Thursday, December 31, 2009

Blarmy

Blarmy-n
unintelligent or insincere talk (informal)

vti
to persuade somebody with flattery (informal)

Synonyms
flattery
smooth talk

Monday, December 28, 2009

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Blanch

Blanch-v
1-(vt) to put food in boiling water for a few seconds in order to loosen the skin or kill enzymes
2-(vi) to become pale suddenly
3-(vt) to grow vegetables, especially celery and endive, in dark conditions in order to whiten the stems and improve their flavor
4-(vti) to lose color, or cause something to lose color

Synonyms
go pale
grow pale
lighten
bleach
blench

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Blackmail

Blackmail-n
1-the act of forcing somebody to pay money or do something by threatening to reveal shameful or incriminating facts about him or her.
See also greenmail
See also graymail
2-unfair threatening or incriminating of somebody, as a way of achieving a result

vt
to force somebody to pay money or do something by threatening to reveal shameful or incriminating facts about him or her

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Blackball-vt

Blackball-vt
1-to revent somebody from becoming a member of a club by voting against the person
2-to exclude somebody from a group or profession

n
1-a vote against somebody, especially somebody wanting to join a group
2-a black ball used to show a negative vote (archaic)

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Black Market

Black Market-n
a system of buying and selling officially controlled goods illegally

Bitters

Bitters-n
a slightly alcoholic liquid flavored with plant extracts and used as a mixer with certain cocktails (takes a singular verb)

npl
a bitter-tasting liquid used as a digestive aid