A-Z Database
Largely obsolete sectarian slur directed at Roman Catholics. The expression originated in America c. 1850, alluding to the Roman Catholic habit of eat...
An Australian expression dating from the early 20th century denoting anger rather than mental imbalance. It presumably derives from the rather distast...
When Lewis Carroll wrote Alice in Wonderland in 1865, this expression was already well known but he did immortalise it with his famous personification...
From at least the early 16th century, hares have been observed to behave in mad fashion during the month of March, which was thought to be their prime...
The actual words appear in the lyrics of Noel Coward’s song Mad Dogs and Englishmen written in 1931. Noel Coward may have been inspired by something t...
The affectionate name for Nelson Mandela derives from the name of his Xhosa clan.
Mae West is largely obsolete military slang for an inflatable life jacket of the type worn by air force pilots. It was the RAF who first started calli...
From the late 16th century, a magazine was a general term for a storehouse but very soon thereafter became associated with a storage place for munitio...
A maiden over in cricket is an over in which no runs are scored from the bat. Extras like wides or byes are not counted. The term derives from the att...
Horlicks is the brand name for a hot, malted, pre-bedtime beverage that has been around in Britain since the 1870s. Since the 1980s, to make a complet...
see Beeline
Something that is funny enough to make a cat laugh must be very funny indeed because, of course, cats cannot and do not laugh. This hyperbole was coin...
This expression meaning to confess or get something off one’s chest and thereby cleansing one’s conscience dates from the 16th century when the breast...
To win everything, to win all the awards or events in any competitive context, dates from the early 19th century and has always been a figurative expr...
see Collar