A-Z Database
Anything that is very large or over-sized, dates from the late 19th century and derives from a famous elephant called Jumbo that was resident at Londo...
see Over the moon
To tell someone 'to go jump in the lake' is originally an American English euphemism for 'go to hell', and dates from the early 20th century.
To join a movement that already has popular and successful momentum, an Americanism dates from the latter half of the 19th century. Wagons carrying ba...
Get such a fright that one could literally leap out of one’s skin or body, an American metaphor that dates from the early 20th century. See also Play...
To desert from a ship or leave it without permission dates from the late 19th century; used figuratively to leave an organisation or situation in favo...
American slang for sexual intercourse from a crude male perspective dates from the 1960s.
The gun referred to is the starter’s pistol that was first used to start races during the late 19th century and along with trying to beat the gun or b...
Push in front of others in a queue, dates from the mid-20th century. The US equivalent is jump the line.
As in a jumped-up person meaning pretentious and arrogant, dates from the early 19th century, and derives from the allusion of someone jumping or risi...
Jumper as the name of a loose, outer garment dates from the mid-19th century. It has nothing to do with the physical act of jumping. The OED says it p...
This is a curious one because of its apparent misspelling. 'Jumping Jehosphat' is a mild, American expletive that expresses surprise or adulation. It...
see months of the year
Jungle is a word of Indian origin from the Hindi jangal originally a dry, arid wasteland but in Anglo-Indian usage any wild, overgrown tangled vegetat...
British armed services slang for an Afro-Caribbean person dates from the 1950s.