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

bookman • handbook man
bookman —smb. who is interested in and knowledgeable
about books: Bryant was a real bookman, not just someone
who liked books, but someone with a passion for books.
handbook man —a bookmaker: Bartenders, handbook men
and habitués of dope-staches could be paraded by the dead
unknown in the morgue.
Books of Kings, the • books of the Four Kings,
the
Books of Kings, the —certain books of the Old Testament
which contain the history of the Kings of Israel: The Books
of Chronicles … so called as containing particulars omitted
in the Books of Kings.
books of the Four Kings, the —(arch.) a pack of playing cards
boil down
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(also: history of the Four Kings, the): Playing cards were origi-
nally called “the Books of the Four Kings,” while chess was
known as “the Game of the Four Kings.”
border on something • border something
border on something —
1
. be next to smth.; lie close to smth.:
The old park borders on the shores of the lake. 2. (of a country)
share a boundary with another country: Soviet territory facing
the West borders on Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary.
3. resemble smth.; verge upon smth.: What you are doing bor-
ders on the ridiculous.
border something —form a border along the edge of smth.:
The climate of the land bordering the sea varies from being
tropical in the south and sub-tropical in the north.
bother about something • bother with something
bother about something —be concerned about smth.; worry
about smth.: Meditation is so beautiful, who bothers about
the result? And if you bother about the result, meditation is
not possible.
bother with something —concern oneself with smth.; preoc-
cupy oneself with smth.: “So you just grab breakfast and get
on the train?” “No I never bother with breakfast, I grab a
coffee on the train.”