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[big top]{n.} The main tent under which a circus gives its show; the circus and circus life. •/Lillian Leitzel was one of the great stars of the big top./ •/The book tells of life under the big top./

[big wheel]{n.}, {informal} An influential or important person who has the power to do things and has connections in high places. •/Uncle Ferdinand is a big wheel in Washington; maybe he can help you with your problem./

[big yawn]{n.} A very boring person, story or event. •/I love my grandma very much, but the stories she tells sure are a yawn./

[bill] See: CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH, FILL THE BILL.

[bind] See: DUTY BOUND, IN A BIND, MUSCLE BOUND, ROOT-BOUND.

[bingo card]{n.}, {slang} A response card, bound into a periodical, containing numbers keyed to editorial or advertising matter, giving the reader the opportunity to send for further information by marking the numbers of the items he is interested in; such a card can be mailed free of charge. •/Jack thinks he is saving time by filling out bingo cards instead of writing a letter./

[bird] See: EARLY BIRD CATCHES THE WORM or EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM, EAT LIKE A BIRD, FINE FEATHERS DO NOT MAKE FINE BIRDS, FOR THE BIRDS, KILL TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE.

[bird has flown]{slang} The prisoner has escaped; the captive has got away. •/When the sheriff returned to the jail, he discovered that the bird had flown./

[bird in the hand is worth two in the bush (a)] Something we have, or can easily get, is more valuable than something we want that we may not be able to get; we shouldn’t risk losing something sure by trying to get something that is not sure. — A proverb. •/Johnny has a job as a paperboy, but he wants a job in a gas station. His father says that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush./

[bird of a different feather]{n. phr.} A person who is free thinking and independent. •/Syd won’t go along with recent trends in grammar; he created his own. He is a bird of a different feather./

[birds of a feather flock together] People who are alike often become friends or are together; if you are often with certain people, you may be their friends or like them. — A proverb. •/Don’t be friends with bad boys. People think that birds of a feather flock together./

[birds and the bees (the)]{n. phr.}, {informal} The facts we should know about our birth. •/At various ages, in response to questions, a child can be told about the birds and the bees./

[bird watcher]{n.} A person whose hobby is to study birds close-up in their outdoor home. •/A bird watcher looks for the first robin to appear in the spring./

[birthday suit]{n.} The skin with no clothes on; complete nakedness. •/The little boys were swimming in their birthday suits./

[bit] See: A BIT, CHAMP AT THE BIT, FOUR BITS, QUITE A LITTLE or QUITE A BIT, SIX BITS, TAKE THE BIT IN ONE’S MOUTH, TWO BITS.