[by leaps and bounds]{adv. phr.} With long steps; very rapidly. •/Production in the factory was increasing by leaps and bounds./ •/The school enrollment was going up by leaps and bounds./

[by means of]{prep.} By the use of; with the help of. •/The fisherman saved himself by means of a floating log./ •/By means of monthly payments, people can buy more than in the past./

[by mistake]{adv. phr.} As the result of a mistake; through error. •/He picked up the wrong hat by mistake./

[by no means] or [not by any means] also [by no manner of means] or [not by any manner of means] {adv. phr.} Not even a little; certainly not. •/He is by no means bright./ •/"May I stay home from school?" "By no means."/ •/Dick worked on his project Saturday, but he is not finished yet, by any means./ Contrast: BY ALL MEANS.

[B.Y.O.] (Abbreviation) {informal} Bring Your Own. Said of a kind of party where the host or hostess does not provide the drinks or food but people ring their own.

[B.Y.O.B.] (Abbreviation) {informal} Bring Your Own Bottle. Frequently written on invitations for the kind of party where people bring their own liquor.

[by oneself]{adv. phr.} 1. Without any others around; separate from others; alone. •/The house stood by itself on a hill./ •/Tom liked to go walking by himself./ •/Betty felt very sad and lonely by herself./ 2. Without the help of anyone else; by your own work only. •/John built a flying model airplane by himself./ •/Lois cleaned the house all by herself./

[by one’s own bootstraps] See: PULL ONE SELF UP BY THE BOOTSTRAPS.

[by storm] See: TAKE BY STORM.

[by surprise] See: TAKE BY SURPRISE.

[by the board] See: GO BY THE BOARD also PASS BY THE BOARD.

[by the bootstraps] See: PULL ONESELF UP BY THE BOOTSTRAPS.

[by the bye] See: BY THE WAY.

[by the dozen] or [by the hundred] or [by the thousand] {adv. phr.} Very many at one time; in great numbers. •/Tommy ate cookies by the down./ Often used in the plural, meaning even larger numbers. •/The ants arrived at the picnic by the hundreds./ •/The enemy attacked the fort by the thousands./

[by the horns] See: TAKE THE BULL BY THE HORNS.

[by the hundred] See: BY THE DOZEN.

[by the nose] See: LEAD BY THE NOSE.

[by the piece]{adv. phr.} Counted one piece at a time, separately for each single piece. •/John bought boxes full of bags of potato chips and sold them by the piece./ •/Mary made potholders and got paid by the piece./

[by the seat of one’s pants] See: FLY BY THE SEAT OF ONE’S PANTS.

[by the skin of one’s teeth]{adv. phr.} By a narrow margin; with no room to spare; barely. •/The drowning man struggled, and I got him to land by the skin of my teeth./ •/She passed English by the skin of her teeth./ Compare: SQUEAK THROUGH, WITHIN AN ACE OF or WITHIN AN INCH OF.

[by the sweat of one’s brow]{adv. phr.} By hard work; by tiring effort; laboriously. •/Even with modern labor-saving machinery, the farmer makes his living by the sweat of his brow./

[by the thousand] See: BY THE DOZEN.

[by the way] also [by the bye] {adv. phr.} Just as some added fact or news; as something else that I think of. — Used to introduce something related to the general subject, or brought to mind by it. •/We shall expect you; by the way, dinner will be at eight./ •/I was reading when the earthquake occurred, and, by the way, it was The Last Days of Pompeii that I was reading./

[by the wayside] See: FALL BY THE WAYSIDE.

[by turns]{adv. phr.} First one and then another in a regular way; one substituting for or following another according to a repeated plan. •/On the drive to Chicago, the three men took the wheel by turns./ •/The teachers were on duty by turns./ •/When John had a fever, he felt cold and hot by turns./ Syn.: IN TURN. Compare: TAKE TURNS.

[by virtue of] also [in virtue of] {prep.} On the strength of; because of; by reason of. •/By virtue of his high rank and position, the President takes social leadership over almost everyone else./ •/Plastic bags are useful for holding many kinds of food, by virtue of their clearness, toughness, and low cost./ Compare: BY DINT OF.

[by way of]{prep.} 1. For the sake or purpose of; as. •/By way of example, he described his own experience./ 2. Through; by a route including; via. •/He went from New York to San Francisco by way of Chicago./

[by word of mouth]{adv. phr.} From person to person by the spoken word; orally. •/The news got around by word of mouth./ •/The message reached him quietly by word of mouth./

[cahoots] See: IN LEAGUE WITH or IN CAHOOTS WITH.

[Cain] See: RAISE CAIN.

[cake] See: EAT-ONE’S CAKE AND HAVE IT TOO, PAT-A-CAKE, TAKE THE CAKE.

[calculated risk]{n.} An action that may fail but is judged more likely to succeed. •/The sending of troops to the rebellious island was a calculated risk./

[calf love] See: PUPPY LOVE.

[call] See: AT CALL, AT ONE’S BECK AND CALL, CLOSE CALL, ON CALL, PORT OF CALL, POT CALLS THE KETTLE BLACK, WITHIN CALL.

[call a halt]{v. phr.} To give a command to stop. •/The scouts were tired during the hike, and the scoutmaster called a halt./ •/When the children’s play, got too noisy, their mother called a halt./

[call a spade a spade]{v. phr.} To call a person or thing a name that is true but not polite; speak bluntly; use the plainest language. •/A boy took some money from Dick’s desk and said he borrowed it, but I told him he stole it; I believe in calling a spade a spade./

[call down] also [dress down] {v.}, {informal} To scold. •/Jim was called down by his teacher for being late to class./ •/Mother called Bob down for walking into the kitchen with muddy boots./ Compare: CALL ON THE CARPET, CHEW OUT, BAWL OUT, READ THE RIOT ACT.

[call for]{v.} 1. To come or go to get (someone or something). •/John called for Mary to take her to the dance./ Syn.: PICK UP. 2. To need; require. •/The cake recipe calls for two cups of flour./ •/Success in school calls for much hard study./

[call girl]{n.}, {slang} A prostitute catering to wealthy clientele, especially one who is contacted by telephone for an appointment. •/Rush Street is full of call girls./

[calling down] also [dressing down] {n. phr.}, {informal} A scolding; reprimand. •/The judge gave the boy a calling down for speeding./

[call in question] or [call into question] or [call in doubt] {v. phr.} To say (something) may be a mistake; express doubt about; question. •/Bill called in question Ed’s remark that basketball is safer than football./

[call it a day]{v. phr.} To declare that a given day’s work has been accomplished and go home; to quit for the day. •/"Let’s call it a day," the boss said, "and go out for a drink."/ •/It was nearly midnight, so Mrs. Byron decided to call it a day, and left the party, and went home./ •/The four golfers played nine holes and then called it a day./ Compare: CLOSE UP SHOP.