Definition

Noun: - An extremely large, excessive, or intense amount or degree; used to emphasize great quantity or intensity, often in hyperbolic expressions.

Usage

This word is primarily used in informal British English within similes to intensify a description, typically following "like." It conveys a sense of something being immense, overwhelming, or happening with great force.

Examples

Advanced Usage

• "like billyoh": This is the standard and almost exclusive construction. It functions as an adverbial phrase meaning "very much," "extremely," or "with great intensity."
  • The children were shouting like billyoh in the garden.
  • My back aches like billyoh this morning.

Variants and Related Words

• Billy-o: An alternative spelling of the same word.
• Billy-ho: Another less common variant spelling.

Synonyms

• A great deal: A large amount.
• Tremendously: To a very great extent.
• Like anything: (Informal) Very much, very vigorously.
• Like mad: (Informal) With great speed or intensity.

Notes on Different Meanings

This word has only one core meaning related to emphasizing a large amount or high degree. It is not used in other contexts or with other definitions.

Idioms and Phrases

• Like billyoh: The sole common idiom featuring this word. It is a fixed expression used for emphasis.
  • It rained like billyoh all afternoon, so the match was canceled.
  • When the fire alarm went off, everyone started moving like billyoh.

Noun

1. an unimaginably large amount
   • British say `it rained like billyo' where Americans say `it rained like all get out'