burn the midnight oil






burn the midnight oil

read or work late into the night




Related Idioms and Phrases :



burn your boats = burn your bridges

commit yourself irrevocably

In a military campaign, burning your boats or bridges would make escape or retreat impossible.



burn the candle at both ends

lavish energy or resources in more than one direction at the same time

go to bed late and get up early



burn daylight

use artificial light in daytime

waste daylight



burn your fingers

suffer unpleasant consequences as a result of your actions

1998 - Times - An American buyer remains a possibility, although it is not entirely clear why any would want to risk getting their fingers burnt twice.



burn rubber

drive very quickly - informal

1998 - Times - Monsanto is burning rubber on a racetrack to become world leader in life sciences.



go for the burn

push your body to the extremes when practising a form of physical exercise – informal

The burn referred to is the burning sensation caused in muscles by strenuous exertion.



have money to burn

have so much money that you can spend as lavishly as you want



his ears are burning

he or someone is subconsciously aware of being talked about…especially in their absence

The superstition that your ears tingle when you are being talked about is recorded from the mid 16th century. Originally it was the left ear only that was supposed to do so.



slow burn

a state of slowly mounting anger or annoyance - informal



on the back burner = on the front burner

having low {or high) priority – informal

The metaphor here is from cooking on a stove with several burners of varying heat…food cooking at a lower temperature on a back burner receives or requires less frequent attention than that cooking at a high temperature on a front burner. Compare with the mainly North American expression cook on the front burner meaning be on the way to rapid success.



burnt to a cinder = burnt to a crisp

completely burnt through, leaving only the charred remnant



a burr under your saddle = a burr under in your saddle

a persistent source of irritation - North American informal



burst his bubble

shatter someone's illusions about something or destroy their sense of well-being.



bursting at the seams

(of a place or building) full to overflowing – informal



go for a Burton

meet with disaster

be ruined, destroyed or killed - British informal

This phrase first appeared in mid 20th century air force slang, meaning be killed in a crash. It has been suggested that it refers to Burton's, the British men's outfitters or to Burton, a kind of ale, but these are folk etymologies with no definite evidence to support them, and the origin of the phrase remains uncertain.



bury the hatchet

end a quarrel or conflict and become friendly

This expression makes reference to a Native American custom of burying a hatchet or tomahawk to mark the conclusion of a peace treaty.



bury your head in the sand

ignore unpleasant realities

refuse to face facts

This expression alludes to the belief that ostriches bury their heads in the sand when pursued, thinking that as they cannot see their pursuers the pursuers cannot see them.




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