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

bust 
(go bust; go on the bust)
but 
(all but; anything but; but me no
buts; none but; none other but;
nothing but; there are no buts about
it)
butter 
(hair in the butter, a)
button 
(bright as a button; press some-
one’s buttons; press the panic but-
ton; push someone’s buttons; push
the panic button)
by 
(by and by; by the by)
cage 
(golden cage)
cake 
(piece of cake; pieces of the same
cake; slice of the cake)
calendar 
(julian calendar; julian day
calendar)
call 
(at call; be a close call; be too close
to call; duty call; get a call; get one’s
call; within call)
calling 
(answer one’s calling)
camera 
(in camera; on camera)
Key Word Index
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378 –

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camp 
(break camp; break out of camp;
fly camp; flying camp)
campaign 
(seven days’ campaign, the)
camper 
(tent camper)
can 
(be canned; be in the can; one can
but; one can do worse than; one
can’t be bothered; one can’t help one-
self; one cannot but; one cannot do
better than; one could care less; one
could do with something; one
couldn’t care less; one couldn’t do
with something; open up a can of
whoop-ass; you can say that again;
you can talk; you can’t fight city hall;
you can’t have it both ways; you can’t
talk; you can’t win; you can’t win
‘em all; you cannot make an omelet
without breaking eggs; you cannot
make bricks without straw)
canary 
(blue canary; sing like a canary)
candle 
(burn the candle at both ends;
hold a candle for someone; hold a
candle to someone)