A-Z Database
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...
see Draw a line in the sand
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...
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...
British slang for verbal impudence or abuse, as in to give someone lip, dates from the early 19th century.
see Pay lip service
see Light/lit out
The metaphorical or idiomatic use litmus test to denote a defintive test of worth or genuineness dates from 1950s, and is now often used in place of t...
Litotes is a figure of speech that expresses an affirmative by negating the opposite. For example, the sentence, “The lady was not unattractive,” mean...
As in the expression a little bird told me, indicating a secret source of information dates from the early 1500s but the exact origin remains unknown.
The actual quotation is “A little learning is a dangerous thing” and was coined by Alexander Pope in An Essay on Criticism (1711). Pope may have been...
Live and let live is first attested in English as a proverb in English Proverbs, a collection that was compiled by John Ray in 1670. Because Ray lists...
see Out of one’s wits
The actual quotation is, “All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword” meaning that violent or nefarious actions will reap similar reward...
see High on the hog