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

back-light • background light
back-light—(Photography) illumination of the subject from
behind to produce a highlight along its edge: Halo is the effect
obtained in portraiture when a strong back-light is used.
background light—(Photography) illumination of a set or
background: One 250-watt bulb is capable of giving enough
background light for a whole room.
back off from something • back out of something
back off from something —withdraw from smth. one has
promised or agreed to do: Schultz continues to resent Syria’s
backing off from a peace agreement.
back out of something —
1
. move out of smth. backwards: He
slowly backed out of the room keeping his eye on the angry
dog all the time. 2. = back off from something: Buying at auction
can be risky, in part because buyers can’t back out of the sale.
back to basics • back to square one
back to basics —returning to the previously held fundamental
principles: In her quest to shape up, Rebekah shunned weight
loss clinics and fad diets, instead opting for a back-to-basics
approach.
back to square one —returning to the starting-point of an
experiment, etc. because of failure or lack of progress: He put
forward this analysis of the latest development: “We are back
to square one.”
back to the drawing-board • back to the salt mines
back to the drawing-board— dealing with the same matter
again (because smth. has gone wrong): They make presenta-
tions and if the proposal is rejected, it is back to the drawing
board.
back to the salt mines —returning to one’s work or another
duty which might be hard or unpleasant: I’d better get back
to the salt mines. I’ve got a lot of unfinished jobs.
backbite someone • bite something back
backbite someone —slander the reputation of smb. who is
absent: People will backbite one another to any extent rather
than not be amused.
bite something back —hold back a remark one was about to
make: She wanted to tell him her real feelings, but she bit the
words back.