by half— 1. increase or reduce smth. by fifty percent of the original amount: This move cuts by half the religious programming on ITV on Sunday. 2. far more than is satisfactory or desirable: Of course, he is a very clever politician. Too clever by half, in my opinion. by halves—do smth. imperfectly or not […]
Category: Confusing Phrases
Difference between By day and By the day
by day—during the day; in the day-time: Eurostar trains only travel by day and require a reservation. by the day— 1. on a daily basis: Clients who rent by the day can be billed for phone service the day they leave. 2. with every passing day: Protests on campuses were becoming uglier by the day, […]
Difference between By choice and Of choice
by choice—voluntary; not forced or compelled: The grasp of the church never relaxed unless freely and by choice. of choice —(of drugs, treatment, etc.) preferred; recommended: Chloromycetin has been the drug of choice for treating typhoid fever.
Difference between By any chance and By chance
by any chance—perhaps; possibly: I was wondering if by any chance you could lend me five pounds. by chance—accidentally; unpredictably: Karma is a belief that nothing happens by chance.
Difference between “By and by” and “By the by”
by and by—soon; before long: They could see the smoke, and by and by a shell would explode in their midst. by the by —(introductory or parenthetical) in passing; incidentally (also: by the way): By-the-by, Martin—any message from my lady mother?
Difference between By all means and By any means
by all means—certainly; without fail: You should by all means utilize the placement office at least a year before you actually start job hunting. by any means—in any way possible: We are trying to remake Vietnamese society, a task which probably cannot be accomplished by any means.
Difference between By air and Over the air
by air—using aircraft as a means of transport: Sending goods by air is fast but can be expensive. over the air—over the radio: Listeners will be able to “grill” leading public figures over the air.
Difference between By a hair’s breadth and To a hair’s breadth
by a hair’s breadth —(also: by a fraction) by a very small degree or amount: If I swerve by a hair’s breadth from the straight line of the most rigid respectability, I’m done for. to a hair’s breadth —(also: to a fraction) with great accuracy: You had plenty of time to put your heads together […]
Difference between By a fraction and To a fraction
by a fraction—(also: by a hair’s breadth) by a very small degree or amount: Hester does not change by a fraction her intention to run away with Arthur. to a fraction—(also: to a hair’s breadth) with great accuracy: Escudero supposed that two hundred Mexican ounces would compensate him to a fraction.
Difference between Buy the farm and Sell the farm
buy the farm —(coll.) die, especially suddenly or violently (also: buy it): Well, I almost bought the farm last weekend. A friend was driving too aggressively and she put us into a dangerous situation. sell the farm—sell all one’s assetts to invest in a new venture; act rashly or overreact: The economy has been tough […]
Difference between Buy someone off and Buy someone out
buy someone off—bribe a person to persuade him do smth.: It is impossible to open a big gambling operation without buying off public officials. buy someone out— 1. buy smb.’s share of property: He borrowed a large sum of money in order to buy out his partner. 2. buy all of smth. that a person […]
Difference between Buy it and Get it
buy it—(sl.) 1. believe smth.: I told my new boyfriend that I am pregnant with his kid. Do you think he will buy it? Cf.: sell it—(sl.) persuade a person to accept smth. as true: Don’t try to sell it to me as a great work of comedy. The film struck me as being very […]