A-Z Database
South African slang for cool, a general term of approbation or approval, dates from the late 1980s. It is thought to derive from the Afrikaans gif mea...
Entertain with lavish hospitality, the source is the New Testament Luke 15:23, the parable of the prodigal son, “Bring hither the fatted calf and kill...
The Goose with the Golden Eggs is one of the most popular fables by Aesop c. 550 BC. This expression has become idiomatic for any unprofitable action...
see Time to kill
Achieve two objectives with one strategy or action. Thomas Hobbes is certainly credited with one of the first appearances of the expression in English...
To kill with kindness means to be excessively kind to a person as to actually cause them harm. The coining of this expression is attributed to Shakesp...
see Time to kill
see Out of kilter
A person who shares the same beliefs, attitudes etc with another, dates from the mid-19th century, but it is not known who coined the phrase.
see Kiss someone’s arse/ass
This has been a vulgar, insulting invitation, but not a literal one, since the early 18th century when it would have been ‘kiss mine arse’. As an excl...
This is something or someone that ultimately brings disaster or dysfunction to any endeavour. It is thought to derive from the most infamous kiss of d...
To kiss someone’s arse/ass or to kiss arse/ass is a vulgar, colloquial metaphor to behave in a flattering and obsequious manner, especially towards a...
see Bite the dust
British slang for mouth since the 1860s.