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[border on]{v. phr.} To be adjacent to; come close to; adjoin. •/Our village borders on the Mississippi River./ •/John’s actions border on irresponsibility./

[bore to death] See: TO DEATH.

[bore to tears]{v. phr.} To fill with tired dislike; tire by dullness or the same old thing bore. •/The party was dull and Roger showed plainly that he was bored to tears./ •/Mary loved cooking, but sewing bores her to tears./

[born] See: NATURAL-BORN, TO THE MANNER BORN.

[born out of wedlock]{adj. phr.} Born to parents who are not married to each other; without legal parents. •/Sometimes when a married couple can’t have children, they adopt a child who was born out of wedlock./ •/Today we no longer make fun of children born out of wedlock./

[born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth]{adj. phr.} Born to wealth and comfort; provided from birth with everything wanted; born rich. •/The stranger’s conduct was that of a man who had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth./ Compare: WELL-HEELED.

[born yesterday]{adj. phr.} Inexperienced and easily fooled; not alert to trickery; easily deceived or cheated. — Usually used in negative sentences. •/When Bill started the new job, the other workers teased him a little, but he soon proved to everyone that he wasn’t born yesterday./ •/I won’t give you the money till I see the bicycle you want to sell me. Do you think I was born yesterday?/ Compare: NOBODY’S FOOL.

[borrow] See: LIVE ON BORROWED TIME.

[borrow trouble]{v. phr.} To worry for nothing about trouble that may not come; make trouble for yourself needlessly. •/Don’t borrow trouble by worrying about next year. It’s too far away./ •/You are borrowing trouble if you try to tell John what to do./ Compare: ASK FOR, CROSS ONE’S BRIDGES BEFORE ONE COMES TO THEM, CRY BEFORE ONE IS HURT.

[bosom friend]{n. phr.} A very close friend; an old buddy with whom one has a confidential relationship. •/Sue and Jane have been bosom friends since their college days./

[boss] See: STRAW BOSS.

[boss one around]{v. phr.} To keep giving someone orders; to act overbearingly toward someone. •/"If you keep bossing me around, darling," Tom said to Jane, "the days of our relationship are surely numbered."/

[botch up]{v. phr.} To ruin, spoil, or mess something up. •/"I botched up my chemistry exam," Tim said, with a resigned sigh./

[both] See: CUT BOTH WAYS, PLAGUE ON BOTH YOUR HOUSES.

[both --- and]{coord. conj.} Used to emphasize that two or more things are talked about. •/Both Frank and Mary were at the party./ •/Millie is both a good swimmer and a good cook./ •/In the program tonight Mary will both sing and dance./ •/The frog can move quickly both on land and in the water./ Compare: AS WELL AS. Contrast EITHER OR.

[bothered] See: HOT AND BOTHERED.

[bottle blond]{n.}, {slang} A person who is obviously not a natural blond but whose hair is artificially colored. •/I doubt that Leonora’s hair color is natural; she strikes me as a bottle blond./

[bottleneck]{n.} A heavy traffic congestion. •/In Chicago the worst bottleneck is found where the Kennedy and the Eden’s expressways separate on the way to the airport./