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

breach of arrest • breach of arrestment
breach of arrest—(Military legal) said of an arrested person
going beyond the limits of arrest as set by orders: If, after such
arrest, he commits a breach of arrest, an additional charge will
properly be added in the case…
breach of arrestment—(Scot., legal) illegal disposal of prop-
erty placed under the control of a law-court: A third party–
arrestee parting with arrested property in breach of arrestment
may be required to pay its amount…
break a fly upon the wheel • fly on the wheel
break a fly upon the wheel —spend a great deal of effort upon
smth. not worth it: To apply more elaborate criticism to them,
would be “to break a fly upon the wheel.”
fly on the wheel —a person who fancies himself of impor-
tance, but who is in reality of none at all: The world grinds
on: we are a fly on the wheel.
break an agreement • break off an agreement
break an agreement—act in opposition to an agreement; vi-
olate an agreement: It was made clear that if Janet were to
break this agreement the therapist would discontinue contact
with her.
break off an agreement—cancel or terminate an agreement:
Tensions prevailed and things came to a point of no return
when Lufthansa unilaterally broke off the agreement.
break away • break off • break out
break away —come apart from smth.: The wing of the plane
broke away in mid-air.
break off —
1
. = break away: The mast had broken off at its
base, and lay over the side of the boat. 2. stop speaking: Jim
was in the middle of a funny story when he broke off to answer
the telephone. 3. stop working for a short time: Let’s break
off and have a cup of tea.
break out—(of a war, fire, etc.) begin suddenly: A fire broke
out in the hospital last night.