A-Z Database
An American expression meaning splendid, dates from the mid-19th century but the origin is obscure. Many different theories abound, from honchi-dori a...
A rhyming compound word suggested by the sound of the musical instrument it describes, which is a stringed instrument driven by a wheel turned by hand...
This expression dates from the 16th century and means an uproar or tumultuous disturbance. In the 1400s, the word hurling meant commotion or strife an...
Hush money is money paid as a bribe to keep someone quiet about something or other and dates in this sense from the early 18th century.
Derives from the Hungarian huszar and Old Serbian husar and denotes a mounted raider and later a light cavalryman. In Hungary during the 15th century,...
This cliché is probably the number one cliché of all time and first appeared in Are You a Bromide? This was the title of a collection of clichés and p...
This catchphrase was made famous by the American TV series The A Team 1983-1987.
Rhyming slang for I should say so, I should cocoa/coco meaning I should say so. Some maintain that the spelling should be Coco, after Coco the Clown,...
This abbreviation has taken on a meaning of its own. Today we simply pronounce the two letters of the alphabet. It has been in general use from the 16...
This British catchphrase gave rise to the ‘I’m all right, Jack’ attitude, which meant to be ruthlessly selfish and look after oneself with total disre...
An American expression from late 19th century that means one is the right person for the job or one is up to the challenge, whatever it may be. Simila...
Put the icing on the cake is a metaphor for adding a final enhancement or finishing touch to some project or other. The American version is ‘frosting...
This quotation is attributed to Victor Hugo (1802-1885) in Histoire d’un Crime (1852) “Greater than the tread of mighty armies is an idea whose time h...
A famous and perhaps now over-used American expression that first appeared in print during the 1970s but which many Americans claim to remember hearin...
Means that if a situation is found to be appropriate, then accept it. It is an old British saying from at least the 17th century. The American version...