A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

boy toy • boy’s toy
boy toy —
1
. said of smth. that provides enjoyable pastime to
grown-up men: Dive propulsion vehicles or underwater scoot-
ers have traditionally been a boy toy. 2. (sl., also: toy boy) a
woman’s very young lover: So what if your man is a boy toy?
Enjoy it while you need it to last!
boy’s toy — = boy toy 
1
: A car is a boy’s toy that a man is posses -
sive about, hence he relates to his car more than a woman does.
boys on the bus, the • man on the bus, the
boys on the bus, the —(U.S. coll.) members of the press who
travel with campaigning politicians (also: boys and girls on the
bus, the): Columnist Jules Witcover, one of “the boys on the
bus” concluded that the candidates’ entourage was about the
last place to be these days.
man on the bus, the —the ordinary person of either sex; “the
man in the street”: The complex matters involve concepts such
as illiquid investments … none of which will mean much to
the man on the bus who may be, with reason, worrying about
his pension.
Note: 
The expression does not fully correlate in meaning with
the phrase man on the Clapham omnibus, the—(UK)
1
. =
man on the bus, the: If you ask the man on the Clapham om-
nibus he will typically think that things are getting better. 2.
(Law) a legal term for a “normal,” reasonably educated person:
If the average person, or as legally defined “the man on the
Clapham omnibus,” would find something unreasonable, a
court may be satisfied…
See also: bus boy / busman.
branch off • branch out
branch off —deviate from an original direction: At the bridge
a little road branches off from the highway and follows the
river.
– 55 –
branch off

---

branch out—
1
. (of a tree) spread out into branches: The tree
branched out in every direction, casting a vast shadow over
the house. 2. = branch off: After a pair of bends in descent the
asphalt ends and the road branches out in three directions. 3.
add new interests or activities: John started a television repair
shop, then he branched out and began selling television sets
too.