[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.