at death's door
Very near death; dying.
He seemed to be at death's door from his illness.
at great length
In great detail.
Jim told us the story of his life at great length.
For a long time.
The boring speaker rambled on at great length.
backseat driver
back seat driver
A bossy person in a car who always tells the driver what to do.
The man who drove the car became angry with the back seat driver.
beat a retreat
To give a signal, esp. by beating a drum, to go back.
The Redcoats' drums were beating a retreat.
To run away.
They beat a retreat when they saw that they were too few.
The cat beat a hasty retreat when he saw the dog coming.
beat about the bush
beat around the bush
To talk about things without giving a clear answer; avoid the question or the point.
He would not answer yes or no, but beat about the bush.
He beat about the bush for a half hour without coming to the point.
Our boss beats around the bush so much that no one in the office knows exactly what he wants us to do.
Instead of beating around the bush, Melinda explained her objection in very clear terms.
beat all hollow
beat hollow
To do much better than; to beat very badly.
We beat their team all hollow.
As a speaker, he beats us all hollow.
beat all
beat the Dutch
To be strange or surprising.
John found a box full of money buried in his garage. Doesn't that beat all!
It beats the Dutch how Tom always makes a basket.
beat down
To crush or break the spirit of; win over; conquer.
All their defenses were beaten down by the tanks.
To try to get reduced; force down by discussing.
Can we beat down the price?
To persuade or force (someone) to accept a lower price or easier payments.
He tried to beat us down, so we did not sell the house.
To shine brightly or hotly.
At noon the sun beat down on our heads as we walked home.