usingenglish.co m http://www.usingenglish.com/members/idioms/index.php?show=IdiomsEnglish Idioms: B Ho me > Me mb e rs > Id io ms & Slang English Idio ms: 335 ent ries beginning wit h 'B' Blo w smo ke (USA) If p e o p le b lo w smo ke , the y e xag g e rate o r say thing s that are no t true , usually to make the mse lve s lo o k b e tte r. Blo w the co b we b s away If yo u b lo w the co b we b s away, yo u make swe e p ing chang e s to so me thing to b ring fre sh vie ws and id e as in. Blo w the whistle If so me b o d y b lo ws the whistle o n a p lan, the y re p o rt it to the autho ritie s. Blo w yo ur mind So me thing that will b lo w yo ur mind is so me thing e xtrao rd inary that will amaze yo u b e yo nd e xp lanatio n. Blo w yo ur o wn ho rn If yo u b lo w yo ur o wn ho rn, yo u b o ast ab o ut yo ur achie ve me nts and ab ilitie s. ('Blo w yo ur o wn trump e t' is an alte rnative fo rm.) Blo w yo ur o wn trump e t If so me o ne b lo ws the ir o wn trump e t, the y b o ast ab o ut the ir tale nts and achie ve me nts. ('Blo w yo ur o wn ho rn' is an alte rnative fo rm.) Blo w yo ur stack If yo u b lo w yo ur stack, yo u lo se yo ur te mp e r. Blo w yo ur to p If so me o ne b lo ws the ir to p , the y lo se the ir te mp e r. Blue b lo o d So me o ne with b lue b lo o d is ro yalty. Blue skie s A o ve rly e nthusiastic o utlo o k o r d isp o sitio n. The sale s te am had b lue skie s p ro je ctio ns fo r the ir d e als, altho ug h no t many o f tho se d e als we re sig ne d . Blue -e ye d b o y So me o ne 's b lue -e ye d b o y is the ir favo urite p e rso n. Blue sto cking An inte lle ctual wo man is a b lue sto cking . Bo ard ing ho use re ach Bo ard ing ho use re ach is the ab ility to re ach a lo ng d istance acro ss a tab le to g e t fo o d . We 've use d it in o ur family fo r as lo ng as I can re me mb e r, whe n yo u re ach acro ss so me o ne 's p late , " Pard o n my b o ard ing ho use re ach" . Bo b 's yo ur uncle (UK) This id io m me ans that so me thing will b e succe ssful: Just te ll him that I g ave yo u his name and Bo b 's yo ur uncle - he 'll he lp yo u. Bo d y p o litic A g ro up o f p e o p le o rg anise d und e r a sing le g o ve rnme nt o r autho rity (natio nal o r re g io nal) is a b o d y p o litic. Bo il to the surface If a p ro b le m o r issue b o ils to the surface , it e me rg e s at a p articular time and ne e d s to b e d iscusse d o r re so lve d . Bo ld as b rass So me o ne who is as b o ld as b rass is ve ry co nfid e nt and no t wo rrie d ab o ut ho w o the r p e o p le will re sp o nd o r ab o ut b e ing caug ht. Bo lt fro m the b lue If so me thing hap p e ns une xp e cte d ly and sud d e nly, it is a b o lt fro m the b lue . Bo ne o f co nte ntio n If the re is an issue that always cause s te nsio n and arg ume nts, it is a b o ne o f co nte ntio n. Bo ne to p ick If yo u have a b o ne to p ick with so me o ne , yo u are anno ye d ab o ut so me thing the y have d o ne and want to te ll the m ho w yo u fe e l. Bo o t is o n the o the r fo o t Whe n the b o o t's o n the o the r fo o t, a p e rso n who was in a p o sitio n o f we akne ss is no w in a p o sitio n o f stre ng th. Bo rn o n the wro ng sid e o f the b lanke t A child b o rn o n the wro ng sid e o f the b lanke t is ille g itimate - his o r he r p are nts we re no t marrie d at the time o f the b irth. Bo rn o n the wro ng sid e o f the tracks So me o ne who se is b o rn o n the wro ng sid e o f the tracks is fro m the p o o r p art o f to wn. Bo rn to the p urp le So me o ne who is b o rn to the p urp le is b o rn in a ro yal o r aristo cratic family. (" Bo rn in the p urp le " is also use d .) Bo rn with a silve r sp o o n in yo ur mo uth If yo u are b o rn with a silve r sp o o n in yo ur mo uth, yo u are b o rn into a rich family. Bo th e nd s me e t If yo u make b o th e nd s me e t, yo u live o ff the mo ne y yo u e arn and d o n't g o into d e b t. Bo tto m line In acco untancy, the b o tto m line is ne t inco me , and is use d id io matically to me an the co nclusio n. Bo tto ms-up Eq uivale nt to 'Che e rs' whe n d rinking with so me o ne . Bo unce id e as If yo u b o unce id e as o ff so me o ne , yo u share yo ur id e as with the m to kno w whe the r the y think the y wo uld wo rk. Bo unce o ff the walls If so me o ne 's b o uncing o ff the walls, the y are ve ry e xcite d ab o ut so me thing . Bo uq ue t o f o rchid s Id so me o ne d e se rve s a b o uq ue t o f o rchid s, the y have d o ne so me thing wo rthy o f p raise . Bo x and d ice Bo x and d ice me ans e ve rything . Bo x cle ve r (UK) If yo u b o x cle ve r, yo u use yo ur inte llig e nce to g e t what yo u want, e ve n if yo u have to che at a b it. Bo x o f fluffy d ucks (NZ) Use d whe n so me thing is wo rking we ll o r g o ing yo ur way. If yo u are hap p y, yo u are a b o x o f fluffy d ucks. Also can b e sho rte ne d to 'a b o x o f fluffie s'. Bo xing and co xing If p e o p le are b o xing and co xing , the y are sharing re sp o nsib ilitie s so that o ne o f the m is wo rking while the o the r isn't. It can also b e use d whe n co up le s are sharing a ho use , b ut the ir re latio nship has b ro ke n d o wn and whe n o ne is at ho me , the o the r stays o ut. Bo ys in b lue The b o ys in b lue are the p o lice . Bo ys will b e b o ys Bo ys will b e b o ys me ans that b o ys, o r me n, will b e have in ce rtain ways, o fte n no isily o r irre sp o nsib ily. Brain d rain Whe n o rg anisatio ns o r co untrie s can p ay hig he r salarie s to attract tale nte d p e o p le fro m p o o re r co untrie s, the re 's a b rain d rain, a lo ss o f tale nt. Brain surg e ry If so me thing is no t b rain surg e ry, it isn't ve ry co mp licate d o r d ifficult to und e rstand o r maste r. Brass mo nke y If it's b rass mo nke y we athe r, o r co ld e no ug h to fre e ze the b alls o ff a b rass mo nke y, it is e xtre me ly co ld . Brass ne ck (UK) So me o ne who has the b rass ne ck to d o so me thing has no se nse o f shame ab o ut what the y d o . Brass tacks If yo u g e t d o wn to b rass tacks, yo u g e t d o wn to the re al b usine ss. Bre ad and b utte r Bre ad and b utte r issue s are o ne s that affe ct p e o p le d ire ctly and in a ve ry imp o rtant way. Bre ad and circuse s Activite s that e nte rtain p e o p le and d istract the m fro m p ro b le ms to ke e p the m fro m co mp laining o r p ro te sting are b re ad and circuse s. Bre ad winne r Use d to d e scrib e the p e rso n that e arns the mo st mo ne y. Fo r e xamp le - She 's the b re ad winne r in the family. Bre ak a le g This id io m is a way o f wishing so me o ne g o o d luck. Bre ak e ve n If yo u b re ak e ve n, yo u d o n't make any mo ne y, b ut yo u d o n't lo se any e ithe r. Bre ak g ro und If yo u b re ak g ro und , o r b re ak ne w g ro und , yo u make p ro g re ss, taking thing s into a ne w are a o r g o ing furthe r than anyo ne has g o ne b e fo re . 'Gro und -b re aking ' is use d an ad je ctive . Bre ak the b ack o f the b e ast If yo u b re ak the b ack o f the b e ast, yo u acco mp lish a challe ng e . Bre ak the ice Whe n yo u b re ak the ice , yo u g e t o ve r any initial e mb arrassme nt o r shyne ss whe n yo u me e t so me o ne fo r the first time and start co nve rsing . Sugge st an Idiom Search 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 . Ge ne rate d in 0.017 se co nd s