Significato: a bolt from the blue

un fulmine a ciel sereno, un evento improvviso che lascia di sconcerto

om Idioma

a common thread

an idea or theme that is similar to others There's a common thread in most of Berton's stories.

a fine-toothed comb

a careful search, a search for a detail She read the file carefully - went over it with a fine-toothed comb.

a kept woman

a woman who is paid to live with a man I'm tired of being a kept woman. I want to be free of him.

a lick and a promise

a hasty plan, a promise made without much thought If you get married on a lick and a a promise, you may need a lot of good luck.

a new broom sweeps clean

an employee works hard on the first day or two, make a good impression "After my first day working for Grandfather, he said, ""A new broom sweeps clean."""

about to do something

on the point of doing something She was about to leave when the phone rang.

and then some

and much more besides.

at a moment's notice

with little warning, on short notice We may call you at a moment's notice - whenever we need help.

at home

in one

at one with someone

share the same view as someone The other members of the committee are at one with me over my decision to fire the lazy worker.

at someone

always ready to serve somebody His eldest daughter is always at his beck and call when he spends an evening at home.

attend to someone

take care or deal with someone The doctor attended to the other patient before he got to my mother.

awesome

(See totally awesome)

baby boomer

a person born during the decade after World War II Baby boomers will retire in the first decade of the 21st century.

badger someone

get someone to do something by repeated questions or by bothering them I always have to badger my friend in order to make him return my computer game software.

bag some rays

sit or lie in the sunshine, have a sun bath While you're swimming, I'm going to bag some rays.

bail a company out

help or rescue a company with financial problems The government decided to bail out the failing bank in order to maintain stability in the economy.

bail someone or something out

help or rescue The government has decided to bail out the troubled bank.

ball is in someone's court

be someone else's move or turn The ball was in the union's court after the company made their final offer.

be fed up with (with someone or something)

be out of patience (with someone

beat someone to the punch (draw)

do something before others He beat me to the punch and arrived at the interview first.

become of

happen to, end up What became of Ko after he moved? How's he doing?

becomes you

looks good on you, is right for you, suits you That perfume becomes you. It smells good on you.

bend over backwards to do something

try very hard If I can, I will bend over backwards to help you get a promotion in the company.

blood from a stone

(See get blood from a stone)

blow it (something)

fail at something I tried hard but I am sure that I blew the final math exam last week.

blow to kingdom come

explode and destroy, blow up There's enough gas in the well to blow us kingdom come!

bolt from the blue

(See like a bolt from the blue)

bomb around

drive around, drive your car for fun, cruise """Where have you been?"" ""Bombin' around in Rod's car."""

bomb out

fail, not succeed Most engineers say the electric car is a failure. It bombed out.

bombed

drunk, hammered, sloshed to the gills Fay was bombed before she got to the party. She was drunk.

boom box

portable cassette/CD player.

bosom buddy

close friends, friends who grew up together Don't criticize Brad, eh. He's my bosom buddy.

bottom dollar

one

bottom fall out/drop out

to fall below an earlier lowest price When the bottom fell out of the coffee market many companies had to stop doing business.

bottom fell out

(See the bottom fell out)

bottom line

the total, the final figure on a balance sheet When they examined the bottom line of the company they decided not to invest in it.

bottom out

reach the lowest or worst point of something The value of the stock has begun to bottom out and should soon begin to increase in value.

bottom rung

the first step, the lowest position Jerry, my boy, in this company you start at the bottom rung.

bottoms up

finish your drinks, drink the remainder """Bottoms up,"" said his friend. ""It's time to go."""

boys in the backroom

a group of men making decisions behind the scenes The boys in the backroom told us that we must close down the factory as soon as possible.

break a promise

not do as you promised, go back on your word Trudy never breaks a promise. She is very dependable.

break someone's heart

make someone feel very disappointed/discouraged/sad.

break up (with someone)

stop a relationship She broke up with her boyfriend last June.

bring home the bacon

bring home a paycheque, support a family Stan is disabled, so Louise brings home the bacon.

bring home the importance of something to someone

make someone fully realize something He was unable to bring home the importance of arriving early for the meeting.

bring some new facts to light

discover some new facts, make some new facts known The lawyers were able to bring some new facts to light in the trial of the killer.

bring someone into line

persuade someone to agree with you He was finally able to bring the other members of the committee into line.

bring something on

cause to develop rapidly I don

brush up on something

review something one has already learned I