break the buck
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
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break the cycle
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
break the deadlock
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
break the fourth wall
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
break the Internet
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
break the mold
Do something entirely new and original
break the Sabbath
to disobey or disregard the Sabbath day's rules
break the seal
to start something that will lead to more of the same
break the story
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
break the wheel
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
break through
to succeed or make progress after a lot of effort
break up
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
break up with somebody
End a romantic relationship with someone
break wind
to pass gas from the digestive system
break-down
A noisy dance, almost violent enough to break the floor down; a jovial, social gathering, a "flare up;" in Ireland, a wedding—American so far as the dance is concerned.
break-teeth words
Hard words, difficult to pronounce.
Breakers Ahead
Hidden danger at hand. Breakers in the open sea always announce sunken rocks, sand banks, etc.
Breaking a Stick
Part of the marriage ceremony of certain North American Indians, as breaking a wineglass is part of the marriage ceremony of the Jews.
breaking of bread
The Eucharist. They continued ... in breaking of bread, and in prayer.— Acts ii, 42 and 46.
breaking shins
Borrowing money; perhaps from the figurative operation being, like the real one, extremely disagreeable to the patient.
breaky-leg
Strong drink; "he’s been to Bungay fair, and broke both his legs," i.e., got drunk. In the ancient Egyptian language the determinative character in the hieroglyphic verb "to be drank," has the significant form of the leg of a man being amputated. "Tangle Leg" is the name given to New England rum.
breast fleet
He or she belongs to the breast fleet; i.e. is a Roman catholic; an appellation derived from their custom of beating their breasts in the confession of their sins.
breasticle
A breast.
breath of fresh air
Something or someone that brings a refreshing change
breathe a sigh of relief
Feel relieved after a difficult situation
breathe a word
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
breathe down someone's neck
to closely supervise or monitor someone
breathe easy
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
breathe in
To inhale.
breathe one's last
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
breathe out
To exhale.
Breche de Roland
A deep defile in the crest of the Pyrenees, some three hundred feet in width, between two precipitous rocks. The legend is that Roland, the paladin, cleft the rock in two with his sword Durandal, when he was set upon by the Gascons at Roncesvalles.
bred in the bone
A part of one's nature. "What's bred m the bone will come out in the flesh." A natural propensity cannot be repressed.
breeched
Money in the pocket: the swell is well breeched, let's draw him; the gentleman has plenty of money in his pocket, let us rob him.
breeched
Or TO HAVE THE BAGS OFF, to have plenty of money; "to be well BREECHED," to be in good circumstances. Also among schoolboys to be well flogged.
breeches
To wear the breeches; a woman who governs her husband is said to wear the breeches.
breeches
"to wear the BREECHES," said of a wife who usurps the husband’s prerogative. Equivalent to the remark that "the grey mare is the better horse."
breeches bible
An edition of the Bible printed in 1598, wherein it is said that Adam and Eve sewed figleaves together, and made themselves breeches.
breeches buoy
A pair of short canvas breeches forming a cradle in which, by means of a pulley and rope, people can be con- veyed from ship to ship or ship to shore.
breeching
A flogging. Term in use among boys at several private schools.
breed in the bone
A habit or trait is deeply ingrained
breef
Probably identical with BRIEF, a shortened card used for cheating purposes; thus described in an old book of games of about 1720—
breeks
Breeches.—Scotch, now common.
breeze
To raise a breeze; to kick up a dust or breed a disturbance.
Brehon Laws
This is the English name for an ancient legal system which pre- vailed in Ireland from about the 7th century. They cover every phase of Irish life and furnish an interesting picture of the country in those early days.
brekker
Breakfast.
Brevet Rank
Titular rank without the pay that usually goes with it. A brevet major had the title of major, but the pay of captain, or whatever his substantive rank happened to be. (Fr. brevet, dim. of bref, a letter, a document.
Brevity is the soul of wit (William Shakespeare)
Being concise is a key element of cleverness
brew up
To make (a liquid, especially tea, coffee, or beer) by brewing.
brewsky
A beer.
Briar-root Pipe
A tobacco-pipe made from the root-wood of the large heath (bruyere), which grows in the south of France. Bribery and Corruption is a phrase often used rather loosely in English. In English law a bribe is a gift or other material inducement held out to a person to betray a trust or duty. Bribing at an election is a very serious offence, of which briber and bribed are held to be equally guilty.
brick
A "jolly good fellow;" "a regular BRICK," a staunch fellow. About the highest compliment that in one word can be paid one man. Said to be derived from an expression of Aristotle’s—τετραγωνος ἀνηρ.
brick and mortar
Physical stores or buildings, as opposed to online
brick in
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
brick in one's hat
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
brick tea
The inferior leaves of the plant mixed with a glutinous substance (sometimes bullock's or sheep's blood), pressed into cubes, and dried. These blocks were frequently used as a medium of exchange in Central Asia.
bride and groom
a newly married couple
bride cake
A relic of the Roman confar- reatio, a mode of marriage practised by the highest class in Rome.
Bride of the Sea
Venice ; so called from the ancient ceremony of the wedding of the sea by the Doge, who threw a ring into the Adriatic, saying, "We wed thee, O sea, in token of perpetual domination.
bridegroom's men
In the Roman marriage by confarreatio, the bride was led to the Pontifex Maximus by bachelors, but was conducted home by married men. Polydore Virgil says that a married man preceded the bride on her return, bearing a vessel of gold and silver. See BRIDE CAKE.
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