A-Z Database
To lick one’s lips is to anticipate something with relish. In the literal sense, it derives from anticipating a tasty morsel of food and figuratively...
Dogs, cats, rodents and primates all lick their wounds because saliva, when used sparingly, has bactericidal properties. The concept is extremely anci...
see Kiss someone’s arse/ass
see Bite the dust
In the sense of to beat or thrash, administer a licking, is British slang that dates from the early 1500s. Lick as in a lick of paint means a spot or...
An American colloquialism meaning at great speed or pace dates from the early 19th century. The origin is unknown. Attempts to link it with going at a...
Jocular advice given to women during the course of unwanted or dutiful sex. The expression is thought to have originated in the late 19th century, per...
The word lieutenant has two meanings, the first denotes a junior commissioned officer in the army or navy, which dates from the 16th century, the seco...
The centre of attraction and attention at a social gathering, the person who contributes most to the jollity of the occasion. Life of the party is fir...
This metaphor derives from the title of a song written by Ray Henderson and Lew Brown and performed by Ethel Merman in the musical Scandals in 1931. A...
This famous catchphrase is drawn from the movie Forrest Gump (1994). The lead character, a half-wit who turns up at critical moments in 20th century h...
Living the life of Reilly, means living an easy, affluent life. The evidence points to an expression of Irish-American origin dating from the late 19t...
A Life on the Ocean Wave written in 1847 by Epes Sargent (1813-1880) was the title of a popular 19th century American song that also became popular in...
Usually appears in the form of one of life’s little ironies and is now a cliché that refers to the minor problems or tribulations in life. It is also...
Usually in the form of ‘all part of life’s rich pageant’ and often used ironically to indicate that something is actually mundane or dull. Sometimes,...