| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| by jove |
it happened, it is amazing
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By jove! We reached our goal. We sold 15,000 tickets!
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| by leaps and bounds |
by large amounts, by a lot
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The population of Calgary has grown by leaps and bounds.
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| by no means |
not in any way, not by any stretch...
|
By no means is a car a good investment. It will depreciate.
|
| by the by |
(See by the way)
|
|
| by the same token |
judging by the same rule, to be fair to both sides
|
By the same token, he should help with the housework.
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| by the seat of your pants |
with little money, without planning, a lick and a promise
|
You can't operate a business by the seat of your pants.
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| by the short hairs |
(See got you by the short hairs)
|
|
| by the skin of their teeth |
by a little, barely
|
He won the election by one vote, by the skin of his teeth.
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| by the way |
in addition to what I was saying, incidentally
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By the way, I heard that Ed is resigning.
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| by word of mouth |
by one person speaking to another, person to person, through the grapevine
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News of his birth traveled by word of mouth. Soon everyone knew that Mary had a baby boy.
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