bound up in something—very busy with smth.; deeply devoted to smth.: He is so bound up in his work and the details of craftsmanship that he seems unreasonable to his siblings. bound up with something—closely connected or associated with smth.: His artistic career is bound up with the developments of New Ink Painting in Hong […]
Category: Confusing Phrases
Difference between Bottom up and Bottoms up
bottom up—upside down: A yawl-boat was landed bottom up from the hurricane-deck upon the heads of those below. bottoms up—(usually used as a toast) finish one’s drink to the last drop: The old priest drank his highball almost bottoms up.
Difference between Bottom line and Bottom of the line
bottom line—the final determining factor; the essence of the argument: George Murphy and Ronald Reagan certainly qualified because they have gotten elected. I think that’s the bottom line. Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase down line—(Railroad) a single track of rails in a double line of railway (for trains traveling […]
Difference between Bottom drawer and Top drawer
bottom drawer—the collection of articles for the home that a girl gathers before she gets married: I got some lovely towels at the sale, mum. I can’t make up my mind whether to start using them or put them in my bottom drawer. top drawer —(coll.) the upper ranks of society: I don’t know anything […]
Difference between Bottom dollar and Top dollar
bottom dollar —(coll.) one’s last dollar: When he got down to his bottom dollar it was time to head back into the mountains for another year’s worth of trapping. top dollar —(coll.) a high or the highest price: A lot of those guys had paid him top dollar to buy their enlistment in the six […]
Difference between Bother about something and Bother with something
bother about something—be concerned about smth.; worry about smth.: Meditation is so beautiful, who bothers about the result? And if you bother about the result, meditation is not possible. bother with something—concern oneself with smth.; preoccupy oneself with smth.: “So you just grab breakfast and get on the train?” “No I never bother with breakfast, […]
Difference between Border on something and Border something
border on something— 1. be next to smth.; lie close to smth.: The old park borders on the shores of the lake. 2. (of a country) share a boundary with another country: Soviet territory facing the West borders on Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary. 3. resemble smth.; verge upon smth.: What you are doing borders on […]
Difference between “Books of Kings, the” and “Books of the Four Kings, the”
Books of Kings, the—certain books of the Old Testament which contain the history of the Kings of Israel: The Books of Chronicles … so called as containing particulars omitted in the Books of Kings. books of the Four Kings, the—(arch.) a pack of playing cards (also: history of the Four Kings, the): Playing cards were […]
Difference between Bookman and Handbook man
bookman—smb. who is interested in and knowledgeable about books: Bryant was a real bookman, not just someone who liked books, but someone with a passion for books. handbook man—a bookmaker: Bartenders, handbook men and habitués of dope-staches could be paraded by the dead unknown in the morgue.
Difference between Book someone in and Bring someone to book
book someone in— 1. (also: sign someone in) record the entrance of an employee, the name of a guest on arrival at a hotel, etc.: I’ll just book you in and then you can have a rest. 2. make an entry of a person’s name, etc. in a police register following detention: If you are […]
Difference between Book of words and Word-book
book of words—(coll.) printed instructions (not necessarily in a book form): I can’t quite see how to put this thing together. Where’s the book of words? word-book— 1. a list of words with meanings, etc.: It would, however, seem almost necessary to emphasize that this Word-Book is not a dictionary of school slang. 2. libretto […]
Difference between “Book of Psalms, the” and “psalm-book”
Book of Psalms, the—the book of the Old Testament containing the Psalms: The Book of Psalms contains the productions of different writers. These are called however the Psalms of David, because a great part of them were composed by him. psalm-book—a book containing the Psalms, especially with metrical settings arranged for use in public worship: […]