A-Z Database
To sleep like a top means to sleep soundly and is an odd expression because children’s tops or spinning toys are hardly so stationary as to seem an ap...
see Wink of sleep
This expression dates from the latter half of the 19th century and simply means sleep well and soundly. Strictly speaking, it should be sleep tightly...
A sleeveless errand is a fruitless quest or a pointless exercise and dates from at least the 14th century. In those days, sleeveless meant futile or i...
see City slicker
See Speech is silver, silence is golden
Slim in this sense means meagre or slender and means little chance or hope. This usage of slim dates from the mid-17th century. Curiously, it means th...
US slang for a despicable person dating from the1980s.
British slang meaning shove off or go away, usually said to an annoying person, dates from the 19th century, most probably nautical in origin from one...
see Suffer the slings and arrows of misfortune
Slip fielders are fielding positions in the game of cricket. Slip fielders are usually positioned to the left or right of the wicketkeeper, a fielding...
A slip of a girl, or boy, describes a young person of small or slender build, and dates from the mid-1500s.
A slight, unintentional error or mistake in speaking, which dates from 1620 according to the Oxford English Dictionary.
This simile is very old dating back to the 1400s meaning devious and elusive, like trying to hold a live, wriggling eel.
This word now means slovenly or careless and acquired this figurative meaning during the early 19th century. Before that, during the late 16th century...