the darkest of all colours; the opposite of white; belonging to the black-skinned group of peoples.

covered in with bruises: "I could't believe it when I saw him. He was black and blue all over; he looked awful."

1) written on paper, and therefore definite and that can not be legally stopped; written down so that everyone can see exactly what it is: "It sounds like an interesting proposal, but I'd like to see it in black and white before we go any further."; "I looked at the lease and it's there in black and white - we are not allowed to keep pets." ;
2) look at the two main opposing views (of an issue), without considering the points in between; too simple, as if everything or everyone was either completely good or completely bad: "It's a very difficult moral question, and it does no good to talk as if it was a simple black and white issue."; "Star Wars is a film which appeals to children's tendency to see things in black and white.";
"The book deals with complex issues in a very black-and-white way."

Sb is not as bad as people think they are: "I haven't known Neil long but he doesn't seem to be as black as he's painted."

to have money in your bank account; do not owe anyone any money: "The company was still in the black, but it would probably have to make job cuts."; "Business is starting to improve; this is the first time we've been in the black for two years."

the area in space where the pull of gravity is so strong that nothing can escape, not even light.

sb who continues to work when a strike is called

evil magic; witchcraft

scoundrel; member of a family who is a good for nothing

vote against, exclude, a candidate by putting a black ball in a ballot box; "They blackballed him from becoming a member of the club."

the fruit of the bramble.

European songbird related to the thrush.

a board, usually painted black, which can be written on with chalk, and is used for teaching.

the crime of demanding money from sb in return for keeping sth secret: "The man said that if I gave him $5 he would keep quiet about the window I broke. This was blackmail." ; "He tried to blackmail me."

temporary loss of consciousness. "We had a blackout of several hours during the storm."

a person who works with iron and makes shoes for horses.

the part of the body where liquid wastes gather before they are passed out.

the sharp cutting edge of a knife, razor, sword etc.

say that it was the fault of sth or sb that sth went wrong; responsibility for bad happening

a kind of jelly or milk pudding

smooth; gentle, mild; dull and insipid

empty; with nothing written on it

1) to fail to find what you are looking for; get no results, especially if you cannot find the person or thing you are looking for: "The police, who have been trying to track down the missing painting, have drawn a blank."; "Police enquiries so far have drawn a blank, but his new evidence may help them to find the missing girl." 2) to be unable to answer a question or give information: "If you'd asked me who the president was before the election campaign, I'm sure I would've drawn a complete blank."

a sheet of (usually thick) cloth used as a bed covering

someone who does not want to have fun, and spoils other people's fun/enjoyment by being dreary and pessimistic: "'I still think you're mad to embark on something so ambitious.''Oh don't be such a wet blanket.'"

make a loud noise; shout. "I can't hear you with that radio blaring."

the gift of the gab: "He's got blarney, but don't believe everything he says."

speak irreverently about God

a strong wind; the shock waves of an explosion

a machine is on full blast, or at full blast, when it is producing as much power, heat or sound as it can: "We had the heater on full blast but we were still cold."

sb or sth that reminds you of a time in the past; a person or thing from your past that you remember, but had almost forgotten about: "Oh yeah. Alvin Stardust, there's a blast from the past." ; "That was a real blast from the past - my old flatmate phoned up."

an enormous oven for producing iron from ore

the moment when a rocket is launched into space

noisy; obvious and obtrusive

a bright flame or fire

to finish in a successful or impressive way: "He went out in a blaze of glory with two sensational goals in the final match of his career."

coloured jacket, often part of a school uniform

make white

exposed, barren and often windswept

the cry of a sheep or goat

lose blood

bleed sb white; to use up sb's money; someone bleeds you dry when they use all your money: "If they hadn't bled me dry we could afford a better place." ; "Six years of legal battles have bled the company dry."

mark, spoil; stain; fault

mix two or more substances together; go well with sth

ask God to protect sb or sth; "He blessed his star."

if you describe sth as a blessing in disguise, you mean that it proved to be the best thing that could have happened, despite having seemed like a disaster at first; sth that seems completely bad but which may have good results: "'The accident was probably a blessing in disguise', admits Barbara. 'I had ideas, but no experience. I've had plenty of time to prepare."; "The riots may be a blessing in disguise, if they make the community come together and work on its problems."

remember what is good in your life instead of complaining; thankful for small mercies; look on the bright side; to think about the good things in your life, not the bad: "Count your blessings - you could have ended up in hospital."; "Count your blessings - you have a decent house to live in, at a rent that you can afford."

a situation is a mixed blessing if it has both advantages and disadvantages; sth good which has some bad things about it: "Living here is a mixed blessing. Mixed because you can find real solitude in the mountains, but lack of people often means a lack of facilities."; "Owning your home is a mixed blessing, as it means that you are responsible for repairs and maintenance."

plant desease caused by fungus or insects

not able to see; window cover

not having very good eyesight, or cannot see anything at all: "I am blind as a bat without my glasses."

the person who is supposed to be teaching or helping others knows little more than, or as little as, those being helped or taught; people who know very little about what they are doing are advising those who know equally little: "'You gave me a lot of help at the beginning, explaining the theory.' 'That was the blind leading the blind. I don't know how I got through the exam myself.'"; "When I got a computer, Jo tried to teach me how to use it, which was a case of the blind leading the blind."

having the eyes covered with a handkerchief etc; cover eyes

shut and open eyes rapidly

in a blink; (happening) very quickly; in the twinkling of an eye: "He's good at spending a long time doing nothing, then becoming highly active in the blink of an eye."; "Her motorbike goes from a standstill to 60 m.p.h. in the blink of an eye."

not (even) a blink; without showing any surprise or shock, or without pausing: "I told him what I had heard about the job losses, and he didn't even blink."

not working properly: "Oh dear; the telly's on the blink again."; "the video's on the blink again."

leather flap to prevent a horse seeing sideways

greatest happiness

a swelling like a bubble on the skin, filled with a watery liquid

attack from the air.

a great effort or intense period of work: "It's time we had a blitz on the garage."; "When we got home, Kath and I had a blitz on the cleaning."

a snowstorm with very strong winds

swollen, puffy

a drop; small round mass

a large lump of sth, e.g. wood or stone; a large building of flats or offices; get in the way of; "A fallen tree can block a road."; "We must walk two blocks to get there."; "A building of an entire block."; "The police have cordoned off a city block there in the environs of the Yale University Law School."

sb has a lot of experience of life: "You could tell she'd been around the block a few times - too much makeup, hair dyed pink, and a skirt that was way to short."

to hit someone very hard: "If you touch my stuff, I'll knock your block off."

a problem that may stop you from achieving sth: "The dialect was a bit of a stumbling block, but people got round it by using their imagination."

being sold at an auction: "He had to put his paintings on the block to pay off the taxes he owed."

to start: "A French company was first off the blocks with a great new product."

cutting off of supplies to an enemy

the red liquid that is pumped round our bodies by the heart

exciting and violent action: "He has a huge collection of PC games heavy on blood and thunder, and low on real skill."; "Those who thirst for blood-and-thunder politics will support this candidate."

anger or unfriendly feelings between people: "Despite a formal settlement, the bad blood between James and his father is not going to disappear overnight."

sth makes sb very angry or annoyed: "It makes my blood boil to see how people are ruining the countryside."; "I read the gossip columns every day even though they make my blood boil."

people are generally more loyal to members of their own family than to other people; family relationships are stronger and more important than any others: "'We had a difference of opinion and she left home', said Mr Harrison.'But blood is thicker than water and I have been at the hospital waiting to hear how she is.'"; "His friends all have families to think of, and blood is thicker than water."

to be responsible for sb's death: "These people are terrorists, and have blood on their hands."

be like trying to get blood out of a stone; sth is almost impossible to obtain; it is very difficult to get sth from sb who is very unwilling to give it: "Persuading them to give away any information is like trying to get blood out of a stone."; "'It's like getting blood out of a stone,' was one pensioner's comment on the 50p-a-week pension increase."

make sb feel very frightened: "Her blood ran cold when she heard that voice on the phone again."; "When she heard a man's voice, her blood ran cold."

to make sb very angry and ready to fight: "That's the sort of argument that really gets my blood up."

to be saying loudly or publicly that someone should be punished: "By this time the crowd has baying for the referee's blood."

be after sb's blood; very angry with sb and want to fight them or argue with them; to be very determined to defeat or punish sb: "He's out of prison - says there are people out for his blood."; "Didn't we support you when the New York office was out for your blood?"

to be too expensive for you: "'This one is priced at $35.88.''Good price, but a little too rich for my blood.'"

in a deliberately cruel or uncaring way; deliberately and with no emotion: "At dawn they were shot down in cold blood by a firing squad in the woods behind the camp."; "Her parents were killed in cold blood by the secret police."

people who are new to a job, situation etc and bring new ideas and energy: "The company came onto the fashion scene just at the time when it needed fresh blood."

to realize thar you have a chance to defeat or harm sb, and to be eager to try to do this: "The journalists, scenting blood, tried their hardest to get into the meeting."

you enjoy or are good at sth, especially when it has been done by your family: "I'm afraid gambling's in my blood - my grandfather lost a fortune on horse races and my mother won a lot of it back."

work your guts out; to work very/extremely hard: "I've sweated blood to get him to agree to see me at all."; "People have sweated blood to build up their businesses, and now they feel threatened."

a very great effort: "Outsiders seem to think teaching is easy, but it isn't; it takes blood, sweat, and tears to do it."

to experience some success during a fight, argument etc, which makes you more keen to win: "Hathaway had tasted blood, and went on to score three more goals."

injured or harmed but not wanting to stop fighting: "Hanson emerged bloody but unbowed after yesterday's game."

flower; first freshness or beauty; "In the bloom of youth.."; bear blooms; flourish

flower or mass of flowers, especially on fruit trees

an inky stain; a smudge or mark; make a blot on

sth very ugly and that spoils the view: "Yesterday's blot on the landscape is today's tourist curiosity, as lovers of modern architecture will tell you."

a kind of loose shirt, usually worn by women

a boy or man who is not being brave: "You can't wait for Connie to come and take the spider out of the bath, you big girl's blouse!"

a hard knock; make the air move; "The wind blows from the west."

keep changing your attitude towards them; to keep changing your attitude about sb or sth: "'You don't know where you are with him, do you?' said Dorothy. 'From one week to the next. Blowing hot and cold like that.'"; "The government seems to be blowing hot and cold about changing the tax law."

1) lose your chance of success through your own fault: "'How did your interview go?' 'I blew it.'" ; 2) used when you are annoyed with sth or sb: "I thought, blow it, I'm not going to hide in a corner to eat my lunch."

bad feelings between people blow over when they pass and become forgotten: "I wouldn't worry too much if I were you - it'll all have blown over by Monday."

cause you to feel extremely strong emotions: "'She just blew me away,' he says. 'I was so impressed I asked her if she wanted to do some work immediately.'"

amaze or confuse them: "I blew Dad's mind when I told him I was getting married."

detailed and graphic account or description of sth: "I didn't feel like hearing a blow-by-blow account of his divorce."

to destroy a plan or project, especially by giving away a secret: "It will blow the presidential campaign sky-high if this information becomes public."

to make a result much more uncertain, especially because of new information: "All lawyers dream of finding the one vital clue that will blow a case wide open."

a serious loss, disappointment, or defeat: "Losing this vote would be a body blow to the government."

an action or event that makes sth fail or end: "The distressing case dealt a death blow to their hopes of a quick settlement."

to have a bad effect on: "The rise in exchange rates dealt a blow to hopes of a revival in their export market."

to try and lessen the bad effect of sth: "When the company relocated, he was offered a lump sum to soften the blow."

to do sth to help (a cause or aim): "We struck a blow for freedom of speech when we gave out those leaflets."

"They sincerely believed that they were striking a blow against tyranny."

to start fighting: "The two actors almost came to blows over the size of their dressing-rooms."

on the telephone: "You'd better get on the blower to him now and tell him what's happened."

whale fat; weep,(shortened to blub)

the colour of the sky

happening without warning; very unexpectedly: "She appeared again out of the blue after fifteen years's absence."; "She got a job offer out of the blue, and by 3.30 she had cleared her desk."

feel sad or depressed: "Whenever I get the blues I take a long walk in the hills or go for a bike ride."

a name given to two different kinds of wild flowers: the wild hyacinth and the harebell

a name given to several species or large fly, having a blue abdomen, and particularly attracted to rotting meat

deceive, make pretence; outspoken, blunt

not deceived by another person's attempts to trick you into doing sth; to tell sb to do what they are threatening to do, because you do not believe that they will do it: "One day, some man is going to call her bluff and she's going to get hurt."; "You can tell your boss that you'll leave unless you get a pay rise, but she may call your bluff. Then you'll be out of a job."

(make)a stupid mistake; "John made a blunder when he wrote 10 instead of 100."

not sharp

smudge; indistinct impression; blot, obscure

publisher's description of a book usually printed on the jacket

become red in the face because you are ashamed or shy

avoid saying sth in public which might embarass them; to avoid embarrassing sb: "We will omit the names to spare the blushes of those who made the biggest mistakes."; "It is my privilege to introduce Dr Kataria, and I am not going to spare his blushes - he is a therapist with an international reputation."