A-Z Database
see Not give someone the time of day
see Tip someone the wink
To chastise or punish someone dates from 1873 according to the OED. It is thought to have arisen in informal speech in response to the question, “What...
see Bash/bash on
To give something a fillip is to give it impetus or stimulation and this usage dates from the early 1700s. A fillip (sometimes spelt filip) is an imit...
see Everything but (or including) the kitchen sink
View with suspicion or hostility, an American expression dates from the early 1960s derives from glowering at someone with lowered eyebrows and partia...
see Get the nod
see Tip someone the wink
see Don’t give a hoot/two hoots
Give up the ghost means to die. During the 1500s, ghost meant soul or spirit and this is the sense in which it is used in the King James Version of th...
US Navy and Marine Corps slang for a thingummy or gadget; dates from the early 1940s and the origin is unknown.
To give the glad eye is to give a friendly, interested glance, especially flirtatious, dates from the late 19th/early 20th century and is a companion...
Glad rags are party or special occasion clothes, with the obvious connotation of happy enjoyable occasions, originally an Americanism that dates from...
To have a glass jaw or chin is an expression usually used in boxing to describe a boxer who is particularly vulnerable to blows aimed at his jaw or ch...