[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./