A-Z Database
A mild oath in which one swears on one’s life that something or other is or is not the case, dates in this form from the mid-1700s but first attested...
A minced oath, which in its full form would be, for the love of St Michael or St Peter although some sources dispute this and say that Mike or Pete ar...
see Toffee
This phrase was coined by John Donne in Devotions written in 1623. The full quotation is, “Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in man...
From at least The Middle Ages, this was the common expression for the fruit eaten by Adam and Eve in spite of the warning from God not to do so. Refer...
An obvious, predetermined outcome; this common everyday phrase is attributed to Shakespeare in Othello c. 1604, Act III, Scene III, “But this denoted...
Coined by Shakespeare in As You Like It (c.1598) Act IV, Scene I, line 151. Rosalind says, “Now tell me how long you would have her, after you have po...
British informal for to pay out or give over dates from the early 19th century and derives from the manual labour of working with an agricultural or g...
The expression, white man, speak with forked tongue is generally acknowledged as an anonymous Hollywood scriptwriter’s coinage from the early 20th cen...
This word, which is a shortening of fourteen nights dates back to before the 12th century and reflects the old Germanic custom of counting in nights i...
This ancient proverb is found in the writings of Terence (c.190-159 BC) and in Virgil (70-19 BC) Aeneid, Book X, “Audentes fortuna iuvat.” Latin for f...
Take a short nap usually in the daytime; dates from the early 19th century but why forty winks? No special reason except that forty has frequently bee...
see Never foul one's own nest
see Cry foul
see Would not be caught, found or seen dead