boil (redirected from boiled down)

boil something away 

1. Lit. to boil a liquid until it is gone altogether. She left the kettle on and boiled the water away. Boil away some of that water.

2. Lit. to remove a volatile chemical from a solution by boiling. Boil the alcohol away or the sauce will be ruined. You should boil away some of the liquid.

See also: away

boil something down 

1. Lit. to condense or thicken something, such as a liquid. I have to boil this gravy down for a while before I can serve it. You boil down the sauce and I'll set the table.

2. Fig. to reduce a problem to its simple essentials. If we could boil this problem down to its essentials, we might be able to solve it. We don't have time to boil down this matter. This is too urgent.

boil something out of something and boil something out

to remove something from something by boiling. I boiled the wax out of the cloth. You can boil out the stain.

See also: out

boil something up

Rur. to cook a batch of food by boiling. She boiled some beans up for dinner. She boiled up some potatoes.

See also: up

boil down to something 

1. and boil down Lit. [for a liquid] to be condensed to something by boiling. Boil this mixture down to about half of what it was.

2. Fig. [for a complex situation] to be reduced to its essentials. It boils down to the question of who is going to win. It boils down to a very minor matter.

boil over

[for a liquid] to overflow while being boiled. (See also boil over (with something).) The sauce boiled over and dripped onto the stove. Don't let the stew boil over!

boil over (with something)

Fig. [for someone] to erupt in great anger. The boss boiled over with anger. Things got out of hand and the crowd's passions boiled over.

boil with something

Fig. to show the heat or intensity of one's anger. You could see that she was just boiling with anger. Tom was boiling with rage when we got there.

bring someone to a boil

Fig. to make someone very angry. This really brought her to a boil. She was fit to be tied. Lily was really brought to a boil by the news.

See also: bring

bring something to a boil

to heat liquid to its boiling point; to make something boil. First, you must bring the soup to a boil.

See also: bring

come to a boil 

1. Lit. [for a liquid] to reach the boiling point. The soup came to a boil and the chef reduced the flame.

2. Fig. [for a problem or situation] to reach a critical or crucial stage. (Alludes to water reaching an active boil.) Finally, things really came to a boil. Everything came to a boil after Mary announced her engagement.

3. Fig. [for someone] to get very angry. Fred was coming to a boil and clearly he was going to lose his temper.

See also: come

make someone's blood boil

Fig. to make someone very angry. It just makes my blood boil to think of the amount of food that gets wasted around here. Whenever I think of that dishonest mess, it makes my blood boil.

See also: blood, make

watched pot never boils

Prov. Something you are waiting for will not happen while you are concentrating on it. Don't just sit there staring at the phone while you wait for Lucy to call. A watched pot never boils. I'd better do something besides look out the window waiting for Emily to drive up. A watched pot never boils.

See also: never, pot, watch

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A watched pot never boils.

something that you say which means if you wait anxiously for something to happen, it seems to take a very long time There's no point sitting by the phone waiting for it to ring. A watched pot never boils.

See also: never, pot, watch

can't boil an egg  (humorous)

if someone can't boil an egg, they are not able to cook

Usage notes: This phrase comes from the idea that boiling an egg is a very easy thing to do.

Don't expect a dinner invitation from Laura - she can't boil an egg.

See also: egg

go off the boil 

1. (British & Australian) to become less successful After winning their first two matches this season, the French team seem to have gone off the boil.

2. (British) if a situation or feeling goes off the boil, it becomes less urgent or less strong The housing issue has gone off the boil recently, despite attempts to revive public interest. Our affair went off the boil when I discovered he was married.

make somebody's blood boil

to make someone very angry When I saw the rude way she talked to him it made my blood boil.

See also: blood, make

on the boil  (British)

if a situation or feeling is on the boil, it is very strong or active The corruption scandal is being kept on the boil by a series of new revelations.

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boil down something also boil something down to something

to reduce something to its most basic or important parts I am supposed to boil down this ten-page report to half a page. The whole question boils down to how will we pay for this?

boil over

to become uncontrollable Anger boiled over when the police ordered the protesters to leave.

Etymology: based on the idea of liquid in a pan being heated until it boils over the side of the pot