A-Z Database
Of food and drink so good that one wants more, dates somewhat surprisingly from the late 1600s.
Mosey is an American colloquialism that means to amble or move at a leisurely pace. The origin is obscure but when it first appeared during the early...
This euphemistic version of motherfucker is now heard all over the English-speaking world after making its appearance in America during the 1930s. Fra...
The ground or terra firma dates from the late 1500s and is much older than motherland meaning one’s home country, which came into use during the late...
Pearls are found in pearl oysters but the shiny, iridescent lining of the pearl oyster shells also yields mother of pearl, so called because the pearl...
One’s native language, the expression dates from the 1400s.
Mother’s ruin as a nickname for gin dates from the late 19th century although the ruinous social repercussions of cheap gin, particularly on women, wa...
Originally, black American slang for a despicable person dates from the early 20th century, but the shocking literal meaning has softened down the yea...
The slang or informal use of motherless started in Britain, possibly Ireland, as an intensifier meaning extremely as in motherless broke or motherless...
To motor along is US informal that has spread to most English speaking countries, meaning to move quickly and steadily, to make swift, efficient progr...
To have a mountain to climb is a metaphor for having to face an insurmountable or difficult task and in this metaphorical sense dates from the late 19...
see If the mountain won’t come to Muhammad..
see Molehills into mountains
Commonly expressed in the negative i.e. don’t move a muscle or without moving a muscle meaning to remain perfectly motionless or to be unhelpful. The...
see Faith can move mountains