A-Z Database
Although frequently heard in Western movies, the expression is not of American origin. Sometimes found in the form of “kiss the dust” or “lick the dus...
This means to show ingratitude to someone who has helped and sustained you. It has been attributed to John Addison in The Spectator 1711.
To bite or chew someone's hand off means to be eager or in a hurry to get at, or to do something or other. The allusion is to feeding a hungry dog who...
To bite or chew your arm off for something means that one would go to any lengths to achieve a desired objective even at the cost of your arm. The exp...
see Odds and ends
The bitter end is the limit of one’s efforts, the last extremity. As an expression, it has been around since the late 15th/early 16th century. Shakesp...
In many ways, it is unfortunate that the colour black has so many cheerless, negative connotations despite women who put their perpetuating faith in t...
see In black and white
The black arts is another name for witchcraft or sorcery; the phrase itself dates from the late 1500s, but one suspects the practice is much older. Se...
‘Black as the ace of spades’ is an intensifier that means ‘very black’, if indeed anything can logically be blacker than black. There is no question t...
‘To be in someone’s black book’ means to be out of favour for having caused some offence or other, and dates in this sense from the mid-1500s. A black...
This is a figurative expression for depressed spirits or ill humour and dates from the early 19th century. Winston Churchill used the term to describe...
Since the Middle Ages, a black flag in a battle or siege of a city or castle signified that no quarter would be given to the opposing side. In later y...
To give someone a black look or looks means to glower angrily at them and is first attested from the early 18th century. These days, it would be more...
Magic that is associated with evil spirits; the phrase itself dates from the late 1500s, although the practice is much older.