Idioms

Idioms are expressions peculiar to a language. There are numerous idioms in English. It is not easy to learn all of them. However, you should be familiar with the most important ones. Here is a list of idioms beginning with the letter B. Each idiom is followed by its meaning / definition

Babe in the arms

A babe in the arms is a very young person with hardly any experience.

• Susie is a babe in the arms. I don’t think that she will be able to do justice to her new role as assistant manager.

Babe in the woods

A babe in the woods is a naïve, innocent person.

• Stella is no babe in the woods.

Back burner

If an issue is put on the back burner, it hardly gets any attention.

• After being on the back burner for several months, the debate about the need to regulate internet is heating up.

Be on the back foot

If you are on the back foot, you are in a disadvantageous situation.

Back the wrong horse

To back the wrong horse is to support a person or team that is going to lose.

Back to back

If things happen back to back, they happen in quick succession.

• He captivated the audience with his back to back speeches.

Back to square one

If you are back to square one, you have to start from the beginning again. This isn’t usually considered advantageous.

• Just when we thought that we were going to sign the contract, they said that they were not happy with the deal. Now we are back to square one again.

Back to the drawing board

To go back to the drawing board is to start doing something all over again.

• As the client was not happy with the design, we had to go back to the drawing board.