boy./ •/Pete told the students to vote against Harry because Harry was in a wheelchair and couldn’t be a good class president, but the students thought Pete was hitting below the belt./
[belt] See: BELOW THE BELT, SEAT BELT, TIGHTEN ONE’S BELT, UNDER ONE’S BELT.
[belt out]{v.}, {slang} To sing with rough rhythm and strength; shout out. •/She belted out ballads and hillbilly songs one after another all evening./ •/Young people enjoy belting out songs./
[be my guest]{v. phr.} Feel free to use what I have; help yourself. •/When Suzie asked if she could borrow John’s bicycle, John said, "Be my guest."/
[beneath one]{adj. phr.} Below one’s ideals or dignity. •/Bob felt it would have been beneath him to work for such low wages./
[bench] See: ON THE BENCH, WARM THE BENCH.
[bench warmer] See: WARM THE BENCH.
[bend over backward] or [lean over backward] {v. phr.}, {informal} To try so hard to avoid a mistake that you make the opposite mistake instead; do the opposite of something that you know you should not do; do too much to avoid doing the wrong thing; also, make a great effort; try very hard. •/Instead of punishing the boys for breaking a new rule, the principal bent over backward to explain why the rule was important./ •/Mary was afraid the girls at her new school would be stuck up, but they leaned over backward to make her feel at home./ Compare: GO OUT OF ONE’S WAY.
[benefit] See: GIVE THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT.
[bent on] or [bent upon] Very decided, determined, or set. •/The sailors were bent on having a good time./ •/The policeman saw some boys near the school after dark and thought they were bent on mischief./ •/The bus was late, and the driver was bent upon reaching the school on time./
[be nuts about]{v. phr.} To be enthusiastic or very keen about someone or something; be greatly infatuated with someone. •/Hermione is nuts about modern music./ •/"I am nuts about you, Helen," Jim said. "Please let’s get married!"/
[be off]{v. phr.} 1. {v.} To be in error; miscalculate. •/The estimator was off by at least 35% on the value of the house./ 2. {v.} To leave. •/Jack ate his supper in a hurry and was off without saying goodbye./ 3. {adj.} Cancelled; terminated. •/The weather was so bad that we were told that the trip was off./ 4. {adj.} Crazy. •/I’m sure Aunt Mathilda is a bit off; no one in her right mind would say such things./ 5. {adj.} Free from work; having vacation time. •/Although we were off for the rest of the day, we couldn’t go to the beach because it started to rain./
[be on]{v. phr.} 1. To be in operation; be in the process of being presented. •/The news is on now on Channel 2; it will be off in five minutes./ 2. To be in the process of happening; to take place. •/We cannot travel now to certain parts of Africa, as there is a civil war on there right now./
[be one’s age] See: ACT ONE’S AGE.
[be oneself]{v.} To act naturally; act normally without trying unduly to impress others. •/Just try being yourself; I promise people will like you more./
[be on the outs with]{v. phr.} To not be on speaking terms with someone; be in disagreement with someone. •/Jane and Tom have been on the outs with one another since Tom started to date another woman./
[be on the rocks] See: ON THE ROCKS, GO ON THE ROCKS.
[be on the verge of]{v. phr.} To be about to do something; be very close to. •/We were on the verge of going bankrupt when, unexpectedly, my wife won the lottery and our business was saved./
[be on the wagon] See: ON THE WAGON, FALL OFF THE WAGON.
[be on to]{v. phr.} To understand the motives of someone; not be deceived. •/Jack keeps telling us how wealthy his family is, but we are on to him./
[be over]{v. phr.} To be ended; be finished. •/The show was over by 11 P.M./ •/The war will soon be over./
[be out]{v. phr.} 1. To not be at home or at one’s place of work. •/I tried to call but they told me that Al was out./ 2. To be unacceptable; not be considered; impossible. •/I suggested that we hire more salespeople but the boss replied that such a move was positively out./ 3. To be poorer by; suffer a loss of. •/Unless more people came to the church picnic, we realized we would be out $500 at least./ 4. To be in circulation, in print, published. •/Jane said that her new novel won’t be out for at least another month./ 5. A baseball term indicating that a player has been declared either unfit to continue or punished by withdrawing him. •/The spectators thought that John was safe at third base, but the umpire said he was out./
[be out to]{v. phr.} To intend to do; to plan to commit. •/The police felt that the gang may be out to rob another store./
[berth] See: GIVE A WIDE BERTH.
[be set on] or [upon] {v. phr.} To be determined about something. •/Tow is set upon leaving his Chicago job for Tokyo, Japan, although he speaks only English./
[beside oneself]{adj. phr.} Very much excited; somewhat crazy. •/She was beside herself with fear./ •/He was beside himself, he was so angry./ •/When his wife heard of his death, she was beside herself./
[beside the point] or [beside the question] {adj.} or {adv. phr.} Off the subject; about something different. •/What you meant to do is beside the point; the fact is you didn’t do it./ •/The judge told the witness that his remarks were beside the point./ Compare: BEAT AROUND THE BUSH, NEITHER HERE NOR THERE.
[best] See: AS BEST ONE CAN, AT BEST, FOR THE BEST, GET THE BETTER OF or GET THE BEST OF, HAD BETTER or HAD BEST, HE LAUGHS BEST WHO LAUGHS LAST, MAKE THE BEST OF, PUT ONE’S BEST FOOT FORWARD, SECOND BEST, TO THE BEST OF ONE’S KNOWLEDGE, WITH THE BEST or WITH THE BEST OF THEM.
[best bib and tucker] or [Sunday best] or [Sunday go-to-meeting clothes] {n. phr.}, {informal} Best clothes or outfit of clothing. •/The cowboy got all dressed up in his best bib and tucker to go to the dance./ •/Mary went to the party in her Sunday best and made a hit with the boys./ Compare: GLAD RAGS.
[best man]{n.} The groom’s aid (usually his best friend or a relative) at a wedding. •/When Agnes and I got married, my brother Gordon was my best man./
[best seller]{n.} An item (primarily said of books) that outsells other items of a similar sort. •/Catherine Neville’s novel "The Eight" has been a national best seller for months./ •/Among imported European cars, the Volkswagen is a best seller./
[bet] See: YOU BET or YOU BET YOUR BOOTS or YOU BET YOUR LIFE.
[be the making of]{v. phr.} To account for the success of someone or something. •/The strict discipline that we had to undergo in graduate school was the making of many a successful professor./ •/The relatively low cost and high gas mileage are the making of Chevrolet’s Geo Metro cars./
[bet one’s boots] or [bet one’s bottom dollar] or [bet one’s shirt] {v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To bet all you have. •/This horse will win. I would bet my bottom dollar on it./ •/Jim said he would bet his boots that he would pass the examination./ 2. or [bet one’s life]. To feel very sure; have no doubt. •/Was I scared when I saw the bull running at me? You bet your life I was!/
[bet on the wrong horse]{v. phr.}, {informal} To base your plans on a wrong guess about the result of something; misread the future; misjudge a coming event. •/To count on the small family farm as an important thing in the American future now looks like betting on the wrong horse./ •/He expected Bush to be elected President in 1992 but as it happened, he bet on the wrong horse./
[better] See: ALL BETTER, DISCRETION IS THE BETTER PART OF VALOR, FOR BETTER OR WORSE, FOR THE BETTER, GET THE BETTER OF, GO --- ONE BETTER, HAD BETTER, HALF A LOAF IS BETTER THAN NONE or HALF A LOAF IS BETTER THAN NO BREAD, SEE BETTER DAYS, THINK BETTER OF.
[better half]{n.}, {informal} One’s marriage partner (mostly said by men about their wives.) •/"This is my better half, Mary," said Joe./
[better late than never] It is better to come or do something late than never. •/The firemen didn’t arrive at the house until it was half burned, but it was better late than never./ •/Grandfather is learning to drive a car. "Better late than never," he says./ Compare: HALF A LOAF IS BETTER THAN NONE.
[better than]{prep. phr.} More than; greater than; at a greater rate than. •/The car was doing better than eighty miles an hour./ •/It is better than three miles to the station./
[between] See: BETWIXT AND BETWEEN, COME BETWEEN, PEW AND FAR BETWEEN.
[between a rock and a hard place] See: BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA.
[between life and death]{adv. phr.} In danger of dying or being killed; with life or death possible. •/He held on to the mountainside between life and death while his friends went to get help./ •/The little sick girl lay all night between life and death until her fever was gone./
[between the devil and the deep blue sea] or {literary} [between two fires] or [between a rock and a hard place] {adv. phr.} Between two dangers or difficulties, not knowing what to do. •/The pirates had to fight and be killed or give up and be hanged; they were between the devil and the deep blue sea./ •/The boy was between a rock and a hard place; he had to go home and be whipped or stay in town all night and be picked up by the police./ •/When the man’s wife and her mother got together, he was between two fires./ Compare: COMING AND GOING(2), IN A BIND.
[between the eyes] See: HIT BETWEEN THE EYES.
[between the lines] See: READ BETWEEN THE LINES.
[between two fires] See: BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA.
[between two shakes of a lamb’s tail] See: BEFORE ONE CAN SAY JACK ROBINSON.
[be up to no good]{v. phr.}, {informal} To be plotting and conniving to commit some illegal act or crime. •/"Let’s hurry!" Susan said to her husband. "It’s dark here and those hoodlums obviously are up to no good."/
[be up to something]{v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To feel strong enough or knowledgeable enough to accomplish a certain task. •/Are you up to climbing all the way to the 37th floor?/ •/Are we up to meeting the delegation from Moscow and speaking Russian to them?/ 2. Tendency to do something mischievous. •/I’m afraid Jack is up to one of his old tricks again./
[beyond measure]{adj.} or {adv. phr.}, {formal} So much that it can not be measured or figured without any limits. •/With her parents reunited and present at her graduation, she had happiness beyond measure./ •/No one envied him for he was popular beyond measure./
[beyond one’s depth]{adj.} or {adv. phr.} 1. Over your head in water; in water too deep to touch bottom. •/Jack wasn’t a good swimmer and nearly drowned when he drifted out beyond his depth./ 2. In or into something too difficult for you; beyond your understanding or ability. •/Bill decided that his big brother’s geometry book was beyond his depth./ •/Sam’s father started to explain the atom bomb to Sam but he soon got beyond his depth./ •/When Bill played checkers against the city champion, Bill was beyond his depth./ Compare: OVER ONE’S HEAD(1).
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