Jack was living in Arizona during a heat wave when the following took place.
"It"s just too hot to wear clothes today," complained Jack as he stepped out of the shower. "Honey, what do you think the neighbors would think if I mowed the lawn like this?"
"Probably that I married you for your money."
- —prep. - near, beside (sit by me; path by the river).
- through the agency or means of (by proxy; poem by donne; by bus; by cheating; divide by two; killed by robbers).
- not later than (by next week).
- a past, beyond (drove by the church). B through; via (went by paris).
- during (by day; by daylight).
- to the extent of (missed by a foot; better by far).
- according to; using as a standard or unit (judge by appearances; paid by the hour).
- with the succession of (worse by the minute; day by day).
- concerning; in respect of (did our duty by them; smith by name). 10 used in mild oaths (by god). 11 expressing dimensions of an area etc. (three feet by two). 12 avoiding, ignoring (passed us by). 13 inclining to (north by north-west). —adv. - near (sat by).
- aside; in reserve (put £5 by).
- past (marched by). —n. (pl. Byes) = *bye1. by and by before long; eventually. By and large on the whole. By the by (or bye) incidentally. By oneself 1 a unaided. B unprompted.
