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American Slang/Idioms starting with B | NEXT PAGE
Back in the day: Many years ago; a long time ago. "Back in the day we used to pay much more for plasma TVs."
Back on one's feet (To be back on one's feet): Recovered (from an illness). ex: "You'll be back on your feet in no time
Back to the drawing board: A phrase that is said when you have to start some process from the beginning (usually after having failed in the previous attempt). ex: "Well, that didn't work... Looks like it's back to the drawing board."
Backhanded compliment: An insult disguised as a compliment. ex: "Hey, don't feel bad! You're not as fat as you used to be!
Backstabber (n.): A person who says bad things about you behind your back.
Badmouth/Bad-mouth (v.): To verbally criticize; to knock; to talk badly of. ex: "She's such a negative person - All she does is badmouth people all day."
Baggage (n.): Short for "emotional baggage", which is a collection of painful memories, experiences, mistrust, etc. carried around as a result of negative past experiences/relationships. ex: "I wouldn't get involved with her. She's got a lot of baggage."
Ballpark figure: Rough estimate ex: "Can you give me a ball-park figure of what the final cost will be?"
Bash (n.): Party.
Beat (adj.): Tired. ex: "Man, I'm beat. I'm going to bed."
Be the case: To be a reality. ex: "I wish I had a million dollars, but that's not the case."
Beemer (n.): BMW (car).
Behind bars: In jail. ex: "The robbers were caught, and are now behind bars."
That's behind me: That's n the past, therefore no longer important. Related to phrases such as "i've put it behind me", "it's behind me now", etc.
To be (or to get) behind (someone/something): To support (someone/something). ex: "I'm behind you on this."
Bent out of shape: Upset/agitated. ex: "Don't get all bent out of shape over that." (To give someone a) big hand: To applaud (for someone) energetically. To give (someone) a big round of applause. ex: "Let's give our performers a big hand!"
Blow (v.): To lose is a wasteful way/ to waste. ex: "Sarah blew all her money on gambling."
Blow (someone) away (v.): To really impress (someone). ex: "We were all blown away by her performance."
Blow (someone) out (v.): In SPORTS - to win by a big margin, by a lot of points. ex: "How did the Lakers do? They were blown out by the Celtics."
Blow (something) out of proportion: To make (something) seem much more important than it actually is. ex: "Of course his reaction was extreme! He always blows things out of proportion."
B.O.: Short for "body odor" - the foul smell one secretes from one's armpits, especially when one doesn't shower/wash. ex:"The woman sitting beside me had really bad B.O."
Bolt (for): Run (towards). ex: "As soon as I turned around, he bolted for the door."
Booze: Alcohol.
Boss (someone) around: To be bossy towards (someone); to constantly tell (someone) what to do. ex: "She bosses him around all the time"
Break (n.): Stroke of luck. ex: "We got a big break in the case today!"
Break it up (v.): To end a fight. ex: "All right - break it up, you two!"
Broke (adj.): Having no money. ex: "He should really get a job - He's always broke!"
Bum (n.): Mendicant; Homeless person.
Bummed (adj.): Disappointed; Dejected ex: "He was really bummed about having lost the game."
'Burbs: Short for "suburbs"; ex: "Tina lives in the 'burbs with her folks."
It really burns me up: It really upsets me. ex: "It really burns me up when he talks to me in that tone of voice."
Burnt out: Exhausted from doing something too much and too intensely (especially used when speaking about work, etc.) ex: "He was completely burnt out after working for three weeks straight."
Bust (b.): To Nail; To Catch; ex: "He got busted for driving drunk."