Словарь американских идиом (8000 единиц)

[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).

[beyond one's means] <adj. phr.> Too expensive, not affordable. * /Unfortunately, a new Mercedes Benz is beyond my means right now./

[beyond one's nose] See: SEE BEYOND ONE'S NOSE.

[beyond question(1)] <adj. phr.> Not in doubt certain; sure. - Used in the predicate. * /People always believe anything that Mark says; his honesty is beyond question./ Contrast: IN QUESTION.

[beyond question(2)] or [without question] <adv. phr.> Without doubt or argument; surely; unquestionably. * /Beyond question, it was the coldest day of the winter./ * /John's drawing is without question the best in the class./

[beyond reasonable doubt] <adv. phr.>, <formal and legal> Virtually certain; essentially convincing. * /The judge instructed the jurors to come up with a verdict of guilty only if they were convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that Algernon was the perpetrator./

[beyond the pale] <adv.> or <adj. phr.> In disgrace; with no chance of being accepted or respected by others; not approved by the members of a group. * /After the outlaw killed a man he was beyond the pale and not even his old friends would talk to him./ * /Tom's swearing is beyond the pale; no one invites him to dinner any more./

[beyond the shadow of a doubt] <adv. phr.>, <formal and legal> Absolutely certain, totally convincing. * /Fred burglarized Mrs. Brown's apartment, beyond the shadow of a doubt./

[bib] See: BEST BIB AND TUCKER.

[bide one's time] <v. phr.> To await an opportunity; wait patiently until your chance comes. * /Refused work as an actor, Tom turned to other work and bided his time./ * /Jack was hurt deeply, and he bided his time for revenge./

[bid fair] <v.>, <literary> To seem likely; promise. * /He bids fair to be a popular author./ * /The day bids fair to be warm./

[big] See: IN A BIG WAY, LITTLE FROG IN A BIG POND, LITTLE PITCHERS HAVE BIG EARS, TALK BIG, TOO BIG FOR ONE'S BREECHES, WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA.

[big as life] or [large as life] <adj. phr.> 1. or [life-size] The same size as the living person or thing. * /The statue of Jefferson was big as life./ * /The characters on the screen were life-size./ 2. or [big as life and twice as natural] <informal> In person; real and living. * /I had not seen him for years, but there he was, big as life and twice as natural./

[big cheese] or [big gun] or [big shot] or [big wheel] or [big wig] <n.>, <slang> An important person; a leader; a high official; a person of high rank. * /Bill had been a big shot in high school./ * /John wanted to be the big cheese in his club./ Compare: WHOLE CHEESE.

[big daddy] <n.>, <slang>, <informal> The most important, largest thing, person or animal in a congregation of similar persons, animals, or objects. * /The whale is the big daddy of everything that swims in the ocean./ * /The H-bomb is the big daddy of all modern weapons./ * /Al Capone was the big daddy of organized crime in Chicago during Prohibition./

[big deal] <interj.>, <slang>, <informal> (loud stress on the word "deal") Trifles; an unimportant, unimpressive thing or matter. * /So you became college president - big deal!/

[big frog in a small pond] <n. phr.>, <informal> An important person in a small place or position; someone who is respected and honored in a small company, school, or city; a leader in a small group. * /As company president, he had been a big frog in a small pond, but he was not so important as a new congressman in Washington./ Contrast: LITTLE FROG IN A BIG POND.

[bigger than one's stomach] See: EYES BIGGER THAN ONE'S STOMACH.

[big hand] <n.> Loud and enthusiastic applause. * /When Pavarotti finished singing the aria from Rigoletto, he got a very big hand./

[big head] <n.>, <informal> Too high an opinion of your own ability or importance; conceit. * /When Jack was elected captain of the team, it gave him a big head./ Compare: SWELLED HEAD.

[big house] <n.> A large jail or prison. * /The rapist will spend many years in the big house./

[big lie, the] <n.>, <informal> A major, deliberate misrepresentation of some important issue made on the assumption that a bold, gross lie is psychologically more believable than a timid, minor one. * /We all heard the big lie during the Watergate months./ * /The pretense of democracy by a totalitarian regime is part of the big lie about its government./

[big mouth] or [big-mouthed] See: LOUD MOUTH, LOUD-MOUTHED.

[big shot] or [big wig] <n.> An important or influential person. * /Elmer is a big shot in the State Assembly./

[big stink] <n.>, <slang> A major scandal; a big upheaval. * /I'll raise a big stink if they fire me./

[big time] <n.>, <informal> 1. A very enjoyable time at a party or other pleasurable gathering. * /I certainly had a big time at the club last night./ 2. The top group; the leading class; the best or most important company. * /After his graduation from college, he soon made the big time in baseball./ * /Many young actors go to Hollywood, but few of them reach the big time./

[big-time] <adj.> Belonging to the top group; of the leading class; important. * /Jean won a talent contest in her home town, and only a year later she began dancing on big-time television./ * /Bob practices boxing in the gym every day; he wants to become a big time boxer./ Often used in the phrase "big-time operator". * /Just because Bill has a new football uniform he thinks he is a big-time operator./ Compare: SHOW OFF. Contrast: SMALL-TIME.

[big top] <n.> The main tent under which a circus gives its show; the circus and circus life. * /Lillian Leitzel was one of the great stars of the big top./ * /The book tells of life under the big top./

[big wheel] <n.>, <informal> An influential or important person who has the power to do things and has connections in high places. * /Uncle Ferdinand is a big wheel in Washington; maybe he can help you with your problem./

[big yawn] <n.> A very boring person, story or event. * /I love my grandma very much, but the stories she tells sure are a yawn./

[bill] See: CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH, FILL THE BILL.

[bind] See: DUTY BOUND, IN A BIND, MUSCLE BOUND, ROOT-BOUND.

[bingo card] <n.>, <slang> A response card, bound into a periodical, containing numbers keyed to editorial or advertising matter, giving the reader the opportunity to send for further information by marking the numbers of the items he is interested in; such a card can be mailed free of charge. * /Jack thinks he is saving time by filling out bingo cards instead of writing a letter./

[bird] See: EARLY BIRD CATCHES THE WORM or EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM, EAT LIKE A BIRD, FINE FEATHERS DO NOT MAKE FINE BIRDS, FOR THE BIRDS, KILL TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE.

[bird has flown] <slang> The prisoner has escaped; the captive has got away. * /When the sheriff returned to the jail, he discovered that the bird had flown./

[bird in the hand is worth two in the bush (a)] Something we have, or can easily get, is more valuable than something we want that we may not be able to get; we shouldn't risk losing something sure by trying to get something that is not sure. - A proverb. * /Johnny has a job as a paperboy, but he wants a job in a gas station. His father says that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush./

[bird of a different feather] <n. phr.> A person who is free thinking and independent. * /Syd won't go along with recent trends in grammar; he created his own. He is a bird of a different feather./

[birds of a feather flock together] People who are alike often become friends or are together; if you are often with certain people, you may be their friends or like them. - A proverb. * /Don't be friends with bad boys. People think that birds of a feather flock together./

[birds and the bees (the)] <n. phr.>, <informal> The facts we should know about our birth. * /At various ages, in response to questions, a child can be told about the birds and the bees./

[bird watcher] <n.> A person whose hobby is to study birds close-up in their outdoor home. * /A bird watcher looks for the first robin to appear in the spring./

[birthday suit] <n.> The skin with no clothes on; complete nakedness. * /The little boys were swimming in their birthday suits./

[bit] See: A BIT, CHAMP AT THE BIT, FOUR BITS, QUITE A LITTLE or QUITE A BIT, SIX BITS, TAKE THE BIT IN ONE'S MOUTH, TWO BITS.

[bitch] See: SON OF A BITCH.

[bite] See: BARK WORSE THAN ONE'S BITE, PUT THE BITE ON, ONCE BITTEN, TWICE SHY at BURNT CHILD DREADS THE FIRE.

[bite off more than one can chew] <v. phr.>, <informal> To try to do more than you can; be too confident of your ability. * /He bit off more than he could chew when he agreed to edit the paper alone./ * /He started to repair his car himself, but realized that he had bitten off more than he could chew./

[bite one's head off] <v. phr.> To answer someone in great anger; answer furiously. * /I'm sorry to tell you that I lost my job, but that's no reason to bite my head off!/

[bite one's lips] <v. phr.> To force oneself to remain silent and not to reveal one's feelings. * /I had to bite my lips when I heard my boss give the wrong orders./

[bite the dust] <v. phr.>, <informal> 1. To be killed in battle. * /Captain Jones discharged his gun and another guerrilla bit the dust./ 2. To fall in defeat; go down before enemies; be overthrown; lose. * /Our team bit the dust today./

[bite the hand that feeds one] <v. phr.> To turn against or hurt a helper or supporter; repay kindness with wrong. * /He bit the hand that fed him when he complained against his employer./

[bitter] See: TO THE BITTER END.

[bitter pill] <n.> Something hard to accept; disappointment. * /Jack was not invited to the party and it was a bitter pill for him./

[black] See: BLACK AND WHITE, IN THE BLACK, LOOK BLACK, POT CALLS THE KETTLE BLACK.

[black and blue] <adj.> Badly bruised. * /Poor Jim was black and blue after he fell off the apple tree./

[black and white] <n. phr.> 1. Print or writing; words on paper, not spoken; exact written or printed form. * /He insisted on having the agreement down in black and white./ * /Mrs. Jones would not believe the news, so Mr. Jones showed her the article in the newspaper and said, "There it is in black and white."/ 2. The different shades of black and white of a simple picture, rather than other colors. * /He showed us snapshots in black and white./

[black-and-white] <adj.> Divided into only two sides that are either right or wrong or good or bad, with nothing in between; thinking or judging everything as either good or bad. * /Everything is black-and-white to Bill; if you're not his friend, you are his enemy./ * /The old man's religion shows his black-and-white thinking; everything is either completely good or completely bad./

[black day] <n.> A day of great unhappiness; a disaster. * /It was a black day when our business venture collapsed./

[black eye] <n.> 1. A dark area around one's eye due to a hard blow during a fight, such as boxing. * /Mike Tyson sported a black eye after the big fight./ 2. Discredit. * /Bob's illegal actions will give a black eye to the popular movement he started./

[blackout] <n.> 1. The darkening of a city curing an air raid by pulling down all curtains and putting out all street lights. * /The city of London went through numerous blackouts during World War II./ 2. A cessation of news by the mass media. * /There was a total news blackout about the kidnapping of the prime minister./

[black out] <v.> 1. To darken by putting out or dimming lights, * /In some plays the stage is blacked out for a short time and the actors speak in darkness./ * /In wartime, cities are blacked out to protect against bombing from planes./ 2. To prevent or silence information or communication; refuse to give out truthful news. * /In wartime, governments often black out all news or give out false news./ * /Dictators usually black out all criticism of the government./ * /Some big games are blacked out on television to people who live nearby./ 3. <informal> To lose consciousness; faint. * /It had been a hard and tiring day, and she suddenly blacked out./

[black sheep] <n.> A person in a family or a community considered unsatisfactory or disgraceful. * /My brother Ted is a high school dropout who joined a circus; he is the black sheep in our family./

[blame] See: TO BLAME.

[blank check] <n.> 1. A bank check written to a person who can then write in how much money he wants. * /John's father sent him a blank check to pay his school bills./ 2. <informal> Permission to another person to do anything he decides to do. * /The teacher gave the pupils a blank check to plan the picnic./

[blanket] See: WET BLANKET.

[blast off] <v.> 1. To begin a rocket flight. * /The astronaut will blast off into orbit at six o'clock./ 2. Also [blast away] <informal> To scold or protest violently. * /The coach blasted off at the team for poor playing./

[blaze a trail] <v. phr.> 1. To cut marks in trees in order to guide other people along a path or trail, especially through a wilderness. * /Daniel Boone blazed a trail for other hunters to follow in Kentucky./ 2. To lead the way; make a discovery; start something new. * /Henry Ford blazed a trail in manufacturing automobiles./ * /The building of rockets blazed a trail to outer space./ See: TRAILBLAZER.

[bleep out] See: BLIP OUT.

[bless one's heart] <v. phr.> To thank someone; consider one the cause of something good that has happened. * /Aunt Jane, bless her heart, left me half a million dollars!/

[blessing] See: MIXED BLESSING.

[blind] See: FLY BLIND.

[blind alley] <n.> 1. A narrow street that has only one entrance and no exit. * /The blind alley ended in a brick wall./ 2. A way of acting that leads to no good results. * /John did not take the job because it was a blind alley./ * /Tom thought of a way to do the algebra problem, but he found it was a blind alley./

[blind as a bat/beetle/mole/owl] <adj. phr.> Anyone who is blind or has difficulty in seeing; a person with very thick glasses. * /Without my glasses I am blind as a bat./

[blind date] <n.> An engagement or date arranged by friends for people who have not previously known one another. * /A blind date can be a huge success, or a big disappointment./

[blind leading the blind] One or more people who do not know or understand something trying to explain it to others who do not know or understand. * /Jimmy is trying to show Bill how to skate. The blind are leading the blind./

[blind spot] <n.> 1. A place on the road that a driver cannot see in the rearview mirror. * /I couldn't see that truck behind me, Officer, because it was in my blind spot./ 2. A matter or topic a person refuses to discuss or accept. * /My uncle Ted has a real blind spot about religion./

[blink] See: ON THE BLINK.

[blip out] or [bleep out] <v. phr.>, <informal> To delete electronically a word on television or on radio either because it mentions the name of an established firm in a commercial or because it is a censored word not allowed for television audiences, resulting in a sound resembling the word "bleep." * /What was the old product they compared Spic-n-Span to? - I don't know; they've bleeped it out./

[blitz] See: SAFETY BLITZ.

[block] See: CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK, KNOCK ONE'S BLOCK OFF, ON THE BLOCK.

[blockhead] <n.>, <informal> An unusually dense, or stupid person whose head is therefore exaggeratedly compared to a solid block of wood. * /Joe is such a blockhead that he flunked every course as a freshman./