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Brief History of Time, A
old-fash infml a very nice dependable person; good
friend 5 make bricks without straw to do a job without
the necessary materials → see also drop a brick (DROP²),
bang one's head against a brick wall (HEAD¹), like a ton of
bricks (TON)
brick² v
brick sthg. ⇔ up/in phr v [T] to fill or enclose completely
with bricks: All the windows were bricked up. | He murdered
his wife, and bricked up her body in the kitchen.
brick-bat /'brɪkbæt/ n a piece of something hard like a
brick, especially when thrown in anger: (fig.) The minister got
a lot of parliamentary brickbats (=was attacked in words) for
his handling of the affair.
brick-lay-er /'brɪkˌleɪə/ also brick-ie /'brɪki/ BrE infml — a
workman who builds walls etc with bricks —-laying n [U]
brick-work /'brɪkwɜːk||-wɜːrk/ n [U] building work in
which bricks are used: decorative brickwork round the
windows | There are some cracks in the brickwork.
brick-yard /'brɪkjɑːd||-jɑːrd/ also brick-field /'brɪkfiːld/
BrE — n a place where bricks are made
bri-dal /'braɪdl/ adj of a bride or the marriage ceremony: a
bridal dress | the bridal couple
bride /braɪd/ n a woman about to be married, just married, or
recently married: The bride wore a beautiful white dress. →
see Feature on page A28
bride-groom /'braɪdgruːm, -grʊm/ also groom n a man
about to be married, or just married → see Feature on page
A28
Brides-head Re-vis-it-ed /ˌbraɪdzhed riː'vɪzɪtɪd/ a
novel by Evelyn Waugh, written in 1945 and made into a
television film in 1980. It is about a rich family who live in a
large house in the country, and about UPPER-CLASS young
men at Oxford University in the 1920s. People remember it
especially because it gives an idea of upper-class English life
before World War II.
brides-maid /'braɪdzmeɪd/ n 1 an unmarried girl who
helps the bride at a marriage ceremony → compare BEST
MAN, FLOWER GIRL, MATRON OF HONOUR, PAGEBOY; see Fea-
ture on page A28 2 be always the bridesmaid and never
the bride to be someone who is never the centre of
attention and never wins anything
bride-to-'be n a woman who is about to be married: beauty
tips for the bride-to-be
bridge¹ /brɪdʒ/ n 1 a structure that carries a road or railway
bridges
suspension bridge
cantilever bridge
arch bridge
trussed bridge
over a valley, river etc: How many bridges are there across the
River Thames? | the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco | a
road bridge over a railway line | (fig.) The training programme
is seen as a bridge between school and work. 2 the raised part
of a ship on which the captain and other officers stand
when on duty 3 the bony upper part of the nose, between
the eyes 4 the part of a pair of glasses that rests on the
bridge of the nose → see picture at GLASSES 5 a small
movable part of a stringed musical instrument, used for
keeping the strings stretched 6 a small piece of metal for
keeping artificial teeth in place, fastened to the natural teeth
→ see also build bridges (BUILD¹), burn one's bridges
(BURN¹), Don't cross your bridges before you come/get to
them (CROSS²), water under the bridge (WATER¹)
bridge² v [T] to build a bridge across: to bridge a river | (fig.)
These tax reforms are an attempt to bridge the gap between
the rich and poor.
bridge³ n [U] a card game for four players developed from the
game of WHIST: Make up a four for bridge at Sally's. | a bridge
club → see also CONTRACT BRIDGE
bridge-head /'brɪdʒhed/ n 1 a strong position far forward
in enemy land from which an attack will be made 2 a
position well forward, from which further advances can be
made: This discovery will be a bridgehead for further
advances in computer science. → compare BEACHHEAD
Bridge-stone /'brɪdʒstəʊn/ trademark a US company that
makes a BRAND (=type) of tyres called Bridgestone and other
rubber products
Bridgewater Four, the /ˌbrɪdʒwɔːtə 'fɔːr||-wɔːtər,
-wɑːr-/ four British men who were put in prison for killing a
boy called Carl Bridgewater in 1978. One of the men died in
prison, but in 1997 it was shown that police officers had
behaved dishonestly in order to prove that the men were
guilty, so they were let out of prison.
bridge-work /'brɪdʒwɜːk||-wɜːrk/ n [U] especially AmE the
BRIDGES in a person's mouth
'bridging, loan n money lent by a bank for a short time to
help a borrower to buy something, especially a new prop-
erty, before they have sold something else, especially an old
property
bri-dle¹ /'braɪdl/ n leather bands put on a horse's head to
control its movements → see picture at HORSE
bridle² v 1 [T] to put a bridle on: to bridle a pony | (fig.) Learn
to bridle your tongue. (=to be careful in what you say) → see
also UNBRIDLED 2 [I(at)] to express anger or displeasure,
sometimes by making a proud upward movement of the
head: I asked her to do it, but she bridled at the suggestion.
'bridle path n a path made especially for horse riding, but
not for vehicles
Brie /briː/ trademark a type of soft round French cheese which
is creamy inside and white outside
brief¹ /briːf/ adj 1 short, especially in time: a brief
visit/letter | Please be brief (=say it in a few words) because
I'm in a hurry. | The fans only got a brief glimpse of their idol
at the airport. | His remarks were brief and to the point.
(=short and expressing his meaning exactly) | a brief swim-
suit (=covering only a small part of the body) 2 in brief in as
few words as possible: the news in brief —-ly adv: The
President stopped off briefly in London on his way to Geneva.
brief² n 1 a short spoken or written statement giving facts or
arguments about a law case 2 especially BrE the instructions
about someone's duties: The new minister's brief is to ensure
that the water supply is improved. 3 BrE hold no brief for to
not support or be in favour of: I hold no brief for the policies
of this government, but on this occasion I think they're right.
→ see also BRIEFS
brief³ v [T(on)] to give (someone) necessary instructions or
information, in order to prepare them for an activity: to
brief astronauts before their mission | to brief reporters on the
new legislation | The President was briefed by his advisers
before the interview. → compare DEBRIEF
brief-case /'briːfkeɪs/ n a flat, often leather case for papers,
especially one that opens at the top. When people think of
briefcases, they typically think of businessmen. → compare
ATTACHÉ CASE
Brief En'counter a film by David LEAN made in 1945, from
a play by Noel COWARD. It is an English love story, of a
housewife and a doctor, who fall in love but then decide to
separate. It is remembered especially for the romantic scenes
in a railway station and is known for its realism and artistic
filming.
Brief History of 'Time, A a book by Stephen HAWKING in
which he explains his ideas about how the universe and
time began and how they have developed
CULTURAL NOTE Although A Brief History of Time deals
with very complicated technical subjects, it sold in very
large numbers. But there is a joke that most of the people
who bought the book did not read it.