A-Z Database

A-Z Database

All A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Like sardines

see Packed like sardines


Like the clappers

see Hell’s bells


Like the pot calling the kettle black

see Pot calling the kettle black


Like two peas in a pod

see Two peas in a pod


Like water off a duck’s back

see Water off a duck’s back


Like wildfire

A wild fire is of course, a destructive conflagration that gets out of control, but this is not thought to be the origin of the expression that someth...

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Lily-livered

Meaning lacking in courage or cowardly was coined by Shakespeare in Macbeth (1605) Act V, Scene III, Macbeth says to a servant boy, “Thou lily-liver’d...

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Limelight

To occupy the limelight means to be in a conspicuous position, which attracts maximum attention or publicity. In the early 19th century, before electr...

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Limey

Limey is US slang for a British person since the late 19th century and is an abbreviation of lime-juicer which dates from the 1850s. Originally, the t...

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Line in the sand

see Draw a line in the sand


Lingo

Informal, possibly slang, word for language or dialect. It dates from the mid-17th century and derives from alterations of many words that stem from t...

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Lion’s share

The lion’s share is the largest portion, and the expression in this sense dates from the 18th century. For many hundreds of years before this, the lio...

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Lip

British slang for verbal impudence or abuse, as in to give someone lip, dates from the early 19th century.


Lip service

see Pay lip service


Lit out of here

see Light/lit out


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