Behind Closed Doors Behind closed doors means in secret, privately, away from public view or any observation. “What people do behind closed doors is their own business.”
Behind Someone’s Back (to do something) If you do something behind someone’s back, you do it without them being present and without them knowing, in a way that is unfair, unkind, or dishonest; to act secretly or deceptively in a way that goes against someone else’s expectations, wishes, or authority. “I know he’s been talking about me behind my back.”
Bells and Whistles Bells and whistles are additional features that are added to a product but that are not essential to its basic function; fancy but nonessential add-ons or gadgets. “My new car is great. It has all the latest bells and whistles.”
Beneath Contempt To be beneath contempt is to be so utterly contemptible as to be unworthy of attention, even negative attention. “The man’s behavior was beneath contempt.”
Best Bet, Your One’s best bet means the choice or action that is most likely to succeed; the best and most satisfactory choice. “Your best bet,” said the lawyer, “is to plead guilty and take a deal for a lenient sentence.”
Better Late Than Never Better late then never means that it is better to do something late than to not do it at all; it is better for something to happen later than we expected or wanted than for it not to occur at all; it is better to arrive late than to not come at all… “You promised you would help me yesterday! Well, better late than never.”
Better The Devil You Know The expression ‘better the devil you know’ is used to indicate that it may be better to deal with a person or a thing that you are familiar with than to have to deal with a completely new and unknown one. Even though you may not want to interact or deal with a certain person, for example, at least you know their faults and may be able to predict their behavior, etc. “I know you don’t like Ethan but we need this job done fast, and, besides, better the devil you know.”
Between a Rock and a Hard Place To be between a rock and a hard place means to have to choose between two equally undesirable choices; to be in a very difficult situation. “Having to decide against losing his business and asking his father for money left John between a rock and a hard place.”
A Bit Much When something is a bit much it is unreasonable, unfair, and excessive. “Jimmy,” said Dad, “I understand you were disappointed about not getting your favorite cereal. But throwing a tantrum in the middle of the grocery store is a bit much.”
Big Deal A big deal is something that is very important, special or a matter of great interest. This idiom can also be used to mean “who cares?” or to express, ironically, that one does not consider a matter important or notable. “I had a car accident today but it was no big deal. Just a minor fender-bender.”
Big Mouth, have a To have a big mouth means to be talkative and prone to revealing secrets or to be verbally tactless; to talk too much and too loudly, often in an obnoxious or boastful way. To be a big mouth is to be a person who talks too much and reveals secrets or private information to anyone listening. “Do not tell Chris about the surprise party. He has a big mouth.”
Big of You (or one) When an action is big of you, it is generous, good, helpful, or kind. Often used sarcastically. “It was big of Richard to get Sam an interview at his company.”
Big On Something To be big on something means to find it very important; to be enthusiastic or passionate about it; to spend much of one’s time doing something or involved in something; to enjoy something a lot. “Jonathan is really big on fingerstyle guitar.”
Bigger Fish to Fry (to have) To have bigger fish to fry means to have more important things to do; to have more important or pressing matters to attend to. “The prosecutor declined to pursue the case saying he ‘had bigger fish to fry.”
Bite Off More Than You Can Chew To bite off more than you can chew is to take on more responsibility than you can handle; to try to do a job that is too big for you. “I know you want to write a great thesis but don’t bite off more than you can chew.”
Bite One’s Nails To bite one’s nails is to show signs of nervousness, anxiety, impatience, etc. “Mary is due today and we’ll all be biting our nails until the baby is born.”
Bite Someone’s Head Off To bite someone’s head off means to reply or speak to someone in a very sharp and angry way; to scold harshly. “I know you had a bad day but you don’t have to bite my head off. All I said was hello!”
Bite the Bullet To bite the bullet is to accept or confront a difficult situation with courage and stoicism; to accept the truth of a situation; to bravely pay the price of a bad situation; to force yourself to do something you dislike. “At some point, you’re going to have to bite the bullet and stop spending all your money on luxuries,” said Susan’s mom.
Bite the Dust To bite the dust is to be defeated or killed, especially in battle; to be successful; to be eliminated or to cease existing. “When the company bit the dust, the employees lost everything while the owners walked away with a fortune.”
Bite Your Tongue To bite one’s tongue is to struggle to not say something one really wants to say; to refrain from speaking one’s opinion; to try hard to avoid saying something that will annoy, anger, or upset someone else, even though you really want to say it. “I came close to quitting today but I bit my tongue.”
Bitter Pill to Swallow, a A bitter pill to swallow is something unpleasant that is difficult to accept, such as a disappointment or setback, that must be accepted and endured. “Having his benefactor endorse his political enemy was a bitter pill for the mayor to swallow.”
Black and Blue To be black and blue means to be badly bruised and discolored. “After I fell off my bike I was black and blue for a week.”
Blank Check To give someone a blank check means to give them full freedom or unlimited scope and authority to act as they see fit, especially in regards to the spending of money. This idiom is a less formal version of carte blanche. “You’ve got a blank check, so do what you need to do to get the job done.”
Bless Your (His/Her) Heart Bless your heart is a spoken expression of good wishes, endearment, affection, fondness, sympathy. It can also be a way of saying someone is a good person or did a good thing. In the Southern United States, where it is used most often, it can mean all of these things. However, it often is a way of forgiving or excusing someone’s perceived shortcomings, often mental, or of forgiving a mistake. “I can’t believe you spent so much money on my gift! Bless your heart!”
Blessing In Disguise A blessing in disguise is something that at first seems to be a misfortune but turns out to be fortunate. “That damage to my wall was a blessing in disguise. When I started to repair it, I discovered a leaky pipe.”
Blind Leading the Blind The blind leading the blind refers to a situation in which an inexperienced, inept, or ignorant person is instructing, advising, or guiding a person who is equally inexperienced, unknowledgeable, or inept. “My dad was always trying to teach me how to fix the car. It was the blind leading the blind.”
Blow a Hole in To blow a hole in something means to its effectiveness or show that it is incorrect, corrupt, etc.’ In regards to money or a budget, to blow or make a hole means to cost a lot of money and thus reduce one’s savings or threaten one’s finances, profit, or budget. “The new sanctions blew a huge hole in the companies profits, forcing them to open new plants overseas.”
Blow My Mind Blow one’s mind is a very versatile idiom that is used to describe anything that is amazing, shocking, awe-inspiring, unusual, exciting, etc. “This book will blow your mind. There’s a new twist in every chapter.”
Blow Off Steam To blow off steam means to do something that helps relieve stress, tension, anger, or strong emotions; to get out one’s pent-up feelings by complaining or talking loudly, or by some energetic activity; to play or work off excess energy, especially children. “I really need to go out tonight and blow off some steam.”
Blow Smoke To blow smoke is to exaggerate or boast about oneself, usually with no means to back up what one is saying; to intentionally deceive or mislead; to speak in a way meant to conceal the truth and confuse others; to talk confidently about something even though one knows nothing about it. “He’s just blowing smoke. He has no idea how to fix the copy machine.”