{v. phr.} 1. To be in operation; be in the process of being
presented. •/The news is on now on Channel 2; it will be off in five
minutes./ 2. To be in the process of happening; to take place. •/We cannot
travel now to certain parts of Africa, as there is a civil war on there right
now./
[be one’s age]
See: ACT ONE’S AGE.
[be oneself]
{v.} To act naturally; act normally without trying unduly
to impress others. •/Just try being yourself; I promise people will like you
more./
[be on the outs with]
{v. phr.} To not be on speaking terms with
someone; be in disagreement with someone. •/Jane and Tom have been on the
outs with one another since Tom started to date another woman./
[be on the rocks]
See: ON THE ROCKS, GO ON THE ROCKS.
[be on the verge of]
{v. phr.} To be about to do something; be very
close to. •/We were on the verge of going bankrupt when, unexpectedly, my
wife won the lottery and our business was saved./
[be on the wagon]
See: ON THE WAGON, FALL OFF THE WAGON.
[be on to]
{v. phr.} To understand the motives of someone; not be
deceived. •/Jack keeps telling us how wealthy his family is, but we are on to
him./
[be over]
{v. phr.} To be ended; be finished. •/The show was over by
11 P.M./ •/The war will soon be over./
[be out]
{v. phr.} 1. To not be at home or at one’s place of work.
•/I tried to call but they told me that Al was out./ 2. To be unacceptable;
not be considered; impossible. •/I suggested that we hire more salespeople
but the boss replied that such a move was positively out./ 3. To be poorer
by; suffer a loss of. •/Unless more people came to the church picnic, we
realized we would be out $500 at least./ 4. To be in circulation, in print,
published. •/Jane said that her new novel won’t be out for at least another
month./ 5. A baseball term indicating that a player has been declared either
unfit to continue or punished by withdrawing him. •/The spectators thought
that John was safe at third base, but the umpire said he was out./
[be out to]
{v. phr.} To intend to do; to plan to commit. •/The
police felt that the gang may be out to rob another store./
[berth]
See: GIVE A WIDE BERTH.
[be set on]
or [upon]{v. phr.} To be determined about something.
•/Tow is set upon leaving his Chicago job for Tokyo, Japan, although he
speaks only English./
[beside oneself]
{adj. phr.} Very much excited; somewhat crazy. •/She
was beside herself with fear./ •/He was beside himself, he was so angry./
•/When his wife heard of his death, she was beside herself./
[beside the point]
or [beside the question]{adj.} or {adv.
phr.} Off the subject; about something different. •/What you meant to do is
beside the point; the fact is you didn’t do it./ •/The judge told the
witness that his remarks were beside the point./ Compare: BEAT AROUND THE
BUSH, NEITHER HERE NOR THERE.
[best]
See: AS BEST ONE CAN, AT BEST, FOR THE BEST, GET THE BETTER OF or
GET THE BEST OF, HAD BETTER or HAD BEST, HE LAUGHS BEST WHO LAUGHS LAST, MAKE
THE BEST OF, PUT ONE’S BEST FOOT FORWARD, SECOND BEST, TO THE BEST OF ONE’S
KNOWLEDGE, WITH THE BEST or WITH THE BEST OF THEM.