A-Z Database
American expression from the 1940s meaning unavailable, made popular by the duet sung by Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong in the song Gone Fishing (195...
This was originally RAF slang for dead or presumed dead and dates from c. 1940. No one is quite sure of the origin. A Google search for its origin wil...
Gone phut means broken or not working and is an Anglo-Indian expression that dates from the late 19th century, deriving from the Hindi phatna meaning...
See Go / gone south
Ruined, destroyed or in a very bad condition dates from the 1600s when anything that went into the pot for cooking had been cut to pieces and had met...
see See a man about a dog
If something has gone to the dogs, it is worthless. It has nothing whatsoever to do with dog racing, although sometimes this explanation is offered by...
see Viral
This figurative expression meaning to die or perish has been around since The Middle Ages and the most favoured origin is the symbolism provided by th...
This was the title of course of one of the most famous movies of all time made in 1939 after Margaret Mitchell’s novel of the same name published in 1...
This expression means very good or very well behaved with the obvious allusion to gold as a precious metal. It is normally applied to children or anim...
see Bad egg
see What’s good for the goose is good for the gander
Back in the 13th century, the word good used to mean holy as in The Good Book meaning The Holy Bible. Hence, Good Friday is simply Holy Friday.
This is yet another example of a minced or euphemised oath. In this instance, it acts as a substitute for good God and dates from c. 1900. See Cor bli...