(Abbreviation) {informal} Bring Your Own Bottle. Frequently
written on invitations for the kind of party where people bring their own
liquor.
[by oneself]
{adv. phr.} 1. Without any others around; separate from
others; alone. •/The house stood by itself on a hill./ •/Tom liked to go
walking by himself./ •/Betty felt very sad and lonely by herself./ 2.
Without the help of anyone else; by your own work only. •/John built a flying
model airplane by himself./ •/Lois cleaned the house all by herself./
[by one’s own bootstraps]
See: PULL ONE SELF UP BY THE BOOTSTRAPS.
[by storm]
See: TAKE BY STORM.
[by surprise]
See: TAKE BY SURPRISE.
[by the board]
See: GO BY THE BOARD also PASS BY THE BOARD.
[by the bootstraps]
See: PULL ONESELF UP BY THE BOOTSTRAPS.
[by the bye]
See: BY THE WAY.
[by the dozen]
or [by the hundred] or [by the thousand]{adv.
phr.} Very many at one time; in great numbers. •/Tommy ate cookies by the
down./ Often used in the plural, meaning even larger numbers. •/The ants
arrived at the picnic by the hundreds./ •/The enemy attacked the fort by
the thousands./
[by the horns]
See: TAKE THE BULL BY THE HORNS.
[by the hundred]
See: BY THE DOZEN.
[by the nose]
See: LEAD BY THE NOSE.
[by the piece]
{adv. phr.} Counted one piece at a time, separately for
each single piece. •/John bought boxes full of bags of potato chips and sold
them by the piece./ •/Mary made potholders and got paid by the piece./
[by the seat of one’s pants]
See: FLY BY THE SEAT OF ONE’S PANTS.
[by the skin of one’s teeth]
{adv. phr.} By a narrow margin; with no
room to spare; barely. •/The drowning man struggled, and I got him to land by
the skin of my teeth./ •/She passed English by the skin of her teeth./
Compare: SQUEAK THROUGH, WITHIN AN ACE OF or WITHIN AN INCH OF.
[by the sweat of one’s brow]
{adv. phr.} By hard work; by tiring
effort; laboriously. •/Even with modern labor-saving machinery, the farmer
makes his living by the sweat of his brow./
[by the thousand]
See: BY THE DOZEN.
[by the way]
also [by the bye]{adv. phr.} Just as some added fact
or news; as something else that I think of. — Used to introduce something
related to the general subject, or brought to mind by it. •/We shall expect
you; by the way, dinner will be at eight./ •/I was reading when the
earthquake occurred, and, by the way, it was The Last Days of Pompeii that I
was reading./
[by the wayside]
See: FALL BY THE WAYSIDE.
[by turns]
{adv. phr.} First one and then another in a regular way; one
substituting for or following another according to a repeated plan. •/On the
drive to Chicago, the three men took the wheel by turns./ •/The teachers
were on duty by turns./ •/When John had a fever, he felt cold and hot by
turns./ Syn.: IN TURN. Compare: TAKE TURNS.
[by virtue of]
also [in virtue of]{prep.} On the strength of;
because of; by reason of. •/By virtue of his high rank and position, the
President takes social leadership over almost everyone else./ •/Plastic
bags are useful for holding many kinds of food, by virtue of their clearness,
toughness, and low cost./ Compare: BY DINT OF.