A-Z Database
Rhyming slang for tea, Rosy Lee/tea, dates from the late 19th century but enjoyed new impetus in the 20th century because of Gypsy Rose Lee the famous...
Exclamation meaning rubbish or nonsense dates from the mid-19th century with the obvious allusion to rotting or decaying material i.e. rubbish. Hence...
A rotten or bad apple has long been used as a metaphor for an unsavoury person of questionable character. It derives from an old proverb that one rott...
see Bad/rotten egg
see Something rotten in the state of Denmark
Originally, a free-for-all fight without any rules, dates in this sense from the late 18th century; figurative as in ‘the rough and tumble of politics...
A rough diamond or a diamond in the rough describes a person who, despite an uncouth manner or exterior, has a good heart underneath, dates in this se...
see Around and about
A sporting tournament, in which all competitors play against one another in turn, dates in this sense form the late 19th century. Before this, as reco...
Mad, crazy, insane dates from the 1600s, derives from bending or twisting something out of true.
see Around the houses
A roundhouse punch in boxing is a wild, swinging punch dates from the late 19th century. The origin is American where roundhouses were the circular bu...
A widespread amorous interest in the opposite sex dates from the 18th century.
see Not worth a hill/row of beans
Royal as an adjective has been used to denote large size or scale since the late 1400s, as in a royal mess or a royal feast etc. From the allusion tha...