A-Z Database
see Cup of tea
To be the be-all and end-all is to be the dominant or supreme factor. It can also be used to describe someone who has an insufferable, over-inflated o...
British slang for a judge or magistrate, dates from the early 19th century and derives from earlier British slang ‘harm and beck’ or ‘herman beck’ (or...
see On one’s beam ends
This catchphrase is from the TV and movie series Star Trek, which first aired on TV in 1966. The expression is often used as a jocular way to extract...
American informal for an accountant or bookkeeper, first attested from the early 1970s.
Apparently, beans were much more sought after in olden days than they are today. Therefore, a bean feast was a special annual dinner given by employer...
Bean has been British slang for a guinea since the early 19th century, and then slang for money in general from the 1850s. Not to have a bean is to be...
Brimless, knitted cap derives from bean, which is American slang for head. First known appearance of beanie in print is c.1904.
Late 19th century British slang for a spree or a merry time, a shortened form of bean feast.
To act like a bear with a sore head is to be very gruff and irritable. Since the expression is of American origin and dates from the late 18th/early 1...
This expression is used figuratively to confront danger or adversity head-on without fear. There are two sources, both biblical. The first is from Sam...
To beat about or around the bush was originally a hunting expression that dates from as long ago as the 15th century. By the 17th century, it was also...
An old expression dating from at least the 18th century for a severe beating, which raises black and blue welts on the skin.
see Lick into shape