answering.    3 [C] ~ of sth

{especially BrE) a small amount or piece of sth /f fi; /f : some useful bits of information       Jlfit Jg,

0 With a bit of luck, well be there by 12.

IS 11 1 # X 12                 & PJ gp M o 0 I’ve got a bit of shopping

to do. i£fcA.&AMo <> a bit of cake -                    0 bits of

grass/paper S A W A;

►                  PART OF STH 4 [C] {especially BrE) a part of sth larger

(                  — it:           The best bit of the holiday

was seeing the Grand Canyon. {{£$]      W AI&Ji#

$L A M £r o O The school play was a huge success—the audience roared with laughter at all the funny bits.

1£X%a

►                  LARGE AMOUNT A M 5 [sing.] a ~ (of sth) {informal, espe­cially BrE) a large amount X It:       ‘How much does he

earn?’ ‘Quite a bit!’         A?      ” 0

The new system will take a bit of getting used to (= it will take a long time to get used to).

|bJ0

►                  COMPUTING if Vi #1 1$ / 6 [C] the smallest unit of infor­mation used by a computer tt#, r.lS^]iiz:, ( if^:

►                  FOR HORSE Sj 7 [c] a metal bar that is put in a horse’s mouth so that the rider can control it n§^P

►                  TOOL I Hr 8 [C] a tool or part of a tool for drilling

(= making) holes  ZI A; If A —picture o tool

—                see also drill n.{ 1)

►                  MONEY 9 {NAmE, informal) an amount of money equal to 12V2 cents * 12.5 tt; — fan

►                  SEXUAL ORGANS         10 bits [p| ] {BrE, informal) a

person’s sexual organs ( AW )

—                see also bite, bit, bitten v. IWM the (whole) ... bit

{informal, disapproving) behaviour or ideas that are typical of a particular group, type of person or activity (AHA,     She

couldn’t accept the whole drug-culture bit.

W#rp Alto bit by'bit a piece at a time; gradually —He assembled the model aircraft bit by bit. 0

Bit by bit memories of the night came back to me. SiZ.feTSPB&W^kWMo a bit 'much {informal) not fair or not reasonable M#;      ; I'pl: It’s a bit

much calling me at three in the morning.

AM^To a bit of a ... {informal, especially BrE) used when talking about unpleasant or negative things or ideas, to mean ‘rather a ... ’ (

H&JL:          We may have a bit of a problem on our

hands.         WMbTIM0 o The rail strike is

a bit of a pain.      3 bit of all

'right {BrE, slang) a person that you think is sexually attractive WMAWA; itliWA a bit of 'rough {BrE, slang) a person of a low social class who has a sexual relationship with sb of a higher class (

) tiil&OIA a bit on the 'side {BrE, slang) the boyfriend or girlfriend of sb who is already married or in a steady sexual relationship with sb else     A;      .bits and 'pieces/'bobs {BrE,

informal) small objects or items of various kinds 'X-XEf- A; #M^nn: She stuffed all her bits and pieces into a bag and left. UESft?# 6«W3m£PS»7~.R&Sifc y°ur 'bit {informal) to do your share of a task M f:          We can finish this job on time if everyone

does their bit.       l

If£0 every bit as good, bad, etc. (as sb/sth) just as good, bad, etc.; equally good, bad, etc. ( fP^IA.

$5 )    Rome is every bit as beautiful as

Paris. get the bit between your

teeth {informal) to become very enthusiastic about sth that you have started to do so that you are unlikely to stop until you have finished          AASI

not a 'bit | not one (little) 'bit not at all; not in any way — AttlA; MX: ‘Are you cold?’ ‘Not a bit.’

” b It’s not a bit of use (= there’s no point in) complaining.     o I don’t like that

idea one bit.          IS A A# ASP A±i o not a 'bit. of it!

(informal, BrE) used for saying that sth that you had expected to happen did not happen (

«#££ ) «A**3P#,     You’d think