box someone intv. to put someone into
a bind; to reduce the number of some-
one’s alternatives. (See also boxed in.)
I don’t want to box you in, but you are
running out of options. TI want to box
in the whole staff, so they’ll have to do it
my way.
boys in blueGo to men in blue.
boys in the back room and back room
boysn. any private male group making
decisions, usually politicians. The boys
in the back room picked the last presiden-
tial candidate. The back room boys have
decided too many things in the past. Their
day is over.
bozo[“bozo] n. a clown; a jerk; a fool. (Also
a term of address.) Look, you bozo, I’ve
had enough of your jabber. Those bo-
zos are at it again. Spend, spend, spend.
bra-burnern. <a nickname for a woman
who supported the women’s liberation
movements of the 1960s and 1970s.>
(Derogatory.) Didn’t the bra-burners
give way to whale-savers in the seventies?
Mike wants to know if the bra-burners
took them off first.
braceletsn. handcuffs. The cops put the
bracelets on Jane and led her away.
brack-brain[“brAkbren] n. a fool. The
brack-brains in Washington have done it
again! One brack-brain around here is
enough. Do you want me to leave?
brain 1. n. a good student; a very intelligent
person. (See also brains.) I’m no brain,
but I get good grades. Who was the brain
who figured this out? 2. tv. to hit someone
(in the head). I ought to brain you for
that! She almost brained me with her
umbrella.
brain bucketn. a bike or motorcycle hel-
met. He refuses to wear a brain bucket
when he rides.
brain-burned and brain-fried mod.
brain-damaged from drugs. (Drugs. See
also burnout.) The kid is a little brain-
burned, but still has a chance at an inde-
pendent life. Man, you’re gonna get
brain-burned from this stuff.
brainchild 1. n. someone’s good idea
viewed as an offspring of the brain. Is
this your brainchild? It won’t work. Lis-
ten to this. It’s my best brainchild. 2. n. a
person who has good ideas. The boss’s
new brainchild seems to have gone dry.
You can’t just go out and hire a brainchild.
They’ve got to want to work for you.brain-deadmod. stupid. I don’t know
why he’s so dull. He’s seems brain-dead
half the time. I think that half my stu-
dents are brain-dead.brain-drainn. the movement of intellec-
tuals from one country to another where
the pay and job opportunities are better.
It looks like the brain-drain of the fifties
is reversing with more and more academics
leaving the U.S. to join British universities.
Where there is a good education system,
there will always be a brain-drain.brain-friedGo to brain-burned.brainsn. the person(s) in charge of think-
ing something through. Who’s the
brains around this joint? John is not
what I would call the brains of the gang.brainstorm 1. n. a good idea; an idea that
enters one’s head suddenly. I had a sud-
den brainstorm and got out of bed to write
it down. This brainstorm hit me while
I was in the shower. 2. in. to try to think
up good ideas, especially as a group.
Let’s brainstorm on this for a little while.brain-teaserGo to brain-twister.brain-twister and brain-teasern. a puz-
zle. This Maltese falcon case is a real
brain-twister. Can you help me with
this brain-teaser?(brand) spanking newmod. completely
new. My car is spanking new. Look at
that brand spanking new car!brassn. high-ranking military or civilian
officers. (See also top brass.) We’ l l s e e
what the brass has to say first. The brass
said no to your promotion.brassed (off)mod. angry; disgusted.
You look so brassed off at the world. Smile!
I’m not brassed in the least, really.box someone in