Oxford Dictionary of Idioms PDF

The Oxford Dictionary of Idioms Idioms Edited by Judith Siefring OXPORD UNIVERSITY PRESS OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS Great Clarendon Street, Oxford 0x2 6DP Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, schol...

The Oxford Dictionary of Idioms Idioms Edited by Judith Siefring OXPORD UNIVERSITY PRESS OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS Great Clarendon Street, Oxford 0x2 6DP Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi Sào Paulo Shanghai Taipei Tokyo Toronto Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York © Oxford University Press 1999, 2004 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published 1999 Second edition 2004 All rights reserved. No part of this publication maybe reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Data available ISBN 0-19-852711-X 1 Designed by Jane Stevenson Typeset in Swift and Frutiger by Kolam Information Services India Printed in Great Britain by Clays Ltd. Contents Preface vii Dictionary of Idioms 1 Index 323 Preface The aim of the Oxford Dictionary of Idioms is to provide clear definitions of phrases and sayings for those who do not know what they mean, but also to offer the curious reader interesting facts about the origins of phrases and examples of their use. This second edition of the Oxford Dictionary ofIdioms is based on the first edition, edited by Jennifer Speake. It maintains the first edition's focus on contemporary and historical phrases, sayings, and proverbs, and uses a combination of definition and (where required) explanatory note and illustrative quotation to provide a rounded picture of idiomatic usage. The coverage of the previous edition has been extended by the inclusion of more than 350 new idioms, and a great many contemporary illustrative quotations have also been added. These quotations have been taken from a variety of sources: from novels to travel guides, broadsheet newspapers to teenage magazines. They help to give the reader a better understanding of how an idiom is used: a typical context, a certain tone, or a particular resonance. The formation of new phrases and sayings is one of the most colourful aspects of language development, and by adding idioms such as chew the scenery, be in like Flynn, and give someone the hairy eyeball, and quotations from the likes of Anthony Bourdain, Arundhati Roy, Melvin Burgess, and Tom Clancy, the new edition hopes to reflect this colour. A new index section at the end of the book groups together idioms which share a common theme or subject, so giving readers a vivid snapshot of those areas and aspects of life that have generated a particularly rich variety offigurativeexpressions. My thanks must go to Richard Jones for his work on sourcing quotations, to Georgia Hole for proofreading, and above all to Sara Hawker for her help and insight throughout the project. JUDITH SIEFRING  Aa A abdabs A 1 excellent; first-rate. give someone the screaming abdabs induce an attack of extreme anxiety or irritation in i O The full form of this expression is >47 at ! Lloyd's. In Lloyd's Register of Shipping, the someone. j phrase was used of ships in first-class j O Abdabs (or habdabs) is mid 20th-century ! I condition as to the hull (A) and stores (1). The ! slang whose origin is unknown. The word is ! US equivalent is A No. 7; both have been in j sometimes also used to mean an attack of ; figurative use since the mid 19th century. j delirium tremens. from A to B from your starting point to your destination; from one place to another. abet 1987 K. Rushforth Tree Planting & Managementaid and abet: see AID. The purpose of street tree planting is to... make the roads and thoroughfares pleasant in their own right, not just as places about used to travel from A to B. know what you are about be aware of the from A to Z over the entire range; in every implications of your actions or of a particular. situation, and of how best to deal with 1998 Salmon, Trout & Sea-Trout In order to have them, informal seen Scotland's gamefishingin its entirety, 1993 Ski Survey He ran a 3-star guest house from A to Z, visiting 30 stretches ofriverand before this, so knows what he is about. 350 lochs a year, you would have to be travelling for a hundred years. above above yourself conceited; arrogant. aback 1999 Frank McCourt 'Tis Many a man made his take someone aback shock, surprise, or way in America by the sweat of his brow and disconcert someone. his strong back and it's a good thing to learn your station in life and not be getting above ! O The phrase is frequently used in the yourself. i passive form (be taken aback): this was not be above — be capable of stooping to an ; adopted in the mid 19th century from unworthy act. i earlier (mid 18th-century) nautical 1991 Maureen Duffy Illuminations The copyist i terminology, to describe the situation of a was not above turning author or forger and i ship with its sails pressed back against the ! mast by a headwind, preventing forward several MS S from this period must be viewed | movement. as highly suspect. 1991 Kathleen Jones Learning Not To Be First They were taken aback by the shabbiness of Abraham the hotel and lack of cleanliness in the city in Abraham's bosom in heaven, the place of generally. rest for the souls of the blessed, dated j O The phrase is taken from Luke 16:22: 'And ! i it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was I ABC j carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom', j as easy (or simple) as ABC extremely easy or j In the Bible, Abraham was the Hebrew straightforward. i patriarch from whom all Jews traced their I descent. j I O From the 15th to the 17th century, a I child's first spelling and reading book was ! commonly called an ABC, and this led to the j acceptable j development of its metaphorical use, 'the the acceptable face of the tolerable or | basic elements or rudiments of something'. attractive manifestation or aspect of. accident 2 1996 New York Review of Books He presents i O The a c e i s t n e highest playing card in its himself as the acceptable face of I suit in many card games, so a cheating player j gambling... the man who, almost single- I mightwellhideonetouseagainstan unwary ; handedly, has turned a huckster's paradise j opponent. A North American variant is an ace \ into a gangster-free zone. I in the hole. The next two idioms are also j based on this meaning of ace. accident an accident waiting to happen Q a hold all the aces have all the advantages. potentially disastrous situation, play your ace use your best resource. usually caused by negligent or faulty within an ace of very close to. procedures. © a person certain to cause trouble. i O Ace here has the figurative meaning of 'a j j tiny amount' and is used with reference to 01997 Times Accidents are often said to be i thesinglespotontheplayingcard.Thephrase i 'waiting to happen'. It does not take much ; was first recorded in the early 18th century. imagination to see that the chaotic start to the Whitbread round-the-world race... could easily have ended in tragedy. Achilles accidents will happen however careful you an Achilles heel a person's only vulnerable try to be, it is inevitable that some spot; a serious or fatal weakness. unfortunate or unforeseen events will occur. j O In Greek mythology, the nymph Thetis j dipped her infant son Achilles in the water of j ! O This phrase is a shortened form of the i the River Styx to make him immortal, but the i i early 19th-century proverb'accidents will ! heel by which she held him was not touched j i happen in the best regulated families'. | by the water; he was ultimately killed in j battle by an arrow wound in this one a chapter of accidents: see CHAPTER. i vulnerable spot. 1998 Times The inclination to outlaw that of accord which it disapproves... is, if not the cloven of your own accord voluntarily or without hoof beneath the hem of Tony Blair's outside intervention. Government, certainly its Achilles heel. account acid give a good (or bad) account of yourself the acid test a situation or event which make a favourable (or unfavourable) finally proves whether something is good impression through your performance or or bad, true or false, etc. actions. i O The original use of the phrase was to settle {or square) accounts with someone I describe a method of testing for gold with 0 pay money owed to someone. Q have i nitric acid (gold being resistant to the effects j revenge on someone. i of nitric acid). 1990 Which? These deals are designed to accounting encourage impulse buying, so the acid test is there's no accounting for tastes it's whether you would have bought anyway. impossible to explain why different people come the acid be unpleasant or offensive; like different things, especially those things which the speaker considers speak in a caustic or sarcastic manner. unappealing, proverb put the acid on someone try to extract a loan or favour from someone. Australian & New 1 O Since the late 18th century, this has been j Zealand informal | the usual English form of the Latin expression I ! de gustibus non est disputandum 'there is no ! | disputing about tastes'. acquaintance have a nodding acquaintance with someone or something: see NODDING. ace scrape acquaintance with: see SCRAPE. have an ace up your sleeve have an effective resource or piece of information kept hidden until it is necessary to use it; have a acre secret advantage. God's acre: see GOD. 3 admirable I O Originally, this was an order to naval across ; personnel to go to their allocated positions across the board applying to all. j ready to engage the enemy. ! O , n the USA, this expression refers to a j horse-racing bet in which equal amounts are j man of action a man whose life is i staked on the same horse to win, place, or characterized by physical activity or deeds I show in a race. rather than by words or intellectual matters. 1999 Wall Street Journal The decline for the euro across the board was mainly attributed to a piece of the action: see PIECE. the further erosion of global investors' where the action is where important or confidence toward the euro-zone economy. interesting things are happening, informal be across something fully understand the 1971 Gourmet You can dine outside, details or complexity of an issue or weather permitting, or in the bar where situation. Australian the action is. act actual act your age behave in a manner appropriate your actual — the real, genuine, or to your age and not to someone much important thing specified, informal younger. 1968 Kenneth Williams Diary There's no doubt about it, on a good day, I look quite lovely in act the goat: see GOAT. your actual gamin fashion. act of God an instance of uncontrollable natural forces in operation. Adam I O This phrase is often used in insurance not know someone from Adam not know or j contracts to refer to incidents such as be completely unable to recognize the j lightning strikes or floods. person in question, informal a class act: see CLASS. the old Adam unregenerate human nature. clean up your act: see CLEAN. ! O In Christian symbolism, the old Adam do a disappearing act: see DISAPPEARING. ! represents fallen man as contrasted with the \ \ second Adam, Jesus Christ. get your act together organize yourself in the manner required in order to achieve 1993 Outdoor Canada It is the Old Adam in us. something, informal We are descendants of a long line of dirt 2002 New York Times There are still many who farmers, sheepherders... and so forth. think all that the dirty, homeless man on the corner talking to himself needs is just to get add his act together. add fuel to the fire: see FUEL. a hard (or tough) act to follow an add insult to injury: see INSULT. achievement or performance which sets a standard difficult for others to measure up to. adder 1996 Independent Her determination and deaf as an adder: see DEAF. championing of tourism will be a tough act to follow. admirable in on the act involved in a particular an admirable Crichton a person who activity in order to gain profit or excels in all kinds of studies and advantage, informal pursuits, or who is noted for supreme 1997 What Cellphone Conference calls are competence. becoming big business for the fixed-line operators, and now there are signs that the | O This expression originally referred to mobile networks are getting in on the act. j James Crichton of Clunie (1560-85?), a read someone the riot act: see R E A D. j Scottish nobleman renowned for his i intellectual and physical prowess. In J. M. ! Barrie's play The Admirable Crichton (1902), i action i the eponymous hero is a butler who takes j charge when his master's family is ship- action stations an order or warning to i wrecked on a desert island. prepare for action. adrift 4 adrift something because neither party will compromise or be persuaded. cast (or cut) someone adrift ©leave someone in a boat or other craft which has nothing to secure or guide it. © abandon or agreement isolate someone. a gentleman's agreement: see GENTLEMAN. 01998 Oldie The various dissenting move- ments... should be cut adrift and left to their own devices. ahead ahead of the game ahead of your advance competitors or peers in the same sphere of activity. any advance on —? any higher bid 1996 Daily Telegraph The smart money headed than —? for Chinatown, where you can pick up all j O This phrase is said by an auctioneer to those Eastern looks the designers are I elicit a higher bid, and so is used figuratively i promoting for next spring ahead of the j as a query about general progress in a game. I particular matter. ahead of your (or its) time innovative and radical by the standards of the time. streets ahead: see STREET. advocate play devil's advocate: see DEVIL. aid aid and abet help and encourage someone afraid to do something wrong, especially to afraid of your own shadow: see SHADOW. commit a crime. Africa j O Abet comes from an Old French term j meaning 'to encourage a hound to bite'. for Africa in abundance; in large numbers. South African informal 1986 Frank Peretti This Present Darkness She 1980 C. Hope A Separate Development An entire strained to think of... any friend who would museum of vintage stuff including... still aid and abet a fugitive from the law, Bentleys for Africa. without questions. after in aid of in support of; for the purpose of be after doing something be on the point of raising money for. chiefly British doing something or have just done it. Irish 1999 Teesdale Mercury A wine and savoury 1988 Roddy Doyle The Commitments I'm after evening in aid of cancer research will be rememberin'. I forgot to bring mine back. It's held... on Friday. under me bed. what's all this in aid of? what is the purpose of this? British informal age act your age: see ACT. air the awkward age: see AWKWARD. airs and graces an affected manner of come of age Q (of a person) reach adult behaving, designed to attract or impress. status, ©(of a movement or activity) British become fully established. give yourself airs act pretentiously or snobbishly. feel your age: see FEEL. 1948 Christopher Bush The Case of the Second a golden age: see GOLDEN. Chance It was said she gave herself airs, and it under age: see UNDER. was also hinted that she was no better—as they say—than she might be. agenda a hidden agenda: see HIDDEN. : O Air in the sense of 'an affected manner' j has been current since the mid 17th century; j agony I from the early 18th century the plural i form has been more usual in this derogatory i pile on the agony: see PILE. j sense. prolong the agony: see PROLONG. hot air: see HOT. agree up in the air (of a plan or issue) still to be agree to differ cease to argue about settled; unresolved. 5 all 1995 Scientific American Prospects for federal 1990 Times Thatcherism may be dying on its research and development are up in the air as feet in Britain, but it is alive and well in foreign Republicans looking for budget cuts take parts. control on Capitol Hill. on (or off) the air being {or not being) broadcast on radio or television. all all and sundry everyone. take the air go out of doors. 1991 Sunday Times In the manner of an Oscar- walk on air feel elated. winner, she thanks all and sundry for their 1977 Bernard MacLaverty Secrets 'I'm sure help. you're walking on air,' my mother said to Paul all comers anyone who chooses to take at his wedding. part in an activity, typically a competition. aisle 1992 AI Gore Earth in the Balance He has have people rolling in the aisles ©make an traveled to conferences and symposia in every audience laugh uncontrollably, ©be very part of the world, argued his case, and amusing, informal patiently taken on all comers. O1940 P. G. Wodehouse Quick Service I made all-in ©with everything included. the speech of a lifetime. I had them tearing up ©exhausted. British informal the seats and rolling in the aisles. all my eye and Betty Martin: see EYE. aitch all of as much as (often used ironically of an amount considered very small by the drop your aitches: see DROP. speaker or writer). Aladdin 1995 Bill Bryson Notesfroma Small Island In 1992, a development company... tore down an Aladdin's cave a place full of valuable five listed buildings, in a conservation area, objects. was taken to court and fined all of £675. an Aladdin's lamp a talisman that enables its be all one to make no difference to owner to fulfil every desire. someone. i O , n t r , e Arabian Nights tale of Aladdin, i the hero finds a magic lamp in a cave. He all out using all your strength or resources. i discoversthatrubbingitsummonsapowerful j all over the place in a state of confusion or j genie who is able to carry out all his wishes. disorganization, informal ! O Other variants of this phrase include a// alarm ! over the map and all over the lot which are ! North American, and all over the shop which i alarms and excursions confused activity and j is mainly British. uproar, humorous 1997 Spectator The government... proposed ! O Alarm was formerly spelled alarum, equalising standards and making them I representing a pronunciation with a rolling comparable... there could be no clearer I of the 'r'; the phrase was originally a call admission that standards are all over the j summoning soldiers to arms. The whole place. ; phrase is used in stage directions in j Shakespeare to indicate a battle scene. all the rage: see RAGE. all round ©in all respects, ©for or by each alight person. set the world alight: see SET. all-singing, all-dancing with every possible attribute; able to perform any necessary alive function. British informal alive and kicking prevalent and very active. O This phrase is used particularly in the area informal of computer technology, but it was originally 1991 Mark Tully No Full Stops in India You used to describe show-business acts. deliberately choose unknown actors, Ultimately, it may come from a series of 1929 although India is a country where the star posters which advertised the addition of system is very much alive and kicking. sound to motion pictures. The first Hollywood musical, MGM's Broadway alive and well still existing or active (often Melody, was promoted with the slogan All used to deny rumours or beliefs that Talking All Singing All Dancing. something has disappeared or declined). all-clear 6 1991 Computing Each of the major ! O Alpha and omega are respectively thefirst j independents launched an all-singing i and last letters of the Greek alphabet, all-dancing graphics-oriented version last i Christians use the phrase as a title for Jesus year. j Christ, taking it from Revelation 1:8: 'I am all systems go: see SYSTEM. i Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the j ending, saith the Lord'. be all that be very attractive or good. US informal 0 1 9 9 4 BBC Holidays At Cambridge... you'll 2002 Guardian I can't believe how she throws find the alpha and omega of American herself at guys, she thinks she's all that. academic life: historic Harvard and space-age MIT (Massachusetts Institute of not all there not in full possession of your Technology). mental faculties, informal be all things to all men: see THING. altar — and all used to emphasize something sacrifice someone or something on the additional that is being referred to. altar of make someone or something informal suffer in the interests of someone or 1992 Kenichi Ohmae The Borderless World You something else. can whip up nationalist passions and stage- 1994 Post (Denver) The cherished goal of a manage protectionist rallies, bonfires and all. color-blind society... has been sacrificed on be all go: see G O. the altar of political expediency. be all up with: see U P. for all — in spite of—. altogether 1989 Independent For all their cruel, corrupt in the altogether without any clothes on; and reckless vices, the Maharajahs were naked, informal worshipped as gods by tens of thousands of 1991 Today The mothers... have agreed to their subjects. pose in the altogether. all of a sudden: see SUDDEN. on all fours: see FOUR. American as American as apple pie typically American all-clear in character. give (or get) the all-clear indicate {or get 1995 New York Times Magazine To reward people for something beyond merit is a sign) that a dangerous situation is now American as apple pie. safe. the American dream the ideal by which i O In wartime a signal or siren is often equality of opportunity is available to any j sounded to indicate that a bombing raid is American, allowing the highest aspirations i over. and goals to be achieved. alley amok a blind alley: see BLIND. run amok behave uncontrollably and up your alley: see up your street at STREET. disruptively. j O Amok, formerly also spelt amuck, comes ally I from the Malay word amuk, meaning 'in a pass in your ally: see P A S S. j homicidal frenzy', in which sense it was first j ! introduced into English in the early 16th ! century. i along along about round about a specified time or 1990 New York Review of Books Hersh's article date. North American informal or dialect is sensationalism run amok. It does no credit 1989 Motor Trend Along about this time, it to him or to The New York Times Magazine. had started raining, so they red-flagged the race for a change to rain tires. analysis in the final analysis when everything alpha has been considered (used to suggest alpha and omega Othe beginning and the that the following statement expresses end. ©the essence or most important the basic truth about a complex features. situation). 7 appeal ancient ant ancient as the hills: see HILL. have ants in your pants be fidgety or restless. the ancient of Days a biblical title for God, informal taken from Daniel 7:9. any angel not be having any of it be absolutely the angel in the house a woman who is unwilling to cooperate, informal completely devoted to her husband and family. anyone I O This was the title of a collection of poems ! anyone's game an evenly balanced contest. i on married love by Coventry Patmore be anyone's (of a person) be open to sexual : (1823-96), and it is now mainly used advances from anyone, informal j ironically. j anything on the side of the angels on the side of what anything goes: see GOES. is right. j O In a speech in Oxford in November 1864 apart i the British statesman Benjamin Disraeli be poles apart: see POLE. i alluded to the controversy over the origins of ! ! humankind then raging in the wake of the come apart at the seams: see SEAM. j publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin i j of Species (1859): 'Is man an ape or an angel? j ape j Now I am on the side of the angels' (The Times \ go ape go wild; become violently excited. \ 26 Nov. 1864). informal i O Originally mid 20th-century North angry ! American slang, this expression possibly angry young man a young man who feels i refers to the 1933 movie King Kong, which | stars a giant ape-like monster. and expresses anger at the conventional values of the society around him. ! O Originally, this term referred to a member apology j of a group of socially conscious writers in an apology for a very poor example of. ! Britain in the 1950s, in particular the 1998 Imogen de la Bere The Last Deception of I playwright John Osborne. The phrase, the Palliser Wentwood It's an apology for a bridge, ! title of a book (1951) by Leslie Paul, was used built of left-over stones. j of Osborne in the publicity material for his ! play Look Back in Anger (1956), in which the with apologies to used before the name of I characteristic views of the angry young an author or artist to indicate that I men were articulated by the anti-hero something is a parody or adaptation of j Jimmy Porter. their work. 2001 This Old House With apologies to Robert Frost, boundary expert Walter Robillard says, answer 'Good fences on the proper line make good the answer's a lemon: see LEMON. neighbours'. a dusty answer: see DUSTY. appeal ante appeal from Philip drunk to Philip sober ask up (or raise) the ante increase what is at someone to reconsider, with the stake or under discussion, especially in a suggestion that an earlier opinion or conflict or dispute. decision represented only a passing i O Ante comes from Latin, in which it means j mood. i 'before'. As an English noun it was originally j j O This phrase comes from an anecdote told j ! (in the early 19th century) a term in poker and j j by the Roman historian and moralist Valerius j i similar gambling games, meaning'a stake j Maximus concerning an unjust judgement ; put up by a player before drawing cards'. i given by King Philip of Macedon: the woman | j condemned by Philip declared that she would i 1998 New Scientist This report ups the ante on j appeal to him once again, but this time when ! the pace at which these cases need to be j he was sober. identified and treated. appearance 8 appeal to Caesar appeal to the highest apple pie possible authority. as American as apple pie: see AMERICAN. ! O The allusion is to the claim made by the i apostle Paul to have his case heard in Rome, apropos ! which was his right as a Roman citizen: 'I apropos of nothing having no relevance to ; appeal unto Caesar' (Acts 25:11). any previous discussion or situation. appearance approval keep up appearances maintain an seal (or stamp) of approval an indication or statement that something is accepted or impression of wealth or well-being. regarded favourably. to (or by) all appearances as far as can be seen. I O This expression stems from the practice of j 1991 Eric Lax Woody Allen To all appearances, | putting a stamp (or formerly a seal) on official j theirs was a unique case of sibling amity. I documents. apple apron apple of discord a subject of dissension. tied to someone's apron strings too much I O This expression refers to the Greek myth under the influence and control of j in which a golden apple inscribed'for the someone (especially used to suggest that ! fairest'was contended for by the goddesses j a man is too much influenced by his j Hera, Athene, and Aphrodite. mother). the apple of your eye a person or thing of whom you are extremely fond and proud. area a grey area: see GREY. i O | n Old English, the phrase referred to j the pupil of the eye, considered to be a a no-go area: see NO-GO. I globular solid body; it came to be used as a ; symbol of something cherished and watched j argue i over. argue the toss dispute a decision or choice apples and oranges (of two people or things) already made, informal, chiefly British irreconcilably or fundamentally different. i O The toss in this phrase is the tossing of a North American I coin to decide an issue in a simple and j unambiguous way according to the side of a rotten (or bad) apple a bad person in a ; the coin visible when it lands. group, typically one whose behaviour is likely to have a corrupting influence on the rest, informal ark she's apples used to indicate that everything out of the ark extremely old-fashioned. is in good order and there is nothing to j O The ark referred to is the biblical Noah's worry about. Australian informal j ark (Genesis 6-7), in which Noah j endeavoured to save his family and two of i O Apples and spice or apples and rice is i every kind of animal from the Flood. ! Australian rhyming slang for nice. apple cart arm upset the apple cart wreck an advantageous a call to arms a call to make ready for project or disturb the status quo. confrontation. cost an arm and a leg be extremely i O The use of a cart piled high with apples as i expensive, informal j a metaphor for a satisfactory but possibly i precarious state of affairs is recorded in give an arm and a leg for pay a high price for. ! various expressions from the late 18th keep someone or something at arm's length i century onwards. avoid intimacy or close contact with 1996 Business Age The real test will be someone or something. instability in China... Another Tiananmen the long arm of coincidence the far-reaching Square could really upset the apple cart. power of coincidence. 9 as the long (or strong) arm of the law the resources or strategies that can be drawn police seen as a far-reaching or on or followed. intimidating power. arrow of time (ortime's arrow) the direction as long as your arm very long, informal of travel from past to future in time put the arm on attempt to force or coerce considered as a physical dimension. someone to do something. North American a straight arrow an honest or genuine informal person. North American up in arms about protesting angrily about something. a r s e vulgar slang 1994 Asian Times A lack of checks and go arse over tit fall over in a sudden or balances... or legal redress for workers have dramatic way. trade unions up in arms. kiss my arse: see KISS. with open arms with great affection or kiss someone's arse: see KISS. enthusiasm. lick someone's arse: see LICK. would give your right arm for be willing to not know your arse from your elbow be pay a high price for; greatly desire to have totally ignorant or incompetent. or do. informal a pain in the arse: see PAIN. armchair art an armchair critic a person who knows art for art's sake the idea that a work of art about a subject only by reading or has no purpose beyond itself. hearing about it and criticizes without active experience or first-hand I © This phrase is the slogan of artists who knowledge. j hold that the chief oronlyaimof aworkof art i : is the self-expression of the individual artist I O The phrase armchair critic is first recorded ; : who creates it. i in 1896, but the concept was around at least a i ! decade earlier: in 1886 Joseph Chamberlain be art and part of be an accessory or i sneered at opponents as 'arm-chair participant in; be deeply involved in. ! politicians'. Another common variant is ! armchair traveller, meaning 'someone who ! O Be art and part of was originally a Scottish I j travels in their imagination only'. I legal expression: art referred to the bringing j i about of an action and part to participation j ! in it. j armed armed at all points prepared in every have something down to a fine art: see F I N E particular. ART. armed to the teeth Q carrying a lot of state of the art: see STATE. weapons, ©heavily equipped. article armpit an article of faith afirmlyheld belief. up to your armpits deeply involved in a I O Article is here used in the sense of 'a particular unpleasant situation or I statement or item in a summary of religious enterprise, chiefly US j belief. ! army 1994 Paul Ormerod The Death of Economics It is an article of faith in orthodox economics that you and whose army? used to express free trade between nations is wholly desirable. disbelief in someone's ability to carry out a the finished article: see F I N I S H E D. threat, informal the genuine article: see GENUINE. around as have been around have a lot of varied as and when used to refer to an uncertain experience of the world, especially a lot of future event. sexual experience, informal 1996 She The single most important strategy you can adopt to boost your energy levels is to arrow learn to deal with an issue as and when it rears an arrow in the quiver one of a number of its head. ascendant 10 as if! used to express the speaker's belief that behave in a way that is likely to result in something is very doubtful or unlikely. difficulty for yourself, informal informal for the asking used to indicate that someone as it were in a way (used to be less precise). can easily have something if they want it. 1991 Atlantic jazz audiences permit older 1991 Mark Tully No Full Stops in India Second musicians to go on suiting up, as it were, until helpings come automatically, and third they drop. helpings are there for the asking. ascendant asleep in the ascendant rising in power or asleep at the wheel not attentive or alert; influence. inactive, informal i O This expression has been in figurative use I I © The image here is of falling asleep while j j since the late 16th century. Literally, in | driving a car. A North American variant is ! technical astrological use, an ascendant is the j I asleep at the switch, which refers to the ! sign of the zodiac that is just rising above the j I points lever or switch on a railway. : eastern horizon at a particular moment. 2003 Guardian Rowling has not been asleep at the wheel in the three years since the last ash Potter novel, and I am pleased to report that she has not confused sheer length with dust and ashes: see DUST. inspiration. rake over the ashes: see RAKE. rise from the ashes: see RISE. a S S North American vulgar slang turn to ashes in your mouth become bitterly bust your ass try very hard to do something. disappointing or worthless. chew someone's ass reprimand someone ! O This phrase alludes to the Dead Sea fruit, I severely. ! a legendary fruit which looked appetizing cover your ass take steps to protect yourself. j but turned to smoke and ashes when j someone tried to eat it. The fruit are drag (or haul) ass hurry or move fast. ! described in the Travels attributed to the get your ass in gear hurry. ; 14th-century writer John de Mandeville. kick (some) ass (or kick someone's ass): see KICK. 1995 Guardian Those who marvelled at the phenomenal climbing feats of Pedro Delgado kiss ass:see KISS. in the 1988 Tour found words such as 'heroic' kiss someone's ass: see KISS. and 'Herculean' turn to ashes in their mouths during the probenecid (a masking agent) no skin off your ass: see S K I N. scandal. not give a rat's ass not care at all about something. ask a pain in the ass: see PAIN. ask for the moon: see MOON. a piece of ass: see PIECE. ask me another! used to say emphatically put someone's ass in a sling get someone in that you do not know the answer to a question, informal trouble. ask no odds: see ODDS. whip (or bust) someone's ass use physical force to beat someone in a fight. a big ask a difficult demand to fulfil. informal at don't ask me! used to indicate that you do at it engaged in some activity, typically a not know the answer to a question and that reprehensible one. you are surprised or irritated to be 1993 G. F. Newman Law b Order Oh, don't take questioned, informal me for a complete idiot, Jack. I know you're at it. I ask you! an exclamation of shock or disapproval intended to elicit agreement at that in addition; furthermore (used for from your listener, informal emphasis at the end of a statement). 1994 Sunday Times The sensitivity to social change may play its part, but in reality asking fashion is a business, and a hard-nosed one be asking for trouble (or be asking for it) at that. 11 aye where it's at the most fashionable place, get away with you! used to express possession, or activity, informal scepticism. Scottish 1990 Ellen Feldman Lookingfor Love New York is where it's at, stylewise. far and away: see FAR. out and away: see OUT. atmosphere an atmosphere that you could cut with a awkward knife a general feeling of great tension or the awkward age adolescence. malevolence. the awkward squad a squad composed of recruits and soldiers who need further attendance training. dance attendance on: see DANCE. i O Shortly before his death Robert Burns is auld I reported to have said, 'Don't let the awkward ! squad fire over me'. Nowadays, the expression for auld lang syne for old times' sake. j is often used to refer to a group of people ! who are regarded as tiresome or difficult to i © The phrase literally means'for old long i deal with. ; since', and is the title and refrain of a song by j ! Robert Burns (1788). auspice axe have an axe to grind have a private, under the auspices of with the help, sometimes malign, motive for doing or support, or protection of. being involved in something. ; O Auspice (since the late 18th century j O T n e expression originated in a story told ! ! almost always used in the plural), comes from j by Benjamin Franklin and was used first in the j ! the Latin word auspicium, which means the j USA, especially with reference to politics, but j ! act of divination carried out by an auspex in j it is now in general use. j ancient Rome. The auspex observed the flight j of birds in order to foretell future events. If 1997 Times I am a non-smoker, and have no | the omens were favourable he was seen as personal axe to grind. ! the protector of the particular enterprise ! foretold. aye the ayes have it the affirmative votes are in authority the majority. have something on good authority have ascertained something from a reliable j O /Aye is an archaic or dialect word meaning j ! 'yes', now used in standard speech only when j source. j voting. Compare with the noes have it j (at NO). away away with something used as an exhortation 2000 Guardian The arguments will continue. to overcome or be rid of something. But we think the 'ayes' have it.  Bb B date and who is no longer relevant or plan B an alternative strategy. useful. 1999 8 Days And if that doesn't work, well, back o'Bourke the outback. Australian informal there's always Plan B. j O Bourke is the name of a town in north- i west New South Wales. babe babes in the wood inexperienced people in a the back of beyond a very remote or situation calling for experience. inaccessible place. 1998 Sanjida O'Connell Angel Bird This is i O The babes in the wood are characters London, Niall, not some poky wee place in the ! in an old ballad The Children in the \ Wood, which dates from the 16th century, back of beyond. j The two children are abandoned in the wood back to the drawing board used to indicate i by their wicked uncle who wishes to steal that an idea or scheme has been j their inheritance. The children die of unsuccessful and a new one must be i starvation and robins cover their bodies devised. | with leaves; the uncle and his accomplice i are subsequently brought to justice. ; O An architectural or engineering project is j : at its earliest phase when it exists only as a j plan on a drawing board. baby be someone's baby (of a project) be 1991 Discover Even as Humphries fine-tunes instigated and developed by one particular his system, however, he realizes that NASA person; be someone's creation or special could send him back to the drawing board. concern, informal back to square one back to the starting be left holding the baby: see HOLDING. point, with no progress made. throw the baby out with the bathwater discard something valuable along with j O Square one may be a reference to a board j other things that are inessential or i game such as Snakes and Ladders, or may : come from the notional division of a football j undesirable. : pitch into eight numbered sections for the ! O This phrase is based on a German saying j purpose of early radio commentaries. | recorded from the early 16th century but not ! j introduced into English until the mid 19th back the wrong horse make a wrong or ! century, by Thomas Carlyle. He identified it as I inappropriate choice. j German and gave it in the form, 'You must be on (or get off) someone's back nag (or j empty out the bathing-tub, but not the baby i j along with it.' stop nagging) someone, informal by the back door using indirect or dishonest 1998 New Scientist It is easy to throw out the baby with the bathwater when it comes to means to achieve an objective. UFO books—there are some seriously bad get someone's back up make someone titles out there. annoyed or angry. I O This phrase developed as an allusion to back i the way a cat arches its back when it is angry i at the back of your mind not consciously ! or threatened. or specifically thought of or remembered but still part of your general awareness. get your own back: see GET. back in the day in the past; some time know something like the back of your ago. hand be entirely familiar with something. a back number Qan issue of a periodical not in my back yard: see NOT. before the current one. © a person on your back in bed recovering from an whose ideas or methods are out of injury or illness. 13 balance put your back Into approach a task with 0 1 9 9 7 Spectator Mr Montgomery was able to sack Mr Hargreaves, who had evidently not vigour. brought home the bacon. see the back of be rid of an unwanted person or thing. British informal bad someone's back is turned someone's bad blood: see BLOOD. attention is elsewhere. 1989 Orson Scott Card Prentice Alvin That a bad quarter of an hour a short but very prentice of yours look strong enough to dig it unpleasant period of time; an unnerving hisself, if he doesn't lazy off and sleep when experience. your back is turned. ! O A bad quarter of an hour is a translation ! take a back seat take or be given a less ! of the French phrase un mauvais quart \ important position or role. Compare with i d'heure, which has also been current in in the driver's seat (at DRIVER). ! English since the mid 19th century. with your back to {or up against) the wall in a desperate situation. a bad workman blames his tools: see WORKMAN. backbone be bad news: see N E W S. put backbone into someone encourage my bad used to acknowledge responsibility someone to behave resolutely. for a mistake. North American informal turn up like a bad penny: see PENNY. j O A s a metaphor for 'firmness of character', ! | backbone dates from the mid 19th century. bag 1998 Spectator There is a widespread belief that if only Mrs Thatcher had still been in No. bag and baggage with all your belongings. 10, she would have put backbone into Bush a bag of bones an emaciated person or and got rid of Saddam. animal. Compare with be skin and bone (at S K I N ). back-seat a bag {or bundle) of nerves a person who is a back-seat driver Q a passenger in a vehicle who constantly gives the driver unwanted extremely t i m i d or tense, informal advice on how to drive. 0 someone who a bag {or whole bag) of tricks a set of lectures and criticizes the person actually ingenious plans, techniques, or resources. in control of something. informal be left holding the bag: see be left holding backwards the baby at HOLDING. bend over backwards to do something make every effort, especially to be fair or in the bag Q (of something desirable) as good helpful, informal as secured, © d r u n k. US informal know something backwards be entirely pack your bag: see PACK. familiar with something. bait 1991 William Trevor Reading Turgenev People who lived in the town knew it back- fish or cut bait: see F I S H. wards. rise to the bait: see RISE. bacon baker save someone's bacon: see save someone's a baker's dozen thirteen. skin at SAVE. I O This expression arose from the former bring home the bacon Q supply material j bakers' practice of adding an extra loaf to a provision or support, ©achieve success. i dozen sold to a retailer, this representing the j I latter's profit. informal i O This phrase probably derives from the i much earlier save your bacon, recorded from i balance j the mid 17th century. In early use bacon also j turn the balance: see turn the scales at j referred to fresh pork, the meat most readily \ SCALE. ; available to rural people. weigh something in the balance carefully bald 14 ponder or assess the merits and demerits of 1998 Romesh Gunesekera Sandglass It's big something. business now, you know. You have to be on the ball: go, go, go all the time. ! O The image is of a pair of old-fashioned play ball work willingly with others; ! scales with two pans in which the positive and j cooperate, informal ! negative aspects of something can be set i against each other. The expanded phrase ! O The literal sense is of play ball is 'play a i weighed in the balance and found wanting ! team ball game such as baseball or cricket'. j meaning'having failed to meet the test of a j ! particular situation'is also found, and is an start the ball rolling set an activity in motion; ! allusion to the biblical book of Daniel, where j make a start. i such a process formed part of the judgement j ! made on King Belshazzar. the whole ball of wax everything. North American informal a whole new ball game a completely new set bald of circumstances, informal as bald as a coot completely bald. i O The phrase originated in North America, j j O The coot {Fulica atra) has a broad white i where a ball game is a baseball match. ! shield extending up from the base of its bill, j The history of the word bald is somewhat 1989 Looks Making the film was a whole new I obscure, but analogies with other northern ball game... for Kylie. i European languages suggest a connection | with the idea of 'having a white patch or ballistic i streak'. go ballistic fly into a rage, informal 1998 New Scientist The French nuclear ball industry, local authorities around La Hague a ball and chain a severe hindrance. and some government agencies went ballistic. Viel wasfiercelycondemned for his findings. I O Originally, a ball and chain referred to a j heavy metal ball attached by a chain to the balloon j leg of a prisoner or convict to prevent their go down like a lead balloon: see LEAD. j escape. when (or before) the balloon goes up when the ball is in someone's court it is that (or before) the action or trouble starts. particular person's turn to act next. informal j O This expression is a metaphor from tennis i ! O The balloon alluded to is probably one j or a similar ball game where different players j j released to mark the start of an event. j use particular areas of a marked court. 1959 Punch The international rules of war are a ball of fire a person who is full of energy apt to be waived when the balloon goes up. and enthusiasm. ballpark j O In the early 19th century this phrase was j in the ballpark in a particular area or range. j also used to mean 'a glass of brandy'. informal behind the eight ball: see E I G H T. i O The phrase originated in the USA, where a j have a ball enjoy yourself greatly; have fun. ! ballpark is a baseball ground. informal have the ball at your feet have your best bamboo opportunity of succeeding. the bamboo curtain an impenetrable have a lot on the ball have a lot of ability. political, economic, and cultural barrier US between China and non-Communist countries. keep the ball rolling maintain the momentum of an activity. j O Formed on the pattern of the iron curtain j j (see at IRON), this phrase dates back to the keep your eye on (or take your eye off) the j 1940s. ball keep (or fail to keep) your attention focused on the matter in hand. on the ball alert to new ideas, methods, and banana trends, informal banana republic a small tropical state, 15 bark especially one in central America, get a bang out of derive excitement or whose economy is regarded as wholly pleasure from. North American informal dependent on its fruit-exporting trade. 1931 Damon Runyon Guys and Dolls He seems derogatory to be getting a great bang out of the doings. go bananas ©become extremely angry or go with a bang happen with obvious success. excited, ©go mad. informal 0 1 9 9 2 Jim Lehrer A Bus of My Own I bank predicted John Erlichman would probably break the bank Q(in gambling) win more go bananas when he testified the next money than is held by the bank. Q cost day. more than you can afford, informal second banana the second most important person in an organization banner or activity, informal, chiefly North American under the banner of Q claiming to support a top banana the most important person in an particular cause or set of ideas. © as part of organization or activity, informal, chiefly North a particular group or organization. American baptism I O The two expressions above originated in i a baptism of fire a difficult introduction to a i US theatrical slang. The top banana was new job or activity. j originally the comedian who topped the bill ! I in a show, while the second banana was the j j O A baptism of fire was originally a soldier's ! i supporting comedian. j initiation into battle. 1998 Times Opposition spokesmen do not banana skin normally face a baptism offire,but the Bank of slip on a banana skin: see SLIP. England's unexpected decision... provided the Shadow Chancellor with an opportunity to make an early mark. band when the band begins to play when matters become serious. bar bar none with no exceptions. bandwagon 1866 M.E. Braddon Lady's Mile Your 'Aspasia' is the greatest picture that ever was painted— jump on the bandwagon join others in 'bar none'. doing something or supporting a cause that is fashionable or likely to be bare successful. the bare bones the basic facts about j © Bandwagon was originally the US term something, without any detail. I for a large wagon able to carry a band of I musicians in a procession. bargepole would not touch someone or something with a bargepole used to express an bang emphatic refusal to have anything to do bang for your (or the) buck value for money; with someone or something, informal performance for cost. US informal 1995 Desktop Publishing Journal These additions j O A bargepole is used to propel a barge and i to RunShare... will surely give you the most I to fend off obstacles. The equivalent US productive network, the most 'bang for your i expression substitutes a ten-foot pole. buck'. bang goes — used to express the sudden or bark complete destruction of something, bark at the moon: see MOON. especially a plan or ambition. 1895 George Bernard Shaw Letter Somebody bark up the wrong tree pursue a mistaken or will give a surreptitious performance of it: and misguided line of thought or course of then bang goes my copyright. action, informal bang on exactly right. British informal j O The metaphor is of a dog that has bang people's heads together reprimand ! mistaken the tree in which its quarry has j taken refuge and is barking at the foot of the j people severely, especially in the attempt i wrong one. to make them stop arguing. barn 16 1969 Arnold Bennett Forty Years On For off base mistaken. North American informal sovereign states to conclude agreements on 1947 Time Your Latin American the basis of a mutual fondness for dogs seems department was off base in its comparison to me to be barking up the wrong tree. of the Portillo Hotel in Chile with our someone's bark is worse than their bite famous Sun Valley. someone is not as ferocious as they appear touch base briefly make or renew contact or sound. with someone or something, informal 1984 Armistead Maupin Babycakes In ! O A similar association between barking search of a routine, he touched base with I and biting occurs in the proverb a barking \ dog never bites, which can be traced back his launderette, his post office, his nearest j through 13th-century French (chascuns market. i chiens qui abaie ne mort pas, dogs that bark i j O Base in these three phrases refers to each i i don't bite) to Latin (canem timidum j of the four points in the angles of the i vehementius latrarequam mordere, a timid j 'diamond' in baseball, which a player has to | dog barks more furiously than it bites). j reach in order to score a run. barn basic round Robin Hood's barn: see R O B I N HOOD. back to basics abandoning complication and sophistication to concentrate barred on the most essential aspects of no holds barred: see HOLD. something. barrel j O Back to basics is often used to suggest the i a barrel of laughs a source of fun or I moral superiority of the plain and simple, as i amusement, informal j in a speech made in 1993 by the British | Conservative leader John Major, who 1996 Mail on Sunday Seeing so many old people ! spearheaded the government's campaign for j gathered all in one place was hardly a barrel of i the regeneration of basic family and laughs. i educational values in the 1990s. get someone over a barrel get someone in a helpless position; have someone at your mercy, informal bat blind as a bat: see BLIND. i O This phrase perhaps refers to the have bats in the (or your) belfry be eccentric ! condition of a person who has been rescued i or crazy, informal i from drowning and is placed over a barrel to i i clear their lungs of water. j O This expression refers to the way in which I j bats in an enclosed space fly about wildly if scrape the barrel: see SCRAPE. j they are disturbed. with both barrels with unrestrained force or emotion, informal c-1901 G. W. Peck Peck's Red-Headed Boy They all thought a crazy man with bats in his belfry I O The barrels in question are the two barrels j had got loose. j of a firearm. like a bat out of hell very fast and wildly. informal 1995 Patrick McCabe The Dead School Like a bat barrelhead out of hell that Joe Buck gets on out of the on the barrelhead: see on the nail at NAIL. apartment and doesn't stop running till he reaches Times Square. barricade not bat an eyelid (or eye) show no emotional man (or go to) the barricades strongly or other reaction, informal protest against a government or other institution or its policy. ! O Satin this sense is perhaps a dialect and I USvariantoftheverbbatemeaning'loweror j base j let down'. The variant not blink an eye is also ! j found. get to first base achieve the first step towards your objective, informal, chiefly North American 1997 James Ryan Dismantling Mr Doyle She 1962 P. G. Wodehouse Service with a Smile She did not bat an eyelid when Eve spelled out the gives you the feeling that you'll never get to unorthodox details of the accommodation first base with her. they required. 17 be off your own bat at your own instigation; 1998 Oldie They endured the hard pounding of spontaneously. British the Seventies, when Labour battened down the hatches, and soldiered through the follies | O The bat referred to in this phrase is a of the early Eighties. ; cricket bat. battery 1995 Colin Bateman Cycle of Violence She doesn't have me doing anything, Marty. It's recharge your batteries: see RECHARGE. alloffmyownbat. battle right off the bat at the very beginning; battle of the giants a contest between two straight away. North American pre-eminent parties. bated | O This expression may be a reference to the j ! battle between the giants and gods in Greek j with bated breath in great suspense; very ; mythology. anxiously or excitedly. i O Baited, which is sometimes seen, is battle royal a fiercely contested fight or i a misspelling, since bated in this sense is dispute. i a shortened form of abated, the idea being 1997 Fred Chappell Farewell, I'm Bound to : that your breathing is lessened under the Leave You The boys told no one about the ! influence of extreme suspense. fight... it was a battle royal and went on from two o'clock in the afternoon until sundown. bath battle stations used as a command or an early bath the sending off of a sports signal to military personnel to take up player during a game. British informal their positions in preparation for battle. chiefly US i © The allusion is to the bath or shower | taken by players at the end of a match. half the battle an important step towards achieving something. take a bath suffer a heavy financial loss. a losing battle: see LOSING. informal 1997 Bookseller When the yen drops in value, a pitched battle: see PITCHED. as it is doingrightnow, we take a bath. There is a running battle: see RUNNING. no way to change the prices fast enough. bay baton bay for blood demand punishment or pass (or hand) on the baton hand over a retribution. particular duty or responsibility. bring someone or something to bay trap or i O In athletics, the baton is the short stick or i corner a person or animal being hunted or ! rod passed from one runner to the next in a i chased. I relay race. The related phrases pick up or take \ | O This phrase was originally a medieval \ up the baton mean 'accept a duty or j hunting term, referring to the position of the j j responsibility'. Compare with hand on the j quarry when it is cornered by the baying I torch (at TORCH). i hounds.Ananimalcorneredinthiswayissaid ! i to stand at bay. under the baton of (of an orchestra or choir) conducted by. hold (or keep) someone or something at bay prevent someone or something from ! O The baton here is the rod used by the ; conductor. approaching or having an effect. be batten -to-be of the future. batten down the hatches prepare for a 1993 Mother 8 Baby Many mums-to-be difficulty or crisis. report that smallfrequentsnacks are easier to keep down than three large meals i O Batten down the hatches was originally a day. j a nautical term meaning 'make a ship's be there for someone be available to support i hatches secure with gratings and tarpaulins' j or comfort someone who is experiencing i in expectation of stormy weather. difficulties or adversities. bead 18 the be-all and end-all a feature of an activity know how many beans make five be or a way of life that is of greater importance intelligent; have your wits about you. British than any other, informal informal not have a bean be penniless, informal bead j O Bean was an early 19th-century slang draw (or get) a bead on take aim at with a i term for a golden guinea or sovereign. In the i gun. chiefly North American i sense of 'a coin', it now survives only in this 1994 Ontario Out of Doors Few moose will pose j phrase. majestically right at the water's edge while you draw a bead on them. spill the beans: see SPILL. beam bear a beam in your eye a fault that is greater in bear the brunt of: see BRUNT. yourself than in the person you are finding grin and bear it: see GRIN. fault with. have your cross to bear: see CROSS. ! O This phrase comes from Matthew 7:3: like a bear with a sore head (of a person) very i 'Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy ! irritable. British informal i brother's eye, but considerest not the beam i that is in thy own eye?' For a mote in loaded for bear fully prepared for any i someone's eye, see MOTE. eventuality, typically a confrontation or challenge. North American informal broad in the beam: see BROAD. i O The image here may be of a hunting gun i off (or way off) beam on the wrong track; i loaded and ready to shoot a bear. mistaken, informal ! O Originally, this phrase referred to the beard i radio beam or signal used to guide aircraft. beard the lion in his den (or lair) confront 1997 Anthony Barnett This Time I sample or challenge someone on their own the press coverage to illustrate how large ground. sections of the Fourth Estate were way off beam in their conviction that voters want ; O T h i s phrase developed partly from the the country steered back towards 'Great ! idea of being daring enough to take a lion Englishness'. j by the beard and partly from the use of beard \ j as a verb to mean'face', i.e. to face a lion in on your beam ends near the end of your j his den. resources; desperate. i O The beam referred to here is one of beat ! the main horizontal transverse timbers beat a hasty retreat withdraw, typically i of a wooden ship; compare with broad in the j ! beam (at BROAD). The phrase originated as in order to avoid something unpleasant. : the nautical term on her beam ends, and was j j O In former times, a drumbeat could be ! used of a ship that had heeled over on its side j j used to keep soldiers in step while they were j j and was almost capsizing. I retreating. beat about the bush discuss a matter bean without coming to the point; be ineffectual full of beans lively; in high spirits, informal and waste time. i O This phrase was originally used by people j ! O This phrase is a metaphor which ! who work with horses, and referred to the I originated in the shooting or netting of birds; j i good condition of a horse fed on beans. j compare with beat the bushes below. give someone beans scold or deal severely 1992 Barry Unsworth Sacred Hunger I don't with a person, informal want to beat about the bush. Mr Adams is threatening to leave us. a hill (or row) of beans something of little importance or value, informal beat someone at their own game use 1999 SL (Cape Town) I think that what your someone's own methods to outdo them in friends and family think shouldn't amount to their chosen activity. a hill of beans. beat your breast: see BREAST. 19 bed beat the bushes search thoroughly. North beautiful American informal the beautiful people Qfashionable, ! O This expression originates from the way in \ glamorous, and privileged people, ©(in : which hunters walkthrough undergrowth the 1960s) hippies. I wielding long sticks which are used to force 01995 Singapore: Rough Guide The coolest I birdsoranimalsoutintotheopenwherethey j address in town, and a magnet for the ; can be shot or netted. beautiful people. beat the clock perform a task quickly or the body beautiful an ideal of physical beauty. within a fixed time limit. 1992 Mother Jones About 75,000 women a year beat the daylights out of: see DAYLIGHT. elect to have cosmetic surgery, spurred on by beat the drum for: see DRUM. ubiquitous images of the body beautiful. beat your (or the) meat (of a man) masturbate, vulgar slang beaver beat the pants off prove to be vastly superior work like a beaver work steadily and to. informal industriously, informal 1990 Paul Auster The Music of Chance 'Not bad,i O The beaver is referred to here because kid,' Nashe said. 'You beat the pants off me.' j of the industriousness with which it beat a path to someone's door (of a large j constructs the dams necessary for its aquatic j j dwellings. The image is similarly conjured j number of people) hasten to make contact j up by the phrase beaver away meaning with someone regarded as interesting or j 'work hard'. inspiring. i © This phrase developed from the idea of a j beck ; large number of people trampling down I vegetation to make a path: compare with off j at someone's beck and call always having to ; the beaten track (at BEATEN). be ready to obey someone's orders immediately. beat the system succeed in finding a means j O Beck in the sense of 'a significant gesture i of getting round rules, regulations, or other j of command' comes from the verb beck, a means of control. j shortened form of beckon. It is now found beat someone to it succeed in doing j mainly in this phrase. something or getting somewhere before someone else, to their annoyance. bed if you can't beat them, join them if you are bed and breakfast O overnight unable to outdorivalsin some endeavour, accommodation and breakfast next you might as well cooperate with them and morning as offered by hotels etc. gain whatever advantage possible by doing © designatingfinancialtransactions in so. humorous. which shares are sold and then bought miss a beat: see MISS. back the next morning. to beat the band in such a way as to surpass a bed of nails a problematic or uncomfort- all competition. North American informal able situation. 1995 Patrick McCabe The Dead School He was polishing away to beat the band. j O A bed of nails was originally a board with ! i nails pointing out of it, lain on by Eastern j fakirs and ascetics. beaten beaten (or pipped) at the post defeated at a bed of roses a situation or activity that is the last moment. comfortable or easy. get out of bed on the wrong side be bad- i O The post alluded to here is the marke