A-Z Database
see Flat spin
see Jam
‘In a jiff’ or ‘in a jiffy’ means in a short moment of time, and is a British colloquialism that dates from the late 18th century, the origin of which...
To put something in the casing of a nut would be to confine it in a very small space. The origin is Shakespeare Hamlet Act II, Scene II, “O God! I cou...
To be in a pickle means to be in a troublesome or unpleasant situation, and dates from the mid-16th century. This figurative sense presumably derives...
see Flat spin
see Stew/stew in one’s own juice
see Tizz/tizzy
Means in a short moment or in a very short space of time and, in the form of ‘at’ a trice, dates from the mid-15th century. In a trice first appears i...
In any way, shape or form' or 'in some way, shape or form' are commonly used and largely meaningless idiomatic phrases that are used to emphasise a p...
see In the deep end
In the sense of a written record, to get something in black and white dates from the 14th century.
Originally American in origin, the word cahoot meaning a company or partnership dates from c. 1818. According to the OED, the origin is unknown but be...
The shrub clover was and still is highly prized as pasture for cattle and since the early 1700s, to be ‘in clover’ has been a metaphor for living a li...
Many expressions in English derive from the perceived temperature of blood. We talk of doing something in hot blood or in the heat of passion. Sometim...