blow a fuse
If you blow a fuse, you suddenly lose your temper and become very angry.
"Charlie blew a fuse yesterday then he discovered that his ipod had been stolen."
blow a gasket
When a furious person blows a gasket, they explode with anger.
"When the shop was burgled for the third time, the owner blew a gasket."
blow hot and cold
If you blow hot and cold about something, you constantly change your opinion about it.
"The boss keeps blowing hot and cold about the marketing campaign - one day he finds it excellent, the next day he wants to make changes."
blow out of proportion
If you exaggerate the importance of something, you blow it out of proportion.
"The importance of the event was blown out of proportion by the media."
blow out of the water
The expression 'blow out of the water' is used in a situation where someone or something completely defeats or surpasses another, or shows overwhelming superiority.
(The term comes from naval warfare and refers to the explosion of ship hit by enemy fire.)
"The skater’s performance blew all the other competitors out of the water!”
blow the whistle
If you report an illegal or socially-harmful activity to the authorities, and give information about those responsible for it, you blow the whistle or you are a whistle-blower.
"He refused to blow the whistle on his boss for fear of losing his job."
blow up in your face
When working on a plan or project, if it suddenly goes wrong or fails, it blows up in your face.
"The trip was difficult to organise, but it blew up in his face when the airline company went on strike."
blow your top
If you blow your top, you suddenly become very angry.
"When my mother saw the state of the house after the party, she blew her top!"
blue around gills
If a person looksblue around gills, (or green or pale) they look unwell or sick.
"You should sit down. You look a bit blue around the gills."
blue chip company
This term refers to a company with a solid reputation for the quality of its products and the stability of its growth and earnings.
"It's usually safe to invest in a blue chip company."
blue in the face
If you do something until you are blue in the face, you try unsuccessfully to do something for a very long time.
"I explained the situation until I was blue in the face but she wouldn't change her mind."
feel blue
To feel blue means to have feelings of deep sadness or depression.
"I'm going to see my grandmother. She's feeling a bit blue at the moment."
blue-eyed boy
A blue-eyed boy is someone's favourite.
"Paul is the director's blue-eyed boy!"
blue-sky thinking
The expression blue-sky thinking refers to a sort of brainstorming intended to generate original, creative ideas that are not necessarily realistic or practical.
"What we really need now is specialist knowledge rather than blue-sky thinking.”
"The school authorities have been doing some blue-sky thinking on how to improve standards."
out of the blue
If something happens out of the blue, it happens very unexpectedly.
"I had nearly given up hope when out of the blue I was offered a job."
scream blue murder
Someone who screams blue murder shouts or complains very loudly as if something very serious has happened.
"The crowd started screaming blue murder when the football match was interrupted."
above board
If a situation or business is described as above board, it is open, honest and legal.
"There are not secret negotiations. Our dealings have always been above board."