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

Bullion State, the • Golden State, the
Bullion State, the —(U.S.) a nickname of the State of Mis-
souri: Missouri has been known as the Bullion State (possibly
an allusion to the nickname of Missouri senator Benton, who
was known as “Old Bullion”).
Golden State, the —(U.S.) a nickname of the State of Cali-
fornia: The Golden State’s golden days seem to be a thing of
the past for many California residents.
Note:
Neither expression is equivalent in meaning to the phrase
Treasure State, the
—(U.S.) a nickname of the State of Mon-
tana: Citizens of the Treasure State celebrate the hundredth
anniversary of one of Montana’s most notable historic sites.
bully for someone • bully someone
bully for someone —(exclam.) used as a mocking expression
of approval: If he is acquitted, then bully for him. If he is con-
victed, then he goes to jail.
bully someone —intimidate a person; frighten smb. into a
certain course using violent threats: He saw, that he had no
chance of bullying the servant.
bun is in the oven, the • fat is in the fire, the
bun is in the oven, the —
1
. (euph.) is used to allude to preg-
nancy: They have to get married because the bun is in the
oven…. So my question is, am I invited? 2. things have started
moving: We have no idea as to a release date as there is a lot
of work still to be done, but at least the bun is in the oven.
Note:
The expression does not correlate in meaning with the
phrase get your buns over here—(coll.) come here quickly: Just
pack your bags and get your buns over here! We’ll make it
worth your while.
fat is in the fire, the —an irrevocable course of action has
been started: The die has been cast and the fat is in the fire.
Too late to back out now. Cf.: pull the fat from the fire — do
smth. that solves a serious brooding problem: A change of pres-
idents can pull the fat from the fire in time to save us from a
rerun of the 
1
920s depression.