bone
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protect the organs within, and round which are the flesh
and skin: He broke a bone in his leg and the doctor set it. | The
dog was chewing/gnawing a bone. | a jawbone | She's very
attractive; she's got good bone structure. (=in her face) | Put
the fishbones on the side of the plate. → see also SKELE-
TON¹ 2 [U] the hard substance from which these parts are
formed: The archaeologists found fragments of bone in the
burial chamber. | a knife with a bone handle 3 bone of
contention something that causes argument: The island has
been a bone of contention between our two countries for
years. 4 chilled/frozen to the bone infml feeling cold right
through the body 5 close to/near the bone slightly rude or
improper; INDECENT or stating the truth in a cruel way: Some
of his jokes were rather close to the bone. 6 cut something to
the bone to reduce (costs, services etc) as much as possible:
The bus service has been cut to the bone. 7 have a bone to
pick with to have something to complain about to: I've got
a bone to pick with you. Why have you been spreading these
rumours about me? 8 make no bones about (doing) some-
thing to feel no doubt or shame about (doing) something:
She makes no bones about her prejudice against them. 9 not
make old bones old-fash not to live to be old 10 -boned
/bəʊnd/ having bones of the stated kind: big-boned → see
also BARE BONES, FUNNY BONE, feel in one's bones (FEEL¹),
skin and bones (SKIN¹) —less adj
bone² v [T] 1 to take the bones out of: Will you bone the fish
for me? | boned meat 2 to stiffen (a garment) with pieces of
bone
bone up phr v [I (for, on)] infml to study hard, especially for a
special purpose: You'd better bone up on the traffic rules if
you want to pass your driving test.
,bone 'china n [U] (cups, plates etc made of) fine white clay
mixed with crushed animals' bones; a kind of PORCELAIN.
Bone china is considered to be a high quality material and
things made from it are generally quite expensive.
,bone-'dry adj infml perfectly dry
bone-head /'bəʊnhed/ n slang a stupid person —-ed
/,bəʊn'hedɪd/ adj
,bone-'idle also ,bone-'lazy adj extremely lazy
bone-less /'bəʊnləs/ adj boneless meat or fish has had the
bones taken out: boneless chicken breasts
'bone ,marrow n → MARROW
'bone meal n [U] crushed bones, used for improving the soil
bon-er /'bəʊnər/ n [S] 1 AmE taboo an ERECTION 2 AmE infml a
stupid or embarrassing mistake
bone-shak-er /'bəʊn,ʃeɪkər/ n infml, often humor an uncom-
fortable shaky old vehicle, especially a bicycle
bonfire
bon-fire /'bɒnfaɪər || 'bɑːn-/ n a large fire made in the open
air, either for pleasure or to burn unwanted things: to build a
bonfire
'Bonfire ,Night BrE GUY FAWKES' NIGHT
bon-go /'bɒŋgə||'bɑː-/ also 'bongo drum n pl. -gos or
-goes either of a pair of small drums played with the hands
→ see picture at PERCUSSION
Bon-ham Car-ter, Hel-e-na /,bɒnəm 'kɑːtər||,bɑːnəm
'kɑːr-, 'helənə/ (1966–) a British actress who is known espe-
cially for appearing in films which are based on famous
works of literature by writers such as E.M. Forster, Henry
James, and George Orwell. Her films include Howards End,
The Wings of the Dove, and Keep the Aspidistra Flying. She has
also played modern parts in films such as Fight Club.
bon-ho-mie /'bɒnəmi||,bɑːnə'miː/ n [U] Fr cheerfulness; easy
friendliness: a spirit of bonhomie | his irritating bonhomie
Bon Jo-vi /bɒn 'dʒəʊvi||bɑːn-/ a popular US rock band.
Their songs include Living on a Prayer and You Give Love a Bad
Name. The band's albums include Slippery When Wet and
Crush. The lead singer, John Bon Jovi, is also an actor.
bonk¹ /bɒŋk||bɑːŋk/ v 1 [T] infml to hit, usually not very
hard: He bonked me on the head with the end of the lad-
der. 2 [(AWAY);T] BrE slang to have sex (with)
bonk² n 1 infml an act of hitting someone; hit 2 BrE slang humor
an act of having sex
bonk-bust-er /'bɒŋk,bstər||'bɑŋk-/ n infml humor a novel
which includes a lot of sex and which is very popular and
makes a lot of money → compare BLOCKBUSTER
bon-kers /'bɒŋkəz||'bɑːŋkərz/ adj [F] BrE slang humor mad: The
noise is driving me bonkers!
bon mot /,bɒn 'məʊ||,bəʊn-/ n pl. bons mots /,bɒn
'məʊz||,bəʊn-/ Fr a clever saying or remark
Bonn /bɒn||bɑːn/ the capital city of the Federal Republic of
Germany from 1949 until 1990
bon-net /'bɒnɪt||'bɑː-/ n 1 a round head-covering tied under
the chin, and often with a BRIM (=a piece in front) that
shades the face, worn by babies and, especially in former
times, by women 2 BrE || hood AmE — a metal lid over the
front of a car: to look under the bonnet → see picture at
CAR 3 a soft flat cap worn by men, especially soldiers, in
Scotland → see also bee in one's bonnet (BEE)
Bon-nie and Clyde /,bɒni ən 'klaɪd||,bɑː-/ two young
criminals, Bonnie Parker (a woman) and Clyde Barrow (a
man), who stole money from banks and businesses in the
US in the 1930s. A popular film was made about them in
1967.
Bonnie Prince 'Charlie (1720–88) the popular name of
Charles Edward Stuart, sometimes also called the Young
Pretender. He was the grandson of King James II, and
believed he had the right to be the British king instead of
King George II. He led the second JACOBITE RISING against
the king in 1745–46, but was defeated at the Battle of
CULLODEN. After this he escaped to the island of Skye with the
help of a woman called Flora Macdonald. He is regarded as a
very romantic character, and there are many Scottish stories
and songs about him. → see also STUART, JAMES EDWARD
bon-ny /'bɒni||'bɑːni/ adj apprec, especially ScotE 1 pretty and
healthy: a bonny baby 2 [A] fine or skilful: a bonny fighter
—nily adv
Bo-no /'bəʊnəʊ/ (1960–) an Irish rock musician from Dublin
who is the main singer in the group U2. He started an
organization called DATA (= Debt, Aids, Trade in Africa)
which tries to make politicians pay attention to problems in
Africa such as the debt which some African countries cannot
pay back, the spread of AIDS, and unfair trade rules which
have a particularly bad effect on poor people.
bon-sai /'bɒnsaɪ||bɑːn'saɪ,
'bɑːnsaɪ/ n pl. bonsai [C,U]
(the art of growing) a plant
in a small pot that is pre-
vented from reaching its
natural size, especially a tree
bo-nus /'bəʊnəs/ n 1 an
additional payment beyond
what is usual, necessary, or
expected, such as a share of
the profits paid to those
who work for a business:
The staff got a Christmas
bonus/a productivity bonus. |
a cost of living bonus paid to
workers because of rising
prices 2 [C. usually sing.] infml
anything pleasant in addition to what is expected: We like
our new house, and it's a real bonus that my mother lives so
near.
bon vi-vant /,bɒn viː'vɒnt||,bɑːn viː'vɑːnt/ also bon
vi-veur /-viː'vɜːr/ especially BrE — n a person who likes good
wine and food and cheerful companions
bon-y /'bəʊni/ adj 1 very thin so that the bones can be seen:
her bony hand 2 (of food) full of bones: bony fish
bonsai