A-Z Database

A-Z Database

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I don’t know much about art/music/etc, but I know what I like

This cliché is probably the number one cliché of all time and first appeared in Are You a Bromide? This was the title of a collection of clichés and p...

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I love it when a plan comes together

This catchphrase was made famous by the American TV series The A Team 1983-1987.


I should coco/cocoa

Rhyming slang for I should say so, I should cocoa/coco meaning I should say so. Some maintain that the spelling should be Coco, after Coco the Clown,...

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i.e.

This abbreviation has taken on a meaning of its own. Today we simply pronounce the two letters of the alphabet. It has been in general use from the 16...

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I’m all right Jack

This British catchphrase gave rise to the ‘I’m all right, Jack’ attitude, which meant to be ruthlessly selfish and look after oneself with total disre...

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I’m your huckleberry

An American expression from late 19th century that means one is the right person for the job or one is up to the challenge, whatever it may be. Simila...

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Ice the cake

Put the icing on the cake is a metaphor for adding a final enhancement or finishing touch to some project or other. The American version is ‘frosting...

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Idea whose time has come

This quotation is attributed to Victor Hugo (1802-1885) in Histoire d’un Crime (1852) “Greater than the tread of mighty armies is an idea whose time h...

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If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it

A famous and perhaps now over-used American expression that first appeared in print during the 1970s but which many Americans claim to remember hearin...

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If the cap fits, wear it

Means that if a situation is found to be appropriate, then accept it. It is an old British saying from at least the 17th century. The American version...

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If the mountain won’t come to Muhammad, then Muhammed must go to the mountain

This old proverb means that if one cannot get one’s own way, one must seek an alternative. It is a good example of ellipsis in that the main clause is...

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If the shoe fits, wear it

see If the cap fits, wear it


If you build it, they will come

Since the 1990s, this quotation has become a business mantra meaning that if you make an investment and build something, people will come, use it, and...

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If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen

Meaning that if you cannot withstand the pressure or the pace, you should not be in the race, was coined by US President Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) c...

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Ignorance is bliss

This quotation is from Thomas Gray (1716-1771) in On a Distant Prospect of Eton College (1742) “Where ignorance is bliss, ‘tis folly to be wise.” Gray...

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