A-Z Database
British colloquialism meaning to become extremely agitated or lose one’s temper dates in this sense from the 1950s but earlier, before WWII, it meant...
see Straight
A colloquial, sporting expression used in baseball or cricket when a pitcher gets hit for several home runs in baseball, or for several boundaries in...
see Whole hog
Go through great difficulties or hardship, surprisingly dates from the early 19th century, according to the OED. Therefore, one must assume the mill t...
Give the appearance of doing something without actually doing it or without doing it wholeheartedly dates from c. 1920.
see Through the roof
Go to great lengths (of time, understood), spend a long time or take a lot of trouble to affect something or other, dates from the late 17th century.
see Going to hell in a hand basket/hand cart
see Gone to pot
see Gone to the dogs
To go to the wall is to fail, succumb or go bankrupt and has been well established in this sense since the mid-19th century. The origin may, however,...
The figurative meaning to do something exuberantly or excessively is originally American and dates from the mid-19th century when going to town for co...
To go under means to become bankrupt or insolvent dates from the late 19th century from the allusion to sinking or drowning.
see Viral