broke (redirected from Brokes)

all hell broke loose

all sorts of wild or terrible things happened. When the boss left early for the weekend, all hell broke loose.

See also: hell, loose

dead broke

completely broke; without any money. I'm dead broke—not a nickel to my name. I've been dead broke for a month now.

See also: dead

flat broke and flat busted

Fig. having no money at all. Sorry, I'm flat broke. Not a cent on me. You may be flat broke, but you will find a way to pay your electricity bill or you will live in the dark. Mary was flat busted, and it was two more weeks before she was due to get paid.

See also: flat

go broke

to completely run out of money and other assets. This company is going to go broke if you don't stop spending money foolishly. I made some bad investments last year, and it looks as if I may go broke this year.

go for broke

to risk everything; to try as hard as possible. Okay, this is my last chance. I'm going for broke. Look at Mary starting to move in the final hundred yards of the race! She is really going for broke.

last straw and the straw that broke the camel's back

the final difficulty in a series; the last little burden or problem that causes everything to collapse. (From the image of a camel being loaded down with much weight. Finally, at some point, one more straw will be too much and the camel's back will break.) When our best player came down sick, that was the straw that broke the camel's back. We hoped to make the playoffs, but lost all the rest of our games. When she showed up late a third time, that was the straw that broke the camel's back. We had to fire her.

See also: last, straw

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be flat broke  (informal)

to have no money at all I can't even pay the rent this month. I'm flat broke.

See also: flat

go for broke  (informal)

to risk everything in order to achieve the result you want She decided to go for broke and pursue her acting career full-time.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

something that you say which means if a system or method works well there is no reason to change it We're happy with our exam system in Scotland, and as they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

See also: fix, if

They broke the mould when they made somebody/something.

something that you say which means someone or something is very special and that there is not another person or thing like them They broke the mold when they made Elvis. There's never been a star to match him.

See also: made, mould

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go for broke

to risk everything and try as hard as possible to achieve something You can't possibly go for broke if you're afraid of what might happen if you don't succeed.

Related vocabulary: go all out

if it ain't broke, don't fix it (spoken) also if it's not broke, don't fix it

it is a mistake to try to improve something that works He hasn't made a lot of changes to the team since taking over as head coach, figuring if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

See also: fix, if