happen one after the other g~l& = .back to
'front (BrE) (NAmE back-wards) if you put on a piece
of clothing back to front, you make a mistake and put the back where the
front should be (
( ) : I think you’ve got that sweater on back
to front. %%
iff
# ffjg % d
7 „ — compare
inside out at inside n. — picture o inside be glad, etc. to see
the back of sb/sth (informal, especially BrE) to be happy that you will not have to deal
with or see sb/sth again because you do not like them or it ASH# ( AH7j:W
As£#^l ) : Was I pleased to see the
back of her! ! behind sb’s 'back
without sb’s knowledge or
permission WJE
M;
A : Have you been
talking about me behind my back? #f|1IIAJi£WJlHfclSWi^T£?
0 They went ahead and sold it behind my
back, ftMflS
—
compare to sb’s face at face
n. be on sb’s 1
back
(informal) to keep asking or
telling sb to do sth that they do not want to do, in a way that they find
annoying il$f; MW break the 'back of
sth to
finish the largest or most important part of a task ) W±5c
rPjf get/put sb’s 'back
up (informal) to annoy sb ^ fixj;
That sort of attitude really gets my back up! UP #
A.! get off sb’s 'back (informal) to stop annoying sb,
for example by criticizing them, or asking them to do sth A#MWi£A ( ]£Mm% ) \
Just get off my back, will you! i#
U'J M 7 ^! have
your .back to the 'wall (informal) to be in a difficult
situation in which you are forced to do sth but are unable to make the choices
that you would like /LAW off the .back of a ’lorry (BrE, informal, humorous) goods that fell off
the back of a lorry were probably stolen. People say or accept that they
came ‘off the back of a lorry’ to avoid saying or asking where they really came
from. ( la A PH on the back of sth as a result of an
achievement or a success Eh 7 ( M M JA St ) : The profits growth
came on the back of a 26 per cent rise in sales. fiJIPiffA: A i 26% Wi$U$liJtH£o (flat) on your back (informal) in bed because you are
ill/sick ; Eh^: She’s
been flat on her back for over a week now. ftfeEb^W
A ^l|§7o 0 (figurative) The
ft'EM H° put your 'back into
sth to
use a lot of effort and energy on a particular task f turn
your back to turn so that you
are facing in the opposite direction IS A ; #
turn
your back on
sb/sth 1 to move so that you
are standing or sitting with your back facing sb/sth ft^W^^A ( ) :
When on stage, try not to turn
your back on the audience. AM 2 to reject sb/sth
that you have previously
been connected with ft ff; M ff: She turned her back on them when they needed
her. M£PW#7fM7 —more at
COVER V., EYE /?., KNOW V., PAT /I., PAT V., PUSH
V., ROD, SCRATCH V., SHIRT, STAB n., STAB V., STRAW, WATER
/?.
m adj. [only before noun]
►
AWAY FROM FRONT J| ffi 1 located behind or at
the back
of sth # Js W; fp ffi W; Is pP W: We were sitting in the
back row. ffc fl *£ % $'«,
0 back teeth 0§oa back
room (= one at the back of
a building) /sir ( {vAHIh #Jfp oP
) 0 the back page of a newspaper
—
compare front
adj.( 1)
►
FROM PAST MA 2
of or from a past time MAW; 10 Bt W: a back number of the magazine —
►
OWED S/3 owed for a time in
the past fiJ$3AttW; IS AW: back
pay/taxes/rent Aff/f&/ Ulk
►
PHONETICS iS # 4 (phonetics i# #) (of a vowel % W) produced with the back of the tongue
in a higher position than the front, for example /a:/ in English tiW,
MtetfeW ( W^ftAnlS)sAP£W )
—
compare central(5), front adj.(2)
fTCTTl on the back 'burner
(informal) (of an idea, a plan,
etc. |E A M > it $J H) left for the present
time, to be done or considered later W H
1$ S —see also back-burner —compare
on the front burner at
FRONT adj.
madv. ITT3T3 For the special uses
of back in phrasal verbs, look at the entries for the verbs. For example