A-Z Database
Originally, in the early 18th century, junk meant a lump or piece of anything. The etymology is uncertain, but the OED ventures it perhaps derives fro...
Junket is an old word for a feast or merry-making and dates from the mid-1500s. As a word for a schoolboy spree, it enjoyed a revival in Britain durin...
US slang for drug addict dates from about 1923, from junk, which was also US slang for narcotics in general in the early 1920s, but is less heard in t...
This familiar expression meaning a deserved outcome or comeuppance is often misspelt as desserts and indeed Just Desserts is the title of a recipe boo...
Exactly what is needed; dates from the early 19th century of disputed origin but most likely a winning ticket in a raffle or lottery.
This expression describes something that is exactly what is needed or wanted and appears to be of American origin with the obvious allusion to a medic...
see kit and caboodle
So offensive is this word in English-speaking Africa that it is now classified as the k word and in this sense is similar to nigger. Its etymology, ho...
Kamikaze means divine wind in Japanese and was the name adopted by Japanese suicide pilots who flew their planes into US warships towards the end of W...
A kangaroo court is an illegal form of rough justice usually presided over by an unruly mob. Despite its obvious Australian connotations, the phrase i...
Keel over meaning to fall over derives from a keeled vessel that capsizes and this literal usage dates from the early 18th century. The current figura...
As keen as mustard means to be very enthusiastic and dates from the late 17th century. Since the 1400s, the word keen has enjoyed at least three meani...
Sporting terminology from association football meaning no goals conceded that dates from the mid-20th century, some say as long ago as the 1930s. The...
see Clean slate
Standard English that dates from the 18th century meaning to retain one’s composure and keep calm. See also keep one’s cool.