best of the bunch
The most excellent or desirable option among a group
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best pleased
Most satisfied or delighted
best regards
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
best thing since sliced bread
Something excellent or wonderful
best thing since sliced pan
Something excellent or wonderful
best-kept secret
Something that is supposed to be secret but is actually widely known.
bet
A wager.--TO BET. To lay a wager.
bet one's boots
to be absolutely certain or sure of something
bet one's bottom dollar
to be absolutely certain or confident about something
bet the house
Risk everything on something
bet the ranch
Risk everything on a single endeavor or decision
betray with a kiss
To deceive or harm someone with a show of affection or friendship
better
More; "how far is it to town?" "Oh, BETTER ’n a mile."—Saxon and Old English, now a vulgarism.
better a lean peace than a fat victory. (17th century)
It's better to have a modest but peaceful outcome than a significant gain at a great cost.
better angels
Noble and good qualities of human nature
better bow than break
It's better to compromise than to risk a complete failure.
better foolish by all than wise by yourself
It's more enjoyable to have fun with others than to be wise alone
better for it
improved or benefited as a result
Better go about than fall into the ditch. (Ward, 1842 p. 11)
It's better to take action than risk a worse outcome by doing nothing
better late than never
Traditional English proverbial phrase; full definition pending editorial review.
better luck next time
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
better nature
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
better or worse
Regardless of whether a situation improves or deteriorates
better place
A better situation or location
better play a small game than to stand out
English proverb; full definition pending editorial review.
better safe than sorry
It's wiser to avoid risks than to suffer potential consequences.
better than sex
Extremely enjoyable or pleasurable
Better the Devil you know (than the Devil you do not)
It's often safer to stick with a difficult situation than risk a worse one.
better the devil you know than the one you don't
Alternative form of better the devil you know than the devil you don't know.
Better to be alone than in bad company. (Strauss, 1998 p. 162)
It's preferable to have no friends than to associate with people who are bad influences.
better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all
It's better to experience love and lose it than to never experience love
better to light one candle than to curse the darkness
It's more productive to take action than to complain about a problem
Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven (John Milton, in Paradise Lost)
Traditional English proverbial phrase; full definition pending editorial review.
better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt
It's wiser to say nothing than to speak and reveal one's ignorance
better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt
English proverb; full definition pending editorial review.
better underdone than overdone
English proverb; full definition pending editorial review.
better wear out than rust out
It's better to die actively than passively
betting round
Laying fairly and equally against nearly all the horses in a race so that no great risk can be run. Commonly called getting round. See BOOK, and BOOKMAKING.
betty
A skeleton key, or picklock.—Old Prison Cant.
betty martin
That's my eye, Betty Martin; an answer to any one that attempts to impose or humbug.
betwattled
Surprised, confounded, out of one's senses; also bewrayed.
between dog and wolf
Neither daylight nor dark, the blind man's holiday. Generally applied to the evening dusk. In Latin, Inter canem et litpum; in French, Entre chien et hup.
between hay and grass
Too late for one and too soon for the other.
between Scylla and Charybdis
Faced with two equally dangerous or undesirable options
Between Scylla and Charybdis
Between two equal difficulties; between the devil and the deep sea.
between the hammer and the anvil
Caught between two opposing forces or pressures
between the jigs and the reels
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
between the pipes
Playing as a goalkeeper in sports
between two fires
Between two dangers. Troops caught between fire from opposite sides.
between you and me
In confidence be it spoken. Sometimes, Between you and me and the gatepost (or bed-post). These phrases, for the most part, indicate that some illnatured remark or slander is about to be made of a third person, but occasionally they refer to some offer or private affair. Between ourselves is another form of the same phrase.
between you, me, and the bedpost
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
betwixt a rock and a hard place
Faced with two difficult choices
betwixt and between
In a state of uncertainty or indecision
betwixt wind and water
A nautical phrase denoting that part of the hull that is below the water-line except when the ship heels over under pressure of the wind. It was a most dangerous place for a man-of-war to be shot m; hence a "knock-out" blow is often said to have caught the victim betwixt wind and water.
bever
An afternoon's luncheon; also a fine hat; beaver's fur making the best hats,
beverage
Garnish money, or money for drink, demanded of any one having a new suit of clothes.
Bevin Boys
Under the Emergency Powers Defence Bill, of 1940, certain lads were directed to work in coal mines. Ernest Bevin (1881-1951) was Minister of Labour and National Service, and his name was popularly attached to the boys thus directed.
bevvied
Drunk.
Beware of Greeks bearing gifts (Trojan War, Virgil in the Aeneid)
Be cautious of enemies who appear friendly
Beware the Ides of March
Said as a warning of impending and certain danger.
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