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boiler
stopped a man who was carrying a gun. 2 [+sing/pl. v] a group
of men with this job: The President's bodyguard is/are
waiting in the hall.
'body ,language n [U] the use of bodily movements and
signs as a way of expressing one's feelings or intentions
without using words
'body ,piercing n [U] the action of putting a small hole
through part of your body, such as your nose, tongue, or
NAVEL so that you can wear jewellery there
,body 'politic n [the] fml the people of a nation forming a
state under the control of a single government
'body ,search n a detailed examination of a person for
hidden items (e.g. drugs or weapons) —body-search v [T]
She was body-searched at the airport.
'body shop n a building where the BODYWORK of a car is
repaired
Body Shop trademark a company started by Anita RODDICK,
which produces MAKE-UP, soap, SHAMPOO etc and sells them
all over the world in its own shops. The company is known
for making products which have not been tested on animals
and for working to protect the environment.
'body ,snatcher n (in former times) a person who dug up
dead bodies and sold them to doctors for scientific study
'body ,stocking n a closely fitting garment in one piece that
covers the body and often the arms and legs
body-suit /'bɒdisuːt, -ˌsjuːt||'bɑːdisuːt/ n a piece of tight-
fitting clothing that women wear on the top half of their
body
'body ,warmer n BrE a piece of warm clothing without arms
that you wear over a SWEATER or a shirt, especially when you
are outside: a woolly fleece body warmer
bod·y·work /'bɒdiwɜːk||'bɑːdiwːrk/ n [U] the main out-
side structure of a motor vehicle, as opposed to the engine,
wheels etc: The engine works well, but there is a lot of rust in
the bodywork.
Boe-ing /'bəʊɪ/ trademark a US company that makes aircraft.
Its passenger planes, such as the Boeing 747, are the most
common ones used by AIRLINES.
Boer /bɔːr, bʊər/ n a white South African belonging to a
group of people who originally went to South Africa from
Holland in the 17th century. The language of the Boers is
AFRIKAANS. —Boer adj
Boer 'War, the also the South African War (1899-1902) a
war in South Africa in which the British army successfully
fought against two Boer REPUBLICS called the Transvaal and
the Orange Free State, and made them part of the British
Empire
bof·fin /'bɒfɪn||'bɑː-/ n BrE old-fash infml 1 a scientist 2 a clever
person
B of the Bang /ˌbiː əv ðə 'bæŋ/ Britain's biggest SCULP-
TURE, built outside the City of Manchester Stadium to
remember the success of the 2002 Commonwealth Games
which were held there. It is 184 feet tall and consists of 180
SPIKES of different lengths, sticking out in different direc-
tions. The name of the sculpture comes from a statement by
Linford Christie, a British ATHLETE, who said that you have to
start on the B of the BANG of the STARTING GUN (=small gun
that is used to give the signal for a race to begin) if you want
to win a race.
bog¹ /bɒg||bɑːg, bɔg/ n 1 [C;U] (an area of) soft wet ground,
consisting of decaying vegetable matter, into which the feet
sink 2 [C] BrE slang a TOILET —gy adj: boggy ground
bog² v -gg-
bog down phr v [I;T(= bog sthg./sbdy. ⇔ down) usually pass.] to
(cause to) sink and become stuck (as if) in a bog: The car got
bogged down in the mud. | (fig.) The talks with the staff bogged
down on the question of working hours. | (fig.) Let's try not to
get too bogged down in these detailed points.
Bo·gart, Hum·phrey /'bəʊgɑt||-gɑːrt, 'hʌmfri/ (1899-1957)
a US film actor whose films include The Maltese Falcon,
Casablanca, and The African Queen. He was married to the
actress Lauren BACALL. → see Feature on page A33
Bog·dan·o·vich, Peter /ˌbɒg'dænəvɪtʃ||bɑːg-/ (1939-) a US
film DIRECTOR whose films include The Last Picture Show, for
which two actors won Oscars in 1971. Some of his other films
are Paper Moon and What's Up, Doc?
bo·gey /'bəʊgi/ n 1 also 'bogey man, boogeyman — (used
by children or to threaten them) an imaginary evil spirit:
The bogey man's coming to get you! 2 a cause of fear, espe-
cially an imaginary one 3 BrE a piece of the soft sticky
substance that develops in your nose; BOOGER AmE
bog·gle /'bɒgəl||'bɑː-/ v [{(at)}] 1 to pause before taking any
action, especially owing to fear or surprise; HESITATE: I rather
boggled at having to pay £30 for the tickets. 2 to be very
surprised, shocked, or OVERWHELMED: The mind boggles at
the amount of research yet to be done. → see also MIND-
BOGGLING
bog·ie¹, bogey, bogy /'bəʊgi/ n 1 BrE a set of four or six
wheels set in a frame under a railway engine or carriage, that
make it able to go round curves 2 a small light cart (TROL-
LEY) 3 (in GOLF) a SCORE of one stroke over PAR on a hole
bog·ie² v [T] (in GOLF) to play (a hole) in one stroke over PAR
Bog·nor Re·gis /ˌbɒgnə 'riːdʒəs||ˌbɑːgnər-/ also Bognor a
town on the south coast of England, popular with tourists,
especially older British people
Bog·o·tá /ˌbɒgə'tɑː||ˌbɑː-/ the capital city of Colombia,
built high up in the Andes mountains
'bog roll n [C;U] BrE slang (a roll of) TOILET PAPER
,bog-'standard adj BrE infml of the ordinary type, and not
special or interesting in any way: How much do you have to
pay for a basic, bog-standard computer these days?
bo·gus /'bəʊgəs/ adj derog pretended; intentionally false: The
reporter could not get to see the minister, so she made up a
completely bogus interview with him.
Bohème, La → see LA BOHÈME
bo·he·mi·an /bəʊ'himiən, bə-/ n, adj becoming rare (a person)
that does not follow the accepted practices, customs, and
standards of social behaviour: Many writers, artists, and
musicians are bohemians/lead bohemian lives.
Bohr, Niels Hen·rik Dav·id /bɔːr, niːls 'henrɪk 'dævɪð/
(1885-1962) a Danish scientist who made important discover-
ies in NUCLEAR PHYSICS, especially discoveries about the
structure of atoms. He won the Nobel prize for physics in
1922.
boil¹ /bɔɪl/ v [I;T] 1 a) to cause (a liquid or its container) to
reach the temperature at which liquid changes into a gas:
Peter boiled the kettle. I'm boiling the soup. b) (of a liquid
or its container) to reach this temperature: Is the milk/the
kettle boiling yet? | (fig.) boiling with rage | The way these
newspapers print such blatant lies makes my blood boil.
(=makes me extremely angry) 2 to cook in water at 100°C:
Boil the potatoes for 20 minutes. | The potatoes have been
boiling (away) for 20 minutes. | Shall I boil you an egg? I
boiled eggs 3 boil dry to (cause to) become dry because the
liquid has changed into gas by boiling: Don't let the pan/the
vegetables boil dry. → see COOK (USAGE); see also HARD-
BOILED, SOFT-BOILED
boil away phr v [I] to be reduced to nothing (as if) by
boiling: The water had all boiled away and the pan was
burned.
boil down phr v [I;T(= boil sthg. ⇔ down)] to reduce in quantity
by boiling: Put plenty of spinach in the pan because it boils
down (to almost nothing). | (fig.) Try to boil the report down (to
the main points).
boil down to sthg. phr v [T] infml (of a statement, situation,
argument etc) to be or mean, leaving out the unnecessary
parts: It's a long report, but it really boils down to a demand
for higher safety standards.
boil over phr v [I] (of a liquid) to swell as it boils, and flow
over the sides of a container: Turn off the gas; the milk is
boiling over. | (fig.) The argument boiled over into open war.
boil up phr v [I] (of troubles) to develop and reach a
dangerous level: Trouble was boiling up in the Middle East.
boil² n [S] an act or state of boiling: Give the sheets a good boil
to get them white. | The milk has nearly come to the boil. |
Bring it to the boil then turn down the heat. | to go/take off
the boil | (fig.) Try to keep them interested in the deal - we don't
want them to go off the boil. (=lose interest)
boil³ n a painful infected swelling under the skin
'boiled sweet n BrE a hard small sweet which often tastes of
fruit
boil·er /'bɔɪlər/ n a container for boiling water, for example