Commonly used english part 6 ppsx

Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 51 . blue blood - someone from a noble or aristocratic family The art exhibition attracted many of the blue bloods in the town. blue in the face - to be exhausted and speechless You can argue with him until you are blue in the face but you will never change his mind. bog down - to slow down, to become stuck I quickly became bogged down with all of the work that I had to do. boggle (someone's) mind - to confuse or overwhelm someone The amount of waste in the city program really boggles my mind. boil down to (something) - to reduce something to its essential or main part The reason that we could not go on a holiday boiled down to the fact that we did not have enough money. bone of contention - a reason for quarrels, the subject of a fight The family cottage was a major bone of contention after the father died. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 52 bone up (on something) - to study or review (something) I decided to take a course at night to bone up on my Spanish. boot out - to make someone leave, to get rid of someone The boy was booted out of high school for smoking on the school grounds. bore (someone) stiff/to death - to bore someone very much Most of the guests at the wedding were bored stiff with the long speeches. born out of wedlock - to be born to an unmarried mother The young mother had two children born out of wedlock. born with a silver spoon in one`s mouth - to be born rich, to have more than everything that you need since birth The boy was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and has never worked in his life. boss (someone) around - to keep telling someone what to do The little girl always wants to boss her friends around. bottle (something) up - to hold one's feelings inside of you My aunt bottles up all of her feelings and has much stress because of it. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 53 bottom line - the result or final outcome of something, the last figure on a financial statement Although I do not want to buy a new car, the bottom line is that I need a car for work. bottom out - to reach the lowest point The stock market bottomed out at its lowest level in many months. bound and determined - to be determined The man's wife is bound and determined to visit her sister this summer. bound for somewhere - to be on the way or planning to go somewhere My friend was bound for college when I last met him. bound to (do something) - to be certain to do something "If you ask your father he is bound to try and help you with your problem." bow and scrape - to be very humble and subservient I was forced to bow and scrape to get some money from my parents. bow out - to quit, to resign from something I wanted to join the tour but at the last minute I had to bow out. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 54 bowl (someone) over - to surprise or overwhelm someone The salesman bowled me over with his energetic sales talk. brand-new - absolutely new I was finally able to buy a brand-new car. break Idioms break a habit - to end a habit My sister worked very hard to break her habit of eating too much chocolate. break a law - to fail to obey a law The young man broke the law when he drove his friend's car without a proper license. break a record - to set a new record that is better than an old one The team tried hard to break a record during the last week of the season. break camp - to close down a campsite and move on We decided to break camp and begin on our journey. break down - to lose control of one's emotions The woman broke down while the lawyer questioned her at the trial. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 55 break down - to stop working because of mechanical failure The car broke down on the lonely road and nobody knew about it. break down (something) - to analyze something We must break down these figures for further study. break down (something) - to divide into parts, to separate into simpler substances We tried to break down the sentence for further study. The sugar began to break down soon after it was swallowed. break even - to have income equal to expenses After only a few months our business began to break even and we started to make money. break fresh/new ground - to deal with something in a new way The researchers were able to break fresh ground in their search for a cancer cure. break ground for (something) - to start digging the foundation for a building The hospital will break ground for the new building soon. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 56 break in (someone or something) - to train someone to do a job, to make something the right size or feel comfortable by wearing or using it It took me a long time to break in my new shoes. break into tears - to start crying suddenly The woman broke into tears when she heard the bad news. break loose (from someone or something) - to get away from someone or something that is holding you The horse broke loose from the rope and began running through the town. break one's word - to not keep one's promise The young child promised his parents that he would not break his word. break out in a cold sweat - to perspire from fever or anxiety I usually break out in a cold sweat when I have to make a speech. break out in (something) - to erupt in a rash or pimples The girl always breaks out in a rash when she eats shrimp. break out of (something) - to escape from something Several prisoners tried to break out of prison last month. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 57 break (someone's) fall - to lessen the impact of a falling person The baby fell out of the window but thankfully the bushes broke her fall. break (something) down - to explain something to someone in simple terms My teacher broke down the scientific theory so that the class could understand it easily. break (something) to (someone) - to tell bad news to someone The man broke the bad news to his sister. break the back of (something) - to reduce the power of something The company tried very hard to break the back of the union. break the bank - to win all the money at a casino gambling table The man did not break the bank but he did win a lot of money. break the ice - to relax and start a conversation in a formal situation Nobody was enjoying the party until the host was able to break the ice. break the news (to someone) - to tell someone some information first He is planning to break the news about his transfer tomorrow. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 58 break up - to separate, to divide into groups or pieces, to put an end to something Nobody wanted to break up their groups. We usually break up into small groups during our class. break up (with someone) - to end a relationship with someone My niece broke up with her boyfriend last June. . breath of fresh air - a fresh and imaginative approach to something The manager's coaching style was a breath of fresh air compared to that of the previous coach. breathe down (someone's) neck - to watch someone closely, to try to make someone hurry The supervisor is always breathing down the necks of the employees. breathe easy - to relax after a stressful situation I was able to breathe easy after I found my lost wallet. breathe one's last - to die The woman breathed her last several days after she became ill. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 59 brew a plot - to make a plot The generals in the small country were brewing a plot to take control of the government. bright and early - very early The woman likes to get up bright and early every morning. bright-eyed and bushy-tailed - to be eager and cheerful Everybody was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when we started out on the trip. brimming with (something) - to be full of some kind of happy behavior The children were brimming with energy on the morning of the festival. bring Idioms bring about (something) - to make something happen The two company presidents worked hard to bring about the joining of their two companies. bring around (someone) - to bring someone for a visit I asked my friend to bring his new girlfriend around for a visit. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 60 bring down the house - to cause much laughter in the audience The comedian brought down the house with his jokes about the lost dog. bring home the bacon - to work and earn money for your family My friend is bringing home the bacon for his family and is very busy. bring home the importance of (something) to (someone) - to make someone fully realize something I was unable to bring home the importance of arriving early for the meeting. bring some new facts to light - to discover some new facts, to make some new facts known The lawyers were able to bring some new facts to light in the trial of the killer. bring (someone) around - to cause someone to adopt an opinion or course of action My friend did not agree with me at the start but I was able to bring him around later. bring (someone) around - to bring someone back to consciousness The medical staff helped to bring the man around after the accident. bring (someone) into line - to persuade someone to agree with you The woman was able to bring the other members of the committee into line. . really boggles my mind. boil down to (something) - to reduce something to its essential or main part The reason that we could not go on a holiday boiled down to the fact that we did not have. We must break down these figures for further study. break down (something) - to divide into parts, to separate into simpler substances We tried to break down the sentence for further study The hospital will break ground for the new building soon. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 56 break in (someone or something) - to train someone to do a job, to make something the right